The hidden hand of God

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Good stories don’t just entertain; they also teach. The biblical book of Ruth is a great story, so while it is captivating on a narrative level, it’s also deeply instructive. One of the main lessons the book of Ruth teaches is that, despite appearances often to the contrary, God cares for us and is in control of all things.

The theological word that describes God’s care for all things is “providence.” Providence means that the hidden hand of God is always at work in the ordinary affairs of day-to-day life. Ruth is not a theological treatise reflecting on the doctrine of providence in the form of propositions….. 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 →

Ocasio-Cortez Says Alabama’s Abortion Ban Is About ‘Owning Women’

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“When women are in control of their sexuality, it threatens a core element underpinning right-wing ideology: patriarchy. It’s a brutal form of oppression to seize control of the one essential thing a person should command: their own body.”

(Wayne Dupree – LifeZette)  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ran to Twitter to deliver her response to the signing by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey — a Republican — of the most restrictive reproductive legislation since 1973.

The Supreme Court decision permitting abortion nationwide was issued that year in Roe v. Wade. Continue reading →

IG Probe Into FISA Abuse Against Trump Campaign ‘Done’ And ‘Devastating,’ Sources Say

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Hannity noted that former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova told Fox Business last week that Horowitz “has concluded that the final three FISA extensions were illegally obtained” and that new disclosures from an open-records request indicate that “all four FISAs will have been obtained illegally.”

(James Barrett – Daily Wire)  Conservative commentator Sean Hannity said on his Fox News program Wednesday night that his sources say the Justice Department inspector general’s investigation into abuse by the FBI of FISA warrants to surveil the Trump campaign is “done” — and “it’s devastating.”…. Continue reading →

Sanctity of Life

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Passages to instruct us as we reach out, pray, vote and respond. Take time this week to pray for our nation’s leaders that their hearts would be turned to govern in the light and clarity of Holy Scripture.

God is the Creator of Life

Genesis 1:27 – So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Job 33:4 – The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. God creates and fashions life within the womb.

Job 31:15 – Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?…. Continue reading →

Policy analyst on falling birth rates: Rhetoric from the left contributing to ‘change in norms’

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“What I do think we need to be talking about as a society though is how do we ensure that young women and young families are thinking a career doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be able to have a family.”

(Anna Hopkins – Fox News)   In response to new statistics revealing the United States has hit its lowest birth rate in 32 years, Independent Women’s Forum senior policy analyst Patrice Onwuka argued that rhetoric from the political left is contributing to women rethinking the decision to have children. 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 →

God’s providence and His inheritance

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

11 In whom also we were made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the plan of the one working all things according to the counsel of His will,12 for us to be to the praise of His glory, the ones having previously hoped in Christ. Ephesians 1:11-12 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

Most modern Bible translations undoubtedly render v11 a bit differently than I did above. The words “we were made an inheritance” translates one verb, ἐκληρώθημεν, which is the Aorist tense, Indicative mood, Passive voice of κληρόω (klēroō), “obtain an inheritance.”…. 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 →

Alabama Senate passes bill banning nearly all abortions

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“Although the Alabama State House voted to pass the bill last month, 74-3, Democratic lawmakers pressed Tuesday, unsuccessfully, for amendments that would create exceptions in instances of rape and incest.”

(Vandana Rambaran – Fox News)  Alabama’s state Senate passed a controversial bill on Tuesday that would outlaw nearly all abortions in the state and make performing one a felony unless the mother’s health is at risk.

