The term "Jesus is the answer" is too often mis-used when there is no answer for our needs, when God seems absent. A consumer approach to religion some may argue who considers religion as external good works, but in Christianity Jesus often meet our internal needs first before commissioning us to "change" the world.

In the very few GLBT christian churches we often could only provide a safe space and a general faith statement that "God loves you", and then recruit them for services for the greater common good to come against the same kind of injustices that gays are facing. More discipleship is what we need some lamented.

Much more common, in many Christian evangelical churches, once a person has accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, instead of "God loves you", we say "Jesus has saved you", and we again recruit them for services of the gospel to preach the good news and be sure to follow all the Christian religious laws lest we sin. More discipleship and alpha courses is what we need some lamented.

It is more Jesus that we need first rather than just doing religious good works - whether internal works of striving to be holy and sinless, or external works to serve the needs of others to right the injustice in society or preach the Gospel message. We can't show a tangible grace and mercy to others, if we had not receive from God.

It is not easy to seek Jesus, because it requires faith to believe in Jesus as God, as the Messiah, who died physically, and who resurrected miraculously, and in the course of His short ministry healed and fed thousands. Jesus was meeting people at their invidual needs, and not judging them, demanding money, or for them to serve Him.

Jesus met people where they were, according to their needs and desires:-

• Jesus gave fish to the firsherman (John 21:5-6) and not healing,

• Jesus delievered the man from demonic spirits (Mat 8:28), and not talk about loving others to him or about spirituality.

• Jesus gave light to the blind to see (Mark 8:23) and not food to eat. He didn't food to the blind, but meet him where his precise needs were.

• Jesus gave food to the hungry (Mat 14:13) and not healing,

• Jesus healed the sick (Mat 4:23) and not food.

• Jesus gave love and forgiveness to the prostitute. He didn't heal the prostitute, but showed love and forgiveness of sins.

The church represents Jesus. When we go out in our anti-gay march to the minister of law, we are undermining the name of God. We are undermining Jesus, the Word of God.

When we defend injustice and unrighteousness and justify it using the bible in the case of jail sentences against gays, we undermine the bible as truth and the Word of God. They say that gays will destroy Christianity, and ironically there is half a truth in it. Even the secular world sees our hypocrisy and injustice.

Is Jesus still the same - yesterday, today, and tommorow? He said that He has sent the Holy Spirit to reflect His presence, but often we take the Holy Spirit for granted. Christianity is foremost a walk of faith, a relationship with God where we are.

We can only come to Jesus by truth and by the spirit! - by truth that Jesus is the Messiah and He is the way to God in heaven, by spirit as in contrast to religious works, by faith that Jesus rose and died again and we can commune with Him not through a religious hierachal structure but by the spirit for the Holy Spirit resides in us.

When we were young, we have all the energy, passion and dreams to change this world. But when we are older, our needs becomes more pressing of daily subsistence, finance, having a partner, relationships, work, health, and happiness - just to survive. A church that does not focus on Jesus meeting our needs, where we are, will not prosper.

We preach about us loving others but not the revelation of in the bible of Jesus as God coming to meet our dire needs where we are. The needs of GLBT Christians are significant and unique.

It's not only kinship that we need to make this place a better world, but seeing the many facets of Jesus as God in the bible. For Christ is our Saviour not only for our spiritual redemption, but our Saviour, our grace in our present circumstances.

In the bible, the names of Jehovah God, reveal His character and nature:-

• ELOHIM - God is one God unique amongst the many gods in a multi-faith society. (Deu 5:7)

• YAHWEH - YHWH (yod, hay, vav) - is a covenant God, the God of "I AM". Through the Cross, we enter by covenant with God through Jesus. (Exo 3:13-15, Ex 3:6, John 8:58)

• EL ROI - God who sees us in our predicament (Gen 16:13-14)

• EL SHADDAI - God almighty is all sufficient for us to live by resting in His presence (Gen 17:2-3)

• YAHWEH/ JEHOVAH JIREH - The God of "I AM" who provides. (Gen 22:11-14)

• YAHWEH/ JEHOVAH RAPHA - The God of "I AM" who heals. (Ex 15:26)

• YAHWEH/ JEHOVAH NISSI - The God of "I AM" who is my banner, who fights for me, who represents me (Ex 17:16)

• YAHWEH/ JEHOVAH MEKODDISHKEM - The God of "I AM" who sanctifies us through Jesus Christ that makes us clean and whole to come before God through the sabbath communion (Ex 31:12)

• YAHWEH/ JEHOVAH SHALOM - The God of "I AM" who is our peace. (Judges 6:22-24)

• YAHWEH TSIDKENU/ JEHOVAH OUR JUSTICE - The God of "I AM" who is our justice (Jer 23:5-6)

 Jesus is the reality of ELOHIM, our Yahweh/Jehovah, the God of "I AM" who spoke to Moses at the burning bush. For many Gay Christians, we have been exiled to live in the closeted desert. But there, surely God will meet us one day from the burning bush in the dry desert of our pain and sufferings.

We need to come to a point of meeting Jesus, in the fullness of His love, grace, and mercy, in the character and attributes of Jesus. In no other faith that God came down to earth, to be one of us because it is one thing to say that one is from God, but another to claim to be God. Jesus' claim to be the Son of God was supported by supernatural power and annointing.

When Martha in John 11:21 criticised Jesus for not coming soon enough to heal lazarus, she was rebuked by Him. When Mary (who was the prostitute who poured oil on Jesus' feet) made the same criticism of Jesus in John 11:32, Jesus cried. We approach God not out of a demand, but out of a walk and a closeness with Jesus beyond a mere humanistic intellect.

Jesus wept because of the closeness and relationship He had with Mary and He felt her pain and suffering. Mary was a good friend who had known and receive the grace of God.

Jesus always arrives at an invitation, even from the Pharisees who considered Him only a teacher or at best one of the many prophet. What more, when we invite Jesus to our lives not only as Lord and Saviour, but a friend and the Lord God who meets our needs.

In times of strife and difficulties, it is often difficult to say that "Jesus is the answer", and sometimes there is no easy answer to life. When we invite Jesus in, to pour His grace, mercy and love into our lives, surely Jesus becomes the answer by faith and rest in the finished work of the Cross of Calvary.

Jesus, You are the answer, You are my grace, You are God's grace and mercy in my life, a friend at all times. May the latter rain of grace pours down from heaven that my heart may rejoice and be glad in this desert land.