Now, looking back at the point of the Holy Jesus’ lifesaving intervention, I was clearly like a sheep caught in the thorns and thickets of the spiritually hostile terrain of my wrong thoughts. In the Biblical parable that Jesus told, HE is like the Good Shepherd of a hundred sheep, who willingly left the 99 sheep on a hillside to find (me) the one, who was lost. And I didn’t know why I was ensnared, or how to stop becoming entangled: I only knew that I felt trapped. And I finally came to the realization that only God could free me from, in my case, recurrent homosexual thoughts and feelings about which I felt afraid and guilty. Therefore, I cried out to Him about my dilemma.
When HE arrived at my location, in this case, into my living room, having come through a closed window as a billowing cloud on a lovely Summer day, I felt the need to apologize to HIM and even to try and explain my situation to HIM. However, it is clear to me now that HE could already see that I was entangled in the thickets of my thoughts. So HE counseled me and physically touched my heart. And in doing so, HE reset my thoughts to a time before I struggled with homosexual thoughts and feelings. Further, HE brought me into an agreement with HIM to cherish my womanhood, which HE compassionately explained is HIS thoughtful and special gift to me. This conversation is covered in greater detail in other entries of my blog.
Nonetheless, all people are like sheep. Sin is like the thorns and thistles representing the wrong thoughts of the mind. Therefore, regardless of the nature of the sin, the mind is like a sometimes hostile terrain, where the thorns and thistles of sinful thoughts that oppose righteous thoughts could invariably ensnare the person/sheep. However, God is Holy; HE requires sinlessness, and only HE can free any sinner from any sin.
Further, as eluded to earlier, there are different types of sins listed in the Holy Bible. In fact, for every right and holy thought a person could have about anything in life, a wrong and unholy or sinful thought potentially exists, due the existence of sin in the world. However, what Jesus told me about how to gain the mastery over my homosexual thoughts and feelings, (namely to abhor them) is as important as what HE did not say. For example, Jesus never told me what caused my sin. He didn’t blame it on the Devil, or on me, or on anyone or anything else. Instead, it became clear to me that HE could tell me the truth about my sin and show me how that sin effects my relationship with HIM. However, I, alone, am responsible to ensure that I do not sin again. Another thing that was crystal clear during the process of my salvation through Jesus, is that He dealt with me one-on-one. There was no other person in the room. It was Jesus/God, who has the answer, me, and my sin, which for all of my life up to that point seemed unsolvable to me.
Additionally, as God is a God of order, even in a crowd, a person’s experiences are that of the individual. In multiple births, only one person is born at a time. When water runs, each droplet is contained individually. When snow falls, each tiny flake falls in its own time and has its own unique characteristics. And blood flows as individual platelets that are microscopic and indistinguishable to the naked eye. Therefore, it is unwise and inexcusable to follow a crowd to engage in wrong-doing, as God will judge and eventually separate people based on their own individual behavior.
The Book of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31-46 teaches the following, as taken from biblegateway.com, an online bible-based website at: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025%3A31-46&version=CEV
The Final Judgment
31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. 32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35 When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
40 The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
41 Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”
44 Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”
45 The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”
46 Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.”
Back to my thoughts: In summary, sin is the only thing that separates people from God’s holiness. The good sheep’s determination to fully depend on the Biblical teachings of Jesus and live a holy life in a sinful world can be compared to providing food and drink to the hungry and thirsty souls of other people, who choose to engage in sin or are desperate for a way to escape sinful thoughts and feelings. The righteous in the Holy Bible has also been compared to a light on a hill that shines the truth of God’s love and righteousness into a sinful world. Each person is charged with the great responsibility of becoming one of the good sheep and ensuring that others are similarly encouraged, as it is not God’s desire to see anyone perish. However, if a person chooses otherwise, because God is Holy and has given the life of HIS son, Jesus Christ to be broken and die for the removal of sin and for the salvation of all mankind, there is no other way or greater name than the name of Jesus Christ, (which is interpreted as, Salvation Anointed, or in the English vernacular, Anointed Salvation), that a person can call upon for salvation from sin. Absolutely no one other than Jesus Christ can save any person. Therefore, it is unwise to neglect HIS great salvation.
Consider these Bible verses taken from biblehub.com at the following website: https://biblehub.com/cev/hebrews/2.htm
This Great Way of Being Saved
1We must give our full attention to what we were told, so we won’t drift away. 2The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. 3So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. 4God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to.
The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved
5We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. 6 Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God,
“What makes you care about us humans?
Why are you concerned for weaklings such as we?
7You made us lower than the angels for a while.
Yet you have crowned us with glory and honor.
8And you have put everything under our power!”
God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don’t see it all under our control. 9What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God’s gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!
10Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God’s children to be saved and to share in his glory. 11Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. This is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 He even said to God,
“I will tell them your name and sing your praises when they come together to worship.”
13 He also said, “I will trust God.” Then he said, “Here I am with the children God has given me.”
14We are people of flesh and blood. This is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. 15But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. 16 Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham’s descendants. 17He had to be one of us, so he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. 18And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.