Rev. Samuel Rodriguez's speech at March for Life 2015

March for Life 2015 took place on 22 January 2015 at the National Mall in Washington D.C., the United States.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, delivered a powerful speech and prayer before the launch of the march. (Rev. Rodriguez's speech begins at 1:16:42 of the video.)

The transcript follows:

We gather today not as blacks, whites, yellow or brown. We gather today as children of the living God.

We gather today with the commitment to reconcile righteousness with justice, sanctification with service, and Truth with Love.

We gather today with Biblical conviction and courage to speak to the spiritual forces that exacerbate the death of innocents in the womb.

We gather today to speak to the spirit of Pharaoh, and to the spirit of Herod, and to declare the following.

We declare the following:

For every Pharaoh there will be a Moses;

For every Goliath there will be a David;

For every Nebuchadnezzar there will be a Daniel;

For every Jezebel there will be an Elijah;

For every Herod there will be a Jesus!

And for every devil that rises up against us,

there is a mightier God that rises up for us.

For we understand that the right to life stems not from the executive branch, judicial or the legislative branch. The right to life does not stem from a political party or apparatus. It does not come from the donkey or the elephant.

The right to life comes from the Lamb that is on the throne; His name is Jesus.

Therefore, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let us remind our nation and our fellow citizens that Uncle Sam may be our uncle, but he will never be our Heavenly Father.

With that, let me invite you to pray.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we pray that this generation will recognise the image of God in every human being in and out of the womb without exception. We pray that the followers of Christ will no longer hide at the bottom of the threshing floor but rather they will emerge as mighty heroes of righteousness and justice.

We pray that the children of the cross realise that today's complacency is tomorrow's captivity, that moral stagnation leads to spiritual atrophy, and that there is no such thing as comfortable Christianity.

We pray that children will not be aborted, that marriages will thrive, and religious liberty will prevail for generations to come.

We pray that Truth will never be sacrificed on the altar of expediency, that Love will overcome hate, and that the prophetic will silence the pathetic. And we pray for the strength of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the anointing of God's Spirit to equip us in order to advance Your agenda; an agenda that protects the innocent and the unborn, all while we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before God.

And we pray all of this in the holy, righteous, triumphant, victorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen and amen.

The Year of the Sheep or Goat?

At the End of Days, God will not only judge each individual person, but will also judge nations. Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-33:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

The sheep represent the righteous who gave the hungry something to eat, the thirsty something to drink, invited strangers in, clothed the naked, looked after the sick and visited those in prison. The goats, on the other hand, represent the wicked who did none of such things.

In this year of Jubilee, will Singapore be a sheep nation or a goat nation?

Remarkably, this coming Chinese New Year will mark the beginning of the Year of the "羊" (yang). The term is broad enough to encompass goats (山羊), sheep （绵羊） or gazelle (羚羊). The article in the Sunday Times, "Sheep muscle in on Year of the Goat" (25 January 2015), explores these different interpretations:

Technically speaking, the different interpretations are not wrong. 

Assistant professor Lee Cheuk Yin, who heads the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore, says: "As the Chinese character is yang, the zodiac sign could be interpreted as either shanyang (mountain goat), mianyang (sheep) or lingyang (gazelle) and still be technically correct."

If that is the case, how did the goat claim the coveted spot in the traditional Chinese zodiac in the first place?

The simple answer is that sheep and gazelles were not commonly found in ancient China, so the Chinese were not familiar with these other breeds.

Geomancer Thomas T., 50, who owns Geomancy Hut consultancy, says: "This is why, from a traditional perspective, it's inaccurate to call this the Year of the Sheep or Ram because the zodiac sign has always been associated with the mountain goat."

Another geomancer, Mr Kevin Foong, 35, agrees that the traditional Chinese zodiac is not open to interpretation.

"A goat's horns are a sign of strength, which makes it more majestic compared with the more docile sheep," he explains.

So traditionally, "羊" refers to the goat (山羊) rather than any other breed.

 

羊

 

Other sources have also highlighted that the pictogram "羊" resembles the face of a goat, rather than a sheep, thus supporting the view that "羊" refers to goat rather than sheep.

But the point of the article, as is obvious from its title, is that people are opting for sheep instead. The Sunday Times report reads:

A tour around Chinatown bears this out, with cartoony interpretations of fluffy sheep plastered on everything from red packets to banners and lanterns.  

