Five Big Differences Between JMac and the Papist on Ben Shapiro’s Program

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Bishop Robert Barron

Barron very clearly said that Shapiro could be saved by Christ “indirectly received” by following their conscience or by following the laws of Moses.

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen)  The religion of Jesus is entirely different from the religion of the Roman Catholic Church. They hold to a different gospel. They are two different religions. Practitioners of those religions have two different eternal fates.

Dr. John MacArthur gave a good effort at presenting the Gospel authentically and accurately to Ben Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew, on Shapiro’s program several weeks ago. David Limbaugh, another evangelical, gave a perspective on Christianity that was not much different than MacArthur’s just a week later. Continue reading →

Are Creationists Trying to Stop ‘Sound Science Education’?

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“My challenge to AU (as I gave to Bill Nye “the Science Guy”): name one technological achievement that requires belief in naturalistic evolution. There’s none!” 

(Ken Ham – Answers In Genesis)  A blog appeared recently on the website for Americans United for Separation of Church and State titled, “Creationists Remain Hard at Work Trying to Block Sound Science Education.” It laments the tide of public opinion against evolution in the US and the way this influences how teachers present evolutionary ideas in the classroom. But I think headline should read instead, “AU Works Hard to Stop Every Student from Being Taught the Truth Regarding Evolution.” Continue reading →

Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Psalm 37:34 (NASB) 

I read a great deal. I also walk through each day “listening” to the message from God from my circumstances, interactions with people, and what I read both in the Bible and from whatever book God has me reading. When it comes time to sit down and put together a message I try to put all of what I have “heard” that day together as I ask God for guidance. I seek scripture that speaks of the “Headline” that God has given me throughout the day. I suppose this is the same thing as God laying a certain message on a preachers heart. In any case, all today I could not get past how God has blessed me and my wife. My joy has been extreme for several days after I taught in Church this last Sunday. I have been delighting in God and He has answered our prayers in ways I thought I could not imagine. Our faith is growing and we are both extremely amazed at how He has taken care of us despite the evil that is going on all around us in our country. View article →

George Soros and his ‘rented evangelicals’ outed by Christian leaders

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What’s going on here is not so much Christianity as it is partisan politicking under cover of religious teaching. It’s the furtherance of a George Soros style of progressivism, but cloaked in Christianity — and backed by George Soros bucks — and made all the worse by the initial denials of the George Soros ties.

(Cheryl K. Chumley – The Washington Times)  A new video from the American Association of Evangelicals reveals how George Soros, through his many funding ventures, has been busily infiltrating the Christian base in America to divide, and ultimately conquer, the religious minded within the Republican Party. Continue reading →

Top 10 Evangelical News Stories of 2018

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The new year ushers in resolutions and a time to start fresh. But the beginning of a new year means the close of another, offering us the chance to look back and reflect on the good, the bad … and the downright absurd.

(Chelsen Vicari – Juicy Ecumenism)  In 2018, we here at the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) published hundreds of articles on everything from the most encouraging news stories affecting Christianity to some of the most concerning. That’s our job, our mission.

Curious, I dug back through the IRD archives to find out what stories specific to the Evangelical Action program resonated most with our readers. Here are our top 10 most-read Evangelical news stories of the year: Continue reading →

11-year-old ‘drag kid’ dances in popular NYC gay club as patrons toss money at him

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Autistic 11 year-old “drag queen” Desmond Napoles – Instagram screenshot via dangerous.com

“Desmond Napoles, who goes by the drag stage name “Desmond Is Amazing,” is barely 11 years old, yet homosexual and mainstream media have thrust him into the spotlight as the face of the growing prepubescent gay/transgender movement.”

(Doug Mainwaring – LifeSiteNews) – Perhaps sensing the horrific optics of the event, LGBT news sites have assiduously avoided reporting that their favorite 11-year-old drag kid “Desmond Is Amazing” danced on stage in a New York gay bar while adult male patrons tossed money his way as if he were a male stripper.

