Commentary, analysis and opinion.

Can We Learn From Paul’s Conversion Assessment?

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“Conversion “diagnostics” can be helpful for those who profess Christ. Like a doctor identifying evidence to confirm a diagnosis, converts should be able to convey what a difference Christ has made in their way of thinking and living. There’s no need for a mandated theological exam with big words (though that’s not a negative thing), but a change in desires and actions should be evident.”

(Costi Hinn – For The Gospel)  The conversion and commissioning of Paul the apostle is one that showcases God’s power to save and provides valuable lessons for new believers and their “next steps.” Continue reading →

Alistair Begg Also Shares Concerns About Beth Moore, But Will Still Preach with Her

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Begg’s ministry claimed that he accepted the invitation without knowing who else would be partnering with him. First, that’s ill-advised and (probably) wrong. It’s certainly undiscerning and in today’s climate of apostasy, is foolish. It’s alsoirresponsible not to know such things.

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen)  Earlier this week, Pulpit & Pen reported on an upcoming conference in which Alistair Begg will ‘share the stage’ with Beth Moore. Begg is certainly not the first Calvinist and/or more-serious Christian leader to preach alongside the wildly egalitarian Social Justice Warrior and newly-charismatic prophetess. John Piper was perhaps the first respectable leader to preach with Moore, but we were nonetheless disappointed in Begg’s decision. Continue reading →

A Brief Review of the Missouri Presbytery Committee Report on Revoice and ‘Gay Christians’

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All sins are heinous, but some sins are more heinous than others.  Homosexual desire is no less forgivable, but it is more pernicious.  If there is no resignation of ordained PCA officers who claim to be gay homosexuals who practice celibacy, then there will be no hope of peace and unity in the PCA.  

(Larry E. Ball – The Aquila Report)  The Committee to Investigate Memorial Presbyterian Church for Hosting the Revoice 18 Conference only found errors in poor judgment; they found nothing erroneous that “strikes at the vitals of religion.”

An Ad Hoc Committee of Missouri Presbytery of the PCA has come to the defense of one of its own ministers who has just recently and publicly confessed that he is a “Gay Christian” who practices celibacy…. Continue reading →

Eric Metaxas Affirms Joel Osteen’s False Gospel

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“One of the underlying tenets of the false prosperity gospel is the teaching of “positive confession,” or speaking and thinking positively about things you want to see come to fruition. Essentially, it’s a worldview that mimics a Disney movie with a genie-in-the-bottle far more so than Jesus Christ.” 

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Joel Osteen preaches the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel is categorically false, unbiblical, anti-Christ, and has been declared such by all sound Bible teachers and leaders in orthodox Christian evangelicalism. Continue reading →

Federal Rats Are Fleeing the Sinking Collusion Ship

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“Even their progressive media handlers are starting to sense the desperation in their new yarns — and the possibility that these hired-gun analysts or guests were themselves guilty of crimes and were using their media platforms to fashion their own defense.”

(Victor Davis Hanson – Townhall)  The entire Trump-Russia collusion narrative was always implausible.

One, the Washington swamp of fixers such as Paul Manafort and John and Tony Podesta was mostly bipartisan and predated Trump.

Two, the Trump administration’s Russia policies were far tougher on Vladimir Putin than were those of Barack Obama…. Continue reading →

Here’s Why Millennials Are Having Huge Problems

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“The only moral rule that we follow in this culture is if it feels good to do it. You see this expressed in how we treat sex, in just a hookup culture rather than a more “traditional” culture. You see it in how we approach our free time. What do people do in their free time? They play video games and they watch porn and that is the definition of if it feels good do it.”

(Michael Knowles – Daily Wire)  According to the Global Millennial Survey, 52 percent of millennials said that earning a high salary was a top priority and 48 percent of millennials don’t care about earning a high salary…. Continue reading →

Pagan Idolatry and The Democrats’ Quest For Unfettered Sex

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“When Democrats and progressives argue that abortion is about “women’s health” or “choice,” what they actually mean is they want to be able to have sex with whoever they want, whenever they want, without any responsibility whatsoever — even at the expense of sacrificing their children.”