At Chinatown store Giftmaster, which is selling mainly sheep soft toys for Chinese New Year, sales assistant Ivy Koh, 24, says: "Customers generally prefer sheep to goats as they're more adorable, so we stock more of those."  

Ms Angelia Lim, 50, manager of another store in the area called Feng Shui Specialist, has stocked both goat and sheep merchandise for Chinese New Year.  

While she has seen equal demand for both animals, she says: "It's usually middle- aged customers who opt for traditional goat merchandise, while the younger ones gravitate towards the sheep toys."  

Ms Camille Lin, 33, a Taiwanese tourist who was shopping in Chinatown, says sheep are also beating out the goats in the marketplace at home.  

"We have lots of cute sheep plush toys in Taiwan too. I don't think it dilutes the culture just because the zodiac sign is interpreted differently," adds the waitress.  

Businesses seem to agree. SundayLife! found more than 10 companies who have opted to market and design their festive merchandise or promotional materials around sheep or rams instead of the traditional goat.  

These include Nets, Starbucks, Schroders Investment Management and online retailer Zalora, as well as hotels such as Marina Mandarin, Hotel Jen, Hotel Re! and Royal Plaza on Scotts.  

Lego also has a limited-edition Year of the Sheep set, which comes with a matching hongbao.  

For Schroders Investment Management, choosing a sheep design for its corporate hongbao lent a contemporary touch.  

Mr Jerry Low, its head of marketing, says: "During conceptualisation, we found references to goats, sheep and rams and, after researching the provenance of each, decided to give our design a more modern twist by featuring sheep instead of the more conventional goat."  

Over at Royal Plaza on Scotts, general manager Patrick Fiat says the hotel opted to go with sheep for its marketing campaign as "their shape is rounder, which we felt was symbolic of fulfilment, unity and coming full circle in the Chinese culture". The hotel has also included lamb as part of its festive yu sheng (raw fish salad) special this year.  

Do not let the proliferation of sheep get your goat though, as there is still plenty of merchandise that is sticking to tradition.  

Both Singapore Post and The Singapore Mint have stuck to the classic interpretations of the goat for their official Chinese New Year stamp and coin collections.  

But The Singapore Mint has gone one step further to cater to different tastes and generations. While it uses the mountain goat for its official coin design, a spokesman says the mint has also produced cute money boxes in the shape of sheep that are pitched at kids.  

"The fluffy sheep seemed more relatable to prosperity and we thought it would appeal more to the younger generation," she adds.  

Brands such as BreadTalk have also stayed loyal, naming its festive goat-shaped buns Happy Goat Luck.  

At the end of the day, it does not matter whether you plump for the sheep or stick to the goat.  

As undergraduate Natasha Chong, 20, puts it: "The most important Chinese New Year tradition is to celebrate with your family, no matter the animal on your red packet."

One cannot help but to see the prophetic significance of this, not least due to the title of the article in the Sunday Times, about how sheep have "muscled in". Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." (Matthew 11:12) The Book of Revelation tells of the ultimate triumph of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Yet, as both Scripture and the article attest, both sheep and goats will remain. Prophetically speaking, there will be great confusion in the land, with both great light and great darkness, both contending for the destiny of the nation.

This year of Jubilee will be a year of choosing for Singapore.

Jesus the Returning Warrior, Lover and King

The Bible is a love story from start to beginning, despite the ups and downs, the betrayals and the persecution.

So key to the Biblical narrative is the passionate love between a man and a woman in marriage that the Bible begins and ends with a wedding. In the Garden of Eden, God made male and female, and united them as "one flesh" in marriage (Genesis 2:24). Likewise, the Bible ends with the marriage supper of the Lamb.

David and Michal

One passionate love story that began well but unfortunately ended badly is the story of David and Michal.

When King Saul noticed that his daughter Michal was "in love with David" (1 Samuel 18:20), he promised the hand of his daughter to David for the bride price of one hundred Philistine foreskins. (The choice of foreskins as a "trophy" was due to the fact that the Philistines were uncircumcised, unlike the Jews.) Though it was meant to be a trap so that David would be killed by the Philistines, God was with David and David more than succeeded in his task.

Instead of just one hundred Philistine foreskins, the returning warrior, lover and king (by this time, Samuel had anointed David) came back with two hundred foreskins, and "Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage" (1 Samuel 18:27). Once again, the Bible records that "Michal loved David" (1 Samuel 18:28). So strong was her passion for David that Michal helped David to escape from her father's jealous rage and lied to her father for the sake of her husband.

