The sword that divides

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. (Matthew 10:34 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

The peace that Christians have because they are in Christ is between them and God and because of that, with each other. However, that does not mean that there will be peace between them and those not in Christ. In fact, these words of our Lord in Matthew 10:34-38 make it clear that those truly in Christ will be so changed by the Gospel, the presence of the Holy Spirit in them, and their new nature that there will be inevitable separation between them and those who are not in Christ. This holds true even within families…. Continue reading →

Southern Baptist Convention Leaders Taking SBC Far From Its Biblical Moorings

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Lighthouse Trails has a letter to the editor written by Lettie McNeece. Mrs. McNeece is concerned with SBC’s stances on contemplative spirituality, immigration, social justice gospel,  re-distribution of wealth, alliances with Muslims, Mormons, the Pope of Rome, and so on. She has been pro-active in trying to help SBC pastors in her own home state. Following is the letter she penned:

As a Southern Baptist, I am concerned that powerful leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention are taking the denomination far from its biblical moorings. Bureaucracy within the organization is to blame, as are a few mega-church pastors who take turns filling decision-making posts whether elected or appointed. What can Southern Baptists do to stop the march toward progressivism and apostasy? Continue reading →

The universe is younger and expanding faster than we thought, a new study found — and we may need new physics as a result

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Reiss downplayed the idea that the results could be the result of human error. He said that the “mismatch” between the two rates “has been growing and has now reached a point that is really impossible to dismiss as a fluke. This is not what we expected.”

(Sinéad Baker – Business Insider)  The universe is younger and expanding faster than we thought, a new study found, scientists think we may have to work on new physics as a result.

A new study lead by Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Adam Riess, found that the universe is expanding 9% faster than previous calculations that were based on studying the aftermath of the Big Bang. Continue reading →

Openly Homosexual US Ambassador: VP Mike Pence Is ‘on Board’ With Decriminalizing Homosexuality Worldwide

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“While some have been opposed to Pence in claiming that he is anti-homosexual — from Pete Buttigieg to Lady Gaga — Pence defended the Trump administration in February 2017 in its decision to retain an Obama-era order banning groups that contract with the federal government from “discriminating” against homosexuals and transgenders in their business or non-profit organization.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who is openly homosexual, told reporters this past week that Vice President Mike Pence is “on board” with his plan to urge nations worldwide to decriminalize homosexuality. Continue reading →

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

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“I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (vv. 31–32).  – Matthew 12:22–32

We will conclude our study of the hard sayings of Jesus today with a look at what is perhaps the most difficult saying of all for Christian readers of the Gospels. Matthew 12:22–32 tells us about Jesus’ teaching regarding the unforgivable sin, and these words of Christ have troubled many people. Continue reading →

Many University Campuses Are Playgrounds For Insanity

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

“If, on the other hand, the Shapiro-friendly roommate had persistently accosted the offended snowflake in a ceaseless effort to proselytize him, that might be a different story. But in this case we are talking about a roommate minding his own business and watching a video on his own computer.”

(David Limbaugh – Daily Wire)  If you think the left hasn’t taken over university life in America, you are probably not paying close enough attention or in denial.

I’m not just talking about the liberalism of the professors and the core curriculum but about all of college life. There are glaring examples of leftist extremism everywhere you turn, and they’re so loony that even sane liberal parents should be concerned. Continue reading →

Sunday Mass canceled across Sri Lanka a week after bombings

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Sri Lankan church after bombing.

“Officials from the police to the prime minister say militants remain on the loose and have access to explosives. That has led to increased security at shrines, churches, temples and mosques across the multiethnic country of 21 million off the southern coast of India.”

(Krishan Francis Colombo and & Rod McGuirk – AP)  Catholic leaders canceled Sunday Masses indefinitely across Sri Lanka and officials urged Muslims to stay home for Friday prayers in an extraordinary call by the clergy to curtail worship as fear of more attacks plagued the island nation after the deadly suicide bombings on Easter. Continue reading →

Medical Expert Confirms Unborn Children Feel Excruciating Pain During Abortions

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“I know your listeners have probably seen that famous photo of the little hand reaching out of the womb grabbing the doctor’s finger. Little Samuel Armas, he was operated on at … about five months after conception … He was operated on while he was still in the womb. And [these fetal surgeons] know that these little ones feel pain. They see the responses, there is plenty of evidence for that.”

