The United States, A Modern Day Sodom And Gomorrah?

	Sign In Sign-Up

DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY JULY 31, 2003
(Genesis 18:16-19:28)

Then the men stood up from their meal and started on toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them part of the way.

"Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" God asked. "For Abraham shall become a mighty nation, and he will be a source of blessing for all the nations of the earth. And I have picked him out to have godly descendants and a godly household--men who are just and good--so that I can do for him all I have promised."

So the Lord told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are utterly evil, and that everything they do is wicked. I am going down to see whether these reports are true or not. Then I will know." So the other two went on toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham a while. Then Abraham approached him and said, "Will you kill good and bad alike? Suppose you find fifty godly people there within the city--will you destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes? That wouldn't be right! Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, to kill the godly with the wicked! Why, you would be treating godly and wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth be fair?"

And God replied, "If I find fifty godly people there, I will spare the entire city for their sake."

Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to the Lord, though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?"

And God said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five."

Then Abraham went further with his request. "Suppose there are only forty?"

And God replied, "I won't destroy it if there are forty."

"Please don't be angry," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak: suppose only thirty are found there?"

And God replied, "I won't do it if there are thirty there."

Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to God, let me continue--Suppose there are only twenty?"

And God said, "Then I won't destroy it for the sake of the twenty."

Finally, Abraham said, "Oh, let not the Lord be angry; I will speak but this once more! Suppose only ten are found?"

And God said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I won't destroy it."

And the Lord went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham. And Abraham returned to his tent.

That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them he stood up to meet them, and welcomed them.

"Sirs," he said, "come to my home as my guests for the night; you can get up as early as you like and be on your way again."

"Oh, no thanks," they said, "we'll just stretch out here along the street."

But he was very urgent, until at last they went home with him, and he set a great feast before them, complete with freshly baked unleavened bread. After the meal, as they were preparing to retire for the night, the men of the city--yes, Sodomites, young and old from all over the city--surrounded the house and shouted to Lot, "Bring out those men to us so we can rape them."

Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. "Please, fellows," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. Look--I have two virgin daughters, and I'll surrender them to you to do with as you wish. But leave these men alone, for they are under my protection."

"Stand back," they yelled. "Who do you think you are? We let this fellow settle among us and now he tries to tell us what to do! We'll deal with you far worse than with those other men." And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door.

But the two men reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door, and temporarily blinded the men of Sodom so that they couldn't find the door.

"What relatives do you have here in the city?" the men asked. "Get them out of this place--sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached to heaven and God has sent us to destroy it."

So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fiancés, "Quick, get out of the city, for the Lord is going to destroy it." But the young men looked at him as though he had lost his senses.

At dawn the next morning the angels became urgent. "Hurry," they said to Lot, "take your wife and your two daughters who are here and get out while you can, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city."

When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety, outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.

"Flee for your lives," the angels told him. "And don't look back. Escape to the mountains. Don't stay down here on the plain or you will die."

"Oh no, sirs, please," Lot begged, "since you've been so kind to me and saved my life, and you've granted me such mercy, let me flee to that little village over there instead of into the mountains, for I fear disaster in the mountain. See, the village is close by and it is just a small one. Please, please, let me go there instead. Don't you see how small it is? And my life will be saved."

"All right," the angel said, "I accept your proposition and won't destroy that little city. But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." (From that time on that village was named Zoar, meaning "Little City.")

The sun was rising as Lot reached the village. Then the Lord rained down fire and flaming tar from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life--people, plants, and animals alike. But Lot's wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and became a pillar of salt.

That morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there. So God heeded Abraham's plea and kept Lot safe, removing him from the maelstrom of death that engulfed the cities.

The United States, a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah? In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned the sodomy law in Texas, we now learn that in New York City, there will be an all gay high school. Harvey Milk High School will be for GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) students. Also, now available is a new television network called the Pride Network that will have 24/7 programming geared towards a gay audience.