But this love story did not have a happy ending. While fleeing from Saul, David took other women in marriage as his wives. On the other hand, Michal was given away in marriage to Paltiel son of Laish.

By the time after Saul's death, and after David brought Michal back to him and returned to Jerusalem as king, Michal's disposition towards David had changed. The when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord at the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, "she despised him in her heart" (2 Samuel 6:16). David made sacrifices and burnt offerings, and blessed the people, but was confronted by Michal when he returned home:

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" (2 Samuel 6:20)

David did not appreciate the remark, and the Bible records that "Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death" (2 Samuel 6:23); though it is not clear why this was so, it is more likely than not that David ceased to have conjugal relations with her.

Jesus and His Church

The Book of Revelation tells of a much more beautiful love story of Jesus Christ - the Son of David as he was known to the people at the time - and His bride the Church.

Jesus Christ "loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

In the last days, the Church will be subject to intense persecution at the hands of the woman Mystery Babylon and the Beast. The Book of Revelation records that Mystery Babylon "was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Revelation 17:6). But the Beast eventually betrayed and destroyed her.

The great multitude declares, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Revelation 19:7-9)

It is at this point we see Jesus come forth as a passionate Warrior, Lover and King:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

(Revelation 19:11-16)

Jesus Christ and His army captures the Beast and the false prophet and throw them into the fiery lake of burning sulphur, and defeats the kings of the earth and their armies. Satan is defeated, the dead are judged, and then here comes the Bride:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

The Returning Warrior, Lover and King

Like David returning for his bride Michal, Jesus Christ fights the good fight and returns as a triumphant warrior king for His Church. But unlike David, Jesus Christ is not a fallen man, nor would he take additional wives. Unlike Michal, the Church is a Bride who loves her husband and willingly submits to His loving headship.

Here is a marriage covenant that will last forever. It is the beautiful Biblical love story of Jesus Christ, the passionate lover, the rider on the horse who judges and makes war, and who finally returns to marry His beloved Bride.

Circumcision, Not Castration

I recently heard a message preached from 2 Kings about the story of Hezekiah and his big mistake towards the end of his life.

The Book of 2 Kings 20:12-19 records:

At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah's illness. Hezekiah received the messengers and showed them all that was in his storehouses--the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil--his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, "What did those men say, and where did they come from?" "From a distant land," Hezekiah replied. "They came from Babylon."

The prophet asked, "What did they see in your palace?"

"They saw everything in my palace," Hezekiah said. "There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them."

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

"The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?"

The blindness and folly of King Hezekiah was utterly remarkable. How could the invasion and plunder by the Babylonians of the palace, or the forceful subjugation and castration of his own descendants be called "good"?

King Hezekiah's comment showed the utter selfishness and self-centredness of his own heart. It cared nothing for the welfare of his own descendants, but cared only about his own wealth and temporary "peace and security" during his lifetime.

This, the preacher explained, seems to be the attitude of many parents towards the education of our children, who are being castrated in their hearts and minds by worldviews and philosophies utterly opposed to the things of God.

Nothing destroys the future generation more than castration. Yet in the same way, in the Old Testament at least, God's covenant from one generation to the next is marked by circumcision. It is not merely a bodily circumcision, but a circumcision of the heart that God calls for, as exhorted in Deuteronomy 10:16, "Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer."

Likewise, Paul emphasised in Romans 2:28-29:

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

A couple of chapters down, Paul urged, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)

Ultimately, Christians should at all times be aware that this is a spiritual battle being waged on all fronts against a relentless enemy whose goal is none other than to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Former Lebanese ambassador Charles Malik, said in his address "The Two Tasks" delivered at the dedication ceremony of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College on 13 September 1980:

Responsible Christians face two tasks - that of saving the soul, and that of saving the mind... The mind is desperately disordered today. I am pleading that a tiny fraction of Christian care be extended to the mind too. If it is the will of the Holy Spirit that we attend to the soul, certainly it is not his will that we neglect the mind. No civilization can endure with its mind being as confused and disordered as ours is today. All ills stem proximately from the false philosophies that have been let loose in the world and that are now being taught in the universities, and ultimately of course... from the devil, whether or not the human agents know it.

As Christians, we cannot possibly neglect the mind, including the spiritual, emotional and intellectual education of our children. We are called to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God", and "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). In Ephesians 6:4, Paul writes, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

Our children need to be circumcised in their hearts and minds, not castrated.

