Fans of Jen Hatmaker may not realize that she follows the same basic playbook used by former megachurch pastor and Oprah Winfrey pal Rob Bell and other progressive “Christians.” According to Michael J. Kruger, professor of Reformed Theological Seminary, the details may be different, but the overall point is the same. Berean Research has posted numerous articles to show that even though they profess to be evangelicals, both Jen and her husband Brandon are firmly ensconced in the Religious Left. In other words, they’re progressives. As you’re about to see, Jen rejects the inerrancy of Scripture. A few years ago the Hatmakers came out in support of the LGBTQ community and in doing so the couple made it clear that they deny the biblical teaching on marriage, sexuality and family.
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Author Archives: Marsha West
Meditation does not make you a better person, study finds
(Francesca Marshall – The Telegraph) Meditation does not make you a better person according to a new study despite widespread claims that meditation can make you calmer and more compassionate towards other people.
Researchers have found that despite popular beliefs that meditation can make people more compassionate and less aggressive the evidence for this is limited.
The research by scientists at Coventry University in the UK, Massey University in New Zealand, and Radboud University in the Netherlands, reviewed 22 studies involving 1685 people to investigate the effect of various types of meditation. Continue reading
Are All Angels Safe?
(Marsha West – Christian Research Network) Contrary to popular belief, angels are neither chubby little babes with rosy cheeks nor are they exquisite young women with gossamer wings decked out in long flowing gowns. The Bible reveals very little about angels. What we do know is that God sends angels to do His bidding.
The Bible mentions two elect holy angels (the good guys) by name: Michael and Gabriel. Scripture also mentions the Angel of the Lord; Michael the archangel; the Captain of the Host of the Lord; messengers; and guardians.
Also mentioned are fallen angels (the bad guys). Lucifer, one of God’s highest angels, led a revolt against God and was banished from heaven along with his followers which is said to be a third of the angels. There are many names for Lucifer such as Satan, Devil, Prince of Darkness and Beelzebub. The other rebels became demons. In the future God will judge Satan and his demons.
Angels are spirit beings. They are neither male nor female. In every single angel visitation recorded in Scripture, angels always appear as men, never women.
Because I have written several articles on angels I am often asked if angels are among us today. Yes!
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:2).
Those who believe they are experiencing an angel visitation must scrutinize what the angel purports. For example, does the angel point you to Jesus Christ or away from Him? Elect holy angels (from here on out referred to as angels) will always point you to Christ, never to anyone else, living or deceased, which includes the Apostles and the Virgin Mary.
Angels never espouse new doctrines or extra-biblical (special) revelation. Likewise, they do not point individuals to religions such as Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, et al.
Angels by no means encourage participation in the counterfeit religions’ holy days, festivals, ceremonies and rituals. Angels do not advance the idea of having a sacred place or space.
Angels would never suggest that people involve themselves in occult activities. Currently, Transcendental Meditation (TM) is all the rage, even among some Christians. Angels absolutely do not direct anyone to embrace this pagan practice. TM is not biblical meditation. Instead of meditating on God’s Word, the practitioner goes into an altered-state-of-consciousness (alpha state) which is a light dream state in order to connect with “god.” It should be a big red flag that New Agers advocate TM. In fact, for the so-called psychic, meditation is the “spiritual practice” they employ when they wish to contact their “spirit guides.”
Sadly, many Christians who have embraced The Silence aka contemplative, or centering, or breath prayer are woefully unaware that they’re practicing unbiblical meditation.
“Christian yoga” is also spreading like a wild fire through the visible Church. This may not set well with some readers, but practicing yoga is taboo….even when your yoga instructor’s a professing Christian.
The bottom line is this: Angels would not, could not, promote anything God expressly forbids –and He forbids His children from participating in any way shape or form in pagan religious practices or disciplines. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that God’s people are not to embrace the world’s philosophies.
Bear in mind that holy angels are incapable of going against God, whereas unholy angels continuously go against God in their quest to lead people astray. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we learn that Satan is the “god of this world.”
