The Black Sheep of the Family

Ok friends, we have have a huge misconception that needs a little clearing up.  This particular blog post is being written to discuss the commonly avoided subject of a 'Christian' family having a homosexual family member(s) and now that family member(s) being seen as the 'black sheep' of the family.

First, notice I put the word 'Christian' in quotes in the paragraph above.  The reason for this is because many people consider themselves or their families as Christian because they are good, because they have a God consciousness, because they are of a particular nationality, because they live in a particular place (like the United States, England, Australia, South America, Texas...), because they have not committed heinous crimes, and more.  Spoiler alert, those things do not make a person or a family Christian.  

Second, you will see 'black sheep' above also in quotes above.  This is because we, as sinful people, tend to measure each other by our personal standards and beliefs.  We label some sins and actions as bad and stamp those with the 'black sheep' label, and other sins as no-so-bad and let those slide with a shrug and a pass.  

Now for the words that drove me to write this blog post.  My precious cousin, who I have ALWAYS loved, wrote this: 

"I’ve always been okay being the Black Sheep in my family."  

Then she clarifies her statement with: 

"I’m the lesbian democrat that moved from TX to OR."

Kelly, this is for me, you, and maybe a whole lot of other people.  So lets dive in.  

Sheep is a great term to use for all of us in the human race.  The Bible calls us sheep.  Jesus calls us sheep in John 10.  David calls Jesus our Shepard in Psalm 23.  And guess what, being called sheep is not a compliment.  Sheep are dirty, smelly, need help with EVERYTHING, and they follow the crowd even if the crowd is running off a very high and jagged cliff.  They do not think well for themselves.  They must be led, guarded and cared for by a good shepherd, or else they will be neglected, get sick, get hurt and possible even self destruct until death.  That describes sheep, and according to the Word of God, that describes us.  We are sheep. 

Misconception:  Being a lesbian makes you a black sheep.  Were gonna get real clear here.  Being a lesbian does not make you a black sheep.  WE ARE ALL BLACK SHEEP at some point during our lives, and many, if not most of us in the human race will stay black sheep for our entire life.  

What causes us to be black sheep?  SIN.  All sin.  Any sin.  There is no BIG sin or little sin, sin is sin, and it is what makes us ALL BLACK SHEEP.  Isaiah 59:2 states, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (NKJV)  

It does not say your homosexuality, your murder, your political party...it says sins.  Homosexuality is NOT the dividing line.  Being born into the lineage of the old sinful nature of the fallen Adam is the dividing line.  And God HATES our sins.  All of them.  They separate us from Him.  These sins keep us in bondage.  They blind us from the Truth (the Bible says that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Light), so sin keeps us from the Truth that IS Jesus.  And that is scary because Jesus is not only the Truth, but He is also the Way.  Way?  What way?   Jesus is the way away from sin, away from the consequence of sin, which is death and hell, and the way toward truth and everlasting Life, freedom and a joy that overflows from within no matter the circumstances we face without.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to remove the black from our fleece.  Being good does not remove the stains on our wool.  We are black as sin.  We are black sheep.

Isaiah 64:6 (NIV) says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

Friends, our sins sweep us away.  They start off small and enticing like a gentle breeze or a soft lapping wave.  They feel good and and thrill us.  We let the lusts of our body be pulled into the calling of that breeze or wave and allow it to pull us stronger and stronger, deeper and deeper until we are caught up in a tornado or tsunami of sin, drowning and being pulled apart by the very thing we thought was once so enjoyable.  We are in bondage to the sins we've chosen, and they call to us so we can have our momentary thrill, until we are lost in the pain of always seeking that next 'feel good' moment while simultaneously losing our soul.

We gossip until we hurt everyone around us.

We lie until our thoughts are so twisted we can no longer remember the truth.

We hang onto our addictions until our addictions grip us in their vice and refuse to let go.

We use our bodies for what 'feels good' until the normal pleasures no longer thrill us and we have to move to deeper and more perverted lusts.  

We call on ungodly spirits and enjoy the games, teasing, and power until that playful power begins to demand unthinkable things and we are unable to leave its grasp.

Sins start off small, fun, and a bit thrilling, but they sweep us away to languish in the ocean until we are eaten alive by the shark that is Satan and send us to hell.  That is how sin works.  It is deceitful, vain, and a liar.  

Yet there IS a way out.  We do not have to stay trapped in sin.  Remember, even sins that feel good are wrong.  If what we are doing does not line up with the holiness of God it is sin.  And we are all sinners.  Holiness, which is God, demands perfection.  Not because God is harsh and doesn't love us, but because any fault, misstep, lie, lust, hate, sin...standing before God, even the tiniest speck of sin, just one rude thought or slip of the tongue standing before a Holy and Perfect God would cause us to be utterly destroyed in His Holy presence.  He would not destroy us, His Holiness would destroy us because of our unholy sins.  Unholiness can not stand or survive in the presence of pure holiness.  Let that sink in.  Unholiness CAN NOT SURVIVE in the presence of holiness.  

