Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists Join March FOR Abortion in Kentucky

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The marchers, part of a 30-city effort across the nation, also challenged the notion that abortion or homosexuality were important issues. The Higher Ground Moral Declaration, a statement put together by the clergy, said, “We challenge the position that the preeminent moral issues today are about prayer in public schools, abortion, and homosexuality.”

(Pulpit & Pen) Pro-abortion clergy members held a rally in Kentucky earlier this week. On Monday, September 10, the Higher Ground Moral Day of Action was held to promote the abortion of human beings. Clergy members from the Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Unitarian-Universalists were among those who gathered to support abortion in the name of Christianity. Over one-hundred clergy members were in attendance. … Continue reading →

Means of Grace: God’s Provision for Our Salvation and Sanctification

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

By Bob DeWaay

“And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)

A soldier in Iraq emailed CIC a few weeks ago. His message exposes an alarming trend in evangelicalism: to replace the Bible with man-made programs. Here is a portion of the email:

I am currently serving in Iraq. I am in the Army National Guard. “A lot” of PDL [Purpose Driven Life] study groups have sprouted up at various camps around Iraq. The people in my unit have done the PDL study 3 times now! They started for 3 months, then again started again for 3 months, and AGAIN started the “same” study. (continuous back-to-back-to-back) At no time have I EVER seen one of them carry a bible into the study. … Continue reading →

Christian meditation: what’s biblical and what’s not (repost)

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This article by CRN managing editor Marsha West was first published in September 2014.

In Joshua 1:8 God said: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” So, what exactly did God have in mind when He told Joshua to meditate on His word? Well, we can be certain of one thing. The Lord was not suggesting that Joshua sit in the lotus position repeating a mantra until he attained an altered state of consciousness.  “These help bring one into states other than normal waking consciousness, in which a person becomes open to mystical experience, the spirit realm, or cosmic consciousness,” warns Bill Muehlenberg.

The sort of meditation God had in mind was not Eastern meditation. He has made it clear that His people are not to adopt pagan practices and those who do are out of His will. The purpose of eastern-style meditation is to “seek the God within.”

That’s pantheism, brethren. People who hold this view believe that God is all and all is God. “A tree is God, a rock is God, an animal is God, the sky is God, the sun is God, you are God, etc.” The biblical view is that God is separate from His creation.  Genesis 1:1-30

More on biblical meditation in a moment, but first…

Sit Still!

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” There’s been a huge misunderstanding in the Christian community as to what this verse means. Let’s take a look at noted Bible teacher Kay Arthur’s Precept Ministries International (PMI) website to see if she has it right:

Can you remember the last time you sat in total silence except for the sounds of nature – listening intently to hear the voice of God. It is time to:

Be still and know that I am God. – Psalm 46:10

Be still (cease striving)

Rest, relax, chill out, stop fighting, drop your weapons

Know that I am God

Learn that I am God, or “see that I am God,” “Get to know me better”

God is telling His children who are living in a busy world to stop, get quiet so that they can listen and get to know Him. It is only in stillness, the quiet, that we can hear the voice of God. (Bold PMI’s – Source)

Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries penned a piece entitled Kay Arthur With Erroneous Contemplative Interpretation of Psalm 46:10, which is where I came across the above quote. It could be a coincidence that right after Silva wrote his blog post and upbraided Mrs. Arthur for her erroneous teaching on Psalm 46:10, PMI’s webmaster changed the paragraph that begins with God is telling His children to As children of God, who are living in a busy world, we need to stop, get quiet and listen for His voice as we read His Word. God most often speaks in that small still voice. (Bold mine)

So, was Kay Arthur correct in explaining what be still means in context? Not according to Silva:

This passage isn’t about any kind of meditation; and it has absolutely nothing to do with sitting in some lotus position and subjectively trying to “hear” God’s voice in creeping crickets or inner burblings of bellies. Rather, this is a firm admonition and warning for all nations – particularly His people Israel – to stop worrying and to recognize God’s sovereignty. (Source)

What do Bible scholars say the meaning is? One source, Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, states, among other things, that be still is “the idea of leaving matters with God, or of being without anxiety about the issue.” (Source – follow this link to discover what several Bible scholars say the meaning of be still is)

Low-Information Evangelical (LIE)

A growing number of low-information evangelicals (low-information people with high-profile power and/or influence) endorse meditation, or what’s known as contemplative/centering prayer (CP). This is bad news for the evangelical community as it’s easily provable that CP has its roots in paganism. In spite of this well-known fact, many LIE-celebs continue to lead people into eastern-style meditation. Yes, you read that right. Eastern, as in Buddhism. Now, some of you are thinking, “Seriously? Christian leaders are pointing people to Buddhism?” Bingo! (Source)

Unfortunately many LIE’s promote problematic pagan practices even though God adamantly says:

When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this. (Deut. 18:9-14)

There’s no question that God’s warning to Israel still pertains today. His people are not to indulge in pagan idolatry. This means that Christians who practice a form of meditation that brings him/her into the alpha state is actually defying the God they profess their love for! That alone should scare the bejeebers out of believers who take that approach to prayer. And it matters not what the reason is – even if it’s to go “deeper with God.”