The bill will make the punishment for performing abortions up to 99 years or life in prison, although the woman who received one will not be subject to a felony charge. Continue reading →

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! Romans 9:14 (NASB)

The natural mind, plagued with selective rationalization, demands that God be fair in His dealings with all humankind. Fairness speaks of justice. One of the tenets of our republican form of government in the USA is a right to a fair and speedy trial before one’s peers. A person on trial for a crime may or may not truly want justice. They may be guilty so their desire is not justice, but grace. If a judge in a criminal trial declares a defendant guilty, but then defers sentencing in lieu of probation or “time served” then he has extended grace to the guilty party. 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 →

When Christians Hide Their Light

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“The glorious Creator of the universe has regenerated them, He has caused them to be made alive after they were dead, men and women walking for His glory and their good, and has called them to be His ambassadors to shine the light of Christ everywhere they go, and yet we tend to shy away and hide this incredible miracle God has done to us. We are literally walking miracles, having experienced the greatest miracle we could ever imagine, and sometimes we are tempted to keep that reality to ourselves.”

(Jordan Standridge – The Cripplegate)  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” Matthew 5:14-15 Continue reading →

Will political correctness kill classic movies?

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“What about James Bond’s early adventures, in which 007 treated female characters in a sexist fashion? Even a comedy classic such as 1959’s “Some Like It Hot,” featuring two men dressed in drag, could be insensitive given modern mores.”

(Christian Toto – The Hill)  The rise of political correctness can be seen across movie screens this weekend.

“The Hustle,” a gender-swap remake of 1988’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” rails against the patriarchy between sight gags. “Avengers: Endgame” shoehorns a minor gay character into the story as a super-virtue-signal. “Long Shot” shows Seth Rogen apologizing for the United States bombing Japan to help end World War II. Continue reading →

The gospel that is believed and saves

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been revealed by the appearing. 2 Timothy 1:8-12 (NASB) (Read verses 11-12 on the site)

The churchianity that most of us  grew up with is confused with genuine Christianity by many people. It is actually a set of beliefs or values  laid out in our minds’ decision grid. It becomes a value system in the heart that reckons salvation to be based on religious acts such as saying a certain prayer in a certain order while holding to a certain frame of mind…. Continue reading →

Transgender Weightlifter Stripped of Four World Records Because ‘Correct Physiological Classification Is Male’

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Transgender weightlifter Mary Gregory

“On the basis of all information presented to the Board of Directors for this particular case, the conclusion made, is that the correct physiological classification is male.”

(Craig Banister – CNSNews)  A biological male competing as a female weightlifter has been stripped of four world records, the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation (100% RAW) has announced.

Transgender athlete Mary Gregory had not sufficiently transitioned into a biological female, 100% RAW declared in a post on its website: Continue reading →

Female Pastors Are a Threat To The Church

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“The Church is organized for the purpose of proclaiming and defending the truth of the gospel. Paul calls the House of God the stylos and hedraiōma of the Church. These two words point to the fact that the Church is the support of the truth in the world. The people of God are the guardians of the gospel, protecting its truth from error. That is why God has organized his church to be led by male elders.”

 

(Rob Nelson – Reformation Charlotte)  “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”  2 Timothy 2:12

The Bible does not allow women to function in the role of eldership. Women are not permitted to be pastors or hold a role of authority over men in the Church. The bible is crystal clear on this issue. Continue reading →

We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren just as our Lord laid His life down for us

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16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16 (NASB) 

What differentiates a genuine Christian from one whose religion is only skin-deep? Jesus said that He knows those who are His. He calls them His sheep who hear His voice and follow Him. (John 10:27) He also called them His disciples. He gave us the requirements for being His disciple in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23 where he said that if anyone desires to follow Him they must deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him. If we combine these two views then we learn that our Lord’s sheep, His disciples, are those who hear His voice, deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him. This is telling us that genuine Christians are those who humble themselves before their Lord, die to self, submit to His Lordship, obey Him, and emulate Him as He leads. Continue reading →

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him

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41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:41-44 (NASB) 

One of the aspects of our Christian faith that we lose sight of sometimes, and it gets us in trouble when we do, is how vital it is that we remain totally amazed that we ever got saved at all. We make a huge error when we forget this because that path leads to self-righteousness, self-absorption, and an ungrateful heart towards God. Even though we may not be fully aware that we are in that place of self-focus, we cannot be Spirit-led when we are full of self. Continue reading →