Tag: Gateway Church Dallas

Transgender aka Gender Identity Disorder – The Definition of Terms Matters

definition of transgender

First ever data on US transgender surgeries reveals huge surge in demand: Rate of operations skyrocketed 20% in 2015

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4529182/Data-transgender-surgeries-reveals-surge-demand.html#ixzz4hoD1v5S6
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Gender Identity Disorder: An Emerging Problem for Pediatricians

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/3/571 

Gender Identity Disorder in Children and Adolescents

http://66.199.228.237/boundary/SA/SA_Chapter.pdf#page=401

High rates of suicide and self-harm among transgender youth – 2016

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160831110833.htm

CDC – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health: Suicide

https://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm

All authority comes from God, not the Supreme Court, not any political party – strictly from God.

If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. – Leviticus 20:13 NLT

In this church age of grace, we tend to take a more lenient approach to sin. The psychiatric view of the LGBTQ-whatever matter is a clinical diagnosis of mental illness. One could argue the interchangeability of sin and mental illness.

Scripture says, “The person who sins is the one who will die.” This is in the context of one person sinning, meaning an entire family or population or ancestry shall be held culpable for the sinful acts of an individual. Naturally, the double ‘whammy’ to homosexual activities is all voluntary participants will die.

There are revisionist, liberal theologies that overlook God’s  imperatives even to the point of appointing avowed homosexuals as church leaders. A growing number of religious writers and speakers say practicing homosexuals who profess faith in Jesus Christ can and will go to heaven. Such tread on very thin ice. In fact, I would go so far to say, they are wrong. Dead wrong.

To be fair, I set aside my own opinions and look into the Bible for God’s point of view. Scripture specifically addresses this issue of homosexuality and heaven in Romans 1:26-28, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:9-11.

We do no good to any person or persons whose behavior imperils their eternal life by coddling them, by creating special classes of people, or by affirming their sin or mental disorder.

Just as disobedient children must be lovingly and directly confronted with the truth, so it is with those who adopt so-called LGBTQ-whatever ‘lifestyles’. If you truly love such people, would you leave them to an eternal hell or draw them to an eternal heaven where the weather is always much better.

John White
Rockwall, Texas

The Evidence is Self-Evident

eric metaxasThe rumors of God’s death back in 1966 were premature. Eric Metaxas, a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Large for the King’s College in New York City, discusses the basics of the universe in the context of intelligent design, all within a five-minute time frame.

Atheistic scientists argue there is no center to the universe. Is this rational?

In a NASA podcast in which Diane Fisher of the New Millennium Program interviews Dr. Marc Rayman, a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the question of the center of the universe is the discussion topic. Rayman states, “Now we know that not only are we humans not at the center of the universe, but there is no center of the universe!”

Dr. Rayman uses an analogy of an inflatable balloon to support his theory. I forego quoting him. You can read the transcript yourself. If you can accept his analogy and believe there is no center to an inflatable balloon, it’s probably best you search for something else to read.

Rayman’s interesting unscientific belief that there is no center to the universe we shall now compare to other science that offers rational thoughts on our topic of the center of the universe.

From the Institute for Creation Research: “In contrast, creation cosmologies explain the data better by starting from biblically-based axioms: the cosmos has a unique center and a boundary for its matter, beyond which there is at least some empty space; and on a cosmic scale of distances, the earth is near the center.”

A movie titled IS GENESIS HISTORY features notable scientists who address the issues of creation, evolution and the age of the earth. View the official trailer. From the movie’s website, “Is Genesis History? features over a dozen scientists and scholars explaining how the world intersects with Genesis. From rock layers to fossils, from lions to stars, this fascinating film will change the way you see the world.”

The movie can be viewed on demand, purchase a DVD, or view it on Netflix.

As someone who believes there is a definite center to an inflatable balloon, I personally recommend viewing the movie.

Soli Deo Gloria

John White
Rockwall, Texas

Global terrorism – What are we fighting?

Perhaps a better question is, who are we fighting.

Is murder, even mass murder, a new thing? How about lies and corruption – are these global terrorismmodern-day evils? By no means.

May I introduce you to the coordinator behind global terrorism? His aliases are many, but in every nation and culture, he is known as the Devil, Satan. From here on I use the two names interchangeably.

The most reliable history book and at the same time the most reliable biography of the Devil is the Bible.

In John 8:44 Jesus describes Satan’s character thus: “[The Devil] was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

The prophet Isaiah wrote on Satan’s origin in Isaiah 14:12-15.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.”

What is Satan? In Genesis 3:1 where he tempts Eve, he is called ‘the serpent’. Strong’s Concordance, Hebrew 5175 describes Satan as someone who hisses like a snake, a whisperer.

To get to the point, I’ll forego detailed records of Satan’s heinous acts recorded in the Bible. Suffice it to say Satan is the father of lies, murder, and rebellion and is, therefore, the spiritual father of all who follow him.

