And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. — Exodus 3:14

If I say “I am,” I say what is not true of me. I must say “I am something — I am a man, I am bad, or I am good, or I am an Englishman, I am a soldier, I am a sailor, I am a clergyman.” — and then I shall say what is true of me. But God alone can say “I AM” without saying anything more. And why? Because God alone is. Everybody and everything else in the world becomes: but God is. We are all becoming something from our birth to our death — changing continually and becoming something different from what we were a minute before; first of all we were created and made, and so became men; and since that we have been every moment changing, becoming older, becoming wiser, or alas! foolisher; becoming stronger or weaker; becoming better or worse. Even our bodies arc changing and becoming different day by day. But God never changes or becomes anything different from what He is now. What He is, that He was, and ever will be. Many heathen men have known that there was one eternal God, and that God is. But they did not know that God Himself had said so; and that made them anxious, puzzled, almost desperate, so that the wiser they were, the unhappier they were. For what use is it merely knowing that God is? The question for poor human creatures is, “But what sort of a being is God?’ Is He far off? Does He care nothing about us? Does He let the world go its own way, right or wrong? Is He proud and careless? A Self-glorifying Deity whose mercy is not over all His works, or even over any of them? And the glory of the Bible, the power of God revealed in the Bible, is, that it answers the question, and says, “God does care for men, God does see men, God is not far off from any one of us. Ay, God speaks to men — God spoke to Moses and said, not “God is,” but “I AM.” God in sundry times and divers, manners spoke to our fathers by the prophets and said, “I AM.” But more Moses said, “I AM hath sent me.” God does not merely love us, and yet leave us to ourselves. He sends after us. He sends to us. But again: “I AM hath sent me unto you.” Unto whom? Who was Moses sent to? To the Children of Israel in Egypt. And what sort of people were they? Were they wise and learned? On the contrary, they were stupid, ignorant, and brutish. Were they pious and godly? On the contrary, they were worshipping the foolish idols of the Egyptians — so fond of idolatry that they must needs make a golden calf and worship it. Then why did God take such trouble for them? Why did God care for them, and help them, and work wonders for them? Why? Exactly because they were so bad. Just because they were so bad, His goodness yearned over them all the more, and longed to make them good. Just because they were so unclean and brutish, His holiness longed all the more to cleanse them. Because they were so stupid and ignorant, His wisdom longed to make them wise. Because they were so miserable, His pity yearned over them, as a father over a child fallen into danger. Because they were sick, they had all the more need of a physician. Because they were lost, there was all the more reason for seeking and saving them. Because they were utterly weak, God desired all the more to put His strength into them, that His strength might be made perfect in weakness.

(C. Kingsley, M. A.)

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. – Philippians 4:6

I am generally a patient person. When in a restaurant, I never get impatient with the wait staff when it takes a while to get my food. I might get hungrier, but not impatient. When waiting at a doctor’s office, I’m patient and know that I will be seen as soon as possible. When everyday things happen, I am patient. It’s when the extraordinary happens that I become impatient. It’s been two weeks since the lady in Chicago told me she’d make the arrangements for me to come to Chicago. She said she’d get to it “soon.” After a week, I emailed her and was told she was working on it. This is one of those extraordinary things that make me impatient. It could be life changing. I just don’t know what will happen.

I do have hope and the Lord says to rejoice in hope. My need to be patient is a mere tribulation. Prayer will soothe my worrying mind. Philippians. 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” For someone who suffers from anxiety disorder, this is hard, but prayer and supplication can help. At this time of thanksgiving, I will just have to let my requests be known by God.

We can all learn from these two passages. Patience is a virtue. When we feel impatience growing, we need to turn to God in prayer. Only he can soothe our minds and help us to truly be patient.

Pascal’s Wager is an argument in philosophy devised by the seventeenth-century French philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623–62). It posits that humans bet with their lives that God either exists or does not.

Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas they stand to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell).

