Left behind with Jabez, dogs, and frogs in a purpose-driven shack Part 1

 

Christians have fads. A lot of us tend to criticize fads of the world, but Christians have them also. I worked in a Christian bookstore for 5 years, and I saw fads come and go.

 First there was the WWJD? fad. When it fizzled out, there was the FROG fad (fully rely on God). It was followed by DOG(Depend on God). Each came with bracelets and all other kinds of merchandise for people to buy. The bookstores overflowed with dogs and frogs going along with the themes.

 Is there anything wrong with WWJD? Anything wrong with wearing things that say it? Not necessarily. If we really mean it. It is an entirely different thing to live what would Jesus do, and another to wear a bracelet and feel good.

 And therein may lie part of the problem. Feeling good. Wearing a WWJD? bracelet makes people feel good, but how many people that actually wore them, really carried through and practiced it? Living what would Jesus do changes things. A lot. If it doesn't affect a person, then they may as well throw the bracelet in the trash, for too many of us live as "I" would do, not as how Jesus would do.

 It doesn't stop with clever Christian slogans and sayings. I don't know how many books have been a fad, or what book was the first one, but one of the biggest that came along when I was working at the bookstore was The Prayer of Jabez. A short, small book became a best seller that we couldn't keep on the shelf. If a person walked up to me and asked "do you have the book....", 9 times out of 10 it was that one, except for the mixed up lady who asked for the Prayer of Jezebel. True story :-)

  Soon the prayer was being marketed on everything but toilet paper, and people were raving about how it changed their lives. Someone even wrote a novel about Jabez. A novel about a man who is mentioned in one verse in the Bible. A lady came in and was insistent the reason she had been put in charge of her church's Christmas cantata was because she had prayed this prayer.

  I was a skeptic from the start, and only read the book because I got one free. I remained skeptical. How miraculous that this sudden magical formula was discovered after all of these years by one man.

 The fad soon fizzled out and I was seeing the book at only a dollar stores, and as cheap as 10 cents on Christianbook.com. If it was that great of a book, what happened to it? Why aren't people still talking about it?

 Because it was a fad. It was a "me" prayer that made people feel good. And as with anything like it, it doesn't last.

 It was followed by a couple of other books by the same author that the Christian retail market tried to fan into fads, but they didn't go nearly as big as Jabez did.

  I'd like to think I am above fads, but I'm not. I got caught up in one. The Left Behind craze. I read the first book and thought it was really good. Then there was a sequel. Cool. And another, and another.......

  Soon there were 12 books, prequels to the series, off-shoots of the series, a kids series, movies....... and of course Christian merchandise to accompany it. The further I read in the series, the more ludicrous I found it, and the more I got tired of it. I only finished the series because I was curious as to how it would end. Upon finishing the 12th book, I immediately sold the books.

 Now it is entirely possible the books changed some lives, but it pretty much became entertainment. When you have Hollywood making a movie about what should be a sobering event: Jesus' return, you have entertainment. And I have read they are making another one due out this coming year that will have top rated actors like Nicholas Cage. Hopefully the fad doesn't come back.

 And along came another fad. This one supposedly "purpose-driven"

He is for all mankind

   

I am at work, working at the place where I can bring things to do since there isn't anything to do. I just finished watching the Nativity Story, and wow.......once in a while, Hollywood gets it right. I'm not saying the movie is perfect, and some would have issues with the wise men being at the manger, but it comes close to being just right.

  I've watched it a few times before, but watched it with new eyes this time, and found it more thrilling than the other times I watched it. I found myself with tears in my eyes more than once. Yes, guys can cry, Jesus did. :-)

  I can't put into words everything that came to mind as I watched it, but here are a few thoughts. For the sake of better flow of words, I will not point out at every mention of a character that it was an actor playing a part...... I get that it was.

 
  Mary: I don't think we really get what it was like for her. Today, it is nothing for girls to be pregnant out of wedlock. Back then, it was a big deal, especially if they were engaged to be married and got pregnant by another man. She would have been an outcast, and could have been stoned. Her family and friends would have looked down on her and shunned her.

