Marriage, unlike almost anything else I can think of, can quickly help us see how deficient we are in many departments, and how much we need God’s grace and strength and wisdom if we are to actually pull off His design and will for marriage with someone of the opposite sex.

Many admirers of Jesus in modern society claim that Jesus never claimed to be God. But you would be hard pressed to explain what other claim could have so infuriated the high priest and his co-horts. In their mind – He obviously claimed to be God and thus their fury at Him.

Most of us probably know people that seem hopelessly caught in this web of hate and rage. Some times we may feel they are beyond help and will never turn around. But I would remind you of one of the most hateful and angry men in the last 2,000 years – the apostle Paul (formerly named Saul).

If the seven members of “People of Faith for Justice” want to give their opinion on the Boy Scouts courageous stand for the values that have made them what they are over the last decades – that is their right. But to frame it in religious, much less Christian terms is quite deceptive.

For various reasons the four gospel writers often did not all write about some of the things Jesus said and did, but when it comes to the Passion of Christ – – they all four wrote in great detail – – which tells us that we dare not make light of this crucial part of His life.

The reality is – the more you get to know the risen Christ – – no matter what kind of life you have lived previously – the more you realize how great your sin was and is. We know that Jesus often fellowshipped with Lazarus, Martha and Mary; and the more that happened – the more they all realized how pure and perfect and holy He was; and how impure, imperfect and unholy they were.

Our emphasis as a fellowship in the whole realm of eschatology or the study of the last days or end times is Jesus’s emphasis: a general understanding of end time events; but focus on how to be found ready and prepared for His return.

This brazen act in the temple in Jerusalem – from what we can tell is going to unleash a horrible period in our world’s history – so horrible that Jesus goes on to speak of what kind of action those who believe in that region must take.

Much of Matthew ch. 24 is Jesus’s response to the three questions His disciples ask Him about the end times. But because they didn’t ask the most important question re: the end times, Jesus goes on and answers that one as well. And that most important question is: How can I personally prepare for what is to come?

If California can vote for traditional marriage twice in the last decade with the media, Hollywood and the California Teachers Association (among other loud voices) vehemently against us, then it is certainly not inevitable. Truth has a way of weathering storms.