Biblical meditation always includes a fully engaged mind.  Listen to Professor of Philosophy Doug Groothuis’ advice on biblical prayer:

The biblical concept of prayer assumes that rational and meaningful communication between God and humans is possible. There is no summons to suspend rational judgment even when prayer through the Holy Spirit is ‘with groans that words cannot express’ (Rom. 8:26).

The manner in which the Christian shall meditate on it day and night is through the reading and study of the Bible.  (Space does not allow for a comprehensive explanation of Eastern mysticism.  Those who wish to learn more on this subject will find my articles here.)

Christian Meditation Made Clear

Now to the subject at hand – biblical prayer. It’s important that born again believers begin each day with the Lord. What we call “quiet time” involves finding a place to read and pray where there are no distractions – so turn off that cell phone! Before reading, ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind and reveal truth. Also ask Him to help you make the biblical principles you’re learning meaningful and practical in your life. In Charles Spurgeon’s sermon “Pray Without Ceasing,” he asks four important questions:

What do these words imply? Secondly, What do they actually mean? Thirdly, How shall we obey them? And, fourthly, Why should WE especially obey them?

These are the sort of questions we should be asking as we read our bibles. We must stop and ponder what God has spoken through the words on the page. It may be necessary to read a passage repeatedly, reflect on it, analyze it, and listen while the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. (John 16:13)

And always consider the context! Apologist Greg Koukl explains how this is done:

I read the paragraph, not just the verse. I take stock of the relevant material above and below. Since the context frames the verse and gives it specific meaning, I let it tell me what’s going on.

Context, context, context!

Because many Christians lead busy lives they fail to put aside time to spend with the Lord. In point of fact, data shows that most believers spend very little time in their bibles – but there is certainly a whole lotta prayin’ goin’ on. In this fast food nation in which we live Christians continually fire off bullet prayers hoping God will answer them quickly. Especially if they want the God who grants their wishes to see to it that they find a parking space at the mall during the Christmas rush or stop a torrential downpour when they’re sitting in the stands at an outdoor sporting event.

Now, don’t get me wrong. God loves it when His people pray umpteen times a day. Moreover, we’re commanded to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes. 5:17) We’re also commanded to abide in Christ:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5).

So, not only are we to begin our day with the Lord reading the Bible and praying, we’re also to abide in (stay around) Christ throughout the day for the reason that there’s an ongoing relationship between the Vine and the branches. Got Questions reminds us:

We need to fill our minds constantly with the things of God; God should always be on our mind, and everything we do should be done with reference to Him (Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31).

When we fail to abide in Christ – fill our minds with the things of God – the fruit we bear, no matter how appealing it appears, is not off Christ’s vine! In other words, it’s done apart from Him.

There’s a story in Luke 10:38 of two sisters, Mary and Martha, who thought differently about how to serve their Master. When Jesus came to their home Martha stayed in the kitchen preparing food for their guests. She had developed her own agenda for serving Christ. Martha became vexed that Mary wasn’t helping with the meal. What was her sister doing that caused Martha’s consternation? She was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to His words.

It’s certainly no crime to prepare a nice meal for a guest; however, we must remember that we are children of God before we’re servants of God. Like Mary, we must take time to sit at our Lord’s feet. Martha was so busy serving Jesus that she neglected Him!

Have I hit a nerve?

Why Pray?

If your prayers are mainly the bullet variety then it would be wise to develop the biblical model of praying. Biblical prayer is intended for praise, confession and repentance, thanksgiving and asking for others. In our quiet time with the Lord we find His love. Through prayer believers are conformed to God’s will.

Prayer isn’t meant to be an esoteric experience. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that we are to go into altered states of consciousness to commune with God. As I said above, biblical meditation does not seek the “God within.” This is the purpose of those who cling to Eastern religion and New Age spirituality!

The Christian who truly wishes to please God will let “the words of [your] mouth and the meditation of [your] heart be acceptable in [the LORD’s] sight …” (Psalm 19:14 paraphrased)

Recommended:

Psalm 46:10 Does Not Teach Contemplative-Centering Prayer – By Ken Silva

Research:

Contemplative Prayer 

New Age “Spirituality”

Occult-Sorcery

 

Welcome to the New (Contemplative) Christianity – Breath In . . . Breath Out

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“If you are someone who is aware of the dangers and the true panentheistic, interspiritual nature of contemplative prayer, you have probably noticed that contemplative spirituality has moved from its infancy stage in the church to what appears to becoming the norm.” 

