Beware the ‘Bright Ones’: Bethel Church’s big-screen debut to hit theaters nationwide on April 22

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“Bethel Church teaching goes way beyond historic Pentecostal and charismatic teaching by claiming that the key to acquiring those [spiritual] gifts is through receiving new, authoritative revelation given by modern-day, governing apostles and prophets, like Bethel’s Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton. These extreme and distinctive teachings represent neither historic Christianity nor historic Pentecostal and charismatic belief.”

(Holly Pivec – Spirit of Error)  Bright Ones – a full-length feature film being marketed to families, youth and churches – will debut in more than 700 select theaters across the United States on April 22. Continue reading →

White Horse Inn Supporter of ‘Hypergrace’ Barbara Duguid…whose theology will have disastrous repercussions

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Dr. Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California and President and host of The White Horse Inn.

“The book was heartily endorsed by disgraced pastor and hypergracer Tullian Tchividjian, fellow hypergracer and ‘Keller protoge,’ Elyse Fitzpatrick,  “Christian” psychotherapist David Powlison, and professing Reformed professor Michael Horton.”

(Toni S. Brown) White Horse Inn has been a consistent supporter of Barbara Duguid and this month Core Christianity interviewed her once again to promote her book Extravagant Grace: God’s Glory Displayed In Our Weakness. Duguid is a popular counselor in the Christian counseling movement and a student of Dr. Tim Keller, who is admittedly her mentor and teacher.

The Duguids lived with the Kellers while her husband attended Westminster Seminary and she claims to have gained a great deal of insight from Dr. Keller, especially on law and grace, an area in which he is most dangerous. Her books are popular among women’s ministries and she regularly speaks to women’s groups all over the country. Her view of grace has been widely criticized in the last decade and rightly categorized as “hypergrace.” Continue reading →

The 8 Things You Need To Know About The Mueller Report

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“The Steele dossier – the intelligence mishmash funneled to Obama intelligence agencies via Fusion GPS – barely comes up in the Mueller report. Yet it was used repeatedly as the basis for a FISA warrant against Carter Page, and was presented directly to President Trump by former FBI director James Comey, then reported on broadly in the press.” 

(Ben Shapiro – Daily Wire)  On Thursday, the long-awaited Mueller report finally dropped, like manna from the heavens to the starved mass media. The media quickly swiveled from their years-long contention that President Trump and his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to the contention that Trump obstructed justice in order to cover his non-collusion with Russia. That will be the talking point moving forward: that the cover-up was worse than the non-crime. Continue reading →

How apostasy takes over

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:11-14 (NASB)

Apostasy: [Middle English apostasie, from Old French, from Late Latin apostasia, defection, from Late Greek apostasi, from Greek apostasis, revolt, from aphistanai, aposta-, to revolt : apo-, apo- + histanai, to stand, place; see st- in Indo-European roots.]  Continue reading →

Ten post-Mueller questions that could turn the tables on Russia collusion investigators

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“President Trump reportedly is readying an order to declassify five key buckets of documents on alleged FBI abuses. … My sources agree these 10 questions are the most important to be answered in the forthcoming probes…”

(John Solomon – The Hill)  Soon, the dust will settle from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, and Americans will have a fuller understanding of why prosecutors concluded there wasn’t evidence to establish that Donald Trump and Russia colluded to hijack the 2016 election.

At that point, many voters exhausted by the fizzling of a two-year scandal, once billed as the next Watergate, will want to move on like a foodie from an empty-calorie shake. Continue reading →

Christian kids must slay wolves in sheep’s clothing, not pet them!

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(Marsha West – Christian Research Network)  Here’s a sobering fact the Church must come to grips with: Even children who are “churched” are woefully unprepared to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) This is a frontline issue, yet Church leaders and parents just don’t “get” how important it is to teach the younger generation to defend their faith.

The Apostle Paul faced this issue head on in the early church. In a letter to Timothy, he warned: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Tim 4:3-4) All the Apostles dealt with false teaching, Gnosticism in particular, and for this reason they wanted to insure correct doctrine was taught. Continue reading →

Barr rules: Asylum seekers will REMAIN in detention pending their hearings instead of being released

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“It’s hard to imagine William Barr, who’s served as attorney general in the past, isn’t aware of what he’s doing or that as AG, he doesn’t already know he has all the authority he needs to make this decision. But whatever; the Left will do what it does.”

(Jon Dougherty – The National Sentinel)  Attorney General William Barr, in his first decision regarding federal immigration policy, has ruled that migrants who crossed illegally into the U.S. to abuse our asylum laws and who claim that returning home is too dangerous will now have to remain in custody pending their hearing, which could take years. Continue reading →

James MacDonald Took Millions from Harvest & Now Demands Broadcast Ministry

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“From 2014-2018, Harvest gave Walk in the Word more than $6 million worth of free television broadcast time According to Harvest’s 2016 Financial Statement, Harvest sold its property in Aurora, Illinois, to TBN for $15,600,000 in 2014. But TBN paid only $4 million of that amount in cash. The rest was given to the church in free broadcast time, which was then granted to Walk in the Word to use over eight years.”