The phrase “god of this world”… indicates that Satan is the major influence on the mind-set expressed by the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes and views of the majority of people. His areas of influence also encompass the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions. (Source)
Does God allow His people to contact angels through mediums? According to Leviticus 19:31 we are commanded not to involve ourselves with “mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”
So the answer is No!
It is a complete waste of time to “call your angel” or to try to contact angels by constructing an altar…lighting candles…burning incense…through meditation…or any other way that allegedly makes angels feel comfortable. God expressly forbids any contact with the spirit realm! And besides, the regenerate Christian has direct access to God through the Son, Jesus Christ. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
So, what would be the purpose of calling on angels when we can go directly to God through His Son?
Anyone who contacts angels (or spirit guides) is inviting demon contact! The Bible tells us that demons can and often do possess human beings! Do holy and unholy angels have the authority to indwell believers? No! The reason they’re unable to indwell humans is obvious: at the moment of regeneration the Holy Spirit takes up residence or comes to live within the new believer. And once the Spirit takes up residence, He never leaves, not even for a second. Listen to the Lord Jesus:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17). (emphasis mine)
Those who are truly saved are God’s property:
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4).
I need to stress that God’s elect cannot be demon possessed. They are, however, susceptible to demonic oppression.
Demonic oppression is when a demon is temporarily victorious over a Christian, successful in tempting a Christian to sin, and able to hinder a Christian’s ability to serve God with a strong testimony. (Source)
I’ll close with this warning: Contacting angels is neither wise nor safe.
Research Papers:
Angels, Demons & Spiritual Warfare
New Age/New Thought Spirituality
Copyright by Marsha West, 2012. Revised April 2021.
Donor Alert: Pro-Family Cash Is Routed to LGBT Groups Instead
(LifeZette) “Alliance Defending Freedom alleged recently that Georgetown, the country’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, not only misappropriated donations intended for the pro-family student organization Love Saxa, but illegally deposited those funds into the accounts of various LGBT groups on campus instead.”
One by one, like falling dominoes, Catholic universities nationwide seem to be shedding their Christian ethos and abandoning their religious teachings.
They’re embracing, instead, ever-expanding social justice curricula and worldviews that prioritize race, class, gender, and sexual orientation — concepts that serve to divide rather than unite people.
If You Can’t Heal ‘Em, Beat ‘Em?
(Costi Hinn – Defining Deception) Why in the world does church history matter? That’s a question more Christians should be able to answer – and a highly important one at that.
In his phenomenal work, Why Church History Matters, Robert F. Rea defines history as “the study of the past in order to understand the present and improve the future.”[1] History teaches us valuable lessons about the good, the bad, and the ugly. It teaches us about the nature of the way things have been and how they came to be. These are certainly lessons we do well to learn because they remind us that even the best of men are still men at best. Furthermore, lessons from history provide us with the motivation to change the future, even when it’s painful to face the facts. Continue reading
Pope Francis is giving in to the Chinese Communist Party
(Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian – Washington Post) Such a capitulation of spiritual authority would damage the Catholic Church in China for years to come. How do we know? Because this very scenario has played out before — in communist Hungary.
The Vatican appears to be seeking a rapprochement with China, almost 70 years after Beijing broke ties. But the Catholic Church has little to gain and much to lose from mending ties with the Communist Party-ruled country. And Pope Francis should be under no illusions: Any agreement the two sides may strike will be entirely on Beijing’s terms.
16 Bombshells In the Nunes Memo the Media Does Not Want You to Know About
(John Nolte – Breitbart) In its partisan zeal to protect the ongoing witch hunt against President Trump, our Nixonian media went into hyper-drive last week to ensure that the unethical and un-American behavior of President Obama’s FBI and Justice Department remained covered up from the public.