So now what?  

Jesus.  Jesus is what.  

Jesus is God and is the Son of God.  "In the beginning was the Word.  And the Word was with God and the Word WAS God." (John 1:1)  The Bible clearly states that Jesus is the Word.  Jesus was in the beginning.  Jesus was and is God.  And Jesus came to live on this sinful earth, in a body of flesh, yet live a perfect life without sin; FOR YOU.  Jesus lived a perfect life without sin for you and for me and for everyone centuries past and future.  For all.  And being God and having come as a man he had the power to conquer sin, death, hell and the grave once and for all.

2 Corinthians 5:21 guarantees, "God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

John 3:16-18 tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

And when we choose Jesus, the lamb of God that lived a perfect life, was slain on a cross as a sacrifice for all mankind, and raised from the dead defeating Satan, death, hell, the grave and SIN for us, then we can now shed our black fleece and become new creatures through Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old as gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."  Do you see it?  White as wool.  Sheep with white wool, not black fleece.  We can be set free from being black sheep, we can now be white sheep with Jesus as our Shephard.

It is an easy thing to do, but you must first count the cost.  The cost is living a life set apart.  Set apart from what?  A life set apart from the worldly desires that so entice us.  This may mean giving up an 'enjoyable' sin.  This may mean losing friends when they shun you for your new stance.  This may mean being misunderstood as you attempt to love a person yet call them out of their lifestyle of sin.  But guess what, it is FREEDOM and feels freeing; like a weight being lifted off of your shoulders, a weight you never knew you carried.  

When you ask Jesus to wash you white as snow, to be your Lord and Savior you are now free to NOT sin.  When before you were simply following a life of sin, you are now able to turn away from sin and still have a very fun, thrilling, joyful and amazing life.  There is so much more joy, freedom, and life on the 'Jesus side' of salvation than on the 'black sheep' side of sin.

And how do you get washed white as snow and lose your black fleece?  You just ask!  You  repent of your sins, declare that you are a sinner and that you are walking a road to hell.  Acknowledge that you are not following God, but that you need to.  You apologize for those sins and turn away from them asking Jesus to be your Lord, to be your savior, and to literally be the 'boss' of your life.  That's right, you now listen to God and follow Him.  Just ask Him, he will hear you and transform you into an amazing, new and beautiful creature.  

Oh, and don't just ask Him to save your soul so you can go to heaven as if in a 'get out of hell free card'.  Too many people do that and call themselves Christians.  And maybe they are, but God knows our heart.  God does not look on our outward appearance, but rather God looks on the heart.  We cannot hide from God.  We can't say a prayer with our lips and fool God by keeping a black heart.  No!  Allow Him to save, change, transform all of you.  Your spirit, which is eternal and will go to heaven, through this transformation, once your life here on earth is over.  Your soul, which is your mind, the way you think can also be transformed.  And, your body, in which you live out your daily life, can also be fully set free and healed through your salvation.  When you give God/Jesus all three parts of you, He is faithful to begin, continue and complete an excellent work in you.

Let us be clear, being a lesbian, a democrat, or living in a particular area does not make you a black sheep.  We were all black sheep...we only became white sheep when we surrendered all of our self to a Holy God, and no one is too far gone to take that step.

Also, the true 'white sheep' LOVE the so called 'black sheep'.  We LOVE YOU!  We were once you.  We just want you to experience the same freedom we have experienced, and to spend an eternity with you by our side.  I love you, pray for you, and always will.

7 Reasons | Full Abortion Movie 2019 (HQ)

Abortion is a HOT topic these days.  Actually, I remember it being a hot topic in the late '80's, so it seems not much has changed, but rather it has just become more of an inferno.

7 Reasons is a long-ish 42 minute movie consisting of spontaneous interview clips.  It is thought provoking.  If you will take the 'dare' to watch this and allow yourself to be challenged, then you must watch from start to finish.  No turning it off a few minutes in, half way through, or near the end.  You must watch it all.  And you need to commit to watching it without yelling and screaming at the screen in front of you, but rather just listening and processing.

So many of us get into heated debates on this subject and we are so ready to yell and spew our thoughts that we never allow ourselves to sit, think, absorb and process both sides of the debate.  Here is your chance.


Lets remember what the Bible says in

Pslam 139:13, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." 

and what God says in the Bible in 

Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

God knew us, knit us and created us while we were still in our mother's womb.  We already had purpose and worth.

Wedding Banquet - Vision

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."  Acts 2:17

I have mentioned in the past that the Lord speaks to me in both dreams and visions.  Out of the two dreams are the majority way He speaks to me, but I also hear Him in many other ways.  Often times just that still small voice spoken about in 1 Kings.

