Pragmatism is deadly to New Testament Christianity

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  (2 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV) (Read verses 3-5 on the site)

The proponents of the seeker-sensitive church growth model may very well have had good intentions when through it was spawned the rise of contemporary mega-churches such as Willow Creek and Saddleback Valley Baptist and their clones. The focus was outreach to the unchurched. While that appears to be a proper function of the New Testament Church one of the model’s fundamental components is actually an antithesis of the clear instruction to Church leaders found in God’s Word. That component is pragmatism. Continue reading →

Chicago Radio Host & a Former Bodyguard Say James MacDonald Asked Them to Arrange Murders

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“When I heard that (MacDonald) was crazy enough to ask someone else to basically do the same thing . . . I figured, okay, this guy’s unhinged. This is a problem. It’s a pattern here.” 

(Julie Roys)  Chicago radio personality, Mancow Muller, says disgraced megachurch pastor, James MacDonald, asked him to find a hitman to kill someone. MacDonald’s former bodyguard is making a similar claim.

Muller said MacDonald— a celebrity pastor who was fired from Harvest Bible Chapel in February—asked him at least twice in 2018 if Muller knew a hitman MacDonald could hire. Muller said he thought MacDonald was joking at first. But during a conversation in December, Muller said it became clear to him that MacDonald was “really serious.”

Similarly, Emmanuel “Manny” Bucur, a deacon at Harvest and former confidant and volunteer bodyguard of MacDonald’s, said MacDonald asked him in 2015 to kill MacDonald’s former son-in-law. Bucur added that MacDonald offered to help him dispose of the body.

Bucur said he was upset by the request but didn’t report it because he figured MacDonald had spoken in anger and simply had a momentary lapse in judgment. Plus, Bucur said he has four daughters and understood MacDonald’s rage toward a man who had allegedly hurt his daughter.

Bucur agreed to tell his story anonymously on a podcast of Muller’s, which was recorded on Thursday but has not yet aired. Bucur said during the recording session, he heard Muller’s story for the first time and hours later, decided to go on the record with me.  View article →

Related

Podcast (short) Mancow and the Harvest Scandal 

Research

James MacDonald

The Epidemic Of A Seared Conscience

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“How can a culture sustain moral uprightness from generation to generation when even the Church, that instrument of God meant to inform and when necessary, correct culture, begins to emulate the culture? When a society becomes seared in conscience, when a critical mass of people begin to think and advocate for evil under the guise of good, and exchange light for darkness, their minds become seared as with a branding iron and the resultant scar tissue renders them incapable of returning to correct thinking and behavior absent a radical surgery.”  

(Mike Spaulding – News With Views)   Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read. Continue reading →

Trump Tweets Support for Aborting Babies in Certain Cases Amid National Outcry to Outlaw Abortion

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Rebecca Kiessling of Save the 1, who was conceived in rape and now is a voice against killing children for the crimes of their fathers, lamented the president’s post, writing on social media, “There’s nothing quite like getting singled out for death by your president.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  Amid a number of states considering bills this legislative season surrounding concerns over the ongoing murder of unborn children, President Trump posted a series of tweets on Saturday evening in which he reiterated that he identifies as pro-life, but believes in the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Continue reading →

Top 10 Ways to Amend the ‘Equality Act’

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Let’s see an amendment that upholds religious liberty– “Nothing in this act will infringe upon the First Amendment religious freedom rights of any citizen, nor bar RFRA (the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) as a defense for a cause of action.” 

(Linda Harvey – Mission:America)  Well, they did it.

Nancy’s Pelosi’s rogue lawmakers passed the anti-Christian, anti-health, anti-morality, anti-child “Equality Act” ( H.R. 5). And so now it heads to the Senate.

Where timid, compromised Republicans wait to offer amendments they can hide behind. We can hope Mitch McConnell never brings this bill to the floor. Continue reading →

Give attention to

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Until I come give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 1 Timothy 4:13 (translated from the NA28 Greek Text)

This ministry began as a polemic response to the preaching and ministry downgrade that was taking place in the visible church during the early years of the attempted Purpose Driven takeover of the evangelical churches throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. There were other things going at that time as well such as the rise of the Emergent Village, and other forms of “Christian Liberalism” such as the ministry of Rob Bell. Continue reading →

No pardon, no salvation!

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

4 “Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, A leader and commander for the peoples. 5 “Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which knows you not will run to you, Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:4-8 (NASB) (Read verses 7-8 on the site)

For quite some time now we have been looking long and hard at the narrowness of the Gospel and how it it is not editable. It is not open to change. No matter how much a person wants it to be otherwise, it is unchangeable. It is God’s Good News to fallen man…. Continue reading →

Televangelist Jim Bakker sells $45 Trump coin, calls it ‘point of contact’ with God

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Wallnau used the classic “us against them” selling tactic, saying “That’s why we’ve got to pray, because they think we’re crazy. But we’re actually the sane ones so we’re praying.”

(Blake Alsup – New York Daily News) For only $45 you can establish a “point of contact” with God via a gold-plated coin engraved with President Trump and King Cyrus’ faces — according to the “Jim Bakker Show” at least.

The coin is being peddled by Lance Wallnau, who claims God told him people need it to pray for Trump. Continue reading →

Dear Christian: STOP IT!!

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“If we Christians can speak things into existence, using the power of our words, why don’t we just do it? Why do we have so many “experts” who must go into elaborate detail to explain it? Why are there 90 million books, seminars and sermons that teach this — shouldn’t they just “speak it into existence?” When did Christians stop noticing that this is actually witchcraft? Does the phrase “casting spells” ring a bell?”

(Steven Kozar – Messed Up Church)  There are lots of things that Christians believe that are not in the Bible.  At all. Continue reading →

4 Things Christians Should Know about the Equality Act

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“According to Greg Baylor of Alliance Defending Freedom, the Equality Act is also set to repeal the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, a bill that was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton. This means that people will no longer be able to use religious free exercise as a defense for their actions. For example, if a church declines to allow a gay couple from holding their wedding in their church because it goes against your religious beliefs, the church could be subjected to legal action.”

(Kayla Koslosky – Christian Headlines)  The ill-named Equality Act is making its way back through Congress this year. The act, which is being painted as a pro-LGBT law, is coming across to many people of faith as an anti-religious freedom law. Continue reading →

The hidden hand of God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

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 →