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Author Archives: Marsha West
10 invalid arguments in defense of false teachers
Rick Becker begins his piece with,
Scripture warns us that in the last days some will depart from the faith, and be deceived by evil spirits and teachings of demons. Those who teach false doctrines are not on the fringes of Christianity, they are in the center in the form of the Evangelical Industrial Complex. Bethel, Hillsong and other NAR “churches” have infested the visible church like gangrene. Those who are saved from this deception, try to warn their friends and family still caught up in the quagmire of celebrity teachers and false doctrines. When we warn them of the precarious position they are in, they usually resort to arguments we are all familiar with. This post deals with some of those questions. Continue reading
Judge Halts Ohio Ban on Aborting Down Syndrome Babies, Says They’re Not People Yet, Only ‘Potential’ Lives
(Christian News Network) A federal judge appointed to the bench by then-President Barack Obama has granted a preliminary injunction against an Ohio law that banned mothers from killing their unborn child just because he or she has Down syndrome.
“The State cannot dictate what factors a woman is permitted to consider in making her choice,” wrote U.S. District Judge Timothy Black on Wednesday. “The State’s attempt to carve out exceptions to a categorical right where none exist fails as a matter of law.”
Vatican Caught Photoshopping, Forging Documents
(Pulpit & Pen News) No, the headline is not a repeat from the year 1073. After Pope Francis began condemning so-called “Fake News,” the Vatican has been caught red-handed, forging documents and issuing the photoshopped fakes in press releases. The story began as the Vatican began lauding a letter written by Pope Benedict on February 7, and sent to the Vatican’s prefect of the Secretariat for Communications. As Pope Francis is increasingly accused of heresy because of his Amoris Laetitia statement, in which he softens the traditional Romanist tone on divorce and traditional marriage (which has been used by Romanists the world over to embrace very non-Romanist ideas on human sexuality), it has caused many people to wonder what the former Pope is thinking about the current Pope, a historical phenomenon caused by Pope Benedict retiring in 2013, whereas historically, most Popes die in office, either from natural causes or from being murdered and/or deposed by their successors. …
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No One Else Like Him
I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. Phil 2:20
We meet two friends of the Apostle Paul in this last half of chapter two. These were real men who quite unconsciously display the character of Jesus Christ, excellent examples of all Paul has been writing about.
First we meet Timothy in verses 19-24. As Paul writes about him we see that the underlying quality that marks the man is Jesus Christ. We see that Timothy is an exceptional man. Continue reading on Ray Stedman Daily Devotions
The entertainment-driven church
Charles Spurgeon once said of church: If you have to give a carnival to get people to come to church, then you will have to keep giving carnivals to keep them coming back.
So, why would church leaders want people to come to a Sunday worship service to be entertained? In the 1800’s, Spurgeon saw the entertainment-driven church looming on the horizon when he was preaching and he spoke out against it. Today the goats who fill the chairs expect their church experience to be entertaining. And if it isn’t? They’re out of there! Continue reading
What Happens When Moral Monstrosity Is Socially Approved?
(Ben Shapiro – National Review) “Marcus takes solace in her immorality by citing that of others — “I am not alone. More than two-thirds of American women choose abortion in such circumstances.” But immoral behavior isn’t made moral by its commonness. Slavery was once common. That did not make it any more justifiable.”
In 1961, Stanley Milgram of Yale University came up with an idea for an experiment. The purpose: to determine how many law-abiding, civilized people would torture their fellows simply in order to follow basic orders. … Continue reading
The Crisis of Fatherless Shooters
(Emilie Kao – The Daily Signal) In the wake of the Parkland massacre, the age-old question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” has a newfound relevance.
As another mass school shooting stuns Americans, it is time to talk about not just how to protect students from shooters, but also about what must happen so that fewer students become shooters in the first place.
It is crucial to talk about how more American children can grow up with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual security that comes from relationships where one is deeply cared for, connected, and known. Continue reading
Beth Moore Says Fighting Donald Trump is A Fight for the Faith
(Pulpit & Pen) Beth Moore, who is a wildly popular female Bible teacher heavily promoted in evangelical circles and aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway Christian Resources, has steadily been opposing President Donald Trump since his presidential primary. She is not on record ever having opposed President Barack Obama.
