A Prison for Our Souls

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:27

William fought with his wife, Natalie. They took all afternoon to resolve the issue. But Natalie held a grudge. She was hurt, and she didn’t forgive him. She knew she needed to, but she didn’t. Bitterness trapped her heart.

Jill got into a disagreement with a coworker, Amber. Though it seemed to be a minor issue, neither woman would budge. Their boss settled the matter, but Jill resented Amber. Continue reading →

Trump announces FDA making anti-malaria drug available ‘almost immediately’ to tackle coronavirus

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , , ,

Watch the video.

(Fox News)  President Trump announced Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is making experimental drugs — including those used for treating malaria — available as part of the ongoing effort to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump announced at a White House press briefing that chloroquine, a drug designed for use in malaria, has been FDA approved and will be made available by prescription “almost immediately.”…. Continue reading →

Cheap TVs, Expensive Flu

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , ,

Is it really worth paying $3 for a T-shirt at Walmart, rather than $9? The precise reason Chinese goods are so cheap is that they skip the crucial quality-control step.

(Ann Coulter)  Here’s a thought: While self-quarantining with their families in multimillion-dollar Manhattan co-ops, Wall Street wives ought to have a chat with their Master of the Universe husbands about China, globalism and political correctness. Those are the vectors of their robber-baron wealth.

Thanks to “globalism” — i.e., cheap goods from China — we’ve gotten many wondrous things, for example: Continue reading →

CDC analysis shows coronavirus poses serious risk for younger people

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

“We’re talking to young people about doing their part and being good millennials because they could be asymptomatic spreaders, That’s true, but it’s also true that some high number of them will also get sick enough to be hospitalized, and many of them may have lasting consequences.”

(Reid Wilson – The Hill)  Early data analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that younger Americans are at substantial risk of experiencing serious medical problems from the coronavirus sweeping the globe. Continue reading →

Rejoicing in God in the Arena of Pain

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

Now, suppose I’m afflicted with suffering. Why? Why am I afflicted? There could be several reasons. It may be that God needs to correct me and that it is part of His corrective wrath to make me sick or to bring me low. He does that. There are manifold examples of that in Scripture. How did Miriam get leprosy? God gave her leprosy to bring her to repentance. What is Jesus saying here? “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Sometimes the suffering that we have in this world is because God is correcting us or disciplining us, but we can’t jump to the conclusion that every time we get sick or every time we suffer that there’s a direct correlation between our disobedience and the pain that we’re experiencing. Continue reading →

Baltimore mayor asks residents to stop shooting each other so coronavirus patients can have hospital beds

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , ,

“Young declared a citywide emergency and urged people to stay inside. Baltimore had five positive cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday.”

(Madison Dibble – Washington Examiner)  Baltimore Mayor Jack Young pleaded with his city to stop filling hospital beds with gunshot wound victims.

A mass shooting in a park on Tuesday left seven Baltimore residents hospitalized. In a statement about the shooting, Young said hospitals don’t have room to tolerate gunshot victims as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the United States. Continue reading →

Social distancing for coronavirus will save lives – look at these numbers

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

“The scariest part of coronavirus is how fast it spreads to other people. This rate is affected by a multitude of factors but the most important ones are incubation period and contact rate. Coronavirus can have an incubation period of up to 14 days, meaning that you can have it and spread it to others while having no idea that you have it. That makes the “I feel fine, why can’t I go out?” argument null and void.”

(Liberty Vittert – Fox News)  As I hunker down for the long haul at home with my Newfoundland dog Henry, I can’t help but feel real frustration and, fine, outright anger, at the many individuals who are choosing to ignore the social distancing advisories. Continue reading →

Finding God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”  John 14:23-24

We have all heard evangelists quote from Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Usually the evangelist applies this text as an appeal to the unconverted, saying: “Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart…. Continue reading →

Giant Faith-Healer Gathering Canceled Due to Coronavirus

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , , , , ,

“So far we have, Bethel’s affiliated pastor, Shawn Bolz, declared a prophecy that God had ended the virus. Perhaps Bethel didn’t get the memo. Rodney Howard Browne promised to bind coronavirus from the United States (again, it’s growing), Jim Bakker claimed his venereal disease ointment also heals coronavirus, and Rick Wiles claimed Christians are immune altogether….” 

