God's Sovereignty and Gender

God put it on my heart to write on a very tough subject, one that I have thought hard about. Today I wish to discuss the issues of gender and more specifically, gender identity. I'm sure a lot of us have a lot of thoughts on the subject, most quite negative. What are we to think of people who wish to change or at least act like the opposite gender? Obviously this is sin, but the matter is only indirectly spoken of in Scripture. What God's perfect word says is this: "A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. The Lord your God detests people who do this."(NLT.) We know that most people who would commit the sin warned against here would do so because they have homosexual desires, which is also expressly forbidden by God in His word (Genesis 2:18-24; Leviticus 18:22; Romans1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9). Thus we follow this line of thinking to gender identity. People who desire to change their gender most often start as homosexuals and/or transvestites, two things which we have seen are in clear violation of God's laws and heart.
But why is this? What is the issues here that causes God to rule so on this subject? God never chooses on a whim. God is not petty, nor does He simply choose things to make us suffer. And while often we do not know the reason why God has made a particular ruling, this is a subject where we do. The issue is this: it is actually a matter of questioning the sovereignty of God. David writes in Psalm 139:13, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb."(NLT.) First, we can infer that "...all the delicate, inner parts of my body..." includes those parts that determine gender; we can also see that God took specific care in the making of David, and of us all. This is the sovereignty of God: that He is mindful, knowledgeable, and yes, in control of all things. Thus He is in control of each and every one of our genders as we are born. Therefore to seek to change our gender is in reality an act of rebellion, even if it is a subconscious one. What we are saying is that what God chose for us is wrong, that we know better than God. Anyone who has even an inkling of who God truly is knows that do make such a claim is the extreme of hubris and foolishness.
Now many people who have or are seeking to commit this sin are under the lies of Satan, as Jesus told us in John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (NKJV.) Specifically Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders of the day, but this verse reveals the character of the Devil. The lies that directly relates to gender identity is that one: It is merely a psychological disorder, and therefore out of the control of the person diagnosed with it. Thus most psychologists today will recommend the treatment of Gender identity Disorder (GID), or "gender dysphoria" disconnection from one's biological gender, should have the reconstructive surgery and hormone therapy to align their body up with their mental perception. Essential they are prescribed to get the sex change operation. The second lie is that is not only not a mental disorder, but not even wrong, merely the way some people are. Both of these lies from Satan result in the same conclusion: that the person should change their gender. God is not even considered in this decision process.
The most disturbing and sickening thing in this whole topic is that children, let me repeat, children are being diagnosed by psychologists with this condition, and I'm referring to prepubescent children who are mentally incapable of comprehending such things. Their parents are then encouraging them to experiment and chose their gender! Oh how lost this nation is, how far from God we have strayed!
What must we as Christians do about all of this? First and foremost, we must pray for the lost of this nation. God loves them, and if they are willing to repent of this sin and accept Jesus as their savior, God will accept them just as much as He will accept anyone else. Then we must go out and not be afraid to witness to such people. Obviously there are certain precautions and situations we should avoid as we do this, but they absolutely must here about the truth and love of Jesus Christ. They cannot be saved from their sin until they do. Then we must beware of any prejudice we might have against such people. Jesus told us in Matthew 22:39, "A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. " (NLT.) We know from the parable of the Good Samaritan that people who struggle with the sins of homosexuality, or transvestitism, or transgenderism are our neighbors. We are to love them with a godly love that tells them the truth of their sin and shows them the path to healing and redemption, but not a weak worldly love that says that they are right. These people are sick with sin and lost in the darkness of the world. We must point them to the light of the world and the great physician, Jesus Christ. Only He can truly save and heal them. The last thing that I must point out, and quite possibly the most painful is that if we as believers are honest with ourselves before God, many of us would admit to struggling with these sins, even if we do not fully give in; we have no room to say that we are any better or less sinful than them, even if we do not struggle in this area. Jesus said, "And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost." Everyone is lost until they find Jesus (Romans 3:23). We must pray for them and tell homosexuals, transvestites, and transgender people of Jesus Christ!

Life after Graduation

It has almost been a week since I graduated college! The idea is amazing and scary all at the same time. On the one hand, I am done with all of my classes, all of my papers, and all of the deadlines and stress that go with them. On the other hand though, I am only a few months away from student teaching. This is it; this is the real deal. This is when I get to find out how much I actually learned, where all of my learning and effort begin to seriously count. That brings with it it's own brand of pressure. While I ponder this and realize that if I screw this up, then I could blow four years of work, and it will effect my wife, not just me. On top of all that are my thoughts about my future. Where should I try to work? Should I just look for work in Omaha, or should I think about moving back to Colorado? I want to do what God wants me to do, but so far He has not given me any specific word as to what and where He wants me. It's quite a jumble of emotionally weighty thoughts swirling around in my mind. I could be very depressed right now because of it all, but I am not. And I want to tell you why: because I trust in the Lord my God. He is completely sovereign over my life, and He has allowed me to go through this period of uncertainty to remind me that it is in Him I put my trust, it is Him that I get my strength from and no one else.
His word has such wonderful promises and truths on this subject. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."(NKJV). My own understanding shows me only pressure and uncertainty, but I know that God is with me every single step every single day, and He will not abandon me. Proverbs 16:9 tells us, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (NLT). So here I am, ever before the Lord. I will be living in Omaha at least one more year, while my wife finishes her Associates degree. After that, for now it is up to us. We will make our plans, choosing what we want to do, and working to do it, then God will direct our steps. He has not forgotten us, but is waiting for us to do our part of the work before he gives us further instructions.
So I am at the crossroads of faith. I can step out in faith and do this hard work and make the hard decisions, and trust that God will guide me, or I can simply give it all up and go my own way away from Him. I chose faith.