Behind the music: The baffling views about God held by Bethel Music’s Amanda Lindsey Cook

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

“Some of her songs that you may have heard include “You Make Me Brave,” “Closer,” and “I Will Exalt.” They’re played on Christian radio stations and sung in churches throughout the nation. But the combination of Cook’s half-baked theological views and the popularity of her music raises the question: does the songwriter’s viewpoint or intent matter when it comes to writing songs for others to worship God?”

(Holly Pivec – Spirit of Error)  I was baffled and dismayed by the responses in an interview the Christian Post conducted, in April, with Amanda Lindsey Cook, a prominent worship leader and songwriter with Bethel Music. The interview was about her most recent album, House on a Hill, and about what Cook was thinking about God as she wrote the songs for this album. Continue reading →

Tullian Tchividjian is Planting a New Church

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , , , , , ,

“You can’t “restore” yourself, people. Podcasts, blogs, and…churches with no moral standards can’t restore Tullian. The only ones who can restore Tchividjian are those who removed his credentials from ministry for his sins and subsequent lack of repentance. And they’re the ones who won’t restore Tchividjian if they’re responsible leaders.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  Tullian Tchividjian is the grandson of Billy Graham and a one-time replacement for the honorable D. James Kennedy at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Theologically astute believers noticed Tchividjian’s slide into antinomianism – a dangerous teaching that makes light of God’s laws, morality, and piety – several years before his eventual dismissal from the ministry on account of an extra-marital affair…. Continue reading →

How Prayer Works

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.  Genesis 18:33 (Read Genesis 18:16-33)

This verse does not say, The Lord went his way when Abraham had finished speaking to Him. It says, When He had finished speaking to Abraham. In other words, Abraham did not quit here, God did. The verse suggests that God initiated this whole conversation with Abraham and led him along all through it, and when he had responded in fullness as God desired, God terminated the dialogue and went His way. So Abraham was not asking God to do something for him; it was God who prayed in Abraham and set the limits of the conversation. Continue reading →

SEBTS Secretly Scrubs Website of Critical Race Theory

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , , ,

“It does not seem that SEBTS or SBC leadership is capable or willing to publicly repudiate the ideologies that it seems they only now are beginning to understand, even if they’re careful to scrub their websites or walk back their rhetoric in social media.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  BREAKING… Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is the ‘woke’ epicenter of Southern Baptist life, just secretly scrubbed its website of material explicitly promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT). After widespread criticism that the SBC adopted a resolution in favor of CRT, written about in publications like Pulpit & Pen and The Federalist, it seems that SEBTS has decided to reel back a bit on their overt promotion of the Marxist ideology, deciding instead to take it underground. Continue reading →

God’s holy name, misused and abused, even by believers

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , ,

(Marsha West – Christian Research Network)  You can run, you can hide, but you can’t get away from it, “God knows I’ve tried.”  It seems that wherever you go, whether it’s to the mall, a movie, the golf course, the hardware store, or even a buffet line, God’s name is being misused loudly and proudly.  It’s so common that most people don’t even notice.

But some of us do.

It’s rare to watch a TV program without hearing G-d this, G-d that….”Oh my G-d!”  Some people like to punctuate each word, “Oh – my – G-d.” Others say it as if it’s a single word, “OhmyG-d!” And there are those who shorten it to “Oh G-d” in a despairing tone. If he’s a guy of few words, just saying “G-d!” will make his point.  For added punch, some people tack on damn, as in “G-D America!” Continue reading →

The DNC Sold The Brooklyn Bridge To The FBI

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

“When was Russia-was-behind-the-hack proven to be true? The FBI never tested the computers. The DNC at the time was constructing a Russia-did-it excuse to deflect attention from its damaging emails and did not want law enforcement to poke around its story too much.”