(Pulpit & Pen)  Well, this sounds like satire, but it’s not. The world’s largest gathering of notable faith healers are canceling the grand opening of a faith-healing center because of coronavirus. Continue reading →

Oregon Orders All Restaurants And Bars To Restrict Access, And Bans Groups Larger Than 25

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , ,

“The partial shutdown of bars and restaurants will hit businesses that employ tens of thousands of Oregonians, many of them low wage workers. Eating and drinking establishments provide roughly 160,000 jobs in the state, according to ballpark figures from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis. Those businesses spent some $285 million in wages every month.”

(Lauren Dake &  Dirk VanderHart – OPB)  Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday she is banning seated dining at the state’s bars and restaurants and prohibiting gatherings of more than 25 people, in the latest set of drastic actions meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Continue reading →

How to tell if it’s allergies or coronavirus

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

“People get confused with the name of the virus. When you hear them say coronavirus, that’s speaking in a general sense, that’s called the family coronavirus,” she said. “There’s a lot of subsets underneath that family, including the common cold, which also can be caused by a coronavirus.”

{Matt London – Fox News) As spring arrives in the United States amid the coronavirus outbreak, some people may be having a difficult time discerning between the symptoms of seasonal allergies and the highly infectious COVID-19. Continue reading →

Coping with Anxiety

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25

In 1 Peter 5:6–7, the Apostle Peter wrote to the Christians spread across the Roman Empire who were suffering persecution from the unbelieving Jews and gentiles: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” In this passage, Peter shows in what way his readers were to face the anxiety they were feeling in this situation: they were to cast their anxiety upon God…. Continue reading →

Democrats Give Christians Advice on Not Worshiping ‘Lesser Gods’ by Being ‘Too Involved in Politics’

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , , ,

“These political plants in Evangelical circles think they’re smart — and sadly, many fall for their rhetoric. They claim political neutrality, stating things like we “should critique both parties,” when, in reality, these people are just anti-conservative progressives.”

It’s beyond fascinating to watch the progressive left act like they have some kind of moral high ground by pretending to abstain from politics all the while, they are demonstrably shilling for the liberal agenda…. Continue reading →

Kris Vallotton fails to release purple bubbles, wants to send coronavirus to Mars

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , , , , ,

“Vallotton: Lets just begin to speak against this virus, and lets use our faith to move this virus out of…lets say this..you..we can send it to Mars coz we don’t think there’s any Martians there, so why don’t we just altogether send this thing to Mars..wherever, wherever out of the universe..and lets just begin to believe God and lets fast, a forty day fast of negativity and fear and lets feast on chocolate…this is the fast I love, we will fast fear and we will eat chocolate.”

(Rick Becker – Famine In The Lad)  Two biblical signs of the last days are being fulfilled in our midst – the calamities in this world, and the proliferation of false prophets and false teachers. The former, being a threat to the latter – specifically the false prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation…. Continue reading →

Anxiety, Coronavirus, and the Promises of God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Knowing very well that the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is on everyone’s mind, I thought I’d share a short devotion encouraging us to trust in God’s faithfulness and promises. In the face of danger, we need to be prudent and wise, but also need to be careful our heart is not held in bondage to fear. It’s not always an easy balance to maintain, but meditating on the promises of God brings inner peace in the face of external pressures.