Pascal’s Wager was based on the idea of the Christian God, though similar arguments have occurred in other religious traditions. The original wager was set out in section 233 of Pascal’s posthumously published Pensées (“Thoughts”). These previously unpublished notes were assembled to form an incomplete treatise on Christian apologetics.

Historically, Pascal’s Wager was groundbreaking because it charted new territory in probability theory, marked the first formal use of decision theory, and anticipated future philosophies such as existentialism, pragmatism and voluntarism.

Source: Wikipedia

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” – James 4:15

“If the Lord wills.” There are times when we really want something in our lives, but we wonder if it is the right move, if we even get what we want. In those circumstances, we must pray. We must pray that God’s will be done. We have to have faith. Faith in that whatever happens, happens because God wills it.

God has a plan for every one of us. Many people go through life without ever thinking about it, but that doesn’t change the fact that God put us here for a purpose. We aren’t here by accident; we’re here because God put us here. And He put us here for a reason–so we could come to know Him in a personal way, and then live the way He wants us to live.

That’s why you can pray and seek God’s will when you face decisions, and it is why you can know God is with you every moment of the day. The Bible says, “Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path” (Psalm 27:11).

Here are 10 reasons why God accepts gay Christians.

1. The term “homosexual” didn’t exist until 1892. Some modern Bible translations say that “homosexuals” will not inherit the kingdom of God, but neither the concept nor the word for people with exclusive same-sex attraction existed before the late 19th century. While the Bible rejects lustful same-sex behavior, that’s very different from a condemnation of all gay people and relationships.

2. Sexual orientation is a new concept–one that the Christian tradition hasn’t addressed. Many Christians draw on their faith’s traditions to shape their beliefs, but the concept of sexual orientation is new. Until recent decades, same-sex behavior was placed in the same category with gluttony or drunkenness — as a vice of excess anyone might be prone to — not as the expression of a sexual orientation. The Christian tradition has never spoken to the modern issue of LGBT people and their relationships.

3. Celibacy is a gift, not a mandate. The Bible honors celibacy as a good way of living — Jesus was celibate, after all — but it also makes clear that celibacy must be a voluntary choice. Requiring that all gay people remain celibate is at odds with the Bible’s teachings on celibacy, which are grounded Scripture’s core affirmation that God’s physical creation is good.

4. Condemning same-sex relationships is harmful to the LGBT community. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that good trees bear good fruit, while bad trees bear bad fruit. The church’s rejection of same-sex relationships has caused tremendous, needless suffering to the LGBT community–bad fruit. Those harmful consequences should make Christians open to reconsidering the church’s traditional teaching.

5. Sodom and Gomorrah involved an attempted gang rape, not a loving relationship. It’s commonly assumed that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah out of his wrath against same-sex relations, but the only form of same-sex behavior described in the story is an attempted gang rape — nothing like a loving, committed relationship. The Bible explicitly condemns Sodom for its arrogance, inhospitality and apathy toward the poor — not for same-sex behavior.

6. The prohibitions in Leviticus don’t apply to Christians. Leviticus condemns male same-sex intercourse, but the entire Old Testament law code has never applied to Christians in light of Christ’s death. Leviticus also condemns eating pork, rabbit, or shellfish, cutting hair at the sides of one’s head, and having sex during a woman’s menstrual period — none of which Christians continue to observe.

7. Paul condemns same-sex lust, not love. Like other ancient writers, Paul described same-sex behavior as the result of excessive sexual desire on the part of people who could be content with opposite-sex relationships. He didn’t have long-term, loving same-sex relationships in view. And while he described same-sex behavior as “unnatural,” he also said men having long hair goes against nature, and most Christians read that as a reference to cultural conventions.

8. Marriage is about commitment. Marriage often involves procreation, but according to the New Testament, it’s based on something deeper: a lifelong commitment to a partner. Marriage is even compared to the relationship between Christ and the church, and while the language used is opposite-sex, the core principles apply just as well to same-sex couples.