After this cynical effort failed with the release of the Nunes memo Friday, the media quickly switched tactics and is now working feverishly to muddy the waters about the horror show revealed in the memo. Continue reading
SBC Voices Claims Russell Moore is a Conservative (lol)
(Pulpit & Pen News) That’s the response that is due the recent SBC Echoes post defending the former Democratic Staffer, animal rights activist, Martin Luther King celebrator, Cultural Marxist, illegal immigrant amnesty-supporter and George Soros partner, Russell Moore. In polemics there’s a term called “website orthodox,” and it’s a term with which anyone capable of entry-level discernment should be familiar. Website orthodox refers to someone who has an orthodox statement of faith hyperlinked on their website, to which they can point and deflect from their criticism. For example, IHOP has a perfectly orthodox statement of faith on their website, but in reality, they’re a circus cult and freakshow sub-Christian sect.
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Amputating Discernment Ministry from the Body of Christ
Photo credit: 8:28 Ministries
“If there were ever a dire need for discernment ministry done right and biblically, it’s now,” says Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley. So why do so many Christians rail against discernment ministries? According to Michelle, “One of the most common arguments I hear against discernment ministry is that it’s the job of the pastor, not discernment ministries, to teach discernment. And with that statement, I could not more heartily agree! Discernment work is half of a pastor’s job description.” Right, but “when was the last time you heard a pastor rebuke someone who contradicts sound doctrine? Or call a false teacher by name? Or teach about a currently popular false doctrine and warn against it?” The answer is, not very often, if ever. Continue reading
How Can We Change?
Come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:18-20)
When we read Isaiah 1, there is a problem immediately evident. God’s analysis of the human race is that we are fundamentally tainted with self-centeredness so that we do not want to do good. We only want to minister to our own needs and our own lives. As a solution, God says in v. 16, Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good.
But, the question arises, how can evil people do good things? Continue reading Rey Stedman Daily Devotions
Memo Describes Use of ‘Dirty,’ Dubious Steele Dossier for Warrants
(Jim Stinson – LifeZette) House Permanent Select Committee memorandum is released, says report’s bias was not disclosed but was used to get FISA warrants
Information on President Donald Trump contained in the so-called Steele dossier was biased and unverified, but that didn’t stop the FBI from using it in a special classified federal court to get surveillance warrants to spy on two American citizens in 2016.
A four-page summary memo released by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence indicates that an initial surveillance warrant on Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page, and four subsequent renewals, would never have been sought without the questionable dossier in hand.
Jesus Devastates an Old Earth
(Bodie Hodge – Answers in Genesis) I was attending a Christian conference and staffing an Answers in Genesis booth. As I walked around to look at the other booths at the beginning of this conference, a man quickly came up to me (from his booth), even though there was a crowd waiting to speak with him. He evidently felt the need to confront me (in front of the crowd at his booth) because he saw that I was wearing an Answer in Genesis conference badge.
In a hostile tone, the first thing out of his mouth was something akin to, “Is Answers in Genesis here at the conference? Well, I guess I am going to have to find your booth and set you straight about the age of the earth!” Continue reading
Tom Brady’s Hydration Advice: Water Under the Bridge?
(LifeZette) Nutritionist warns that while drinking lots of water is vital, a world-class athlete’s regimen could be disastrous for the rest of us
Tom Brady’s hydration method might work for a world-class athlete, but one nutritionist warned that drinking as much water as the quarterback could kill you.
Brady, in his book “The TB12 Method,” claims that drinking more than 35 glasses of water per day will help you flush out the toxins in your body and even help you prevent sunburns.
MEMO FIGHT 2018: Is The FBI Corrupt? Did They Save Hillary? Did They Target Trump? Are Republicans Lying? Are Democrats?
(Ben Shapiro – Daily Wire) Is the FBI corrupt?
Did they corruptly target President Trump’s 2016 campaign?
Are Republicans bashing the FBI in an attempt to cover for Trump’s alleged obstruction of justice or campaign criminal activity?