The pre-adolescent boy, dressed in drag to imitate singer Gwen Stefani, pranced around the stage at Brooklyn’s 3 Dollar Bill, an LGBT bar described as “queer owned & operated,” and “Brooklyn’s Premiere Queer Bar & Performance Venue.” Continue reading →

Anti-Gay?—Get Out of the Way!

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“In spite of constant repetition, the cultural divide is not between hate-filled traditionalists and love-inspired progressives. It is an irreconcilable conflict of two opposing worldviews that affects our understanding of the deep meaning of life. It is the conflict between what the Apostle Paul calls in Romans 1:25 the Truth (worship of the Creator, Twoism) and the Lie (rejection of the Creator and worship of nature, Oneism).” 

(Peter Jones – truthXchange)  We constantly hear that the American culture is irredeemably split politically and ideologically, perhaps even close to civil war. Rarely is the cause of the split ever identified. Certain language is simply dismissed as hate speech, which means that some issues cannot even be discussed in respectful ways. The British periodical, The Spectator, gets close to an explanation of the current “yellow vest” rebellion in France against elitist progressivism: Continue reading →

The cost of true discipleship

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Matthew 8:18-22 (NASB)  (Read verse 21 on the site) 

For the Christian, this life is a test as well as a proving ground in which God grows and matures those who belong to Him through pruning and removing what is not of Him in order that the believer will be humbled and, therefore, enter deeper into the process of becoming more Christlike. There is a cost of discipleship, but if you listen to certain preachers and teachers in our time, this is not true at all. Instead, what they teach is that repentance is not at all part of one’s salvation. However, repentance is a marker of Christian authentication. On the other hand, in the visible Church in our time there are many voices which seek to normalize homosexuality. However, to make this claim they must ignore what the Bible clearly teaches about what constitutes marriage (Genesis 2:24;1 Corinthians 7:8-9). Those who truly follow Jesus must do so on His terms, not the terms of this lost and dying world. View article →

Boys can have periods too, children to be taught in latest victory for transgender campaigners

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“We believe that it’s important for all genders to be able to learn and talk about menstruation together… Our approach recognises the fact that some people who have periods are trans or non-binary.” 

(Henena Horton – The Telegraph)  School children will be taught that “all genders” can have periods in new sex education lessons, in a victory for transgender rights campaigners.

The advice to teachers was approved by Brighton & Hove City Council as they try to tackle stigma around menstruation. Continue reading →

Conservative Christians Want To Stop Kids Meditating At School

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ACLJ view the mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques used in some schools as a danger to children. The organization condemned audio recordings it claims say, “ We’re all connected through nature. And we’re all connected through the universe.”  

(Katherine Hignett – Newsweek)  Conservative Christian watchdog group The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has launched a petition to stop “forced Buddhist meditation” in schools. Continue reading →

Medicalizing the Absurd

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“Now the problem becomes clear: The structure of this definition provides the grounds of removing moral evaluation from any morally deviant action (sin) whatsoever.”

(Joseph E. Torres – truthXchange)  In 1973, Karl Menninger wrote Whatever Became of Sin? He was responding to a cultural move away from any concept of moral transgression. The sociologists and psychologists of the day redefined what Western Christianity had always considered as sinful fruit of dark and hardened hearts. Instead, they argued that those effects, whether individual or corporate, were due to physical hardwiring, societal conditioning, or poor childrearing. Continue reading →

An Ethics Lesson For USA Today’s ‘Queer’ Bullies

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“How does lying in wait for unknown months or years (when Gleeson could have “resurfaced” the old tweets at any time) and publishing a smear in the middle of the night before giving Murray a chance to respond comport with the newspaper’s promises that…”

(Michelle Malkin – Daily Wire)  This week, I did something that USA Today’s executive leadership apparently hadn’t done lately: I read the newspaper’s “principles of ethical conduct for newsrooms.” Continue reading →