The promises of God are like concrete pylons driven deep into the ocean floor…. Continue reading →

‘You’re Not Helpless, America’: U.S. Surgeon General Tells Americans How To Deal With Coronavirus

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , , ,

“But we need your help. Social distancing and mitigation, they’re not to protect the 30-year-old or the 20-year-old from getting coronavirus. They’re to protect your nana, they’re to protect your granddaddy, they’re to protect the people who you love in your lives. And we need your help.”

(Joseph Curl – Daily Wire)  Dr. Jerome Adams is America’s doctor.

Adams is the U.S. Surgeon General — and, by all accounts, a very, very smart guy.

During a White House press conference on Saturday, the doctor delivered some useful and practical advice to Americans worried about the coronavirus (COVID-19). Continue reading →

Koinōnia

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NASB) 

Most of the churches I attended in my life had something called “fellowship” and some even had  space dedicated to it called “fellowship hall” or something similar. We had time after “church” that was called “fellowship time” that always seemed to be a relaxed time of visiting together and just being friendly with each other outside of normal “church stuff.” In the New Testament the word that is translated as “fellowship” as in Acts 2:42 (above) is κοινωνίᾳ (koinōnia), which Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest defined as, “joint participation in a common interest or activity.”… Continue reading →

Jesus, the Prostitutes, and Transgender Outreach

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , , , , ,

“Memorial’s pastor has consistently named homosexual behavior as sin – for which he deserves credit – but he has equally insisted that a homosexual orientation neither must be nor can be repented. Therefore the Q Collective’s message of affirming the transgender experience would seem to be generally in line with Memorial PCA’s views.” 

(Richard D. Phillips – Reformation 21)  The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a denomination founded to be faithful to Scripture, the Reformed faith, and the Great Commission, has been rocked yet again, this time by news of transgender-promoting theater performances hosted by Memorial Presbyterian Church of St. Louis…. Continue reading →

What ‘deplorables’ need to recall as Hillary Clinton contemplates a comeback

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , ,

“His sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton explains, was a way to “manage my anxieties.” That plays into the “Me Too” narrative and the notion that Hillary is a victim of sexism. Fox News revisited the Lewinsky liaison in a “Scandalous” documentary  and so did Kenneth Starr’s 2018 Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation. In reality, there were  two Clinton investigations, and they break down like the movies in Pauline Kael’s  Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

(Frontpage Magazine –  Lloyd Billingsley)  “All the party has to do is call. Her bag is packed,” writes Michael Goodwin in “Democrats’ hunt for Trump slayer may lead to Hillary Clinton comeback,” and her platform writes itself…. Continue reading →

Former ERLC Scholar says Neo-Marxist ideas have foothold in 2 Baptist seminaries

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , , , , ,

“Walter Strickland teaches Critical Race Theory, and you look at black theology and some of the things he has said. Frankly, I am surprised he is still on the [Southeastern] faculty,” Mitchell remarked. “From Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, you have Curtis Woods [chairman of the 2019 SBC Resolutions Committee] and you have Jarvis Williams. Jarvis Williams is a New Testament professor. From all accounts Jarvis in his courses doesn’t really teach New Testament, he just teaches Critical Race Theory.”

(Capstone Report)  A former scholar with the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) warned Southern Baptists about the dangers of Neo-Marxist ideas like Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality during an event in Louisiana…. Continue reading →

A Tale Of Two Pandemics: Media Downplayed Swine Flu Outbreak Under Obama

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , ,

“Unprecedented? Really? Do CNN’s reporters and editors not know about the flu pandemic of 1918? Or even the swine flu pandemic of 2009?”

(Issues & Insights)  The potential impact of the coronavirus might still be unknown, but the media hype is already plain as day. Particularly when you compare how they are covering this pandemic with the last one, which happened to occur when Barack Obama was in the White House.

To get a sense of the differences in how the press treated these two outbreaks of brand new viruses, let’s look at how the New York Times and CNN – the bellwethers of mainstream journalism in print and on TV – covered each at similar points in the outbreak. Continue reading →