TRANSGENDERED ISSUES

While homosexuality has been the hotly-debated political issue for Christians over the last few years, the agendas of godless activists have continually been pushed behind the scenes in ways we might have predicted but certainly didn’t expect to see so soon. Consider the issue of transgendered people, those who are born a certain sex but decide they are psychologically the other. The argument made is that there is a difference between your sex (determined by the actual body parts with which you are born) and your gender (determined by which one you decide you are). While the homosexual battle has been fought for decades now, the advocates of “anything goes” sexual norms were much smarter about their push for transgendered acceptance. They simply did all the work behind the scenes and revealed it all at once, as has happened in the last year or two. Consider a few examples.

The Question: Boy or Girl?

The June 9 issue of Time magazine features a cover story on Laverne Cox, who was born a boy but made the decision to become a woman, saying “I just thought I was a girl and that there was no difference between girls and boys. I think in my imagination I thought that I would hit puberty and I would start turning into a girl.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has stated that sex-reassignment surgeries will be covered by taxpayer dollars under Medicaid because they are “medically necessary.”

Laws have been passed in cities in California, Colorado, and even Texas to ensure the rights of transgendered people to use the public restroom of their choice, including full legal protection against any person who might have a problem with the presence of someone of the opposite sex in the restroom.

Here’s what Christians need to know about transgendered issues:

1. As with homosexuality, nobody is “born that way”

We’ve often pointed to the fact that, despite millions of dollars and great efforts put in by those who wanted to believe in it, a gay gene was never discovered. Even gay historians have conceded that the 21st century argument that homosexuality is innate is something all of human historical understanding contradicts. The same can be said for transgender people. Similar to homosexuality, transgenderedness was medically considered a mental disorder until recently – chemically more a matter of gender misidentity than gender identity. The factors that make a person choose the opposite gender have long been understood as tied to uncertain childhood environments and confusion as a child, something Lavern Cox even pointed to in the Time interview. Modern sexual acceptance doesn’t change those facts.

2. God doesn’t make mistakes

In the creation account we can see exactly what God intended for mankind when Genesis says, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them… Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:27, 31a). One cannot believe in God’s sovereignty, biblical inerrancy, and the created order of male/female relationships and still buy into the idea that people were put in the wrong body. Sure, the schools (one of the first places transgender restrooms were debated) and our culture in general will try to educate young people to tolerate those who are not content living as the person God made them, but we must continue to speak the truth and hold the line where God’s Word created it. Additionally, the Bible also speaks out against those who are effeminate (1 Corinthians 6:9), proving that God expects people to live as they are created.

3. We need to be prepared

Just as homosexuality is beginning to hit the church, with lawsuits occurring in other countries that won’t be far behind here, transgender people will want to be accepted unconditionally by churches as well. While we should treat all people equally – as sinners like us in need of God’s love – parents should be very wary of the people around their families as transgendered restroom use opens the possibility of all kinds of new dangers.

We live in a world that needs God as much as it ever has and a country that is as far from Him as it ever has been. That doesn’t mean our cause is hopeless. The one positive lesson we can learn from the homosexual and transgender communities is that consistent, tireless, coordinated efforts to spread their message have worked out perfectly according to plan. Until we are so dedicated to our goal of turning our culture back to Christ that we put aside all distractions and work together with one goal and one mind, we’ll never enjoy the success they have. With God’s guidance and a lot of prayer we can do it, though. Let’s win this battle. Soldiers of Christ, arise! Brad Harrub

“GOD LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE!” – MIKE

INCARNATE: LETTING GO OF CONTROL

I’ve never directed a movie, but if I were writing a script for the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego, I believe this would be the perfect place for the rescue scene.

These guys just declared they weren’t going to bow down even if it meant they had to die.

I can see it now – the music begins to swell, the screen beings to transition from darkness to light, and all of a sudden some angels bust onto the scene and tear of the place.

But it didn’t happen that way.

God didn’t come swooping in.

No white horse.

No heroic rescue.

No action-adventure scene.

Nope!

In fact, quite the opposite takes place.

Daniel 3:19 says, “Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.”

Isn’t that what religion teaches?

As long as we do everything just right, nothing bad will ever happen to us!

But Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego had done all the right things – they had stood their ground and believed that God was greater than what they were going through – and now they were on their way to a furnace that was seven times hotter than it was before.

Some of us may have to walk into a furnace that is seven times hotter than we expected before we come out of our trial.

It may get seven times hotter at work tomorrow.

It may get seven times hotter in your difficult marriage.

It may get seven times hotter in your relationship with your parents or your children.

[The king] ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. so they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. Daniel 3:20-23

They’d done everything right, and God still allowed them to go into the furnace.

What about God being holy?

What about God being good?

What about God being with them?

What about God being in control?

Just because we follow Jesus, it doesn’t mean we escape stressful and anxiety-filled circumstances. Perry Noble, “Letting Go of Control,” Overwhelmed, 76-77.

“GOD LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE!” – MIKE

INCARNATE: THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A WIRELESS ANCHOR

THE SYMBOL OF an anchor is powerful because of what it stands for: hope.

The book of Hebrews speaks of “this hope we have an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19).

That’s a game changer.

A boat that is anchored can be battered, but it won’t be moved.

Because of Jesus, we have hope.

And because of hope, even in the midst of the worst storms of this life, we have an anchor for our souls.

Hope is a powerful thing…

I’ve heard that in Air Force survival training courses, instructors teach something called the “Rule of Threes”: In a survival situation you can last three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter in extreme conditions, and three minutes without air.

But you can’t make it three seconds without hope.

The most important battle is the one you fight within, in your mind and heart, to not give up.

If you give up hope, you won’t have the motivation to do anything else in a critical situation.

That’s a fact backed up by medical science.

Dr. Meg Meeker observed, “Physicians can often tell the moment a terminally ill patient gives up hope. Death comes very quickly.” Levi Lusko – “There’s No Such Thing As a Wireless Anchor,” THROUGH THE LENS OF A LION, pp.96-97

“GOD LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE!” – MIKE