(Thomas Farnan – Human Events)  George C. Parker was a con man who specialized in selling unwary immigrants the Brooklyn Bridge. His ruse was discovered when the police had to arrest a few poor souls who set up toll booths on the access ramp. The resulting expression, “I have a bridge to sell you,” is a gibe at the victims of dumb frauds.

Last week, Andrew McCarthy ended his article about the dubious Russian origins of the Steele Dossier with the following statement: Continue reading →

The Shack author brings new ‘Reformation’ to the church

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

“On Mother’s Day, the influence of The Shack was very clear when a congregation worshiped “Mama Ghost” and the “Mother”. A church leader spoke about the “Mother Heart of God” which is also the title of a Paul Young teaching. Reformation indeed.”

(John Lanagan – The Word Like Fire)  In an interview with The Shack author Paul Young several years ago,  Bethel Redding’s Kris Vallotton asked, “Do you think that this book is really a catalyst for Reformation in the church?” [1] (27:13 in video)

Paul Young replied, “I think this is part of whatever this is that the Holy Spirit is doing in the world.” [2] (27:23) Continue reading →

The Circumcised Life

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.  Genesis 17:10

What a strange thing this is, literally carving in the flesh the sign of God’s lordship! This is the great sign of the Jews, intended by God to be the mark of His possession, that they were God’s instrument to use as a blessing among the nations. It was placed upon this particular part of the body to indicate that they were to be physically separate from the other nations. The very organ by which that separation could be violated bore upon it the mark of God’s ownership. As we read the course of Jewish history, we see how this mark, intended to be the sign of humility and instrumentality, became perverted into a mark of superiority and favoritism…. Continue reading →

Teachings of the 2018 Revoice Conference may split the Presbyterian Church in America

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , ,

This piece by Rev. Steven Warhurst is entitled “Responding to Revoice: The Case for Overture 28 at the PCA General Assembly (Part One).” An overture is the request of a presbytery for action by the General Assembly upon a specific matter. According to Rev. Warhurst “The Revoice Conference speakers affirmed homosexual orientation as a legitimate part of their identity; something that should not be condemned or changed. Overture 28 offers a different perspective.” Rev. Steven Warhurst’s overture is published on The Aquila Report: 

The Revoice Conference speakers repeatedly affirmed homosexual orientation as a legitimate part of their identity; something that should not be condemned or changed.[i]Ray Low condemned those who recommended counseling to help change his orientation.[ii] Greg Johnson expressed skepticism about whether sexual orientation could change[iii]and rejected the possibility of repenting of attractions.[iv] Continue reading →

High school athletes file complaint over transgender policy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Transgender track stars Terry Miller & Andraya Yearwood

“We all know the outcome of the race before it even starts; it’s demoralizing. I fully support and am happy for these athletes for being true to themselves. They should have the right to express themselves in school, but athletics have always had extra rules to keep the competition fair.“

(Dave Collins – Fox News)  Three Connecticut girls who have run high school track have filed a federal discrimination complaint saying a statewide policy on transgender athletes has cost them top finishes in races and possibly college scholarships. Continue reading →

When Normality Became Abnormal

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

Unhinged comedian Kathy Griffin holds bloody Donald Trump mask.

“Trump so unhinged the Left that it finally tore off its occasional veneer of moderation, and showed us what progressives had in store for America. On one side in 2020 is socialism, “Medicare for All,” wealth taxes, top income tax rates of 70 or 80 or 90 percent, a desire for a Supreme Court full of “wise Latinas” like Sonia Sotomayor, insidious curtailment of the First and Second Amendments, open borders, blanket amnesties, reparations, judges as progressive legislators, permissible infanticide, abolition of student debt, elimination of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau and the Electoral College, voting rights for 16-year-olds and felons, and free college tuition.” 