9. Human beings are relational. From the beginning of Genesis, human beings are described as having a need for relationship, just as God himself is relational. Sexuality is a core part of what it means to be a relational person, and to condemn LGBT people’s sexuality outright damages their ability to be in relationship with all people — and with God.

10. Faithful Christians are already embracing LGBT brothers and sisters. Mainstream denominations like Presbyterians and Episcopalians now ordain openly gay clergy, and there are seeds of change in evangelical churches as well. This November, the Reformation Project will host a training conference for up to 900 LGBT-affirming Christians in Washington, D.C.–and the movement for change in conservative churches is just getting started.

Matthew Vines is the author of God and the Gay Christian and is the founder of The Reformation Project, a Bible-based non-profit organization that seeks to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. Matthew lives in Wichita, Kansas.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 1:3
For receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair.

Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

By Nicholas Hemming

When you fear the future, the struggle often feels all-consuming. “What ifs” seem to run wild in your mind. You strive to focus on the task at hand—but without fail, you surrender to a fear that feels insurmountable. What does tomorrow hold? What if the future feels hopeless?

While submitting your latest rent payment, you may fear living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of your life. As you prepare for another move, you may fear loneliness or isolation. After an unsuccessful dating relationship, you may fear life as a single person, without a spouse to love and cherish.

Regardless of the circumstance, it seems impossible to move away from this fear. The future makes you freeze; thoughts of tomorrow, and the next day, unearth unmanageable anxiety. You want to have a hopeful, confident outlook, though at this point, you only feel grief and uncertainty. You wonder if your anxiety about the future will ever pass.

In these moments, turn to God’s Word for encouragement, comfort and hope. Depend on the Lord as you wrestle with anxiety about the future. And continually seek him through prayer as you work to overcome your fear. These five Psalms will get you started:

Psalm 23:4 (GNTD)
Even if I go through the deepest darkness,
I will not be afraid, Lord,
for you are with me.
Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.

Psalm 34:4 (GNTD)
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me;
he freed me from all my fears.

Psalm 55:22 (GNTD)
Leave your troubles with the Lord,
and he will defend you;
he never lets honest people be defeated.

Psalm 94:19 (GNTD)
Whenever I am anxious and worried,
you comfort me and make me glad.

Psalm 121:1-2 (GNTD)
I look to the mountains;
where will my help come from?
My help will come from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Nicholas Hemming serves as a Content Specialist with American Bible Society. As a child of Southern New Hampshire, he grew up exploring hidden towns along the rocky New England coast. Though he now resides in Philadelphia, PA, he continues to curiously explore his home—and the towns, cities and countries that lay beyond his home.

Our world is filled with events and situations that can cause great fear and anxiety. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and live imprisoned by fear.  We are promised in God’s Word that he is faithful and will protect us (2 Thessalonians 3:3).  God wants us to let go of fear and to live life to the fullest! (John 10:10) My family is in the path of Hurricane Nate, so I offer this prayer for safety.

Lord, I pray Your emotional, physical, and spiritual protection over my family. Keep evil far from them, and help them to trust You as their refuge and strength. I pray You will guard their minds from harmful instruction, and grant them discernment to recognize truth. I pray You will make them strong and courageous in the presence of danger, recognizing that You have overcome and will set right all injustice and wrong one day. Help them to find rest in Your shadow, as they live in the spiritual shelter You provide for them. Let them know that the only safe place is in Jesus, and that their home on earth is only temporary.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:4-7

It’s been a difficult week. I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a post with these Bible verses. It reminded me that God is with me. He will guide me through the troubled waters ahead. I just have to trust in him. I have to rejoice that he is with me always. Reading these verses brought a certain peace that I haven’t felt in a long time. This week has made things tougher, but I hope the week to come brings answers and resolutions to my problems/issues. I pray that the Lord will stand by me in this time of need.