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody, It may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody. – Bob Dylan, Gotta Serve Somebody

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  These lyrics in Bob Dylan’s 1979 hit song ring as true today as they would have in ancient B.C. times. It’s a biblical truth — we’re created in the image of God and therefore prone to worship…. Continue reading →

‘Fully Woke,’ Reformed Theological Seminary Starts ‘Women in Ministry’ Scholarship

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“Why would women want to attend seminary? To teach? To preach? The RTS website says that its purpose is primarily to train pastors. What ministry roles, in particular, will women be trained to do?”

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen)  Reformed Theological Seminary is funded by James Riady, the corrupt globalist Clinton financier and felon who was prosecuted and kicked out of the United States for using foreign cash to influence the American political system. After several years of generous donations to RTS, led by its chancellor, Ligon Duncan, the once-conservative Reformed seminary now embraces women in ministry with a new scholarship designed to attract women to offices within the church. Continue reading →

While the SBC Falls Apart, Top Leader Ponders the Existence of Space Aliens

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“While this is all going on, Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — arguably the most influential Evangelical organization in the world– rants and raves about a new YouTube channel he’s started where he discusses things like Enneagrams and Space Aliens. Seriously?”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Someone pinch me, please. Are we still living in reality? Sometimes you just have to sit back, take a deep breath, and try to wrap your head around the insanity that surrounds the current day. Like, seriously, what is going on? Have people lost their minds? Continue reading →

Mueller Changed Everything

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“Anticipation is also building for the release of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the department’s handling of the case. It is probably not a coincidence that some Obama-era intelligence figures are now pointing fingers at each other over their reliance on the so-called Steele dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated allegations against the president compiled by a former British spy on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign.”

(Byron York – Townhall)   From now on, the Trump-Russia affair — the investigation that dominated the first years of Donald Trump’s presidency — will be divided into two parts: before and after the release of Robert Mueller’s report…. Continue reading →

What to do when a Homeless Person Asks you for Money

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Our calling is clear, we need to be gracious to those who are needy but how do we know that the person asking is actually in need? And how do we know if they will use our money the right way?

(Jordan Standridge – The Cripplegate)  My freshman year at the Master’s university I got to participate in something called outreach week. The whole school took a week off and the students were split up into teams that would go and serve churches around Los Angeles and even in other states for an entire week. I told the man in charge to sign me up wherever he wanted and so he assigned me to a church in the heart of Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Repentance and Learning to Hate Sin

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“Satan, the enemy of God and all of God’s people, wants you to believe his lie: “Confessing your sin brings shame upon you and you must hide it at all costs.” We’re also reluctant to confess and to repent because we understand that sin is a reproach to us, since we bear the image of God. Yet, the only way to true repentance is confession. Confession is honesty before God and people. Confession of sin is the beginning of repentance, and the beginning of confession is learning to hate sin.”

(Kent Butterfield – Table Talk Magazine)  Repentance—a strong word. Even many Bible believing pastors hesitate to use the word, thinking it will come across as abrasive and will make people immediately uncomfortable…. Continue reading →

Is the Pope on a Marxist Mission?

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In 2013, Pope Francis used this term accompanied by the phrase “dung of the devil.” In short, where the liberal socialists praised him for not mincing his words, others caught on to what he was up to: unfettered Marxism, coming straight out of his mouth. His 84-page apostolic exhortation calls for people to fight global inequality and poverty, and to counter this “new tyranny.”

(Search Berg – Reformation Charlotte)  In the latest news, the Pope donated a whopping $500,000 for the migrants who are stranded in Mexico. In 2018, he donated his car for search and rescue charity. He also donated $1000,000 to the victims of the earthquake in Indonesia. Continue reading →

Chicago Radio Host & a Former Bodyguard Say James MacDonald Asked Them to Arrange Murders

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“When I heard that (MacDonald) was crazy enough to ask someone else to basically do the same thing . . . I figured, okay, this guy’s unhinged. This is a problem. It’s a pattern here.” 

(Julie Roys)  Chicago radio personality, Mancow Muller, says disgraced megachurch pastor, James MacDonald, asked him to find a hitman to kill someone. MacDonald’s former bodyguard is making a similar claim.