Thanks to the blanket media coverage of all things related to President Trump, the election of 2016, and supposed collusion with Russia, it’s easy to be confused. And thanks to the conservative focus on FISA warrants, James Comey, and Hillary Clinton, it’s even easier to be confused. So, let’s take a moment to separate out the various strands of the narrative.
Reprise: Seeing the Unseen: The Nature of Spiritual Warfare
First posted July 19, 2017
Did the Lord Jesus teach his followers to “bind” the powers of darkness? Should the emphasis on spiritual warfare be on prayer-infused power encounters? What exactly does the Bible teach on the nature of spiritual warfare? Well, according to Christian apologist Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason (STR), the Bible has a lot to say about how we are to defend ourselves against other worldly forces in the unseen realm. We must be armed to the teeth!
What does a Christian’s armor look like? “The very first step in arming ourselves for battle against the devil is to gird our loins with truth (Eph. 6:14).” In this piece from STR’s Solid Ground magazine, Koukl tells us what the Bible teaches about the armor of God. Some who read this will be surprised by his teaching for the reason that the way in which charismatics go about dealing with the demonic is highly unbiblical, only they don’t know it. To make matters worse, attempting to “bind Satan” is a ridiculous and foolish practice. Taking on powerful, lying, deceptive demons is dangerous! Continue reading
The Gospel Coalition Says Church Should Be ‘Safe Space’ for Homosexuals
(Pulpit & Pen News) The leftist [Social] Gospel Coalition wants your church to know how it can be a “safe space” for homosexuals. Written by Rachel Gilson, the “director of theological development” at Campus Crusades for Christ (CRU) Northeast, the post wags its literary finger at readers within the local church, shaming them for not being a safe enough of a place for people to live in their sin.
Gilson is a lesbian who wrote about her experiences at Christianity Today in a post entitled, “I Never Became Straight. Perhaps That Was Never God’s Goal.” In that article, she made the astonishing claim, “Slowly, I came to understand that ‘making me straight’ wasn’t the answer. There is no biblical command to be heterosexual.” Of course, being fruitful and multiplying – a central command from God to humanity – is a pretty clear requirement of heterosexuality. Homosexuals are clearly incapable of this reproductive fruitfulness. Continue reading
Destiny Destiny No Escaping That’s For Me
(Doug Evans – Asleep No More) You can’t read an article or listen to a homily from the Charismatic fringe without hearing the word “Destiny” being beaten into your head. Not just false prophesy but falsely prophetic merchandise like Destiny Pants and Destiny Cards are being sold to the theologically gullible. This got me to thinking; where is all this Destiny nonsense coming from.
Destiny is not just a vacuous concept, it’s a tired and overworked Buzzword that the charismatics have been flinging at their followers like #4 birdshot at a flock of mallards. Destiny is defined as “the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future” AND “the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future” Continue reading
Jesus Did Not Say Lust is the Same as Adultery – Response to Jerry Fallwell Jr.
(all THINGS for GOOD) To be clear, this post is about theology, not politics.
In a recent interview on CNN, Dr. Jerry Fallwell Jr. said, “Jesus said ‘if you lust…in your heart, it’s the same as committing adultery.”
We need to be really clear…that is not what Jesus said.
Jesus’ Context
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching that the Law not only addresses external sins, but also sins of the heart.
What He actually says is, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28 Continue reading
Jim Caviezel: New ‘Passion of the Christ’ Will Be ‘Biggest Film in History’
(The Western Journal) Actor Jim Caviezel, who starred as Jesus in the 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ,” confirmed in a recent interview that he plans to reprise his role in an upcoming sequel to the blockbuster hit.
Moreover, Caviezel promised that the sequel, which is reportedly in the works, will be the “biggest film in history.”
“There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience,” the 49-year-old Catholic actor told USA Today. “It’s great. Stay tuned.”
