A burdon relieved
Submitted by Oliver on 2002-11-7 01:20:39, Thursday
In reply to I'm outing myself tomorrow submitted by Oliver on 2002-11-4 01:47:09, Monday
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Dear family, Thank you for all your prayers and advice these past few days. For the testimony, and for the many voices of support and caution, my deepest appreciation to all of you. The meeting went very well. My church is not one that strips you of your titles and then leaves you out to dry. What they asked was that I let go of my servant duties until I could serve with a pure heart, and not one clouded by temptation and lust. II Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, my dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence of for God. What this verse says to me, is that if we are to be a servant, we need to serve with a pure heart. If we are to be a leader, we need to lead with a pure heart. If we are to have a relationship, we need to relate with a pure heart. The world around us fills us with contaminants of sin that cloud our relationship with God. Be it lust, addiction, cursing, gossip, whatever, if we can't be Godly men and women with a pure mind set, we are better off not doing it until we can. So, I'm setting aside what I am doing as a servant in the church, which includes working with the youth to focus on God and learn of the right mind to serve with. What I was told was that it didn't mean I don't need to say hi when I see the kids or talk with them. It simply meant I need to be fed instead of feeding for a while. There will be a time again when I will serve again, and then it will be with a right heart and a sound mind. Some of you may be thinking crazy, undoable, worthless to try. Believe me, there is a difference between saying no to sin and saying no to God. God created me as I am, and God loves what he has created. I do not intend on "getting fixed" or expecting to change my orientation. Being a BL is not a sin. Acting on it inappropriately is. I haven't gone as far as some people have, but I'm not out of the woods either. Please continue to pray, as I will for some of you. I'll be around here more I think or drop me a line at the a-mail address above. Thanks again for all the commentary. I feel like things will go very positively. Blessings, Oliver |
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