Moore, who claims to hear audibly from God – going so far as writing down what she says God specifically told her – said in a tweet this week that getting political was necessary because of the “mountain of manure hitting the fan” and that for her and others it is a “fight for the faith.” … Continue reading
Catholic Archbishop Says Pedophilia Is ‘Spiritual Encounter With God’
(YourNewsWire) One of the highest-ranking officials in the Catholic Church says sexually abused children can experience “a spiritual encounter with God through the priest” while being molested.
Australia’s most powerful clergy, Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart, says the Catholic practice of confession is satisfactory for dealing with pedophilia in the church as it helps priests absolve “their own guilt” after sexually abusing children. Continue reading
Rev. Graham Shares 1 Question He Would Have Asked Stephen Hawking, in 1 Hour Gets 5,000 Shares
(Western Journal) Christian evangelist Franklin Graham wished he could have asked world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking one question before his death on Wednesday at 76 regarding the existence of God.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Graham shared an article from USA Today titled, “Heaven ‘is a fairy story’: This is what Stephen Hawking says happens when people die.”
Outspoken atheist Stephen Hawking has died
(Danny R. Faulkner – Answers In Genesis) “Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. What I meant by “we would know the mind of God” is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.” – Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking 1942–2018
Famed British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking died today. Interestingly, Albert Einstein was born on the same date in 1879. Furthermore, both men died shortly after their 76th birthdays. These facts wouldn’t be remarkable if their work and writings were not so intimately related. Continue reading
Sorry, Ladies! Mother’s Day Is Going Gender Neutral
(DailyWire) Waitrose, a high-end grocery store chain in the United Kingdom, is going “gender neutral” for Mother’s Day (known there as “Mothering Sunday”), offering a series of cards that are “gender neutral,” just in case your mum happens to be your dad, or she prefers to be known by a series of unconventional pronouns.
The purpose of the shift, Waitrose says, is to make the holiday more “transgender friendly,” reports The Times UK. Since gender is just a fluid concept, why use an archaic word like, “mother” to represent a specific relationship a child has with its primary caregiver (or, in the case of families who don’t abide by traditional gender norms, its secondary caregiver)?
Transgender employees vs. Christian business owners
(World) On the eve of International Women’s Day, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a man who identifies as a woman, ignoring appeals to religious liberty and declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to those undergoing gender “transitioning.”
Wednesday’s decision marks the third time a federal appeals court has expanded the Title VII definition of “sex” beyond biological manhood and womanhood. Within the last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th and 2nd circuits both ruled that “sex” includes sexual orientation. Those decisions, until the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, stand as law, and employers in 10 states are required to recognize sexual identities as protected classes
Record-Breaking Crowd of 100,000 Pro-Life People Rally in Ireland Against Legalizing Abortion
(LifeNews) Save the 8th has said that its campaign is “energised and motivated ” by the huge attendance at today’s Rally for Life in Dublin, which saw up to 100,000 people take to the streets to reject the Government’s plan for a UK-style abortion regime in Ireland.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of Save the 8th said that the crowds who thronged Dublin city centre showed that the government’s abortion proposal had woken a sleeping giant and that the campaign now expected a surge in volunteers to work towards a No vote in the abortion referendum in May.
House Intel Committee Finds Putin Did NOT Try to Get Trump Elected
(The Western Journal) The House Intelligence Committee has found no evidence of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia.
“We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” reads an overview of a committee report, which was released Monday.
CNN reported that the Intelligence Committee’s investigation has lasted for over a year and included 73 witnesses and the review of approximately 300,000 pages of documents.
Sid Roth, Bill Hamon Detail Conversations with Michael the Angel
(Pulpit & Pen) Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind – Colossians 2:18
“My spirit uploaded to God, and God’s spirit downloaded to me.” This is what Bill Hamon recently told Sid Roth on his program It’s Supernatural. Hamon claims to have spoken in tongues, he thought a combination of Spanish and Italian. He claims that God pre-programmed his mind so that he could not fail and that he would prophesy infallibly. Then, he began to speak about how he convened with Michael the Archangel, who gave him strategies for spiritual warfare. Continue reading
Can You Change Yourself?