(Lighthouse Trails)  The acceptance of contemplative prayer has hit an all-time high in the church. And is it any wonder? Christian media, Christian publishers, pastors, mission societies, Bible societies, authors, radio hosts, youth leaders, women’s group leaders, and Christian ministry leaders are all promoting it more than ever. … Continue reading →

Friendship with the world and its ways is hostility toward God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.  James 4:1-4 (NASB)  (Read verses 3-4 on the site)

The Church since its inception in the 1st Century AD has been plagued by quarrels, disagreements, feuds, splits, et cetera. According to God, the problem is not with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or His doctrines, but with the fact that people in the Church are not submitted properly to Him or to each other. Pride is behind most disagreements just as it is behind those who break away from the truth to lead their followers with false doctrines and a focus that is on self rather than on God and His glory. Instead, those who cause these problems are in love with self and, therefore, in love with the world, its ways, and the things of the world. View article →

Kids Tutored in ‘Pleasure’ Despite STD Epidemic

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According to Linda Harvey, there’s a new trend in “comprehensive sexuality education”: teaching youngsters about “pleasure.”

The group, promoting pleasure, is planning an October conference in San Diego. Harvey reports what’s on their agenda:

So let’s center pleasure in adolescent sex ed. Let’s assemble a new language for the field that fosters authentic conversations in classrooms—conversations centered not on plumbing and pathology, but on pleasure.”{Emphasis added}

This is just a small part of what progressive perverts have in store for America’s children. So naturally Harvey wants to know what kind of wicked adults do this to kids.  She reveals the answer in a recent blog post over at MissionAmerica. She also offers a solution. And then she asks “Can we do this?

Here’s Linda Harvey’s article. It’s sexually explicit, so brace yourself: Continue reading →

LEAKED VIDEO: Google Leadership’s Dismayed Reaction to Trump Election

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“Co-founder Sergey Brin can be heard comparing Trump supporters to fascists and extremists. Brin argues that like other extremists, Trump voters were motivated by “boredom,” which he says in the past led to fascism and communism.”

(Allum Kokhari – Breitbart) A video recorded by Google shortly after the 2016 presidential election reveals an atmosphere of panic and dismay amongst the tech giant’s leadership, coupled with a determination to thwart both the Trump agenda and the broader populist movement emerging around the globe. Continue reading →

Rekindle the Gift of God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. 1 Timothy 4:13-16 (NASB)  (Read verses 15 & 16 on the site)

The way the gospel is presented in our time is backward. It is focused incorrectly. Instead of focusing on what God has done for us who have nothing in and of ourselves to warrant it; the way the gospel is given ever since I can remember is to attempt to make it appealing as if people should decide to try Jesus for 30 or 60 days to see if He makes a difference. What a joke! What blasphemy! To be honest, the closer I get to the front lines in serving my Lord, the more our enemy attacks me. The more I suffer. The more problems I have. However, I do not serve my Lord to get away from that stuff. I serve Him for His glory and my Lord went to the Cross for me so how can I seek the easy way out here and now? View article →

Memo to K-12 students: Resist

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“Consider for a few minutes what they’ve done with you so far. After all these years sitting in classrooms, what have you learned? Anything?? Do you know where Japan is on a map? Do you know what 8 times 9 is? Do you know why Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon are considered exceptionally fascinating people? Do you know what happened in 1776? Do you know how many ounces are in a pound?” 

(Bruce Deitrick Price – Renew America) Okay, kids, gather round the campfire. There is something you need to know. Something scary.

You are a participant in a vast psychological war. Believe it or not, you are the enemy in this war. You are the primary target. Continue reading →

Kicking off more contempt for America

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Is it any wonder that “everyday Americans” get the impression that the ruling elites who dictate culture don’t particularly care for them or America?

(Robert Knight – The Washington Times)  What is it with our ruling elites? How did they come to have so much disdain for America? Some recent events have yet again brought this unfortunate situation to the surface.

Let’s start with Nike, the Portland, Oregon-based sportswear megacompany. It did not become a Fortune 100 corporation by chance or careless management. Continue reading →

Roman Catholics Blame Pedophile Scandal on Gay Conspiracy to Hurt Church

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“The Roman Catholic Church has had three-quarters of a century of warnings about the pedophile problem and the Vatican has made promises to protect the public from their pedophile priests for three-quarters of a century. And yet, Roman Catholics have blamed the recent pedophilia scandal on a secret conspiracy of gays to invade the church and molest children, with the intention of hurting the church’s reputation.