(Julie Roys)  Harvest Bible Chapel founder, James MacDonald, told three elders in 2013 that he’d “lose 1,000 sheep” before he’d reveal his salary. That’s according to former elders—Scott Phelps, Barry Slabaugh, and Dan Marquardt—who resigned soon after hearing that comment, and months later, were publicly excommunicated. (The church has since apologized for its “harsh” discipline of the men.) Continue reading →

The Word of Life and standing firm

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 What was from the beginning which we have heard–which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and touched with our hands—with respect to the Word of Life— 2 indeed the life was manifested and we have seen it and we give testimony and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 1 John 1:1-4 (NA28 Greek text) (Read 3-4 on the site)

Eusebius was a contemporary of Constantine. In his book The Church History he covers the time of the Apostles and spread of Christianity over the Roman world during and after their time…. Continue reading →

‘Unplanned’ Movie’s Abby Johnson Says Mothers Who Have Their Babies Killed by Abortion Shouldn’t Be ‘Punished’

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“Some have contended that Johnson’s views are not a pro-life position, as exempting women from any penalty would leave abortion legal for self-abortions, and would simply shift the act culturally from being committed by abortionists to those carried out at home by a child’s own mother.”

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  Abby Johnson, the center of the film “Unplanned,” which tells of the former Planned Parenthood director’s departure from the abortion industry, is generating questions and opposition as she has outlined on social media that she does not believe that mothers who take their unborn children to be killed by abortionists should be punished at all — a\position that some say is “pro-choice” and does not afford the unborn the same protections under the law as born children. Continue reading →

Don’t be Shocked When Many ‘Christians’ Cheer the Criminalization of Christianity

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“The number of supposedly Christian individuals whose moral compasses are calibrated to the spirit of the age rather than the authority of Scripture has become astounding.  Leaning on their own understanding, they choose the attributes of a god they want to worship, one who seems “worthy” of their worship, and they bow to it.  The God of Scripture is too narrow-minded.”

(Peter Heck – The Resurgent)  As I read the enraged responses from professing Christians at the news that Vice President Mike Pence would be the commencement speaker for Taylor University (a leading private, Christian institution located in tiny Upland, Indiana) I realized something. Continue reading →

Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:12-14 (NASB) 

If you are anything like me, looking closely at your walk before the Lord, the concept that sinful believers who vacillate between godliness and carnality with deliverance from those sins not in any way certain, then the concept that we are heirs with Christ is hard to grasp. I have no trouble with God’s absolute sovereignty, holiness, righteousness, justice, immutablility, omnipotence, omniscience, or omnipresence. He is perfect. He is the most High. The problem is that I know that I am not in any way worthy enough to even be in His presence. Continue reading →

Mayor Pete and the Crackup of Christianity

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“If Pete is right, since the time of Christ, Christians have ostracized and persecuted gays simply for being and behaving as God intended.  And if that is true, what is the defense of Christianity?”

(Patrick J. Buchanan)  “(T)here is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so,” said Hamlet, who thereby raised some crucial questions:

Is moral truth subjective? Does it change with changing times and changing attitudes? Or is there a higher law, a permanent law, God’s law, immutable and eternal, to which man’s law should conform? Continue reading →

Hillsong Pastor Says Christians Shouldn’t Judge Homosexuals, God is a God of Love, Acceptance

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“This is exactly antithetical to what the Scripture teaches. To differentiate between love and truth is an artificial distinction. Essentially, what Houston is saying is that we should love people enough to keep the truth about their sins to ourselves. What Houston is actually doing is the most hateful thing one can do. We are not called first to “love” apart from giving others the truth.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  Hillsong Church is arguably the most influential religious organization in the world. Through its music program, Hillsong is known throughout all of Christendom and is either loved or hated by most. The reality is, most of the professing Church love Hillsong and sadly, Hillsong leads many astray. Continue reading →

Why Democrats Are So Dangerous

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Photo credit Living Witness Ministries

How many grade-school students come home crying to their parents that we are all in danger of dying in twelve years if their parents didn’t support the global warming ‘crisis’? What parent out there had to tell their son or daughter that they could not go to school with their Make America Great Again hat lest they be assaulted or ridiculed, not so much by their classmates, but by their teachers?