Cameron Buettel urges Christian leaders to repudiate the philosophy that says you can change yourself that’s promoted by self-help gurus Anthony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey and their ilk and replace that worldly philosophy with “the truth of biblical anthropology—that all men are, by nature, totally depraved sinners.” But instead, pastors with rock star status like Joel Osteen and Steven Furtick “see it as an opportunity to market a ‘Christianized’ version of the same lie.”
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Opioid crisis is just getting worse
(Reid Wilson – The Hill) The number of Americans turning up in emergency rooms suffering from opioid overdoses has risen sharply in recent years, according to new federal data, as the size and scope of a devastating public health crisis evolves in ways officials say is difficult to combat.
Data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show emergency room visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased by 30 percent between July 2016 and September 2017. Continue reading
Homosexual Actor/Singer Ricky Martin: ‘I Want to Normalize’ Same-Sex, Open Relationships
(Christian News) In a recent interview with the website Vulture, actor and singer Ricky Martin said that he wants to “normalize” same-sex and open relationships, remarking that he believes that it is “good for the world.”
Martin was talking about his role in the sensual and sin-saturated FX television series “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” as he plays Antonio D’Amico, the homosexual partner of Gianni Versace. “I want to normalize relationships like this. It’s good for the world; it’s good for me as a gay man with kids,” he told the outlet. “It’s important that we shed some light on power couples like this, even though he was quiet and behind the scenes and he was just there supporting his man for 15 years.”
Government Accountability Office: American Taxpayers Gave $1.5 Billion to Abortion Providers
(Breitbart) The report, which was requested by 120 members of Congress led by Reps. Diane Black (R-TN), Pete Olson (R-TX) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), shows that, between 2013 and 2015, taxpayers sent $1.5 billion to abortion providers Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and Marie Stopes International (MSI). GAO found that these three organizations spent $410 million in federal funding between 2013 and 2015, and received $1.2 billion combined federal and state funds under federal health programs that require shared funding.
In Spite of Evidence, CM&A Denomination Clears Ravi Zacharias on Cyber Adultery
(Pulpit & Pen News) We released the text messages from Ravi Zacharias that indisputably proved he carried on an affair via electronic communication, received illicit images of his paramour, begged her not to tell her husband, and ultimately insinuated he would kill himself if she confessed and repented openly. You can find that post, On the Adulterous Affair of Ravi Zacharias and the Cover-Up, here. Other press outlets were content to only report the spun words from Zacharias’ ministry.
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The Young Roman Catholic Man Who Clenched His Fist
(Jordan Standridge – The Cripplegate) “So I asked him a third question, and I let him know that I ask this question in order to really get to the heart of what someone believes about how they are going to Heaven. I asked him, “If you were to die tonight, and were to stand before God, and He were to ask you why should I let you into Heaven?”
Let me tell you about a Gospel conversation I had recently that left an impression on my heart.
Tim was a very polite guy. Continue reading
The Most Pro-Life Law In The US Was Just Passed
(Western Journal) An state bill restricting legal access to abortion is earning Mississippi lawmakers praise from pro-life activists and scorn from those who believe its language is too extreme.
As The Daily Wire reported, members of the state House voted by a margin of 75 to 34 in favor of the Gestational Age Act, which prohibits abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, except “in a medical emergency or in the case of a severe abnormality.”
The legislation, which Republican Gov. Phil Bryant pledged to sign into law, has been described by supporters as the most pro-life bill in the nation.
Where Is Your Confidence?
“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6
Perhaps Paul’s joy in these people at Philippi was that he was seeing them by faith. Not as they were, but as they would be when God’s work was done. He was looking at them with the eye of faith. He was sure that He who began a good work in them was going to finish it, so Paul could say that, even though you rub me the wrong way once in a while, I know what you are going to be. … Continue reading on Ray Stedman Daily Devotions