As recorded in 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is continually on the prowl to devour people.

Global terrorism isn’t germane to a people group. The entire world population can be classified into two distinct groups: children of Father God or children of Satan.

I’ve given you all the bad news. Here’s the good news. Jesus the Christ came to earth to deal with all Satan has done. 1 John 3:8 says, “But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.”

Forget about Homeland Security and the TSA. Don’t bother to send out search parties to find him. There is nothing about Satan’s appearance that warns you of his nature and his evil plans. Scripture tells us he can even appear as an angel of light.

Muslims, in general, are not the problem. Satan is the problem. Disobedience is a bigger problem than Satan himself.

The NSA-Homeland Security-TSA-FBI-CIA nexus is powerless to stop Satan. Only the children of God have authority to deal with terrorist number one.

That word ‘destroy’ you read from 1 John 3:8 means to loosen, un-loose, un-do. The role of believers in Jesus Christ is to set free those who are captive to Satan’s lies and deception. We can drop bombs from now until the Second Coming, but if the perpetrators of global terrorism do not experience a revelation of the person of Jesus Christ, the war goes on.

Not for a moment do I suggest we drop armed defenses. On the contrary, I encourage you to be prepared to defend yourself and your loved ones by the most effective means at your disposal. I applaud President Trump’s bold attacks on Muslim jihadists wherever he finds them.

The point is, only the Prince of Peace can bring lasting peace to the world. Your enemy is Satan; your salvation is in Jesus Christ.

John White
Rockwall, Texas

Back to Egypt or Make America Great Again?

Let’s set up a historical parallel to our present situation.

Over one million Jews were enslaved in Egypt. Life was miserable for the Jews. The heavy hand of bloated Egyptian government oppressed them. They cried out for helpback to egypt and God heard them.

Their miserable situation didn’t develop overnight and deliverance didn’t happen overnight either. In fact, Moses was at least 80 years of age when he got the call to lead his fellow Jews out of Egypt.

Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Moses became a human wrecking ball that messed up the establishment, politically and religiously.
Through a series of miraculous events, Pharoah got to the point he wanted the Jews out of Egypt. He was for it before he was later against it. (I just had to say this.) Moving on.

Life radically changed. Overnight. Those Jews were accustomed to the socialistic regime of Pharoah. So it was that a groundswell of discontent caused Moses’ favorability rating to drop like a rock. The opposition called for his impeachment and they wanted it now!

God, you see, wasn’t the least pleased by the rebellion fomented by the opposition. He was at the point of destroying every last Jew in the crowd, but God’s 80-year-old human wrecking ball stood in the gap and so it came to pass that today Israel is the most amazing nation on the face of the earth. First in technology, first in innovative agriculture, first in Nobel awards – this is what happens when God’s man has his hand on the rudder of the ship of state.

Here we are, 3,463 years after “Wrecking Ball” Moses got the Jews out of Egypt. It wasn’t easy then. Moses got the Jews out of Egypt, but he couldn’t get Egypt out of the Jews!

Bringing this story up to date, it’s the year of our Lord 2017. On May 18 at 5:30 am, national debt stands at $19,863,496,001,447. We are a stone’s throw away from hitting $20 Trillion.

The Bible says the borrower is a servant to the lender. This astronomical national debt is unsustainable. We can NEVER pay down this debt, even if the IRS took every last cent we earn.

Something has to change.

God raised up another “human wrecking ball” in the person of businessman Donald Trump. He knows what to do and when to do it, but our modern-day suffragettes, establishment politicians and bureaucrats, don’t want us delivered from the situation.

Here’s why I retain hope. As recorded in Numbers chapter 16, an evil triad of rebel leaders conspired to unseat Moses. In the process of Organizing For Action, calls for Moses’ impeachment hit the high mark.

What followed wasn’t a pretty picture. If God doesn’t intervene now, very soon, America will likewise not be a pretty picture.

I pray the Holy Spirit awakens believers and convicts unbelievers. This is spiritual war, so put on the Whole Armor of God and go to battle for our nation.

John White
Rockwall, Texas

It’s Saturday, the Sabbath – Forgiveness is the gift that keeps on giving

Tekoa is a little town five miles south of Bethlehem. Except for its place in history, it forgive us our trespassesremains a nondescript place in Israel.

King David’s son Absalom was by no means a model son. David was estranged from this son.

General Joab, David’s nephew and head of the Israeli army, sought to reconcile the two men. Joab asked a woman known for her wisdom to play out a little drama before the King.

You can read the story for yourself from 2 Samuel 14.

That wise woman of Tekoa said to King David, “All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.”

The key to being forgiven of your own sins is to readily forgive others of their sins against you.

