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here's something for the guys who have everything...

I have conflicting feelings about this ruling. On the positive side, I am happy to see that same-sex couples will have the same rights to choice and happiness as male-female couples. On the negative side, it appears to restrict the rights of individuals and institutions to follow the tenets of their faith; closing the doors for these people/groups to carry out the tenets of their faith without harassment and litigation by gay activists (and now possibly the government). A happy day for gays and lesbians; a sad day for religious freedom. The end of discrimination against gays could possibly be the beginning of legalized discrimination against Christians in this country who refuse to compromise their convictions. The next step will be the religious moralization of government mandated environmental policy. Can anyone besides me see the potential advent of government enforced state religion?

It is my OPINION, that one does not simply "go into" or "come out" of their sexuality. It is my OPINION, that one merely IS.

We once had an Airdale who loved to sleep on the sofa when we were gone. but, the dog knew that we should not catch him there. So, soon we never did. But, we knew. So, we put mousetraps on the sofa when we left. The dog quickly learned to set them off and move them out of the way and then sleep on the sofa.

Ty's presentation is solid. Jesus said in Mat 18:18 " Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Was Jesus saying that man would set Heaven's standard by what man allowed on earth. But Abraham allowed multiple wives. Is that binding in Heaven? Christ answered that question "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh" (Mar 10:6-8). Which is to say that man's standard from the beginning was that a man could marry a woman. But that is not Heaven's standard for Jesus also states: "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven" (Mat_22:30). Clearly Jesus gave Heaven's standard which was not multiple wives and husbands or even having a husband or a wife. Thus Christ is not setting man's standard on earth as being binding in Heaven, but teaching that Heaven's standard is what should be binding on earth. But regarding marriage, not all living on earth could accept Heaven's standard at this time: "For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it" (Mat_19:12). Regarding WO, Heaven's standard is clear: "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (Rev_1:6). "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev_5:10). The redeemed are not all male. Thus Heaven's standard is that men and women are Kings and Priests, but not all are willing to accept heaven's standard as the rule on earth. In the marriage relationship on earth, God has made allowance for hormonal activity; allowances that will not be necessary in Heaven. But in the matter of WO, God has given ample evidence in His word and the Spirit of Prophecy for us to understand His will. Thus it boils down to a matter of "rightly dividing the word of truth," which will be a salvation issue when all is said and done. How do you read Luke 12:47 "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes"? Or Christ's prayer to God in Mat_6:10? "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

I have had my morning wake up surprise when I saw my friend, Halfstep Denise as the second poster. What a trip back in time! I still have a soft spot for them ... or for anyone who is trying to make an honest living ..... so I usually break into their script and say sorry, gotta run ... God Bless you and hang up. Then I immediately block their number.

GM, A tempest in a teapot....much ado about nothing? By that I mean, we should not be having this issue because the equality in all areas for women would have been a no-brainer. The .org created the issue and now seem to not get out of that shadow.

And talking about the KJV... There are some KJV-only advocates that believe WAY differently than Seventh-Day Adventists. How does that happen? I am impressed that the Holy Spirit plays a big part (and must play a big part) in guiding a seeker.

What is your position on homosexuality and can homosexuals change as explained in the video below?

June 26, 2015 Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Same-Sex Marriage The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 26, released its decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States. Even with the Supreme Court’s decision, the Seventh-day Adventist Church maintains its fundamental belief that marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman. While the church respects the opinions of those who may differ, it will continue to teach and promote its biblically based belief of marriage between a man and a woman. The Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that all people, regardless of race, gender, and sexual orientation are God’s children and should be treated with civility, compassion, and Christ-like love. More information on the Adventist Church’s belief on marriage can be found athttp://www.adventist.org/information/official-statements/statements/article/go/0/marriage/30/ follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend read or subscribe to NewsPoints online

I am the author of the above post. I don't know how I happened to not be logged in when I posted, but I was.

God is Love! Jesus saves!

Considering this information below, I'd suggest that's very good advice 18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[i] 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.....Romans 1 God is Love! Jesus saves!

I only know a few words in French... have a great team that puts this together..and translates what I need to have translated.