"The He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord."  And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."  1 Kings 19:11-12 

Back in 2008 my mom encouraged me to begin journaling and keeping a record of the dreams He gives me, so over the past several years I have attempted to do so.  I fall extremely lacking in attempting to grasp the fullness of feeling, depth and emotions in these dreams, and I have not been faithful to record each and every one of them.  Looking back I wish I had heeded her advice to keep ALL of my dreams no matter how insignificant they seemed at the time.  Even more, I wish I had recorded all the dreams I have had since the Lord began giving them to me back in 1987.  I do remember some as if I had them last night, but many are lost to the deep recesses of my mind.

Lately I have felt a strong tug of the Lord to put some the dreams 'out there'.  So here I am.  Putting some dreams out here on this blog.

Read these, see what the Lord might be saying to you.  And know that He still speaks to us today!

This first one I am sharing with you today was actually a vision.

Wedding Banquet

I was sitting on the floor in a small group worship time when I had this vision back in 2008. 

The feeling of this vision was: The wedding banquet of Christ, the body is the bride.  Amazing, beautiful, stunning, overwhelming.  Encouragement for the church.

Vision:

This vision is literally the reception banquet/ball/gala after the wedding of the body of Christ (Bride) to her groom Christ Himself.

It is dusk outside although it is still very light and easy to see, as if the sun will never really set, but the dusk gives atmosphere.  

There is a long line of literally millions of people (thousands from every nation, origin and era of the earth) lining up to enter what looks like a huge stone palace.  The front doors of the palace were ornately carved out of a hard wood, they stood at least 3 stories tall, and they were open.  On either side of the walkway leading up to the front door were tall lamp stands and lanterns lit with glowing candles and tied off with gold and purple ribbons.  Music floated across the air, and everyone was excited to enter and see her groom as a newly married couple.

Every person in this long line was dressed in a wedding gown (men and women).  Not the white, American wedding gown we are use to, but almost a wedding robe, some with pants and some without, but all were almost ankle length.  

Each robe/gown was made especially for each person.  Every one of the gowns was unique and stunning.  All of them were made of heavenly material and were seamless.  Some were layers upon layers of fabric and others were simply one or two layers, as if each person had their preference and these gowns were custom ordered.  Some were white fabric with gold and scarlet ropes woven into them.  Others were blues and purples with silver accents.  There were colors I have never seen before, and no two gowns were alike.  The gowns were trimmed with precious stones that sparkled, tassels that swayed or bells that softly chimed with the person’s movements.  Each person was also wearing a crown upon his or her head, again each one unique and specially made.

Although I must have been in that line for a long amount of time it only felt like moments before I was approaching the front doors (as if time did not exist anymore and waiting was not an issue).  When I was only a few people back from the entrance I realized that Christ Himself was standing at the door greeting each person.  He was also wearing a robe like everyone else’s, but he was also wearing multiple sashes with writing on them. Then my turn came. 

Standing just outside the doorway I saw a huge banquet/ball room.  The floors were a golden stone and each table had to be as long as a football field.  

The tables were decorated with flowers of every color and live birds sitting down the center runners of each table.  The food was surrounding these extravagant centerpieces.  Dishes I could never imagine.  

Hanging from the ceiling and walls were banners, veils and drapes of every color and fabric imaginable.  Each one with its own meaning.  The people that were seated were already eating and laughing and singing to the music that filled the air, yet it was not loud to be surrounded by so many. 

Once in the doorway, Christ took me by the arm and escorted me, with love and tenderness, to my seat.  He pulled out my chair and invited me to eat and enjoy.  He then returned to the doorway and escorted the next person.  Christ met and escorted each and every person to his or her seat with the most love and tenderness a groom could give to his new bride.  

Once everyone was seated and eating, Christ then began with the first person again and took him or her onto the dance floor and danced with them.  He danced a first dance with every single person (His Bride) in the room.  

When my turn came to dance it was as if I was surprised and delighted that Christ was standing behind me with His hand out.  I took His hand and as we walked to the dance floor all I could do was feel His love and hear the music.  As we danced, I noticed not another person in the room.  It felt as if we danced for an eternity, and He was singing in my ear as we glided across the floor.  Then when we were done He escorted me back to my chair.  

The evening seemed to never end.

That was the end of my vision.

Romans Road:

Friends, this may have been a vision, but it was more REAL than real.  More real than anything I have experienced here on earth.  The very air was alive and life giving. 

Don't let this moment pass you by. 

One day there will be a bridal banquet, and my hope is that you will be one of the millions there to eat of its food.

Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God."  

and

Romans 6:23 states "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Death for sin is bad news, but it doesn't end there.

Romans 5:8 says that "God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Wonderful, a way out of sin and death has been made.  Now what?

Romans 10:9-10 declares "That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"

Yes, salvation form sin and death, and all we have to do is confess and believe!

Romans 10:13 says "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

So yes, this very moment, no matter where you are or who you have been, you can call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved!

Don't hesitate.  Call on Him now!

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