Hypocrisy is an ever present foible of mankind. Regardless our outward appearances, regardless our religious associations. The Bible says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Today is day 7. It’s the Sabbath. Let’s purpose to give our grudges and unforgiveness a rest.

By grace, God facilitates forgiveness and reconciliation. Facilitate means he makes it easy to do. Forgiveness pleases God.

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Grace defined – Philippians 2:13.

John White
Rockwall, Texas

Urgent prayer request – Venezuela has run out of other people’s money

As Margaret Thatcher wisely noted about the end of socialism, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

 

urgent call to prayer for Venezuela
Photo: CBN News

 

 

“The South American nation of Venezuela is about to erupt.

“Thousands of citizens are fed up and are now taking to the streets to express their anger and frustration towards President Nicolas Maduro, a man that has forced a sizable portion of the population to go to bed hungry and live without the necessary medications they need to stay alive.

“And according to the Economist, that’s not all, inflation is estimated to exceed 1,600% this year, a situation that will make it even more difficult for the average person to purchase food when it’s available.” CBN News, 12 April 2017 http://tinyurl.com/mxdl94a

no hay comida en Venezuela
Photo: CNN

“To say life is hard in Venezuela is an understatement. The socialist regime has continued to fail their people in every way imaginable. Thousands of natives are forced to stand in lines for necessities like food and medicine. In January the first infant death from starvation in Venezuela this year was reported. Citizens have had to take measures including the consumption of dogs, cats, and exotic animals in an extreme attempt to survive.” – Natural News, 14 February 2017 http://tinyurl.com/l3d4e4k

Most of South America is struggling economically, nutritionally, and spiritually. The empty promises of socialism remind us that socialism shall forever remain an unproven economic theory.

My Cuban friends endured a similar fate after the Soviet Union withdrew its support from that island bastion of socialism.

I invite your prayers of intercession for the desperate people of Venezuela. Their chief need is a nationwide spiritual revival. Between now and such time there comes a spiritual revival, ask the Lord to deliver the people from the ham-fisted tyranny of a socialist government led by a belligerent former bus driver.

John White
Rockwall, Texas

The most valuable swamp land in all America

Founding Father Thomas Jefferson foretold our present-day situation.

power-corruption-Thomas-jefferson
Where is the greatest concentration of wealth? Hint: It’s not in any of the fifty states or any of the commonwealths.

Last year, the District of Columbia paid Uncle Sam $37,000 per person in federal income, payroll and estate taxes. The next closest was Delaware, at $16,000 per person.

“It’s where the money is,” said Roberton Williams, a fellow at the Tax Policy Center. “The reason the District pays so much in taxes is that there are a lot of high-income people there.” – AP Top News 16 April 2017

Since the foundation of our Republic, the consolidation of power in Washington, District of Columbia has grown unabated. As Jefferson warned, the consequences remain apace the corruption.

Recent news stories feature Maxine Water’s incessant rants against President Trump. Other news stories reveal her corrupt practices over her many years in office.

Maxine Waters corruption - pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to daughter
Maxine Waters was first elected to Congress in 1990

Holy scripture warns, “For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.”

Foggy Bottom corruption isn’t endemic to a political party. Corrupted governments have been around since the dawn of mankind dating back to the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan.

We aren’t sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned…Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come…For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many…Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person [Jesus Christ] obeyed God, many will be made righteous. – Romans 5:12-19 NLT

By what means do we stamp out corruption in government? Try as we may, there is nothing we citizens can do to eliminate corruption – sin – from the centers of power.

Long before Thomas Jefferson voiced his warning, a plan was set in place to make us whole. There is this one verse in the Bible that addresses the big ‘why’ Jesus Christ came to dwell among men, to die and resurrect himself from the grave. This verse is found in 1 John 3:8.

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

That word destroy means to loosen, break up, dissolve, melt, put off, to deprive of authority. When linking 1 John 3:8 with 2 Corinthians 5:17 we can understand we are all born as sinners – you, me and Maxine Waters alike.

What am I saying? While car buying the appearance and odors of a used car cannot reveal its old nature. But, a new car has that unmistakeable odor and appearance of a vehicle never before owned by anyone.

This is the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. He destroys, he loosens and undoes all the work of Satan in our lives. We become new creations as though sin never happened.

God the Father did not send his son just to get us off the hook. His purpose is to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

Jesus works today in the lives of politicians, government employees, you, and me to restore us to God’s original design for his family.

Yes, Jesus died for our sins. He defeated death through his ordeal and by resurrecting himself from the dead to return to Heaven where God continues his work of restoration of all mankind through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

Today, April 16, 2017, is Resurrection Day celebrated to commemorate the Passover.

All authority comes from God who is exposing the corruption of authority throughout the world today. It is God who uses the agency of elected officials to “drain the swamp”.

May God drain the swamp and bless America as he reveals his Son to all mankind.

John White
Rockwall, Texas