  In the movie, Mary goes to visit Elizabeth for several months and comes back obviously pregnant, shocking her family, friends, and Joseph. I'm not sure if that is how it happened, but regardless, everyone was shocked and disappointed in her.

  Joseph: Imagine the shock and disappointment he experienced. This young girl he was marrying, who he thought was so good and pure, pregnant. And the baby isn't his. The baby is God? Yeah right.

 After God spoke to him through a dream, he doesn't question her again but goes through with the plan of marrying her. A few other times God speaks to him in a dream, and he leaps to action each time.

  The Bible doesn't say much about him, or if he ever had any other doubts. Being human, he surely did. In the movie, he wonders aloud to Mary, "will I even be able to teach Him anything?" He surely still had doubts and fears.


The shepherds: the first people who were told of Jesus' birth were lowly, smelly shepherds. It had to have scared the daylights out of them when a bunch of angels appeared to them, but they immediately set out to see this baby the angels told them about.

Jesus: There is no way we can truly get what it meant for God to become a baby and come here. A vulnerable, helpless baby. There has been a lot of debate about when Jesus knew who He was, and no one knows. He most likely was just like any other baby. A baby who cried, who needed His diaper changed, who wanted held and rocked.

  A book I was reading said it was like God becoming a slug. That is how low He made Himself for us.


  One of the moments in the movie that got me the most, was when the shepherds arrived at the stable. One old shepherd reached out his shaking hand to touch the baby, then stopped. Mary smiled and said "He is for all mankind", and he reached out his trembling hand again and laid it on the baby.

  Maybe that is why this movie meant so much this year. I've spent my life trying to believe that. That He is for all mankind, including me. I have finally come to believe that I am no exception. That He came for me too, just as much as He did for anyone else who has ever or will ever live.

Ordinary BabyHe was just an ordinary baby;
That’s the way He planned it, maybe;
Anything but common would have kept Him apart
From the children that He came to rescue,
Limited to some elite few,
When He was the only child who asked to be born,
And He came to us with eyes wide open,
Knowing we’re hurt and broken,
Choosing to partake of all our joy and pain.

He was just an ordinary baby;
That’s the way He planned it, maybe,
So that we would come to Him
And not be afraid.

He was ordinary with exception of miraculous conception—
Both His birth and death He planned from the start;
But between His entrance and exit was a life that has affected
Everyone who’s walked the earth to this very day.
With no airs of condescension
He became God’s pure extension,
Giving you and me the chance to be remade.

He was just an ordinary baby;
That’s the way He planned it, maybe,
So that we would come to Him
And not be afraid.


  I like the song, but the one line really stuck out to me today "Anything but common would have kept Him apart From the children that He came to rescue, Limited to some elite few," Had He come as they expected, the common folk would have been shoved aside as the high society folks went to see Him, but He came as an ordinary baby to poor people in a poor town. Ordinary.


Bethlehem: God picked this lowly town for His Son, the Savior of the world, to be born. What an honor, but also what a price. The town had every male child two years and under killed.

  Jesus will come into our lives, just as He came to be born in Bethlehem, but just like Bethlehem, His coming will cost us something. Serving Him always does.

  He did indeed come for all of mankind. All of mankind. The thief, the murderer, the child molester, the politician, kings, presidents, kind people, mean people.... all mankind. No exceptions. Not even little old me.

The gulf that separated me from Christ my Lord
It was so vast, the crossing I could never ford
From where I was to His demands it seemed so far
I cried, "Dear Lord, I cannot come to where you are."

He came to me; He came to me
When I could not come to where He was
He came to me
That's why He died on Calvary
When I could not come to where He was
He came to me.

He came to me
When I was bound in chains of my sin
Oh He came to me when I possessed no hope within
He picked me up and drew me gently to His side
Where today in His sweet love I now abide.

He came to me; He came to me
When I could not come to where He was
He came to me
That's why He died on Calvary
When I could not come to where He was
He came to me.

Merry Christmas

The unrealistic Nativity scene

 

My mind works in weird ways, and I don't blog about everything I think about... I might be committed to a nice padded cell if I did, but I was thinking Christmas thoughts last night, and while I sat gazing at our Christmas tree with boring everyday white lights, I was thinking about that first Christmas. And it hit me. My Nativity scene, and probably most of them out there, are not realistic.