On May 12, 2015, David A. Prentice, Ph.D., Vice President and Research Director of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, was invited to speak on the science of fetal pain on Point of View radio talk show. On May 13, 2015 the United States House of Representatives passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

The full transcript is below: Continue reading →

What Will Heaven Be Like?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

When I was in seminary, I studied under an extremely learned professor who I was convinced at the time knew the answer to every possible theological question. I remember I was so in awe of him that I asked him one day with stars in my eyes, “What’s heaven like?” I asked him as if he had been there and could give me a firsthand report! Of course, he steered me immediately to the last two chapters of the New Testament, Revelation 21 and 22, in which we get an extensive visual image of what heaven is like. Some dismiss it as being pure symbolism, but we must remember that the symbols in the New Testament point beyond themselves to a deeper and better reality than they themselves describe. Continue reading →

Sacred Space and the Trivialisation of God

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“But modern Christians have tended to lose sight of God’s transcendence and his holiness. We have tended to trivialise God and make him just like one of us, instead of who he really is. [R.C.] Sproul also looks at the issue of church architecture and why it matters. His words show us why we may be doing God a real disservice with our dumbed-downed and desacralised church buildings.”

(Bill Muehlenberg – Culture Watch)  Have you noticed? Most new evangelical churches in the West today are deliberately being made NOT to look like a church. They look just like any other building – and that is being done on purpose. There is nothing about the building to indicate that it might in fact be a place of Christian worship. Continue reading →

Charisma News Has So Many Dumb Contributors

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“Let’s just take a couple of examples. One headline today read Shawn Bolz Offers Prophetic Perspective Into Easter Bombings That Killed Hundreds. Now seriously, what Christian in his right mind actually thinks Shawn Bolz is a prophet and has any kind of “prophetic perspective” to offer about anything?” 

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  One of the reasons I follow and read Charisma News and Charisma Magazine is that I find it very interesting — entertaining even — to watch what appears to be a scheduled series of soap operas with a dominant theme of false prophets and bad theology…. Continue reading →

Seminary President Admits She Doesn’t Believe in Heaven, Miracles or Christ’s Resurrection

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“I find the virgin birth a bizarre claim. It has nothing to do with Jesus’ message. The virgin birth only becomes important if you have a theology in which sexuality is considered sinful. It also promotes this notion that the pure, untouched female body is the best body, and that idea has led to centuries of oppressing women.”

(Michael Foust – Christian Headlines) The president of a seminary founded in 1836 on the “infallible” Word of God says in a new interview she doesn’t believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, the power of prayer, a literal heaven, or miracles.  Continue reading →

Do you love the Lord or are you simply being religious?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16 (NASB) 

As the elect draw closer and closer to Christ in obedience and fellowship the more and more they will be seen to be identified with Him and will, therefore, be hated by the world, just as He was and just as He said would happen (John 15:18-25). If the visible church has invited the world in and has become so conformed to it that there is no difference, what will happen within these “churches” when the elect within become conformed to Christ as I shared above?… Continue reading →

Pedophilia Being Taught As ‘Sexual Orientation’ in California Schools

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The campaign to legalize pedophilia is gaining momentum. “Sexual orientation” is a legally protected category in many states. Defining pedophilia and pederasty as a “sexual orientation” has alarming implications. We must not forget that if pedophiles simply have a different orientation, what follows is that child rapists will become a protected class. The American people must stop this from happening.  Freedom Project reveals what’s going on in California schools and include a short video of a concerned parent and the Assistant Superintendent of Curricula.

(Alex Newman – Freedom Project)  Government school officials in California think it is “really important” to teach children about pedophilia and pederasty in the classroom because it is a “sexual orientation.”… Continue reading →

The Wolf-Defenders Are Out in Full Force After Chan Attends The Send

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“These discerning ministries take what someone like Francis Chan SAID and combine it with pictures of him SAYING it, and then apply the BIBLE to it. That is why a good many of them are considered more credible than mainstream church news sites which routinely run articles about releasing angels or sneaky squid spirits. Then you compare the one with proof and the bible to the National Enquirer, right.” 

(Anthony Wade – 8:28 Ministries)  Another day, another attack upon discernment ministries. We must understand that the seeker friendly industrial complex, fueled by the purpose driven cult of personality churches must protect their brand at all costs. One of their tricks is to compromise respected Gospel preachers such as Francis Chan to steal their credibility. Chan may enter into it thinking he will affect them but in the end leaven spreads like cancer…. Continue reading →

Co-opting Jesus Christ for unholy purposes

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Democrats have been working hard to spin their version of Jesus. Here’s just one example: Many of the party’s presidential hopefuls proclaim, without irony, that anyone who thinks marriage requires a man and a woman are un-Christian “bigots.”