On top of that is the plethora of new programs on cable and network television promoting the gay lifestyle. "Boy Meets Boy" is a reality dating program for gay men to meet other gay men. Another reality genre program is "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" airing on the BRAVO Network owned by NBC. *NBC executives were gracious enough to air a "Queer Eye" marathon all day on Super Bowl Sunday followed up by hours of programs called "Gay Marriage." Already airing on cable is "Queer as Folk" and the popular HBO series "Six Feet Under" where a leading character is gay. Not to be outdone, the networks which already have brought us openly gay characters on the top-rated sitcom "Will and Grace," will have over 6 new sitcoms with openly gay characters. Welcome to a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah!

The purpose of this Devotional today is to warn those who are not aware to what extent the pro-homosexual agenda is being fulfilled and to hopefully wake up the bloated, weak, and apathetic church that has to bear much of the responsibility for the moral decay of our culture. The goal of those who have chosen the homosexual lifestyle is to justify their sinful choice that is inherently destructive both to society and themselves. They are trying to force society to validate legally and ethically their choice of sexual behavior and relationships, and to enact laws that allow them to promote this sinful choice to our children as normal, even desirable behavior.

Let me say right up front, sin is sin in God's eyes. No sin is greater than another. The sin of homosexuality is no more, or no less a sin than murder, adultery, stealing, lying, gossiping, or gluttony. THE REASON THIS SIN IS BEING SINGLED OUT AND ADDRESSED IS BECAUSE THOSE WHO COMMIT IT, ARE PROUD OF THEIR SIN AND PROMOTE IT AS AN ACCEPTABLE LIFESTYLE! People who commit adultery do NOT have parades to celebrate their sin. People who commit murder do NOT have political action committees to make murder legal. People who steal do not have high school clubs and try to teach children that stealing is acceptable behavior. Homosexuality is a SIN in the eyes of God and is something to be ashamed of, NOT proud of.

Theologically this is not even a debatable issue. All through the Bible, from the Old Testament through the New, homosexuality is defined by God as a sin, PERIOD. God calls it an ABOMINATION! I have heard the tortured theological arguments homosexuals have made, but there is absolutely NO WAY to change the fact this act is a sin. Just because there is now a homosexual version of the Bible where they have literally changed the passages that call this act a sin, that does NOT change God's inspired, inerrant Word. Just because there is a fast growing homosexual denomination, the Metropolitan Community of Churches, that does NOT change the fact God calls this act a sin. I can guarantee you if I started a church that taught adultery was acceptable and wonderful behavior, I could fill stadiums on Sunday morning! THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN CHANGE THE FACT GOD CALLS HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN!!!

The two greatest lies the pro-homosexual community has put out are that 1) homosexuality is something that you are "born with," 2) 10% or more in our society are homosexual. First, modern science has CLEARLY rejected and been unable to prove that ANYONE is "born gay." IT IS A CHOICE!!!! PEOPLE CHOOSE TO ENGAGE IN HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR!!!! LIKE ALL SIN, ONCE YOU DO IT LONG ENOUGH, IT MAY SEEM 'NATURAL', BUT IT IS STILL A CHOICE THAT YOU MAKE. Also, all legitimate studies done by the non-homosexual community clearly show that less then 1% of the population EVER engage in this type of sexual sin.

Of course, anyone that dares to speak up on this issue is labeled as "intolerant" and a "homophobe." I find it amusing that Dr. Laura, who correctly pointed out that homosexuality is a deviant lifestyle, had her television program targeted and eventually taken off the air by the homosexual community. So this group that calls for tolerance by others, is very INTOLERANT when someone opposes their views. They also use the word "homophobe" to intimidate people from speaking out against their sexual choice.

