Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Proverbs 4:6-7 I've been on a dating website for six months. I subscribed to another one a month ago. I've actually learned a lot. Looking for someone, I mean seriously looking, like you're-ready-to-marry looking is a lot like being in a row boat. Have you ever been in a row boat? It's nice sitting in it quietly observing the scenery. If you were to stand up and walk around that would rock the boat terribly. Or if eddies came your way, big ones, you're terrified the little boat will turn over. Even though you can swim, you don't want to swim in those dark waters. Here is the meaning of the metaphor: The rowboat you're sitting in is like your profile page where you are able to observe all the men or women that are available out there. When you start walking around and rock the boat is similar to when you start getting active on the site. Messaging. Sending smiles. Liking those who got you interested. Rocking the boat can be a good or bad thing. The eddies threatening the calm is like the pressure from friends, family and social media, etc., saying the only way to find someone to marry is to "try on" different people. You'll know who's compatible with you or not by diving into the dark waters. Like I said, even thought you CAN swim; doesn't mean you SHOULD swim. Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them. Proverbs 20:6-7 Whether it's a dating website or meeting people in person and going on dates with them to see if you'd be good together may seem all well and good. Since I've been on these dating websites I have been walking on egg shells. Reading these men's profiles I see they are putting their hearts out there! I want to treat them all with respect. I am strongly aware that all these men are real people with real feelings. This is not a game. I think a lot of people feel confused when it comes to dating. Is it Biblical? The Bible doesn't say anything about it. Even thought the Bible doesn't say anything about dating and how to find the one you want to marry, it does actually tell a lot about trusting God with finding someone. Take for instance Adam. He was the very first man on earth. Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was it's name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Genesis 2:19-20 It's interesting that God did not create Eve yet. We see that Adam was looking. Of course he didn't date the animals. It said 'no suitable helper was found.' Adam observed. I believe he trusted God. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. Genesis 2:21-22 Adam did not do anything in the process of getting a wife! God did it all. God did have a job for Adam. To name all the animals. Then God had Adam sleep. There was no way Adam could brag to anyone about finding this woman. God was the one who introduced them. The lesson we can learn from this is that God is capable. You can look all you want for a potential spouse but, it's God who brings that man or woman into your life in His timing. Lets look at another story of God match-making. Then he prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink , and I'll water your camels too- let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Issac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Genesis 24:12-14 This story is when Abraham was dying. He told his chief servant to go to his country and to his relatives and get a bride for his son Issac. The verses above describe how the chief servant was praying to God, asking Him for guidance in the escapade of finding the right woman for his master's son to marry. If you want to know the rest of the story it's found in verses 15-67. Before this man was finished praying, God brought Rebekah along. She was the one God chose to be Issac's wife. Now think about it. Just from those two stories we see that God is specific. He's not like 'hmm let's see, eanie meanie minie moe; which little lady should it be.' He chooses one man and one woman to specifically be together for His purpose. I know you can get into discussions about what happens if one of them die or divorce etc. I'm not talking about that. We see that God is capable of bringing a man or woman into your life and leading you in waiting. Believe me. I have been waiting. It's hard; extremely hard at times. Following God's lead is worth it. God continually is giving me the faith and hope to cling to Him and not jump into the dating scene and find someone myself.
It was about two or three years ago when I first heard that men and women can have surgery done to remove their genitalia and transform it to look like the opposite sex. Before that when I saw men and woman dressing like the opposite sex or heard about it I just didn't agree with it and that was that. Now seeing how men and woman are changing their anatomy to actually look the part completely terrifies me. "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this." Deuteronomy 22:5 That sounds harsh doesn't it? Detest? What does that word even mean?! Detest-Dislike intensely, abhor, hate, regard with disgust etc. Why would God tell men and women not to dress like each other and exclaim that he hates that? It doesn't seem like a big deal right? It never hurt anyone? Or has it? As we have seen over the years many people have stated their opinions and dislike of Transgender-ism. As Christians, some of us have gotten so heated over the subject that the person is forgotten and it becomes a lifestyle argument instead we focus on our opinions and huffing about them. Let's look at what God says. What is at the core of Transgender-ism. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 What better place to start then at the very beginning! This verse is as simple as it can get. God created men and women. Lets break this down. God stated three times in three different phrases that He created men and women. He states that He created the whole race of men. That He started off with one man and one woman. God said that the man and woman were good. They were just the way He created them to be. Not much later, out of deception, Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, consumed that which they were not meant to eat and sin entered the world. Sin became part of them. Why was the tree in the center of the Garden called "The Knowledge of good and evil?" This is not concrete; I can only guess. What stands out to me is that it's not called the sin tree. It's called "Knowledge of good and evil." Adam and Eve ingested this fruit that made them be able to see God's goodness and Evil's wickedness. They were no longer like innocent children, seeing that perfect world the way it was meant to be. Because of sin they became like paranoid adults. Of course it's not as simple as that. Their connection, their bond with God in their hearts was shattered. This lie they consumed ruined paradise and the whole earth as well as the lives of every single human being after them. Simple as that
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
Psalm 139:14
"My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth."