  No, I'm not talking about the wise men. There are people who think they shouldn't be in a Nativity scene since they came later when Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were in a house. I don't think its that big of a deal, and have my wise men in the stable. I'm not about to set them across the room somewhere like they are on their way....... that would be weird.

  If you have a Nativity scene, look at it. What do you see? Mary, Joseph, the wise men, a shepherd or two, some animals, and baby Jesus in the manger. And that is the unrealistic part. He is in the manger. Yeah, I know He was laid in the manger for his bed, but do you really think that is where He would be with people there to see Him? What do you do when you go to see a new baby? You don't stand back and just gaze at the baby. Granted, this was no ordinary baby, but still.....

  A few months ago, I was at the hospital where I work as a security officer when I ran onto my cousin who was there to pick up her daughter and new grandson, who had just been born a couple of days earlier. I walked down with her to the maternity ward to see the baby. After saying hi to the new mother and her two siblings, I asked what comes naturally when seeing a baby, "Could I hold him?" The mother passed the little bundle of joy to me, and I stood gazing down at one of life's miracles: a new baby.

  I wasn't in the waiting room for all of my 6 nieces and nephews birth, but I was there as soon as I could be to see my new niece or nephew and hold him or her. There's just something about holding a baby. Only the hardest and evilest of hearts is not moved by a baby.

(Me, holding my oldest nephew, Josiah, 12 years ago)

  Now imagine the shepherds gathered in the stable. Most likely they were fathers who had held their own children and maybe grandchildren. Being shepherds, they had also held small lambs and carried them on their shoulders. I have to imagine that it was the natural thing for them to ask, "Could I hold your baby?"

  Picture the scene. Dirty, smelly shepherds holding God Himself. They had held babies before, but never a baby like this one. They had held lambs many times, but never had they held the Lamb of God Himself. A Lamb that would one day die for their sins, and for the sins of the whole world.

  This baby was God in the flesh. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but He was here on earth as a baby. Mary held Him and nursed Him at her breast. Joseph held Him, played with Him, taught Him how to be a man....... I cannot imagine that these lowly shepherds, the people God first invited to see the Savior of the world in a stable, just stood and gazed at this baby. No, they held him. Passed Him from one to another, rubbing his cheek, having God Himself grab their rough and worn fingers in his tiny hands. I'm sure they knew He was special. Having angels appear with their message spelled that out loud and clear. Did they realize just who they were holding? They may have had an idea.

  But He was still a baby. A baby to be held and loved.

 It is easy to look back at Bible characters who walked with Jesus, who saw Him in person, and wish we had been there. Can you imagine holding a baby and knowing it is God Himself in flesh?

 I was thinking that. What it must have been like to be there, seeing and holding the Baby Jesus. But the shepherds left and Jesus stayed there in the stable with Mary and Joseph.

 I am reminded of what Kyle Idleman said in his book Not a Fan: "We are often envious of people in the Bible who talked with God, who saw Jesus and walked with Him. We can't wait to get to Heaven and ask them what it was like, to walk and talk with Jesus. To hear God speak to them in an audible voice."

  Kyle goes on to say this: "But we may have it turned around. It may be them wanting to ask us what it was like to have Jesus living IN us. In our hearts." Interesting thought, and it may have merit. The shepherds walked away, taking the joy of holding and seeing the Baby Jesus, God in flesh. But He stayed behind.

  We can't physically hold God, but don't we have it better than the shepherds? We can have Jesus in our hearts. with us 24/7 every day of the year. He is with us wherever we go. We don't have to go somewhere to see Him, to talk to Him. He is in us. With us. Emmanuel.

What we deserve

On Wednesday, I was doing a rare shopping trip at the Christian bookstore I used to work at, and had a delightful surprise: I ran onto a former co-worker of mine from there that I hadn't seen in 9 years. The last time I saw her, was at the viewing for her husband, who had lost his battle with cancer, leaving her with a son and daughter.

As I and another former co-worker chatted with her, she told us she had just remarried last month, and showed us her ring. We both hugged her, told her how happy we for her, and said the same thing: "You deserve to be happy."