Purging the old man

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; Ephesians 4:17-24 (NASB)  (Read verses 19-24 on the site)

God allowed me to teach in church this morning. It was the pastor’s class. There are 4 teachers and they rotate. One of the four had to be out of town so I was asked to fill in for him. We are working our way through Romans. When my turn came it was time to cover Chapter 12. I was asked to do this a week ago so I guess you know now why so many of my posts lately have been about what it means for Christians to be a living sacrifice acceptable to God which is our reasonable service. However, this morning we covered vv1-21. This is first time I have stood in front of a group in church to teach since 2013. I have led our small group Bible studies when we have met in our home, but that is not the same thing, at least not for me. I knew all the elders in the class and there were several people I have known since the 1980’s, but there were also several people I did not know. I spent a great deal of time preparing for this class both in the Word and in prayer. View article →

Be a true worshipper of our Lord

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1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:1-8 (NASB)  (Read verses 4-8 on the site)

I am convinced that most professing Christians are absolutely clueless when it comes to genuine worship of the Lord in spirit and in truth. …  Continue reading →

Drag Performance In Luther Seminary’s Chapel

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“[T]he ELCA is doing the work of Satan by encouraging sin and not helping people turn from these destructive lifestyles and desires.” 

(Dan Skogen – Exposing the ELCA)  Do you think God approves of a man, dressed in drag, “singing” a provocative song in a chapel, on the chancel, next to the altar? Well, that is exactly what happened recently at an ELCA seminary chapel, a school charged with raising up pastors who will be shepherds to ELCA members. The school is Luther Seminary, a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) located in St. Paul, MN.

Luther Seminary is the largest pastor-producing seminary in the ELCA. ​ Continue reading →

Unconstitutional: Federal Judge Strikes Down Obamacare

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“Obamacare was struck down by a Texas federal judge in a ruling that casts uncertainty on insurance coverage for millions of U.S. residents.”

(Matt Vespa – Townhall)  We have breaking news coming from Texas. A federal judge has struck down the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). A group of Republican state attorneys general argued in their lawsuit that the repeal of the tax penalty gutted the argument for ACA legality. Bloomberg has more, with the publication adding that the DOJ tried to argue that the individual mandate, including provisions to keep the premium rates the same among healthy individuals and those with pre-existing conditions, should be struck down, but keep the rest of the law intact. That included Medicaid expansion, the employer mandates, the exchanges, and premium subsides for hospitals.  Continue reading →

Perfect Through Suffering

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.  Hebrews 2:10

The earthly life of Jesus is referred to in one phrase, perfect through what he suffered. Was he not perfect when he came? When Jesus was a babe in Bethlehem’s manger, was he not perfect even then? When he was tempted in the desert and Satan tried to turn him from the cross, was he not already perfect? When he was feeding the five thousand, in compassionate ministry to the hungry multitudes, was he not perfect? Why then does it say he was perfected by suffering? View article →

‘Shout Your Abortion’ Campaign Gains Steam as More Women Brag About Aborting Their Babies

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“Often when somebody has an abortion, it’s the same celebration, it’s the same joy, it’s the same relief that is present when I’m helping a woman have a baby,” said Dr. Yashica Robinson, who maintains a private OB-GYN practice in Huntsville, Alabama.

(Micaiah Bilger – LifeNews)  A project where women brag about aborting their unborn babies is gaining momentum once again with publicity surrounding its new book, “Shout Your Abortion.”

The pro-abortion campaign of the same name took off three years ago with Seattle woman Amelia Bonow. Since then, it has been promoted by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Amy Brenneman and Martha Plimpton, women’s magazines, and national news outlets. Continue reading →

Something Wiccan This Way Comes

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“This upsurge of occult beliefs and religions in this country, though often political and consumeristic, is still a sign that forces of darkness are at work. For one thing, all false faiths lead people—including people within the church—away from Christ, and that has eternal consequences.”