(Ray DiLorenzo – Canada Free Press)  Democrats are dangerous. They are not your father’s Democrats. They don’t believe in anything your parents believed in. They scream and yell or sit on the floor if they don’t get their way. What was once a small group of radicals in the sixties has now completely taken over the party. I don’t think there is a lucid member left. Continue reading →

Regeneration vs. Conversion

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Acts 26:12-18 (NASB) (Read verses 15-18 on the site)

A hypocrite is someone who implies he or she stands for one set of values, but actually lives out their life doing the opposite. Since the postmodern church is mired in hypocrisy, one might assume that Christianity was the problem. If Christianity really was the one and only true religion and Jesus’ disciples truly are changed by their new birth in Christ, the hypocrite label should not stick. Why? True Biblical Christianity professes that all in Christ not only have their sins forgiven them, but they are also new creations who are no longer under the power of their former sins. Continue reading →

Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Asserts of His Homosexuality: ‘Your Quarrel Is With My Creator’

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All Democrat politicians advocate the homosexual agenda. The radical LGBTQ+ activists demand that society fully accept their lifestyle as both healthy and normal and calls for special rights and legislation for this “suppressed minority.” Homosexual politician Pete Buttigieg will not relent until homosexuality is fully on a par with heterosexuality. He stated that he believes being a homosexual has moved him closer to God. Christian News Network’s Heather Clark reveals why Mayor Pete is actually estranged from his Creator and backs it up with Scripture. She writes:

Speaking before the LGBTQ Victory Fund in Washington, D.C., the openly homosexual mayor of South Bend, Indiana and now Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg recently asserted that if someone takes issue with his homosexuality, their problem is really with his maker. Continue reading →

The Irrelevance of Hell

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“The great question for preachers to consider is whether they fear man or God? Will the minister of the Word actually minister the Word to the congregation—including the whole counsel of God’s Word?”

(Josh Buice – Delivered By Grace)  In our postmodern culture that plays by the tolerance rules of modern times, we have been taught to be “nice” and to pursue happiness at all costs. After all, if we can’t say anything nice, we shouldn’t say anything at all. For the majority of people within our urbane culture, hell is the sort of topic that is not discussed in the local coffee shop nor is it the center of attention in most Sunday sermons. Let’s face it—hell is not relevant to a sophisticated culture. But, why has hell become irrelevant? Continue reading →

Charismatic Magazine Accuses Bethel Student Who Was Kicked Out For Opposing False Doctrine of ‘Witchcraft’

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“Bethel School of Ministry is owned and operated by Bethel Church in Redding, CA — which is run by New Apostolic Reformation Apostle, Bill Johnson and his right-hand man, Kris Vallotton. Both of these men are nefarious blasphemers of God. Bethel is known for several parlor tricks, including what they refer to as “glory clouds,” which have been exposed as nothing more than glitter in the ventilation system.”

(Jeff Maples – Reformation Charlotte)  One of the devious tactics of the charismatic movement is its insistence on being accepted among the ranks of every professing denomination as a viable substitute for sound doctrine…. Continue reading →

What We Should Expect From The Release Of The Full Mueller Report

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“The collusion theory that was used to undermine the administration of the duly elected president and justify breaking every norm against him resulted in not a single indictment against an American for colluding with Russia.”

(Mollie Hemingway – The Federalist)   Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report is expected to be made public early this week. The big special counsel news already occurred last month when Attorney General William Barr announced Mueller ended his investigation without a single American — much less a single American tied to President Donald Trump — being indicted for collusion with Russia to steal the 2016 election. Continue reading →

False disciples and a compromised gospel

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

The United States is in bondage to prosperity and entertainment. Television has caused most Americans to lose the ability to reason. It is as if all those hours of sitting in front of that mind control device has turned their minds to mush. However, that is no excuse for Christians to not know their God and His ways. The form of Christianity that is most prevalent in the United States at this time is a very poor facsimile of the real deal. It is as if it is geared to the lowest common denominator. The focus in our churches is backward. If you go to your typical “Mega-Church” you will find very quickly that it’s focus is on the people there. Everything is set up to attract people to be part of that group through sensory attraction as well as easy to digest teaching and sermons. If we take that church environment and contrast it to “church” as it was done in 17th Century England, for instance, we would see a huge contrast. While our churches focus on the people within them, the Puritans focused on God. They were primarily concerned with living for His glory. Continue reading →

Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  Jude 1:3-4 (NASB) 

When I first started this ministry it was for the intent to address two threats that were very invasive back at that time (2006-2010) in the visible church. My method of doing that was to tell the truth of what certain so-called Christian leaders were doing in either the Seeker Sensitive/Church Growth movement or the Emergent movement. Both of these aberrant movements were presenting a deviant gospel and neither of them were focused on what our Lord Jesus Christ commanded the Church to be about…. Continue reading →

The Battlefield of the Mind

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“As believers who are engaged daily in an ongoing battle for our mind there are only two choices to consider: either submit to the will of Christ who loves us or to the will of Satan who wants to destroy us. There is no third option.”

(Darrell B. Harrison – Just Thinking)  If I were to ask you where does Jesus rank among your daily priorities, how would you respond? Would your first impulse be to give a “spiritual” answer—that is, to say what you think you’re supposed to say as a Christian—or would you reply with what you know in your heart to be true? Continue reading →