I got to thinking about that later, and have thought about it since then a few times. She does deserve happiness. She lost her husband to cancer, aftter standing by him in sickness and health, and had to raise a 12 year old boy alone, with help I am sure from her 21 year old daughter. But do any of us deserve happiness?

 Do we deserve anything good? We were all born sinners, and did what sinners do: we sinned. Some more than others, not that the amount of sins matters to God. We all deserve death and hell. But God offers life, forgiveness, and eternal life.

 We live in a selfish age. Everything thinks they are owed something. If we don't want to work or have some small physical problem, we think we are owed welfare. If we work, we feel we are owed something in return.

  We deserve good service at a restaurant
  We deserve a raise
  We deserve health insurance....

 But none of us are deserving of what God has offered. In five days is the day we have set aside to honor and observe the day God became a baby, the greatest gift any of us could ever have. A gift none of us deserve.

  I ran across this in a book I was reading:

If we had needed healing, God would have sent a Physician.

If we had needed knowledge, God would have sent an Educator.

If we had needed information, God would have sent a Scientist.

If we had needed money, God would have sent a Banker.

But, we needed forgiveness, so God sent a Savior!
I for one, am thankful I don't always get what I deserve.

 

Check your rights and convictions at the door

  

There is a belief among some Christians that we should just toss aside our rights and convictions and give into what a certain element of the population wants, specifically gay people. They believe Christians should bake a cake for a gay wedding, photograph one, etc. I had one friend say if a Christian baker doesn't want to do that, he should close his shop.

 The craziest part of the bakery story, is it was in Colorado, where gay marriage is not yet legalized. So a judge said he has to bake cakes for something that isn't even legal there.... not only is that forcing someone to go against their beliefs, but it doesn't even make sense.

 I blogged about the cake issue before, and feel very strongly about it. I believe these gay couples are intentionally seeking out Christian businesses to force them to go along with their sin. As I stated in a previous blog, God says homosexuality is a sin, and He only endorsed and ordained marriage between a man and a woman, so I can't see Him baking a cake for a wedding that is celebrating what He called an abomination. Its crazy to think He would.

  I do believe the next step with be churches. And why not? If you believe a Christian baker should bake a cake for a gay wedding, and a Christian photographer should have to photograph a gay wedding, then how can you say a minister shouldn't have to perform a gay wedding? To me, its all the same..... and its actually a bit of a double standard to say the ones have to do it, but a minister is exempt. They are all being forced to go against their beliefs and convictions. They are all being asked to check their rights at the door, and do what the gay couple wants. And they are all being forced to participate in some way in something God is not going to recognize - a marriage between two people of the same sex.

  What I don't get, is why the same people aren't wanting to defend the other sins: murderers, thieves, abusers, rapists, drug addicts. Why aren't we worried about offending these sinners? No one goes after someone for condemning those sins, but say something about homosexuality, and even Christians are calling for the head of the person who dared to speak up.

  Here is a question for people who believe Christians should bake cakes for, and photograph, etc gay weddings...... do you believe we should toss our rights and convictions aside for other things? Or are you, just like the liberals, making gay people a special case? Here are some examples to test your "check your rights at the door" philosophy:

If a Christian owns a commercial building, should he be allowed to choose what business goes into it? 
   What if an adult bookstore wants to go in?
   What if a tavern wants to go in and he is against alcohol?
   What if a gay bar wants to go in?
   What if a gay bath house wants to go in?

What if the KKK wants a cake baked for a gathering?
What if the KKK wants one of their membership cards laminated? (happened to my brother-in-law - he said no)

What if someone wants to rent your building for some kind of sex party?
What if someone wants you to bake a divorce cake? One of the same bakers who won't bake gay wedding cakes refuses to bake those - yeah, people get a cake to celebrate the death of a marriage

What if you own a Christian bookstore and someone wants to sell a pro-gay book in your store? (I worked in a Christian bookstore and we sold local authors' books, but turned down some)

   And there are other examples. The point I am trying to make, is we do have a right to stand up and refuse to do something business related for things that are sin related.

  We can't pick and choose what people have to cave in and do something that violates their beliefs and rights. I get that we need to love gay people. I get it more than most people, but you're not going to win someone by participating in their gay wedding bu means of cake or pictures.

