Editor’s note: I have come to know Wendy and her story through an amazing set of circumstances that only God could have arranged. She is a delightful woman who loves the Lord with all of her heart and has asked BarbWire to share her moving story of redemption and freedom from homosexual sin through the power of Christ Jesus. Wendy has said that it is her hope that her testimony might resonate with even one person who can relate to the circumstances that Satan used to lead her into the homosexual lifestyle. If you are that person, then you (and God) will know it. What the enemy intended for evil, God is using for incredible good in the life of Wendy. The same can be true for you. —Matt Barber]
My name is Wendy and I was born in a small town in Virginia. I was in church every time the doors were open for as far back as I can remember. I also attended the Christian school within my church that was rooted deeply in an Independent Baptist doctrine.
My mama was very sickly and was in and out of the hospital. I have a sister who is almost four years younger than me and a baby brother who only lived for three days and then passed away. Mama died Christmas of 1982 at the age of 32. At the time of her death, I was 11 and my sister was 7.
My dad was a rage-a-holic and an alcoholic. He had wanted a boy so badly and lost his one and only son. I believe he decided to make me his boy or at least that is how it seemed. Especially as I got older, he treated me differently than he did my sister. Here is an example: When I got my first car, before dad would give me the keys to drive it, I had to change the tire, without assistance, as he stood and watched. My sister, he just handed the keys.
My dad verbally and emotionally abused my family. He was a tyrant, and as a little girl I thought to myself, if all men are like my dad, then I want nothing to do with men. I made a vow to never get married because men were not safe.
Due to my family’s rigid and extremely conservative views, I knew that if I told them, they would not believe me. I remained painfully silent about being sexually abused. Satan stole my innocence, and I was exposed to things that I never should have been. As a young child, I was attracted to women. My silence allowed Satan to cultivate a huge lie that confused my sexual identity. It was the birth of unnatural desires that would later manifest into full blown homosexuality.
I was in so much pain and confusion that one day I found some relief … with alcohol. I finally found something that would numb me and I could check out of reality. My drinking continued to get worse and worse. It is only by God’s grace and mercy that I did not get a DUI, go to jail, kill somebody or myself.
Chrisma News reports – As sons and daughters of God, we are called to honor and respect authority and to be people of obedience rather than people of rebellion. But that means when the earthly authorities tell us to disobey God, we respectfully say, “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29).
This was a major theme at the “I Stand Sunday” rally in Houston, where thousands gathered together to pledge their obedience to God and His Word, regardless of cost or consequences.
In doing so, they were standing firmly on biblical principles, following in the footsteps of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1, Daniel and his compatriots in Daniel 3 and 6, the wise men of Matthew 2, and the apostles in Acts 4 and 5.
Of course, we must never lose sight of the fact that we are peacemakers rather than troublemakers, respectful rather than rude, and we must recognize that without proper authority structures the world could not function. At the same time, because we are called to obey God above all, there are times when we must disobey earthly authorities when their commands violate the commands of God.
In my book Revolution in the Church, I addressed this issue in the chapter entitled, “Revolutionary, Not ‘Rebelutionary.'”
There I explained that, “If we are to take a stand for truth even when others call us extremists; if we are to refuse to submit to unrighteousness even when pressure mounts on us to compromise; if we are to call for radical change and swim against the tide even at great personal cost – if we are to do these things we must be sure that our motivations are not fleshly, that we are not merely manifesting our own independence, that we are not simply rebels with a cause.
“Put another way, if you really want to be a Jesus revolutionary, you must crucify rebellion, independence, pride, self-will, ambition, anger, rage, retaliation, and all related carnal behavior. You must cultivate humility, longsuffering, and willingness to bear reproach; you must learn to turn the other cheek and overcome evil through good. The true Jesus revolutionary is a person whose flesh has been nailed to the cross. That is radical!”
Living as a Christian in Communist China, Watchman Nee had to address this issue as well, and he explained that while submission is absolute, obedience is conditional.
In Revolution in the Church, I quoted from Nee’s book Spiritual Authority, where he wrote: “Submission is a matter of attitude, while obedience is a matter of conduct. Peter and John answered the Jewish religious council: ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye’ (Acts 4:19). Their spirit was not rebellious, since they still submitted to those who were in authority.