No, Jim Solouki, the crashing of QZ8501 is not God's punishment

2014 seems to have been a year of airplane disasters. After Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing, AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501 has crashed en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. The AirAsia report as of 30 December 2014, 18:00 hours LT (GMT+7), reads:

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to inform that The National Search and Rescue Agency Republic of Indonesia (BASARNAS) today confirmed that the debris found earlier today is indeed from QZ8501, the flight that had lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of 28th December 2014.  

The debris of the aircraft was found in the Karimata Strait around 110 nautical miles south west from Pangkalan Bun. 

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC. There were 155 passengers on board, with 137 adults, 17 children and 1 infant. Also on board were 2 pilots, 4 cabin crews and one engineer.

 

Once again, as with MH370, the same misguided soul Jim Solouki has put up a post dated 28 December 2014, "AirAsia flight QZ8501. God’s true warning!":

Greetings True Christians! 

Did you know that God has made an Air Asia plane flying into Singapore disappear with 162 passengers on board as a punishment for their sinful behavior? That’s right boys and girls, much like the Malaysian Air disappearance and crash, God has made a plane filled with mostly Inonesian passengers disappear. Why are planes carrying Indonesians disappearing more than any other types of plane? The answer is simple! The Indonesian people are a heathen people! They failed to keep Christ in Christmas, and now Christ chose to not keep their airplane in the air! 

God is striking down planes from this region of the world because these people are unwilling to embrace the Truth of Christ! If they would just embrace Jesus, then God would stop taking their planes! These people are ungodly heathens who are either Muslims, Buddhists, or Hindus. They worship in the jungle and reject Jesus! They are all going to burn in HELL unless they repent!

Unlike True Christian nations like America that never have planes disappear, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia have tons of planes disappear. WHy did this plane go down? The answer is simple. God is punishing the nation and the airline. The disappearance of this plane is a warning from God. If the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore do not repent, Jesus Christ and God the Father will continue to take airplanes from you.

Repent Malaysia! Repent Indonesia! Repent Singapore! Stop allowing prostitutes to run around on corners in your midst! Get rid of those heathen Hindus and Muslims! Reject Satan and embrace Jesus! Your ungodly sinful tolerance of homosexuality will get you nowhere. God will keep punishing you until you repent! 

The disappearance of this plane is another judgment from God issued against these heathens. How can they stop this from happening in the future? They must be Born Again in Christ! Reject Ramadan, reject Muhammad, reject Buddhism, reject stupid heathen ways and embrace Jesus. That is the only way to heaven and to safety. All of the passengers on that flight were probably non-Christian and are truly in Hell. 

Let us pray. Dear Lord Jesus, please continue to take planes from the heathen parts of Asia until those sinners repent. Punish them for tolerating the gays, the non-Christians, and the ways of the savage. Crush them until they reject prostitution and embrace your holy word. Please lead the heathens to the Father and away from sin. Until then, continue tor reap punishments upon them until their ungodly spirits are broken. Then they may be reborn as children of Christ. In this your name we pray. Amen. 

God hates AirAsia. God hates the heathens. And if you’re a heathen sympathizer, God hates YOU. Repent heathens, or further judgment awaits. 

I’m Jim Solouki, and I’m a True Christian.

It is remarkable how little Scripture he cites in support of his position. With writing and language like this, this post seems more like a parody or tasteless satire than anything else.

 

So, on pain of repeating myself, I shall address his points again.

 

"If they would just embrace Jesus, then God would stop taking their planes!"

As before, Solouki claims that "If they would just embrace Jesus, then God would stop taking their planes!"

A quick look at the New Testament shows that this is obviously wrong. Jesus Christ Himself, as well as the early church, all suffered in one way or another.

Even Jesus Christ, being without sin (Hebrews 4:15), was insulted, mocked, ridiculed and ultimately crucified.

Jesus warned His disciples that "[if] they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:20). And they did. James was put to death by the sword (Acts 12:2). According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down. Early Christians suffered intensely for their faith. We read in the Book of Hebrews:

Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and in holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35b-38)

The idea that bad things do not happen to "True Christians" is simply naive and wrong.
 

"Punishment for sinful behavior"?

 Again, Solouki runs on the assumption that the plane crash was "[punishment] for sinful behavior".