  No, if you want to reach and love gay people, start at home. In your church. In your family. I can guarantee you, unless your church only has 10 people, there is at least one person in your church, in your family, in your Christian school, who is struggling with same-sex attractions, and is afraid to confide in anyone. Will helping further the gay agenda by caving into their demands, help those in the church? No.

  The militant gays - the ones suing bakers, photographers, and soon they will sue churches and ministers - you know how they treat those people in  your church who are struggling? They want to push them into accepting it and entering into a lifetime of sin. They don't want them helped towards freedom, and serving God. The people who leave the gay lifestyle are shown none of what the militant gay people scream for - tolerance and acceptance. They mock and fight those who want to live by what the Bible says, instead of just accepting their sexuality and living in sin.

  So, no. You're not helping the ones in the church who are struggling with same-sex attractions, nor those in the church who have left their sin. If you want to help gay people, reach out to those ones. After that, reach the ones out of the church, but not by caving to their demands and checking your beliefs at the door.

  If we just cave and fight for gay rights, we have become like the liberals. There are a multitude of other sinners out there that need reached, and if we get so worried about offending gay people, we may end up ignoring other people who need love, who need reached.

  From where I sit, it just seems some of my friends and other Christians only care about gay people being offended. Just like the liberals, its the one sin we can't condemn. Its the one sin we can't refuse to cater to. Its even OK to condemn premarital sex. They won't like it, but you won't be branded a bigot, hater, and get kicked off a show.

  So why, with the multitude of sins out there that we can still condemn, are some Christians going along with this one? Could it be some of us are getting pulled along into the gay agenda along with so many people outside of the church?

  The murderer, rapist, child molester, etc., probably feels bad when their sins are condemned, and condemned they should be. But the same Bible that says those are sins, still says homosexuality is wrong. And if you quote those verses, you're a bigot.

  So go ahead, condemn those who dare to stand up for their convictions when it concerns gay issues, but if you're only feeling that way on gay issues, you my friend have a double standard, just like the liberals.

Nothin' but love

  There's been a lot of flack about the Duck Dynasty guy's gay comments. Most liberals want him tarred and feathered. Most Christians seem to support him, some want condemn him - guess it's OK to judge and condemn him, just not gay people....some ex-gays are supporting him and some are not,  and surprisingly, some gay people are supporting his right to say what he wants, even though they disagree with him.

  There has been a rise in Christians wanting to love, love, and love. Take this article for example where the author of the article condemns Christians for not baking gay wedding cakes or photographing gay weddings. She, like many other Christians, seems to think we should just chuck our convictions and rights out the window and do whatever gay people want us to do.

  A few years back, I ran across an interesting site: XXXchurch.com. No, its not a porn site. Its a site that in part seems to have been called that for shock value. The guys who run it go out and try to reach people in the porn industry. They even go to the porn conventions and hand out Bibles that say
"Jesus loves porn stars".

  They have befriended porn stars and even travel with one doing debates about porn. It all sounds noble, but from what I read, its all love, love, love.

  That's the issue I have with the guys above and the people who are on the "love gay people" bandwagon. They seem to be advocating that we give into whatever the people want, and just love and accept them....... but are we doing people any favors if we just cave in and never stand up to sin, never tell them that yes, we love you, but you're a sinner who needs Jesus? Are the porn stars getting the message that they need Jesus, or just that He loves them?

  I'm a big advocate of telling people God loves them, and of loving them. I needed that more than I got it. I still need it more than I get it...... yet even Jesus told people the truth while loving you. "Go and sin no more." He told parables of the dangers of not being ready for His return.

  I believe it is possible to love people into hell. To step aside and allow them to sin, to defend their right to sin and bake cakes, etc for their gay weddings, etc........ but if we just spout love - and that is important - but never address sin or stand up to it, we are likely to help those people end up in hell, where all the love in the world won't help them.

  I believe Christians can love people, whether the gay, porn star, or average sinner, while standing up to their sin and say "I love you. I'll be your friend, but I cannot do that." Take the Duck guy.....he could have been less crude and more loving in what he said......Jesus would never approve of sin, nor do anything to help people sin, just to show He loved them.