Trump’s Five Biggest Goals — and His Prospects for Success
(Brenden Kirby – LifeZette) Immigration reform, fair trade agreements, prescription drug prices, infrastructure and more — the president’s agenda is ambitious
President Donald Trump set forth an ambitious agenda for 2018 on Tuesday night during his first State of the Union address to the nation — perhaps overly ambitious given the intense polarization in the county and the close divisions in Congress.
Here is a look at the five biggest proposals the president made in his address and the prospects for actually achieving them.
Speaking up for discernment ministries
(Berean Research) Is it just me, or are discernment ministries getting raked over the coals? And is it deserved?
Early last summer I stepped back from my daily blogging and posting activities. Not by choice, but medical necessity. Eight months and three surgeries later, I’ve been slowly dipping a toe back in, and catching up on the news. Only to find that there’s been more than news to catch up on.
I wish I could say that I have been completely and mercifully unaware of a lot of the infighting and bickering played out like a Spanish soap opera on social media. I’ve attempted to steer clear of the carnage, and keep this site and my own personal opinions from sidetracking the task at hand: Pointing Christians to the truth, equipping them, and helping them steer clear of danger. As we state on our Home Page, biblical discernment comes from reading and meditating on the breathed-out Word of God, and not a news site. (See our White Paper, What Is Discernment?)
Parents outraged by schoolwork saying Jews, Christians and Muslims worship same God
(Max Londberg – The Kansas City Star) “Pope Francis, while washing Muslims’, Hindus’, Catholic’s and Christians’ feet in a 2016 ritual, said, ‘All of us together … brothers and sisters — children of the same God — we want to live in peace, integrated.'”
Do Christians, Muslims and Jews believe in the same God?
A homework assignment given to sixth-grade students last month in Illinois asserted they do. When an Elgin Area School District board member caught wind of it, she harshly criticized the assignment. And earlier this week the issue boiled over as dozens of people attended a school board meeting to express their opinions on the subject.
The Nature of Existence: All is One, or All is Two?
Oneism or Twoism, that is the question.
God reveals who He is and His ways in His Word, the Bible. Although God has made Himself known to mankind in the pages of Scripture, they have rejected His revelation of Himself and “exchanged the truth” about God for “the lie.” Instead of worshiping God, they worship His creation.
In his piece over at truthXchange, Peter Jones tackles The Lie that human beings are part of nature and that nature is divine, and then he reveals The Truth: Continue reading
The ‘Brown Rice’ Controversy – Michael Brown espouses prosperity heresy & falsely accuses caller of being someone else.
(Churchwatch Central) Chris Rice from ‘ThisIsNotSatire’ blog, recently rang in to the Line of Fire program (this program also uploaded on YouTube). During this call, Michael Brown went out of his way to attack the integrity of his caller by setting him up to fail in each response to the caller’s original question. And that’s not all.
Because Rice kept coming back to his question, it resulted with Michael Brown cutting Rice off and appearing to accuse Chris Rice (from Michigan) of being someone else, and we can safely assume he thought it was Pastor Chris Rosebrough (from North Dakota) who has previously rung in to speak to Brown on his program – Chris Rosebrough had put forward some tough biblical questions to Michael Brown on a previous program. By assuming Chris Rice was Chris Rosebrough, Michael Brown proceeded to very unfairly attack the character of Pastor Rosebrough. You can see the YouTube video in question here: Continue reading
Joseph Farah’s Works Based Salvation
(Steve Lumbley – Apostasy Watch) We’ve written previously bout WorldNetDaily publisher Joseph Farah’s aberrant Christian beliefs > Joseph Farah – Ignorance, Pandering or Deception?
Well he’s at it again, this time with a column claiming to clear up confusion about what it means to be saved by grace. Unfortunately the only use of grace is in the title. His article is pure works based hokum, salvation by self effort.
In it he makes the following statement.
“There’s only one way to achieve immortality, and that’s to follow the prescription of our Creator. Follow His commandments, repent when you fall short, and love Him with all your heart, soul and mind. The nice thing about this recipe is that it works every time.” Continue reading