I have long believed we should be tolerant of homosexuals, just as we extend tolerance to people who use tobacco or alcohol and adulterers (all these can be forgiven--even the polygamy of Biblical patriarchs). We must still, of course, point homosexuals to the Scriptures which plainly show their behavior to be judged by God as sinful, and urge them to receive therapy for what is in fact an aberrant behavior. But what God cannot be tolerant of is a direct challenge to His authority, when people presume to redefine what marriage is, defying God's definition. If same-sex unions were called unions, or partnerships, or anything other than marriage, there would be no problem. But daring to defy God's authority in one of the two divine institutions God established in Eden, before the Fall of Mankind, can only lead to the significant removal of divine protection from our nation and from our world. Today's Supreme Court 5-4 split decision is the real and true beginning of the end for America. The troubles that will now come on America in the form of natural disasters and man-made disasters, will eventually lead people to be willing to enforce a Sunday Law, where everyone is required to go to church for "moral instruction" on Sunday. If you have ever wondered what would lead to America accepting a national Sunday Law, this is it. The End of Time has begun. And just watch--the gay community is going to be thrown under the bus, when it becomes convenient to blame them for the disasters that are about to befall America. The very people who now think it is so "righteous" to uphold the "human rights" to perversion, will turn on homosexuals and claim they are to blame for all the troubles, when really it is the fault of those who used the gay community in this way, to defy God's authority openly and directly and officially, which is all that Satan needed to claim the right to operate with much greater freedom to bring about his evil purposes.

I find Most people haven't figured that out yet. Thank you, Aubrey.

I've learned to keep asking them questions about their personal lives until they give up...but I only ask them the same questions they ask me.

I don't answer any calls unless I know exactly who's on the other end. And if they really want something they can leave a message. Also I've noticed that if I do answer and I have to say Hi more twice I just hang up.

Works fine!

Finally solved, or nearly solved, the telemarketer problem by discontinuing our land line---an annoying, free conduit for telemarketers. Now we rely solely on our cell phones, but even then we occasionally receive telemarketing calls. I never answer unknown caller call---they can always leave a message if desired---and when I look up the number online it indicates spam. Next step is to block the spam number from ringing my cell phone. We no long have internet at home, though, except on the cell phones, so must access it at work during breaks.

I hadn't read this before, it is quoted in the above passage by Ty Gibson, but I had read something like it, and I why I felt it necessary to defend those accused of teaching falsely. “A person who will allow any degree of suspicion or censure to rest upon his fellow workers, while he neither rebukes the complainers nor faithfully presents the matter before the one condemned, is doing the work of the enemy. He is watering the seeds of discord and of strife, the fruit of which he will have to meet in the day of God” (Counsels on Health, pp. 296-298).

I find the following interesting: Under denominational policy a female may serve as a General Conference Vice President, and one presently so serves. But, that same woman can not, according to GC policy, be elected to serve as a local Conference President! It just does not make a lot of sense. In my role, I have contact with non-SDA clergy who have read about our denominational issues about women in clergy roles. They ask me how it can make any sense at all for a denomination has was co-founded by a woman (EGW) to have issues about female clergy. They are right.

I'm perplexed. What can't licensed ministers do that ordained ones can? How are they limited in what they can do for God? I'm referring to duties aside from being an elected official in the GC, Division, Union, or Conference - I really consider those individuals to be "business people" not necessarily in the business of personally spreading the gospel.. (sorry – I know that's not going to be a popular statement). Can't licensed ministers preach, baptize, perform marriages, etc? Maybe I'm under a misconception, and need enlightenment...

NOTE: There is a high expectation that the Supreme Court will release another opinion at 10 AM, Eastern Time, tomorrow, Friday, June 26, 2015. By the way, I am aware that the Court prefers to use the word "Opinoin" rather than "Decision," which is the term that I often use. For the "purists," which I often am, "opinion" is the correct word.

I know a little Spanish, but I am not close to being fluent in it. I took one class in French long time ago, but I didn't follow up on that. If you know French you can travel just about anywhere and communicate. I worked part time in a pizza restaurant. There were these two coworkers there. One was a black guy from Mali, in W Africa. The other was this arabic guy from N Africa, Morocco, or Algeria, I can't remember which country. They both spoke several languages including english with heavy accents. When they didn't mind you knowing they would speak english. If they wanted to discuss something without you knowing, they would switch to french.

Wow. I'm impressed.

Perhaps the only real Americans are the Native American Tribes, here long before the influx of European and other nationalities. Maybe the majority of us white-skinned folk should identify ourselves as Euro-Americans.

Nothing wrong with using the Bible, it is a correct thing to do. The problem lies when persons demand that it can only be interpreted one way, ignoring time, place and intent saying context is not important. The 'truth is out there'...in the hands of the HS.

Not to mention those that translate, Lord's Day as Sunday. It is good to be aware. The KJV is not perfect, either. I don't think there is a perfect translation. But the translations are not as varied and wacky as the notes in study Bibles. I pulled the Common Man's bibles we had after having a look at the study notes. I found what I thought to be a strange over-attention to the anti-Christ and New World Order. I much prefer to focus on Jesus than monsters in Revelation...

done...