  What gets me about the whole gay issue, is why aren't the same Christians who think we should bake gay wedding cakes, doing more to love other sinners. The drug addict, the child molester, the murderer, the rapist, the thief......would they love them and ignore their sin? Would they encourage their sin and do more to help them feel comfortable in their sin? If not. why not? That's what they are saying we should do with gay people.......

  There is such a thing as tough love. And maybe that's what is needed here. No, I won't bake a gay wedding cake, but I will love you and be your friend. I'll invite you over for dinner or a BBQ.....and so forth.

   We are losing our freedoms, and the gay agenda is one of the biggest forces that is destroying them. Having Christians rail against Christians who are standing up for their rights and convictions, is just going to further the loss of our freedoms. It isn't going to win the gay couple to Jesus. No one is a lost cause, but a cake isn't going to win them. All it will do is make them happy they got a Christian to give in to what they want, and it is most likely they sought the Christian out so they could make a scene and sue him. It is no coincidence that they are seeking out Christian bakers and photographers. Its intentional.

 I may sound heartless, but I'm not. I get that we need to love people and show God's love, but I believe we can do that without stepping aside and doing what sinners want. We can say no in a gracious way and not spout hate.

My thoughts on the Duck Dynasty Disaster

  I'm sure I don't need to recap, as its the main thing being talked about in the news and on Facebook. Phil Robertson from the Duck Dynasty show said what he thought of homosexuality, and has been booted from the show.

  First off, a few things:
1) I have never watched the show
2) I have never bought any merchandise marketed from the show
3) I actually get tired of seeing their bearded faces everywhere I go - they look awful. I hate beards, especially long ones

  I do, however think its cool they have their show, as from what I hear it is very moral, clean, and even Christian.

  I read the review that caused the firestorm. I thought Robertson was a bit crude, and could have phrased what he said better, but I am appalled that many Christians, and even some of my friends, are siding against Robertson. That's the thing to do folks. Help the left sabotage our freedom of speech and religion by siding with the ones who are trying to destroy it.

 The day is going to come - it has in other countries - when it will be illegal to say homosexuality is wrong. You will be fined, put in jail, or both....... now you get kicked off a TV show..... you think its that long off that you'll face fines and jail? And the same Christians standing against Robertson will be sitting there amazed, wondering how it happened. Uh, duh, you helped!

  Here's the interesting thing. He quoted this verse from Corinthians:  “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. … Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

 So here is my question: where is the rage that he said the others wouldn't inherit eternal life? What about the drunks, the swindlers, the idolaters, the greedy, etc.? Why aren't the Christians worried about offending the gay militant people worried about offending these others? Has homosexuality become a protected group even among Christians?

  We do need to love and reach out to gay people, but also ALL sinners. I hear a lot from people about how we need to tone down about homosexuality, how we need to give into them in cases of baking cakes for their weddings, etc....... but I never hear the same people say we need to tone down what we say about other sins: drunkenness, adultery, murder, child molestation....... don't those people matter? Don't they need love, tolerance? It does seem even many Christians have made homosexuality a protected status and make it taboo to say anything wrong about it.

 So if you're one of the ones criticizing Robertson for his gay comments, and not raising a stink about the other sins..... get off of your pedestal and keep your mouth shut. Sorry to be so rude, but I am weary of Christians going so far with this issue. As I said, gay people need love, and yes, Robertson could have toned what he said down, but this is a case of religious and speech freedom. Its a lack of tolerance for Christians and our views.

  A&E should have issued a statement saying they didn't agree with Robertson, but that he had made his statements on his own time. They should not have canned him. I seriously doubt there are many people who watch the show who are among the offended.

  And Robertson said other stuff that his critics are ignoring:

“We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?”

“I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.”

We are fast losing our freedoms in this country, and I have said this before: I firmly believe the gay issues are going to be what destroys our religious freedoms, but even many Christians seem blind to it. Those siding against Robertson, be warned: The day is going to come when your pastor will face jail if he preaches against it and/or refuses to marry a gay couple. The handwriting on the wall couldn't be any plainer. Just don't complain when it happens.

  And check out what this guy says. He was in  the gay lifestyle for 10 years, and he says its coming:
http://mattiewalk.com/2013/12/19/persecution-is-a-coming/