Since I started Liveprayer 4 1/2 years ago, I receive an average of 5-6 death threats a month. By far, the largest number of those threats over the years have been after running a Devotional on this issue. The other night on my television program I dealt with this issue. I immediately received 2 death threats, was sent some of the most hateful, nasty, vile emails that I have ever seen. But I can promise you one thing, I WILL NOT BE SILENT! It upsets the pro-homosexual community in Tampa where my program originates since my program has no commercial sponsors that they can boycott, and I BUY THE TIME from the UPN Network, specifically so nobody can tell me what I can and cannot say. So they have no way to silence me, except thru trying to intimidate me. I CANNOT BE SILENT ON THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT IS NOT ONLY A BONDAGE MANY MEN AND WOMEN NEED TO BE SET FREE FROM, BUT IT IS HELPING TO DESTROY THE FAMILY!

I love you and care about you so much. THE GREATEST PROBLEM IN OUR NATION TODAY IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FAMILY. God's definition of "family" is a man and woman that are married and their children. We have literally watched the family become perverted and destroyed over the past 40 years. The destruction of the family will be the ultimate destruction of our society. THAT is why this issue is so critical, because it destroys the family as God intended it to be!

The church better wake up and realize that while they have been building great buildings and getting fat, satan has been busy using the sin of homosexuality to destroy the family. As much of an abomination as homosexual churches are, equally as abominable to God are regular churches that accept homosexuality as a normal lifestyle! Parents, you better wake up and be aware that your daughters are being taught at school that it is "cool" to have sex with other girls, it is called "lesbian chic." You also better be aware that your sons are being taught having a boyfriend is the "in thing." Lastly, you better be VERY AWARE of what is on television, in music, and out in the culture that is constantly sending the message to your children that homosexuality is a normal and acceptable CHOICE!

We live in a free society. If people who have chosen to engage in homosexual activity want to have their own schools, their own churches, their own television network, they have every right to. It is about time the church wakes up and realizes that those who promote this sin are bold and are stopping at NOTHING to get their message out to the masses. THAT is why I am always talking about how the church, those who know Christ as their Savior, have got to quit preaching to the choir and start taking the hope and love of Christ to the world at large. As those who follow Christ, we also have a responsibility to pray for those who are in this bondage, for God to open their hearts to the truth of His Word, and to turn from their sin. Only God can change hearts, and for those who are in bondage to the sin of homosexuality, we must pray for them to open their hearts and turn from their sin.

Until Jesus returns, we will always have those who choose a perverted form of sex with those of their own gender, just like we will always have those who choose to pervert sex by having it outside of the bonds of marriage. While we can never accept their choice since it is clearly against God's Word, we must pray for them, just like we must pray for everyone who is battling sin in their life.

For those reading this who are currently fighting homosexuality, let me tell you that God has never stopped loving you, and is simply waiting for you to turn from your sin and come back to Him. We serve a God of deliverance from sin, a God of forgiveness, and a God of restoration. Millions have turned from the sin of homosexuality and found complete restoration and fulfillment in living a life according to God's plan. What He did for someone else, He can do for you! I pray today that you hear these words, and choose to find freedom from your sin today. That freedom is only a prayer away!

In his love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available via audio each day. Simply go to http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html. Click on "Search by Category", then locate DAILY DEVOTIONAL. I want to thank Ed Morando for making this service available for FREE to Liveprayer.com.

Are you Saved? If your answer is anything but a resounding yes, click here.

For live prayer and answers 24/7, whether you are Saved or not, visit LivePrayer.com. Someone is always there for you.

To view more inspiring Devotionals such as this one, or to search for one on a specific topic, check out the Devotional Archive.

To receive your own devotional each day, or to sign someone else up to receive these free inspired daily devotionals, have the e-mail address ready and visit the Free Devotional Signup page. Subscription can be cancelled at any time.

To view other inspirational websites, visit A Place Of True Inspiration And Hope on the Internet.

For your very own free website, please visit www.50megs.com.

Questions or suggestions about this website should be directed to the webmaster.