Gone Fishing

by Chuck Ness

It has been a very long and hectic year for me, and I find myself a bit burned out and and not very creative. Oh I realize it is only March 8th, but the past 12 months of my life have been very strenuous. I have tried time and time again to actually step back and slow down, just to find my self being pulled back to do even more then I was before. Well, I truly believe that now is the time for me to take a hiatus from my writing. I have been blessed in that the Lord has led some who have volunteered to write some articles and thus step up to assist me in keeping my blogs somewhat up to date. These guest writers will write articles and Sunday messages as the Lord moves them.

Last year at this time I was confronted by the director of the retirement center where I am a pastor. This is something I have not shared with anyone but my close friends and relatives. As I was giving the message on Good Friday I was told to tame down my description of the suffering Christ went through for our sins. Well, I refused and instead was asked to leave the premises by the director himself. At the time I guessed that I would no longer be the pastor because I refused to give in to the secular thought about one of Christianities most sacred days. Well, about a month later I was told that a mistake had been made and that they had fired the director of the retirement center. I was asked by the new director if I would consider returning as the pastor of the residents. I obviously accepted and have been going strong since. 

Prohibition on Homosexuality Was Not Repealed By Christ

Today there are many false Christian teachers who are are leading many poor souls straight to hell by claiming that Jesus never spoke against the union of two men or two women, so homosexuality is now condoned by God. Let me say right from the start, except for the ceremonials ones (which Jesus repealed), all of the Mosaic laws are still in force. That is because there were three categories of laws given to Israel: civil, ceremonial, and moral. The civil laws were ONLY given to the Israel. The ceremonial laws were filled and abolished in Christ. The moral laws, such as the Ten Commandments and other Mosaic moral laws are universal. They are part of Natural and Divine Law. Homosexuality is clearly contrary to moral and natural laws. All forms of homosexuality are condemned, past, present, and future.

What Jesus did was fulfill the laws handed down by God. Matthew 5:17 If you look at the teachings of Jesus, you will see that he reiterated all the OT laws. What He did do away with however, was the ceremonials laws that were needed to gain forgiveness and be pure before God, but now we look to Christ for our salvation instead of through the works that God required the Israelites to do. So I can say without hesitation that Jesus also did not repeal the prohibition against homosexuality.

Train Rides

Have you ever wondered how people get from point A to point B? Now I don't mean in a physical mileage way, but in an emotional way. 

We all take in our surroundings and make decisions based upon the way we see things happening. Then when we get to a certain point in our life we take an inventory of how we are doing. Sometimes we are relatively satisfied, and other times we are disappointed, but do we ever really reflect upon the decisions we made that ultimately got us to point B?

I guess we might if we realize we are dissatisfied with our lot in life, but do we ever revisit those moments and try to undo the damage we did by our wayward conclusions. Or do we instead attempt to revise our opinion of our place in society that has us where we are at any given moment? 

Often times I find myself looking at my surroundings and wondering what would be different had I not missed a stop at Mannheim Germany, 26 years ago when my buddy and I were taking a Train Ride back to our unit.

Flying My Flag at Half Mast

By ChuckOn the morning of March 22, I raised my flag to the top of the 25 foot pole In my front yard. I must have forgotten to tie it off, because when I returned later in the afternoon from presenting my Sunday message I noticed that the flag had been lowered to half mast. That evening I watched the the House of Representatives vote on the Senate's version of the Healthcare legislation. As the remaining votes needed to pass the legislation were cast, I began to thinking about the damage this legislation would do to America. It was then that I was struck by how prophetic my flag being lowered to half mast really was. I decided at that moment to leave my flag at half mast where I believe God had lowered it to.
It is my opinion that we are experiencing what could very well be the last decades of what has been called the greatest civilization the world has ever seen. Yes, I believe that the America I once knew is forever gone. I say so because I cannot foresee the Republicans ever reversing the Health Care bill. I do pray that if and when a challenge to the law gets to the the Supreme Court, that it will ruling it unconstitutional. Unfortunately, as much as many will disagree with me, I believe a vast majority of Americans have turned their backs on God. In doing so, He has turned His back on us as a nation. We cannot continue to condone the many evil things we do in America as if God has changed His mind about what says is evil.