(Victor Davis Hanson – American Greatness)  Donald Trump is many things. But one thing he is not is a defender of the 2009-2016 status quo and accepted progressive convention. Since 2017, everything has been in flux. Lots of past conventional assumptions of the Obama-Clinton-Romney-Bush generation were as unquestioned as they were suspect. No longer. Continue reading →

God Almighty

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. Genesis 17:1

After thirteen years of silence, God appears to Abram in a new revelation and with a new name—God Almighty. In the Hebrew it is El Shaddai, which essentially means the God who is sufficient, the all-competent God, the adequate God who knows what He is doing and how to do it. This is an indication that Abram has learned something from his recent bitter experience. God says, in effect, You have been learning for thirteen years the total inadequacy of your own efforts through Ishmael…. Continue reading →

In Stunning Reversal, Roman Catholics to Ordain Married Men as Priests, Women as Clergy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

The official announcement came yesterday after consultations between the Vatican and Catholics in the Amazon region. Most commentators believe that the decision was made because Rome sees South America as the future of the Roman Catholic church. As “Christianity” fades in Europe, its center of growth is increasingly in the Western Hemisphere and, in particular, South America.

(Pulpit & Pen)  As Pulpit & Pen first reported in November of 2017, the Romanist church was considering the ordination of married men as priests. Chiefly, the Vatican was considering the changes because of a shortage of celibate men to choose from the Amazon region. Now, the Vatican has officially embraced married men as clergy. Continue reading →

US Supreme Court Throws Out Ruling Against Oregon Bakery, Sends Case Back to Lower Court for Review

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Aaron and Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes by Melissa were fined $135,000 four years ago after Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Commissioner Brad Avakian declared that they had discriminated against two lesbian women for declining to help out with their same-sex “wedding.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated an adverse ruling against an Oregon couple who declined to create a cake for a same-sex “wedding,’ and has sent the case back to the Oregon Court of Appeals to review the matter in light of its decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, which found that hostility toward religion tainted its action against the bakery. Continue reading →

Defecting from Todd White & ‘lifestyle’ Christianity

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

There’s an important documentary we highly recommend that warns Christians about the Word of Faith movement. Todd White, who’s featured in the documentary, is a leader in the New Order of the Latter Rain and New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) heresy. White teaches that when people are spiritually baptized they become Sons of God, little Gods, or Kings Kids (like Jesus). Find out more about the documentary from Churchwatch Central:

A major Christian documentary, ‘American Gospel: Christ Alone’, has been produced to warn Christians around the world of what has become ‘America’s most dreadful export’, the Word of Faith movement…. Continue reading →

Deception is rooted in unbelief

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Matthew 13:53-58 (NASB)  (Read verses 56-58 on the site)

The condition of the “visible church” in our time is quite tragic.  It is full of professing Christians who appear to be running headlong into apostasy in ever increasing numbers. In this post we will attempt to look at what it is in these people that has brought this about. Why have they fallen into darkness and we have not? There are leaders amongst those on the broadway that leads to apostasy that have a problem taking God’s Word as absolute truth…. Continue reading →

How many sins will it take for the Southern Baptist Convention to disqualify false teachers?

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

Photo from “Aesop’s Fables”

“Check the shelves at LifeWay. Select twenty average SBC churches with women’s ministries and see whose books, DVDs, and simulcasts are being used again and again. Peruse the speakers at popular SBC conferences.  You’ll find names like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Lysa TerKeurst,  Christine Caine, Ann Voskamp, Sarah Young, Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick, Rick Warren, and T.D. Jakes, just to name a few.”

(Michelle Lesley) Think back to your childhood. Remember the story, The Emperor’s New Clothes?

Once upon an time, there lived an emperor. One day two swindlers came to his palace and told him they could weave cloth for his royal robes that was magical: to those who were foolish or unfit for their jobs, it would appear invisible…. Continue reading →

California’s Proposed Resolution Tells Pastors How They Should Talk About Homosexuality. That’s Not Okay

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , , ,

“Under its guidelines, California pastors who believe homosexuality falls short of our Creator’s intentions would be forbidden from saying so. Forbidden from encouraging congregants who are same-sex attracted to abstain from homosexual behavior (even if they are heterosexually married). Forbidden from encouraging congregants to abandon homosexuality as a primary means of self-identification.”