Psalm 139:15
Okay, so what do Adam and Eve's horrible mistake have to do with transgender-ism? Everything. Sin entered the world. Separating us spiritually from God. We can't relate with Him at all. It's like having a phone with a cord. The cord was cut. To think when speaking into a telephone with a cut cord and believe someone is listening on the other end is delusional. What does being transgender have to do with this? Lets take a closer look. Read the verses above again. Psalm 139:14 and Psalm 139:15. The psalmist spoke specifically about being made in the womb. The word "knit" being used specifically is interesting. Anyone that knits follows a pattern written by someone or one they created or memorized. God created the pattern of human anatomy; specifically that of men and women. In my Bible (The NIV Study Bible) the notes are interesting; "'Secret place...depths of the earth'. Reference is to the womb: called 'the secret place' because it normally conceals and it shares with 'the depths of the earth' associations with darkness, dampness and separation from the visible realm of life." I don't know about you but I believe when a child is being formed in the womb something sacred is happening. "Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16
God; when He created you He was putting into effect what He had planned. Creating a little girl or little boy. Not a meta morphing creature that can change from gender to gender. He specifically made you the way you are for a specific purpose as a man or woman. Now; lets check out the medical world. When was the first transitional surgery? Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener was the first man to transition to looking like a woman. He had the surgery done in 1930 in Germany. He died of complications of getting a uterus transplant. The first transitional American surgery was in 1966. What a man and woman have to go through to look like what they feel like is a tremendous amount of therapy to get them to, in a way, play the part that they believe is who they are. Then men take Estrogen shots. The next step would be to have surgery done. For men to look like a woman physically they need to have breast transplants, the removal of testicles and their penis be inverted to look like a vagina. They would have to change their voice, remove any unwanted hair and remove their Adams apple. And so much more work has to be done such as after the vaginal surgery to go through physical therapy in a way to keep their "Vagina" flexible and open. For women to look like a man they have to have therapy, too. Testosterone shots. Surgery to create a penis and testicles. Remove breasts and uterus. If need be they would get a skin graft of their hips, butt and thighs. Total body makeover. Once the surgery is done, the question remains; can you truly become the opposite sex? The Big Delusion "For although they knew God they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts became darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen" Romans 1:21-25 I'm pretty sure every single man and woman that has ever lived questioned their gender. When I was twelve or thirteen a flitting question wafted into my mind. What if I'm a boy? Instantly I threw the thought away. Not wanting to entertain it, I felt nauseated. The reason for that thought (Satan to tempt me with that fruit) was I didn't really feel like a girl. I didn't have the slim feminine curves like the girls my age. I was way more developed and curvier. Hiding under frizzy hair, bushy eyebrows and baggy clothes (I wore some boys shirts because the girls clothes were too revealing and had too many frilly bright colors and I didn't want to draw attention to myself). When I was a child, I went through some really traumatic experiences all in one year. By that age, all those memories but one was submerged deeply in my consciousness. Fast forward 9 or 10 years. I opened up about the experience I remembered to my family. For the past 5 going onto 6 years God has recovered each memory for me to process and heal from. What if I entertained that thought from earlier in my childhood? If I chose to change myself? Would that have helped my problem? Over the years, I've noticed a lot of those in the LGBTQ group have mentioned some sort of abuse whether sexual, physical or verbal. ( I know this is not true for everyone) Now, speaking specifically to the Transvestite group, so many have claimed that they would love themselves once they changed themselves and instantly bash in those who disagree with them. "You aren't accepting me the way I am. I do love myself!" I have heard that spoken so many times over the years. It's eerie. God brought up these questions to me; "Someone who loves themselves does not mutilate and deform their body out of love. That is out of hate." What would you do if you hate the skin you're in? If you hate the way you look? Women do it all the time: Breast implants and plastic surgery to change your appearance. Transitioning is a step further.