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen) If you threw a rock into a crowd of Roman Catholic priests, you would hit a pedophile.” Continue reading →

Are You a Child of God?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching
28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.  (1 John 2:28-29 NASB)

There are two types of people in the world. There are God’s children and everyone else. One of the reasons I love to read the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation is that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:7), wrote very profound words that have no gray areas. Of course he wrote as the Spirit breathed these words through him, but God used this man’s entire makeup in that process. John was very pastoral, but he was also a Christian apologist of the highest order. He was one the three Apostles who made up the inner circle closest to our Lord during His earthly ministry. …  View article →

Can Christian Women Flourish Without Liberation Theology?

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Photo credit: Wikimedia

“The Women’s Liberation Movement was founded upon a Marxist foundation rather than the gospel. Therefore, it sought to elevate women to the highest levels of power and freedom across the culture as a whole. In the process this liberation movement took direct aim upon the sufficiency of Scripture and the complementarian doctrine established by God at the point of creation.” 

(Josh Buice – Delivered By Grace) Years ago, the Women’s Liberation Movement rolled through America and forced its way into conservative evangelical circles. In 1970, Germaine Greer wrote The Female Eunuch which not only suggested that motherhood was a handicap but it went on to claim pregnancy was an illness.  Germaine Greer taught women to be “deliberately promiscuous” and to do everything possible to avoid conceiving children. It was a common thing for the militant feminist to describe the role the mother in nurturing and caring for her children as a form of oppression and slavery. Continue reading →

What Is Man?

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Are human beings God in a physical body as New Agers believe? Author of the best selling book The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, declares that “You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You…. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection.” Humans are all powerful?  Wow. That’s quite a claim. But is what she says true? Are humans actually God in a physical body?  Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason answers the age old question, “What is man?” from a biblical perspective. He writes:

Three thousand years ago, an ancient sage gazed at the world and asked the most important question anyone could ask about our corporate humanity:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him…? (Ps. 8:3–4) Continue reading →

The source of Christian joy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ Matthew 7:21-25 (NASB) (Read verse 23 & 24 on the site)

One of my first posts, What is Joy?, which I wrote on January 10, 2006, is the 2nd most read post on this blog. As of a few minutes ago it has been read 48,485 times. This is obviously because it is returned in search engines to people seeking some truth about Biblical Joy, which is a constant theme throughout God’s Word. This tells us that most Christians are seeking joy and are, perhaps, perplexed because their circumstances are anything but joyful. Our Lord gave us the example through the way He walked throughout His earthly ministry in which we are given what true joy is and how we must live in order to obtain it. The following passage is right in the middle of that part of John’s Gospel dealing with the Samaritan woman at the well. View article →

CDC Reports: STD Rates Hit All-Time High For the Forth Straight Year

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“Scientists have found a “superbug” strain of gonorrhea in Japan that is resistant to all recommended antibiotics and say it could transform a once easily treatable infection into a global public health threat.”

(Wintery Knight) I’ve been blogging about skyrocketing rates of sexually-transmitted-diseases for the last few years, and particularly how it impacts high risk groups, e.g. – men who have sex with men. The attitude that the culture is taking towards this is to not make any moral judgments, but someone is going to have to pay for all the health care that is required to “fix” this problem. Continue reading →

Kris Vallotton’s pagan faith? “Why We Need to Stop Saying ‘All the Glory to God'”

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“As we will see in the below Kris Vallotton article, the NAR replace Godly faith with a worldly faith. Because it is assumed they are righteous and no longer sinners, the NAR understanding of sanctification is worked out in fulfilling one’s destiny. This is where the lines between worldly faith and godly faith are blurred within the NAR.”

(Churchwatch Central) The Apostle Paul contrasts righteousness by faith with righteousness by works (Romans 3:23, 4:4-5), a righteousness from God Himself, obtained by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). When Paul speaks of the righteousness of God imputed to us, he refers to our right-standing with God, the fact that we are now in a new and right relationship with Him. Continue reading →

We are called to be holy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

45 For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Leviticus 11:45 (NASB)

The resistance in today’s version of the Church of Jesus Christ to commands such as the one above is rooted in rebellion. Yes, I know that is a blunt statement. Yes, I know that there are huge segments of the church in America that believe that the Old Testament is not for them. However, the truth does not stop being the truth simply because people refuse to believe it. I run into this quite a bit. I teach something or write something that is a clear command of God that we must obey and someone will say or write something like, “well everyone knows that that can’t mean that because God isn’t like that.” Excuse me but since when does what people believe about God change what God is like or diminishes the veracity of His commands? View article →

Repentance, personal holiness and the big lie

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7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Galatians 6:7-10 (NASB) 

Repentance is not a large part of the paradigm that is the 21st Century version of the visible Church. The current trend to build Mega-Churches has as one of its main tenets that the prevailing culture within which the church resides must determine the content of the Gospel. In order to attract the largest possible number of people to be part of these churches, absolutely no emphasis is placed on living a life of repentance by the professing Christian. Instead, the way “church is done” is to bring the world into it, to not be threatening in any way to those who have no desire to abandon their flesh oriented lifestyles. View article →