I know how Lot felt

"[God] rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)..." 2 Peter 2:7

Acknowledging that I am "righteous" only by the imparted righteousness of Jesus Christ, I want to say that I know how Lot felt.  My soul, too, is tormented day after day by the "sensual conduct of unprincipled men (and women)"!

In Long Beach over the past 20 years we have seen such a rapid playing out of the terrifying passage in Romans 1:18-32 which depicts the downward and ultimately lethal spiral God permits when people choose to push away and spurn their knowledge of God.

In this passage, note the causes and effects: what God revealed to people, what certain ones did and didn't do with that revelation and God's resultant verdict.  Note what was "exchanged" for what and the 3 things to which God "gave them over" as a result.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of an incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 

"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 

"For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their acts.

"And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

My posts now published as books--available on Amazon.com

Posts from this blog about my mother became the book, MUM: THE CONSCIENCE, COURAGE AND COMPASSION OF BARBARA REYNOLDS, June 15, 1915 - Feb. 11, 1990.


                           

Posts of true fun animal stories became the book THE DOG WHO ONLY ATE TACOS and Other Stories.




 Posts about our adventures on the yacht PHOENIX OF HIROSHIMA--going around the world and sailing into the Pacific nuclear test zone (1958) and to the USSR (1961) to protest nuclear weapons--became THE REYNOLDS FAMILY, THE NUCLEAR AGE AND A BRAVE WOODEN BOAT.

My other books, also available on Amazon.com:
                            
   GIANNA: Aborted and Lived to Tell About It, the true, triumphant story of a baby girl born alive in an abortion clinic. Gianna Jessen has testified in legislatures around the world to the fact of life before birth. She  was a consultant for the movie October Sky and sang one of the songs in it.

COMPELLING INTERESTS: A novel about abortion from the hearts of people on both sides. Set against the background of the history of abortion in the United States, this book follows the lives of a woman scarred by an illegal abortion, a baby saved from abortion, a Supreme Court justice and others. 


"Jessica Shaver Renshaw has done the impossible. She's written a highly readable, informative and entertaining book on an extremely controversial topic: abortion. She seamlessly weaves fact and fiction while accurately conveying the logic and emotions of both sides with respect and compassion. Compelling Interests is in a category by itself and should be read by anyone who has an interest in truly understanding abortion and the debate surrounding it. If you've never really studied much about abortion because you don't like the heated debates it often generates, this book will be especially helpful. I highly recommend this book whether you're pro-choice, pro-life or somewhere in between." Roger Resler, Author, Compelling Interest


 
NEW EVERY MORNING, a novel: A broken relationship between father and daughter is healed through Alzheimer's.  

Jessica's Journal, an 11-year old's diary while sailing with her family from Hawaii to New Zealand. (Jessica Reynolds) is published in full online at http://betweenthemasts.blogspot.com/

My book To Russia with Love: An American Family Challenges Nuclear Testing, a 17-year old's account of sailing to the USSR during the Cold War, is only available from Wilmington College Peace Center at https://www.wilmington.edu/the-wilmington-difference/prc/, Attn: Dr. Tanya Maus, Director.

(Note: Since my first book, Jessica's Journal, was published when I was 14, it was published under my maiden name, Jessica Reynolds. The rest are published under one of my married names, Jessica Shaver or Jessica Renshaw or some combination thereof. Sorry for any confusion.)

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Jessica+Renshaw