(Joe Dallas – The Stream)  The California Assembly will soon vote on a resolution laying the framework for what many of us have feared and predicted for years: the power of the State to dictate moral positions to the Church. Continue reading →

Pastor Jailed During ‘Drag Queen Story Hour,’ SWAT Team Snipers Positioned Atop Library Roof

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , , , ,

One photo posted to social media shows a man in camouflage standing atop the South Hill Library. The Charles Carroll Society also posted photos on its website of men on the roof holding binoculars.

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  A Baptist pastor was arrested and jailed on Saturday after refusing to move across the street from the Spokane, Washington Public Library while exercising his free speech against a “Drag Queen Story Hour.” The event had a significant militaristic police presence, including camouflaged snipers positioned atop the roof to oversee the large crowd that stood both for and against the men dressed like women reading stories to children. Continue reading →

Correct doctrine conforms to godliness and is a means of great contentment, but false doctrines do neither

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NASB) 

Life is a continual hunt or search for circumstances that will result in contentment. That is the focus for the natural man. When societal norms become relaxed from the “bonds” that restrict certain forms of self-expression” we witness rising levels of aberrant behavior that are simply attempts by seekers of this “contentment” to find, experience, and practice them hoping to finally reach some level of passion or peace or whatever that will last and leave them in that “contented” state. Continue reading →

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other…

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Luke 16:13 (NASB) 

When the Protestant Reformation took off in the early 16th Century one of the motivating factors for the cruel retaliation by the Roman church was the teaching by the reformers from God’s Word to the common people that wealth and power were not indicators of God’s blessing on the prelates, priests, monks, bishops, and the Popes…. Continue reading →

Trafficking’s invisible victims: Boys trapped in the sex trade

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

“I noticed when I went to the Super Bowl in Phoenix a few years ago, that there were … boys being trafficked there,” Malone, who is also a former general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers, tells Fox News. “What we found, even there, were little boys dressed up as girls and being sold.”

(Perry Chiaramonte, Andrew Keiper – Fox News)  If there’s a public face to human trafficking it’s usually that of a young teenage girl, but across the country a new type of victim is increasingly coming to the fore.

More and more, young boys are being preyed upon and exploited in the sex trade, and advocates are beginning to take notice. Continue reading →

Mother Goddess of The Shack and AA’s higher power’

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

In the Fall of the Evangelical Nation, secular author Christine Wicker credits Alcoholics Anonymous with “hastening the fall of the evangelical church.”

(John Lanagan – The Word Like Fire)  Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. (Jeremiah 2:11)

Why have so many rejected the Christ of the Bible? Why have so many created a “Christ” of their own understanding? What happened? Continue reading →

God’s Tests

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.  Genesis 18:1

In this event God tests Abraham’s heart to determine whether he is really a circumcised believer. God appears in such a commonplace way that Abraham is not aware of His identity. I’ve long wished for some kind of a test that could be used in Bible schools and seminaries to determine the degree of spiritual maturity the students have attained. All the tests that are commonly used reveal only the amount of information that a student has amassed. There is little that reveals the real spiritual achievement of a life. Continue reading →

Russiagate Is No Watergate

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , , ,

“If the impeachment hearings come, they will be seen for what they are: An attempted coup to overthrow a president by the losers of 2016 who are fearful they could lose again in 2020 and be out of power for four more years.”

(Patrick J. Buchanan – CNSNews)  “History is repeating itself, and with a vengeance,” John Dean told the Judiciary Committee, drawing a parallel between Watergate, which brought down Richard Nixon, and “Russiagate” which has bedeviled Donald Trump.

But what strikes this veteran of Nixon’s White House is not the similarities but the stark differences. Continue reading →