Muller said MacDonald— a celebrity pastor who was fired from Harvest Bible Chapel in February—asked him at least twice in 2018 if Muller knew a hitman MacDonald could hire. Muller said he thought MacDonald was joking at first. But during a conversation in December, Muller said it became clear to him that MacDonald was “really serious.”

Similarly, Emmanuel “Manny” Bucur, a deacon at Harvest and former confidant and volunteer bodyguard of MacDonald’s, said MacDonald asked him in 2015 to kill MacDonald’s former son-in-law. Bucur added that MacDonald offered to help him dispose of the body.

Bucur said he was upset by the request but didn’t report it because he figured MacDonald had spoken in anger and simply had a momentary lapse in judgment. Plus, Bucur said he has four daughters and understood MacDonald’s rage toward a man who had allegedly hurt his daughter.

Bucur agreed to tell his story anonymously on a podcast of Muller’s, which was recorded on Thursday but has not yet aired. Bucur said during the recording session, he heard Muller’s story for the first time and hours later, decided to go on the record with me.  View article →

Related

Podcast (short) Mancow and the Harvest Scandal 

Research

James MacDonald

The Epidemic Of A Seared Conscience

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“How can a culture sustain moral uprightness from generation to generation when even the Church, that instrument of God meant to inform and when necessary, correct culture, begins to emulate the culture? When a society becomes seared in conscience, when a critical mass of people begin to think and advocate for evil under the guise of good, and exchange light for darkness, their minds become seared as with a branding iron and the resultant scar tissue renders them incapable of returning to correct thinking and behavior absent a radical surgery.”  

(Mike Spaulding – News With Views)   Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read. Continue reading →

Top 10 Ways to Amend the ‘Equality Act’

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Let’s see an amendment that upholds religious liberty– “Nothing in this act will infringe upon the First Amendment religious freedom rights of any citizen, nor bar RFRA (the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) as a defense for a cause of action.” 

(Linda Harvey – Mission:America)  Well, they did it.

Nancy’s Pelosi’s rogue lawmakers passed the anti-Christian, anti-health, anti-morality, anti-child “Equality Act” ( H.R. 5). And so now it heads to the Senate.

Where timid, compromised Republicans wait to offer amendments they can hide behind. We can hope Mitch McConnell never brings this bill to the floor. Continue reading →

Dear Christian: STOP IT!!

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“If we Christians can speak things into existence, using the power of our words, why don’t we just do it? Why do we have so many “experts” who must go into elaborate detail to explain it? Why are there 90 million books, seminars and sermons that teach this — shouldn’t they just “speak it into existence?” When did Christians stop noticing that this is actually witchcraft? Does the phrase “casting spells” ring a bell?”

(Steven Kozar – Messed Up Church)  There are lots of things that Christians believe that are not in the Bible.  At all. Continue reading →

Dissecting Another Anti-Discernment Hit-Piece

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The fouls are against those who falsely teach God’s word. The rest of this point is yet another personal attack upon people you could not possibly know. You have no idea what the people you are maligning hunger for sir. I considered summarizing your drawn out points but it is important that people see the vitriol and hate you are trafficking in here. Unintended or not.

(Anthony Wade – 8:28 Ministries)  Beloved, we can expect as the end times deepen that the apostate church will lash out more and more at those who seek to speak the truth so that some of their followers may come out of the darkness before it is too late. We can also expect that even well intended believers will contribute to this as the devil wants to silence truth at all costs. The above piece is written by a pastor named Eric Davis from Wyoming, writing on a website called The Cripplegate. I have never dealt with this site but some of the cursory examination seems solid, which is why this article was so disappointing. Perhaps Pastor Davis experienced some uncalled for criticism or perhaps he is guilty of the armchair reactionary judgment he seems so hot to speak against…. Continue reading →

So, Who’s Really Anti-Science?

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“If the baby is just part of her body, why does her body know, when she becomes pregnant, to turn off a key pathway in her immune system, to make sure her body doesn’t attack the baby as foreign? Why would part of her body potentially be viewed as foreign?”

