by Stan Mitchell

"Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders ... will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).

A religious organization in our country has just elected an openly homosexual cleric to the level of archbishop. I watched on television as he declared, somewhat sarcastically: "It seems that this time God is actually moving in his church!" The message of the Bible, he went on to explain, was that no lifestyle should be excluded.

I have been fascinated by the silence of religious leaders and churches on this matter. Could it be that our thinking is so confused, or have we decided not to decide on the matter?

Back in the 1930's, when NAZI Germany was rearming, Britain was in, as we would say, heavy denial. Winston Churchill stood one day in parliament and made the classic description of a government that was completely indecisive: "Government," he said, had "decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent."

Is homosexuality wrong? How would we decide on such an issue? Does the Bible tell us its view on the subject? And if so, would we decide to proclaim that view? Is the Bible's message intended to teach us to accept all lifestyles? Isn't Christianity itself a lifestyle? If so, doesn't that by definition exclude alternative lifestyles? Make no mistake, the Bible is clear on the subject; the real question is whether Christians will decide to say so! Or will we remain silent, hoping those ugly symbols will just go away.

I know some will protest that the church is called on to be loving. Beloved friends, it is also called on to be godly. Homosexuality is not the only sin mentioned in scripture, but it is sin. While homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle, it is not an alternative for the Christian.

by Stan Mitchell

A businessman died suddenly and arrived at the pearly gates and was told the glad news that he could enter in. But being a good businessman, he wanted to make one last deal. "Could I," he asked, "go back to earth and bring some things up here with me?"

The Lord thought about it a moment, and then said, "Go ahead, but you can only bring what you can put in your briefcase."

So the businessman returned to earth, took his life's savings, and bought all the gold he could with it. When he returned to heaven, the Lord looked in the briefcase, and nodded his assent. "Go on in," he said. The businessman was thrilled!

Other residents of heaven came to welcome him. Proudly, he showed them the contents of his briefcase. They were all bewildered.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. "It took all of my life's savings!" "We know," they replied. "But why would you sell your life's savings ... and buy pavement?"

But do you want to know the sad part of this story? You know, of course, that we don't get to make deals with God in heaven, or anywhere else, and that we can't take anything with us.

Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul behind it? But the worst part of this story is that our life's savings, our silver and gold, our computer equipment, cars, houses – everything – are marked HIGHLY FLAMMABLE!

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter 3:10). When it comes time to walk the streets of gold, remember that nothing on earth could live up to what is already there!

by Stan Mitchell

You know it's going to be a bad day when you call suicide prevention, and they put you on hold ... when you see a 60 Minutes News Team waiting in your office ... when your birthday cake collapses under the weight of the candles ... when you're following a group of Hell's Angels down the highway and suddenly your horn starts blowing, and remains stuck. Otherwise it's been a pretty good day!

You might remember the children's classic where the little boy was having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." Why do some people seem to have so many bad days? It helps to have a sense of humor. Some church members think that a sense of humor and a sense of holiness are incompatible. Gratitude helps, too. Do you think some Bangladeshis would think we were crazy to complain about our lot? Do you think there aren't some Afghans who would swap with us if we really don't like what life had handed out to us?

"This is the day the Lord has made," the Psalmist reminds us, "Let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).

A good attitude is important, too. The Psalmist was grateful for any day that the Lord had given him. We're all living on borrowed time. Be loving, forgiving, and urgent in telling others about Christ. You don't have to wait until the stars are all in alignment before you are content with what God has given you.

Even if you're having, like, a totally bad day!

by Stan Mitchell

I was listening to a father the other day at a restaurant (OK, it was McDonalds!). His kids and wife were ranged around him, and he was having a good time. "I'll have the cheese burger," he declared. "Cut the cheese."

I know it was corny. The looks on the kids' faces told me they had heard this joke before ... several times! It made me think of some questions:

• Why were the Old Testament priests drawn only from the tribe of Levi? Did scripture specifically forbid priests from, say, the tribe of Judah? "For it is clear," the Hebrew writer declares, "that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe, Moses said nothing about Priests" (Hebrews 7:14).

• Why do you come to a complete halt at a stop sign? Does the sign specifically forbid looking both ways and rolling through if clear? Try that reasoning with the local law enforcement personnel!

• Why does the pharmacist not add several creative elements to your doctor's prescription? Does the prescription specifically forbid the addition of other medicines according to the pharmacist's whims? The fact is that we use the "argument from silence" in every day life. An appointment made for nine in the morning is considered broken if I turn up at eleven! When the instruction (or command, if God is the one giving it) is given, that instruction naturally excludes as well as includes. You can't have priests from Levi and Judah both and fulfill the Law of Moses' specific instructions. You can't stop at a stop sign and roll through it all at the same time. This is not deep philosophical mumbo jumbo; it's not tricky theology; it's plain, common equestrian reasoning!

There are many things that the New Testament does not mention. Hymn books and church foyers, air conditioning and Bible class workbooks aren't mentioned. The argument from silence, however, derives from those commands that God gives in his word. God's command includes what he commanded, and, if it is silent on alternatives, it is a silence we should respect.

"Now brothers I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, 'Do not go beyond what is written.'" (1 Corinthians 4:6).

By the way, a cheese burger must have cheese on it, or it's something else altogether!

by Stan Mitchell

"The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). Donna Mitchell, in her book "Among the People of the Sun" recalls the day her family left the United States for mission work in Southern Rhodesia, Africa. She recalls the tears of friends and family at the airport. Then she adds:

"Once a friend remarked, 'I could never go to another land, because our family is very close.' I wanted to cry out, 'Our family is very close too!'"

I have just read of a missionary family in Tallinn, Estonia. The missionary's father in the States suffers from inoperable cancer. I think of the grandchildren, and what they have sacrificed. Our missionaries give up a great deal in order to bring the lost to Christ. In many countries they forfeit the civil rights we take for granted in America. They usually take a loss in quality of life because third world countries lack the material and technological advancements of America. They are paid a fragment of the salaries of preachers back home. I remember missionaries talking about missing the little things –- Snicker's Bars or watching the Rose Bowl on New Year's day.

It's easier to send the Gospel message over short-wave radio, or by mail. It's easier to go to the mission field for short, intense campaigns. But mark this: there is no substitute for a missionary committing years of service to the Lord on a mission field. You cannot calculate the value of learning the language, the culture, setting a living example of Christianity, and gaining the trust of the local people.

God had only one son, and he was a missionary.

This is budget time for most churches. You have received many slick pamphlets and presentations this year from many church organizations. Let me put in a plug for the humble, long-term missionary. I know what I will be suggesting to the leadership in my congregation. Will you consider this, too, please? Back a man and a family who has made a long-term commitment to serving God on the mission field. When all is said and done, evangelism is still about one man teaching one man about the Savior!