(John Stonestreet – BreakPoint)  Occult spirituality is on the rise, even among Christians. Is it just pop culture or is it the Prince of Darkness? My guess: it’s both. Continue reading →

The Terrorism of Trans Tyranny

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“The number of children identifying as transgender is on the rise. Referrals to the NHS’s Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service have increased by an astonishing 2,500 per cent in the past nine years. Psychotherapist Bob Withers is concerned that large numbers of children are being transitioned unnecessarily, and that discussion of this phenomenon is being closed down by trans activists….”

(Bill Muehlenberg – Culture Watch) Hot on the heels of the homosexual assault on everything is the non-stop trans war on everything. The trans militants have declared war on children, on family, on society, on sexuality, on biology, and on reality. Have I left anything out? Just as countless individuals have suffered from the radical homosexual agenda, so too with the trans tyrants. Continue reading →

Hard times at Harvest

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James MacDonald – photo credit Wikimedia Commons

Former elders, pastors, and staffers from Chicago’s Harvest Bible Chapel accuse the church of financial mismanagement and a culture of deception and intimidation

(Julie Roys – World Magazine) Five years ago, Harvest Bible Chapel, a Chicago-area megachurch with multiple campuses and an average weekly attendance exceeding 12,000, sent shock waves through the Christian community when it publicly excommunicated two former elders and indirectly censured a third.

The edict was news beyond Chicago because James MacDonald is Harvest’s pastor: His Walk in the Word radio and TV ministry reaches millions weekly. Harvest also is home to Vertical Worship, Vertical Church Films, Vertical Church Network, and Harvest Christian Academy in Elgin, Ill., and Camp Harvest in Newaygo, Mich. Continue reading →

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? Psalms 42:1-2 (NASB) 

Spiritually healthy Christians have a deep desire to know God’s will thereby knowing where God wants them to be as well as doing what God wants them to do. Without a doubt, discovering God’s will commands more interest and arouses more anxiety among those spiritually healthy Christians than anything else. That desire is a sign of spiritual health. Why do they deeply desire this? They want to please God. At their regeneration, God gave them a love of obedience that is bolstered as they find joy in doing His will. Along with that, the very thought of offending God grieves them deeply. They deeply desire to live in a way that shows gratitude to God for His grace. He has given them this as their purpose in life. With each victory of obedience as they mortify their sin by His grace, this desire becomes stronger and stronger. Therefore, believers deeply desire to know God’s will so they may do it. View article →

Boy Scouts Considers Bankruptcy Amid Sex Abuse Lawsuits

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“The organization has also agreed in recent years to allow gay men and lesbians to serve in leadership roles, which in part prompted the Mormon Church to announce in 2017 that it was withdrawing from the organization’s programs for older boys.”

(James Barrett – Daily Wire)  Boy Scouts of America may be taking a similar approach as USA Gymnastics to mounting legal fees related to sex abuse lawsuits. According to the Wall Street Journal, the over a century-old nonprofit is considering filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Continue reading →

Do You Have Prayer ADHD?

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“No matter how you pray, the point is, pray. It’s a mechanism that is commanded, after all, but it is also a grace that we have been given as a gift. Practice focusing on what you are saying to the Lord and not drifting off, because He is standing right there with you (and me) after all.”

(Elizabeth Prata – The End Time)  I saw a meme on Facebook that made me laugh. I can’t find it again, but it went something like, ‘I have prayer ADHD, I start, drift into thinking other things, then come back saying ‘Where was I, Lord?’ Continue reading →

Archaeologists: We’ve located biblical city of Sodom

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The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Flickr)

Archaeologists believe they have found the ancient city of Sodom, whose destruction is described in the Bible. They say it was caused by a meteorite.

(Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News) Archaeologists excavating the Bronze Age city of Tall el-Hammam in Jordan believe it to be the biblical city of Sodom, destroyed some 3,700 years ago.

According to the Bible, God obliterated the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the plain upon which they stood by raining down on them “brimstone and fire.” Continue reading →