(Ken Ham – Answers In Genesis)  Christine Quinn, a board member of the National Institute for Reproductive Health and a former Democratic politician, recently appeared on a CNN TV show with host Chris Cuomo (brother to Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York who recently signed a bill into law that allows for abortion up until the time of a baby’s birth). She appeared opposite Rick Santorum, a former US senator, to discuss the “heartbeat bill” that recently passed in Georgia that makes abortion illegal after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected. During her heated exchanged with Santorum, she stated, Continue reading →

Women Should Be Silent in the Church Assembly

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“So, you know. We’re all sexist misogynists and stuff. Suddenly, Beth Moore’s bony, manicured finger is pointing at all of us with accusations of bigotry for holding to positions that up until 5 minutes ago we all held. The thing about the Great Awokening is that those who sleep in get beaten.”

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen)  We warned you for years that Beth Moore would not be content preaching to women. Yet, pastors – yes, men who should have known better – continued to lend her a platform to speak. It started small with Bible studies for women. Then, it became a Sunday School class for both men and women. Then, her influence grew to conferences where both genders were invited to attend. But most recently, Moore began to speak from the pulpit in once-conservative Southern Baptist churches. Continue reading →

Why was FBI so wrong in Trump-Russia wiretap warrant?

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“Large parts of the publicly-released version of the application are blacked out. (Trump is said to be considering releasing some of the currently redacted sections.) There are sentences with a word blacked out. There are entire sentences blacked out. There are entire paragraphs and entire pages blacked out. All of that makes the application difficult to read and fully understand.  Nevertheless, it is still possible to make out just how grossly wrong the FBI was.”

(Byron York – Washington Examiner)  A huge controversy erupted last year when President Trump declassified parts of the FBI’s secret request to wiretap former Trump campaign volunteer foreign policy adviser Carter Page….. Continue reading →

Journalism is Dead—Long Live the Media!

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“Fake news” is not just a Trump talking point or obsession. It is a factual account of what journalism has become—so often an arm of the progressive movement and an incestuous and inbred group of New York and Washington coastal elite mediocrities, or what former Obama official Ben Rhodes cynically wrote off as an “echo chamber” of greenhorn know-nothings.

(Victor Davis Hanson – American Greatness)   There still exists a physical media in the sense of airing current events. But it is not journalism as we once understood the disinterested reporting of the news. Journalism is now dead. The media lives on. Continue reading →

An Open heaven – opening up oneself to a strong delusion at Bethel Redding

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“And it’s suddenly, like, clay or Play-Doh. And He starts molding it and shaping it, and I’m like, ‘Jesus, what is He doing? What’s He making? What is He making?’ And all of the sudden I see—He makes me! I’m there—on the table. And He reaches over; and He grabs this box and brings it over, and He sets me inside the box. And, you know those little jewelry boxes that little girls have; where you open it up and it plays music, and the little ballerina, like, twirls? Hello? Do you know what I’m talking about? (laughs) No? …”

(Mike Oppenheimer – Let US Reason)  We have seen these revivals over the last 25 plus years. It is more accurate to say it is revivalism – meaning, it hypes people up to think something spiritual is actually taking place when it is false doctrine and practices being introduced for them to believe and live by. Continue reading →

What churches should know about YWAM Part 1: A sketchy theological heritage

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“The heretical Moral Government teaching is largely in YWAM’s past. Yet Moral Government teaching morphed into another heterodox doctrine promoted within YWAM today, known as “open theism.” What is open theism? It entails the belief that God does not exhaustively know all of the future. Specifically, he doesn’t know what decisions human beings will choose to make acting out of their free wills. In other words, God’s knowledge is limited by humankind’s free moral choice. He cannot 100 percent predict what any free moral agent will do ahead of time.”

(Holly Pivec – Spirit of Error)  This post is the first in a series on the influential Christian missions organization Youth With a Mission (YWAM), with a focus on its relationship to the controversial New Apostolic Reformation movement. YWAM was founded in 1960 by Loren Cunningham as a way to deploy young people as missionaries throughout the world…. Continue reading →

Trend-Setting of the LGBTQ in Media

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“Let’s be real here – Drag Queen Vanessa Vanjie is not Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster, oh no, instead he is (the man under the woman’s clothing and make-up) actually a child’s worst nightmare, a monster dressed with the intent to decimate the soul of a child by perpetrating a lie.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  Anyone who knows me personally knows I am not a trend-setter by any stretch of the imagination. A close look in my clothes closet is evident of that fact. However, I do pay close attention to groups who are in the business of setting trends. Continue reading →