(Robert Knight – The Washington Times)  At Easter, the question is often raised:  Who is Jesus?

As C.S. Lewis wrote, the Gospels leave no gray area:  Either Jesus was God Incarnate or a madman for claiming to be so.  Merely being “a good teacher” doesn’t cut it. Continue reading →

Charlize Theron Abuses Her Son, Emasculates Him as Liberals Applaud

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“He is biologically male. He is anatomically male. He is genetically male. He is scientifically male. He is medically male. He is…a…male, and no amount of make-believe can change that.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  Charlize Theron is an abusive mother. She is selfish and is hurting her son. Liberals are applauding the unfathomable detachment from reality, mental pain and anguish, and lasting damage that the Hollywood actress is perpetrating upon her child.

Theron, who is the 43-year-old South African actress who won fame for her part in The Cider House Rules, told the press today that her son – who was male, is male, and will always be male – is actually her daughter. Continue reading →

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 (NASB) 

How often have you heard Romans 8:37 in support of the concept of a “higher Christian life?” I have heard it in that context, but I have also heard it in its proper context, which is found in the entire chapter of Romans 8. In this context we learn that it is only in the context of suffering that Christians can learn what it means overwhelmingly conquer.

“It does not refer to a superior brand of Christianity that triumphantly lives above nasty little things like doubt or discouragement or defeat or depression. Rather it comes in a context where Christians are attacked.” – From How Long O Lord? by D. A Carson p78

Continue reading →

‘Latina Mama’ Warns Pete Buttigieg: ‘Don’t Force Your Sexual Ideology on Me and My Children’

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“Mr. Mayor, it is hypocritical for you to cry foul about policies that ‘harm you and your family’ while your side pushes for government intrusions into the parent-child relationship at the most fundamental levels.”

(Michael W. Chapman – CNS News)  Ana Samuel, Ph.D., a research scholar at the Witherspoon Institute and founder of the marriage movement CanaVox, warned 2020 Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg that his homosexual ideology is dangerous to the nation and that she and millions of other Latina mothers with traditional family values will “be polite” towards gay activists but will also resist “policies that assault our values, harm our families, and hurt our children.” Continue reading →

Rush Limbaugh Goes Full-Savage Taking On Hillary, Biden, Warren In Fox News Appearance

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“You talk about irony — for Hillary Clinton to be talking about impeaching Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton needs to be investigated, she needs to be indicted, and she needs to be in jail, and many of her co-conspirators in this whole sordid affair, which amounted to nothing more than a silent coup to overturn the election results of 2016. Hillary Clinton demanding that Trump — you talk about sour grapes, this is a woman that’s been rejected by the American people twice, rejected by her party in 2008. She had to rig the primaries against Crazy Bernie in 2016 to get the nomination.”

(Amanda Prestigiacomo – Fox News)  Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh ripped into top Democrats during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” Tuesday night. Namely, Limbaugh took on former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), South Bend Mayor Peter Buttigieg, and twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Continue reading →

The Self-Indulgent Self-Idolatry of the Eastern Orthodox Church

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“But this isn’t the only self-indulgent aspect of the Eastern Orthodox Mass. In it, you will find an overemphasis on a placid and pacific atmosphere designed to soothe the minds and consciousness of the worshipers. It is almost like a drug-induced state with a trance-inducing dose of incense, bells, extravagant iconography, and repetitive monotonic chanting. It actually has much more in common with a seance than Christian worship.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  A few years ago, I reported on the apostasy of the Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaff when he defected from the Christian faith and joined the ranks of the sybaritic self-indulgent worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church…. Continue reading →

Father Gagged, Found Guilty Of ‘Family Violence’ For Calling His Trans Daughter A ‘She’

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What [Judge] Marzari found particularly egregious, however, was not Clark’s private interactions with his daughter but his “continued willingness to provide interviews to the media … in which he identifies [Maxine] as female, uses a female name for [Maxine] … and expresses his opposition to the therapies [Maxine] has chosen.” According to the court, this willingness placed Maxine at “a significant risk of harm.”

(Jeremiah Keenan – The Federalist)  Last week, Justice Francesca Marzari of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada, declared a father guilty of “family violence” against his 14-year-old daughter on the sole basis that he had engaged in “expressions of rejection of [her] gender identity.”… Continue reading →

Worldly Wisdom vs God’s Absolute Truth

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 2 Peter 2:1-3 (NASB) 

I worked for many years as a computer programmer and database developer. There are many developers who are team guys who are not very creative, but their proficiency at coding makes them very useful in working on very large applications where the work is divided up along functional lines…. Continue reading →