“Obedience, however, cannot be absolute. Some authorities must be obeyed; while others should not be, especially in matters which touch upon Christian fundamentals – such as believing the Lord, preaching the gospel, and so forth. Children may make suggestions to their parents, yet they must not show an unsubmissive attitude. Submission ought to be absolute. Sometimes obedience is submission, whereas at other times an inability to obey may still be submission.”
He explained: “When delegated authority (men who represent God’s authority) and direct authority (God Himself) are in conflict, one can render submission but not obedience to the delegated authority. Let us summarize this under three points:
Obedience is related to conduct: it is relative. Submission is related to heart attitude: it is absolute.
God alone receives unqualified obedience without measure; any person lower than God can only receive qualified obedience.
Should the delegated authority issue an order clearly contradicting God’s command, he will be given submission but not obedience. We should submit to the person who has received delegated authority from God, but we should disobey the order which offends God.”
As a follower of Jesus, I have deep respect for authority, giving honor where it is due and demonstrating respect even in the midst of disagreement. But, with God’s grace and help, there is no human being on the planet who is going to stop be from obeying my Lord, regardless of the cost of obedience.
Isn’t this simply Discipleship 101? Isn’t this what God’s people have done through the centuries, defying the edicts of godless kings and rulers and officials?
Benjamin Franklin understood this principle in the Revolutionary War when he coined the phrase, “Rebellion to Tyrants Is Obedience to God” – and I would put all my emphasis on those last three words: obedience to God.
As I have taught many times over the years, before you go around saying, “I must obey God rather than man,” be sure you have a proven pattern of obedience to man. Otherwise, your words could simply be a cloak for arrogance and self-will.
But when a godly person with a track record of submission says to the authority figure, “I honor and respect you and have always sought to obey you, but because you are requiring me to disobey the Lord, I must disobey you instead,” that person is speaking with conviction and power. That person will be backed by heaven.
And what happens when there are serious consequences to our acts of obedience? Using examples from Scripture, Watchman Nee explained that, “The three friends of Daniel refused to bow to the golden image set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. They disobeyed the king’s order, yet they submitted to the king’s fire. . . . In disregard of the royal decree Daniel prayed to God; nevertheless he submitted to the king’s judgment by being thrown into the lion’s den.
On the birthday of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Remembered as one of the most influential US Presidents to date, Lincoln successfully ended the American Civil War and through his efforts, eventually abolished slavery. Beautiful I miss you meme helps alot to remember your love once like Abraham Lincoln. Referred to as Honest Abe, below are some choice quotes that reflect his gifted oratory skills, wisdom and integrity.
1. ON TRUTH “Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.”
2. ON READING “A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems.”
3. ON FRIENDSHIP “The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.”
4. ON GOVERNMENT “The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves – in their separate, and individual capacities.”
5. ON EDUCATION “Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.”
6. ON LIBERTY “Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere.”
7. ON RACE “Let us discard all this quibbling about this man and the other man, this race and that race and the other race being inferior and therefore they must be placed in an inferior position. Let us discard all these things, and unite as one people throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal.”
October 2 saw the birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi. The Indian luminary, famous for leading the Indian nation to independence in peaceful means, is deemed an inspirational figure to this day, over 60 years after his death in 1948. As a tribute to Gandhi, here’s a collection of some of his thought-provoking quotes.
1. ON LIFE “My life is my message.”
2. ON BEING A SOLDIER “I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace.“
3. ON FAITH IN HUMANITY “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
4. ON NONVIOLENCE “Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.”
5. ON THE SEVEN SINS “Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.”
6. ON TRUTH “An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.”
7. ON THE “STILL SMALL VOICE” “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me. And even though I have to face the prospect of being a minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority.”
8. ON LIBERTY “I’m a lover of my own liberty, and so I would do nothing to restrict yours.”
9. ON FORGIVENESS “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
10. ON THE NATURE OF MAN “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
Faith-based film studio Pure Flix Entertainment is making plans to create a follow-up to its Spring 2014 break-out film “God is Not Dead.”
Pure Flix CEO and managing partner Michael Scott said his studio has a number of projects in the works for next year including “God’s Not Dead 2.”