We hear so much over entertainment to 'trust in yourself.' 'Follow your heart.' What does the Bible say about that?
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9 You throw your hands up with despair. 'Whats the point, then?' Who is to trust? Read the next verse. "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to what his deeds deserve." Jeremiah 17:10 Our heart and mind is the starting point of what leads to our actions. That's why we can never follow our feelings when it comes to issues like our gender. There are plenty of people who followed their feelings because they thought that was the best decision at the moment. Take the Israelite's, for example. When Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the 10 commandments the Israelite's grew impatient. They did what they felt was right, Making their own god and worshiping it. Because of their decision, 3 thousand people died. (Exodus 32) What about Abraham and Sarah? Sarah, out of her own judgment, believed that God could do as He promised through her maidservant having a child with Abraham. God said clearly that Sarah and Abraham would have a child. The child Hagar the servant bore ended up being the father of the religion of Islam (Genesis 16). Abraham's nephew Lot. His daughters out of their dark hearts followed their fear of not carrying on God's promise of being fruitful and multiplying their family and took matters into their own hands by sleeping with their own father. And so the Moabites and the Ammonites who were the enemies of Israel came from them. (Genesis 19:30-38). It keeps going. So many people in the Bible followed their own thinking and what they felt was right. David, Samuel, Ananias, Sapphira, Adam and Eve. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 Read Romans 1:21-25 again. The reason Paul is talking so blatantly to these Roman Christians about God's wrath on all of man kind because of their sin, is because they were steeped in this sin before coming to Christ. During this time, homosexuality was running wild much like today. Nero, the emperor while Paul wrote this letter, married a young man named Sporus, who dressed like a woman. Historians here and there over the years have said that 15 Roman emperors had homosexual affairs. These first Christians were not ignorant of that lifestyle. God's truth that is clear (men and woman being made for each other alone to marry) is being ignored. People are following their hearts which are dark because of sin. God's wrath is still real and present. This is not just old historical myths and standards. Look at the diseases that have been coming up over the years from promiscuous sex either with same sex or opposite sex partners. The big question then is why. Why can't you live like this, doing what you want when you want it. Why doesn't God let us live the way we see is best? "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 "For from Him and through him and to him are all things. To Him be the glory for ever! Amen." Romans 11:36 As you are reading this you may be a follower of Christ, you may see yourself as spiritual and not religious. Or you may believe in God and acknowledge His existence. Are you living your whole life for God? Honoring Him and going to Him in everything you do? Here's a good way to start off how to know where you stand with God. Would you call yourself a good person? Here's some of the Ten Commandments; You shall not misuse the name of God ( OMG, Oh my god) Honor your Father and Mother Do not murder Do not steal Do not lie Do not commit adultery ( that includes in your heart) Can you say you have never broken any of these? If you said yes, you just lied and broke one which means you broke them all. Do you know what you deserve for that? Hell. Is there any hope? Jesus; God's only son came down to earth over 2,000 years ago and lived a sinless life. Died a sinners death and bore every single one of our sins and God's wrath. He rose again on the third day, defeating death and the grave. God is a righteous judge. He will not let any sin go unchecked. You, the guilty criminal, is going to have to pay that heavy price for your sin: Eternity in Hell forever separate from God. Jesus is there willing to take your fine and pay it for you. The gift Jesus is offering you means yo have to confess your sin to Him, acknowledge that it was wrong and follow Jesus. Making him Lord over your life. Yes, that means turning from transgender tendencies. If you refer to yourself as a transgender person, please do not go down this road of your own judgment of what's right and wrong based on how you feel. 151.600 million people die each day. Don't set aside this to think about. If you sense God is knocking on the door of your heart, offering you salvation, do not hesitate. Open the door and let Him in.
