Kitchen Cleanser

I really wanted the Church at Home today to be about blessings in our laundry baskets. Pam Sutton from Scrapgirls wrote an article that was so good! Here's the link if you'd like to read it. (photo via flickr: graygoosie)

However, there's something that has been heavy on my mind for several weeks and I've not had the words or the bravery to commit myself to writing in front of the whole world. There are some topics of Christianity that are not popular and I don't ever want to offend a reader but the Bible says that I have to speak truth in love. Many times I've encountered a misconception that Christians are only to be loving and tolerant and accepting. It seems to come up most often when a nerve is struck... Lifestyles that are now politically acceptable but morally incorrect... Religious beliefs that are broad and general and easy... And though God does require us to be loving and to not judge, He tells us to be discerning and He does have some non-negotiable requirements.

I read something in my Daily Devotional today and it hit the nail right on the head. I've copy/pasted it below:

Absolutes Exist
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceieved. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor theives, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
The Corinthians had been duped. They had become so saturated in the world's worldliness that they had begun to accept its sin as normal and acceptable behavior. Fornication, idolatry, adultery, etc.?these things had lost their sinful sting a long time ago as far as they were concerned. Perhaps some believers were saying to themselves as this part of Paul's epistle was being read to them, "C'mon Paul, get with it, man. It's only natural!" Natural, yes; acceptable, no!
Today, as then, people want to believe the lie that every natural desire is normal and acceptable. We live in a culture that tells us that as long as something seems right, it is right. There are no consequences for acting on what feels good. As long as we don't hurt anyone else, who cares what we do with our life? There are no fixed absolutes that we need to live by, so go ahead and do it what we want. Really?
The problem is that absolutes do exist. There are moral boundary lines that have been drawn by the finger of God, and there are things in this world that will prevent a person from entering the kingdom of God. The natural man does not want to hear about these, but it doesn't change the fact that they do exist. God is so in love with humanity that He reminds us of them. The unbelieving world will accusingly say, "How narrow and restrictive of God!" But we need to say, "No, how gracious of God to warn us!" Rather than justifying the things that appeal to our flesh, we need to know God's absolute standards and live by them.

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12)

There is none righteous, no not one! But we are given an option... a way to clean that dirty laundry that hangs on us... that IS us. Here it is if you're ready.