“We’ve got a full slate next year. You’ll see ‘Do You Believe?’ which is coming in the spring … we’re looking at late March for the release [and] next year possibly either fall or the following year you’ll see ‘God’s Not Dead 2,'” Scott said…Read More
Executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett announced this week that they will kick off their miniseries “A.D.,” which follows the first ten chapters of the Book of Acts, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015 on the NBC network.
The highly anticipated 12-week series picks up where their 2013 blockbuster “The Bible” left off, exploring the aftermath of Jesus’ death and its profound impact on His disciples, His mother Mary, and key political and religious leaders of the era.
Each episode of the series aims to bring the Biblical world to life in all of its grit and glory, by integrating dramatic history of different Biblical characters from that time, including the Apostles, Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas and others, all from their own points of view…Read More
A Nigerian church accused of linking poor discipline to witchcraft wants to open an independent school in Kent. Winners’ Chapel International, which is currently under investigation by the Charity Commission, wants to open the school at its Dartford site. Human rights campaigners and the National Secular Society are urging the government to turn down the school bid.
The church, whose leader Bishop David Oyedpo was filmed accusing a woman of being a witch, declined an interview.
The organisation, which has its headquarters in Nigeria, is known as Living Faith Church Worldwide and also Winners’ Chapel International (WCI).
Bishop Oyedepo, its leader in Nigeria, has been shown on YouTube slapping a woman and accusing her of being a witch.
His son David Oyedepo Junior is the pastor at WCI’s European headquarters in Dartford, where the church organisation wants to open Kingdom Heritage Model School for children aged four to seven.
But groups including the National Secular Society (NSS) have raised concerns amid claims the church links child “disobedience” to witchcraft – citing the David Oyedepo Ministries website, which states “disobedience is as terrible as witchcraft”…Read More
A car powered by its own body panels like roof, doors, bonnet (or hood) and floor could soon be driving on roads.
A team from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane has developed lightweight “supercapacitors” that can be combined with regular batteries to dramatically boost the power of an electric car.
The supercapacitors – a “sandwich” of electrolyte between two all-carbon electrodes – were made into a thin and extremely strong film with a high-power density.
The film could be embedded in a car’s body panels, roof, doors, bonnet and floor – storing enough energy to charge an electric car’s battery in just a few minutes.
“Supercapacitors offer a high power output in a short time, meaning a faster acceleration rate of the car and a charging time of just a few minutes, compared to several hours for a standard electric car battery,” explained post-doctoral research fellow Jinzhang Liu from QUT’s science and engineering faculty…Read More
A Christian baker in Northern Ireland is facing legal consequences for refusing to bake a cake with a gay marriage message.
Asher’s Baking Company was targeted by the Government Equality Commission after it declined to make a cake that said, “Support gay marriage.”
The commission said the company discriminated against the customer for his sexual orientation and threatened legal action.
“We’re continuing to hold to the stand that we took originally because we believe it’s biblical, we believe it’s what God would want us to do, and we also think that if we do cave in to the Equality Commission, at this point it’ll put pressure on other citizens who are defending their view of traditional marriage,” Daniel Mcarthur, general manager of Asher’s Baking Company, said.
The Christians Institute is providing legal assistance to the company. Find out more about thecase here.
New criteria proposals have been launched for GCSE and A Level courses in R.E. as part of a public consultation.
The Catholic Education Service (CES) says the plans will ensure a more ‘academically rigorous’ religious education for pupils.
The organisation, along with The Church of England’s Education Division, worked alongside the Department for Education to draft the proposals, which are now subject to a public consultation.
CES says the reforms will include the teachings of two religions at GCSE and a breadth and depth of study at A-Level to support students progressing to higher education.
The Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, Revd. Nigel Genders, said: “Looking at the world today, it is hard to overstate the importance of equipping the young people of this country with a challenging and rigorous education which includes religious literacy.
“This new set of criteria will provide qualifications which do exactly that, and I hope the government will act to launch them publically as soon as possible.”
Chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Department of Education and Formation, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, added: “We are excited about the opportunities that these will give our schools in delivering an academic study of religious education which conforms with the Bishops’ requirements, and look forward to the imminent launch of the consultation.”
However, the plans have been criticised by some for not giving non-religious views the same weight as religious viewpoints.
The British Humanist Association (BHA) and the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC) want the Government to reconsider the proposals.
They want the subject to include an optional annex on humanism, alongside those on the six major world religions…Read More
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