 

Jesus was asked a similar question in Luke 13:1-9:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'

"'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

Jesus' words are clear. These people are not any more sinful than anyone else. Instead, the focus is on an attitude of repentance, "unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Jesus was not talking about "perishing" physically here, like in a plane crash. As we have already seen above, Jesus and early Christians suffered and died some of the most painful deaths imaginable.

Instead, it the kind of eternal death that Jesus was warning about. In Matthew 10:28:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

We do not take any delight in the death of anyone, Christian or otherwise, but instead we constantly hope for the salvation of all.

 

God loves AirAsia, "heathens" and "heathen sympathizers"

The Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:8ff), and He demonstrated His love not least through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross so that the way to eternal life might be open:

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

God is patient, "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9b).

 

 

So God loves AirAsia. God loves the heathens. And if you’re a heathen sympathiser, God loves you too.

 

As Jesus Christ declares, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6), He also calls us to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31), and even to love our enemies and do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27).

 

God loves you too, Jim Solouki.

 

And in Christian love, I am telling you, Jim Solouki, to stop blaspheming and stop spreading untruths about God, and be reconciled to Christ in repentance, "for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name" (Exodus 20:7).

 

On behalf Christians everywhere, I ask for forgiveness if poor misguided souls like Solouki have caused or aggravated your grief, and pray that the Lord will be with all in their time of need.

Living Sacrifices

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1)

As I was reflecting this morning on the news that Singapore will be joining the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) by sending around 50 to 60 personnel to assist in military operations there, the words "living sacrifice" in the letter from Paul to the Romans came to mind. I recalled the graphic images of brutal killings in an article on Catholic Online. In its efforts to establish an Islamic Caliphate, ISIS has committed unbelievable acts of cruelty against men and women, young and old.

I began to wonder if the term "living sacrifice" held a deeper meaning in this time when "anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God" because "they have not known the Father or [Christ]" (John 16:2-3).

It dawned upon me that we are called to offer our bodies as sacrifices to the Lord not only in life, but also in bodily death. Yet in both senses, we are "living sacrifices". We are alive even in death because of the eternal life that Christ has given us. God is God of the living, not the dead (Matthew 22:32). Therefore, we need not be afraid of "those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28).

Indeed, "to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)

Made in the Image of God: Why we should avoid labels like "gay", "lesbian", etc.

With the rise of gender theory and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) activism, a growing number of people have begun to define themselves with reference to their "sexual orientation" or "sexual identity". Terms like "gay" or "lesbian" are used to define people, and distinctions are made between "heterosexual" and "homosexual" persons. Even many Christians use these terms.

But is this Biblical?

The concept of "sexual orientation" is completely foreign to the Biblical framework, a point that homosexual activists and liberal theologians are especially quick to emphasise. Yet this is precisely the point.

From the Biblical perspective, human beings are not defined by "sexual orientation" or "sexual identity". Instead, the starting point is and has always been Genesis 1:27:

So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them. 

Men and women are created in the image of God. That is our identity.

For Christians, our identity is rooted in being children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Paul writes in Galatians 3:26-28:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,  for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, Dr Michael Brown sums this up very simply in "5 Truths About Same-Sex Attraction":

Your attractions do not define you. Despite the fact that much is made today of “being gay” or having a gay identity, the reality is that your romantic attractions and sexual desires do not define who you are as a person. 

More importantly, if you have surrendered your life to the Lord and are living in obedience to Him, your primary identity is found in being a son or daughter of God. 

Many believers struggle when they put gay before Christian in terms of their identity rather than putting Christian (or child of God) first.

Likewise, then-Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict) wrote in his Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons:

16. ... The human person, made in the image and likeness of God, can hardly be adequately described by a reductionist reference to his or her sexual orientation. Every one living on the face of the earth has personal problems and difficulties, but challenges to growth, strengths, talents and gifts as well. Today, the Church provides a badly needed context for the care of the human person when she refuses to consider the person as a "heterosexual" or a "homosexual" and insists that every person has a fundamental Identity: the creature of God, and by grace, his child and heir to eternal life. 

As disciples of Jesus Christ, let us refrain from using simplistic and reductionist labels like "gay", "lesbian", etc. We are not defined by our desires, sexual or otherwise.

Marred as we are by sin, humans still bear the image of God. And through Christ Jesus, each one of us can be set free from desires that enslave us, to live a life free from sin with the guidance and counsel of His Holy Spirit.