Walking Circumspectly

Posted by Mike Ratliff ∙ August 27, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

21 Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly. Proverbs 15:21 (NKJV)

Read Ephesians 5:15-21 on the site.

This “walking,” this περιπατεῖτε is the present, indicative, active form of the verb περιπατέω, which, in this context, is speaking of ‘walking concerning something.’ It is describing a certain way in which a Christian walks through each day. It has to do with relationships and how he or she responds and reacts both outwardly and inwardly to all of life’s circumstances. Paul tells us to do this ἀκριβῶς or akribōs. I and the NKJV translated this as “circumspectly.” The idea is to walk through this life looking all around, being on the lookout. View article →

He lead captivity captive

Posted by Mike Ratliff ∙ August 26, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

18 You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, Even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there. Psalms 68:18 (NASB) (Read Ephesians 4:8 on the site)

I confess that Ephesians 4:8 has always puzzled me. It became even stranger when I began to read it in Greek. As you can see, Ephesians 4:8 is actually a “semi-quotation” of Psalm 68:18, which was a victory hymn celebrating God’s conquest of the Jebusites and His ascent (represented by the Ark of the Covenant) up Mount Zion (2 Samuel 6-7, 1 Chronicles 13). Soldiers captured by the enemy became “re-captured captives” and the spoils of war became the property of the conqueror to give as he wished. However, is that the context Paul has in mind in Ephesians 4:8? View article →

Oprah Shouts For Abortion

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 25, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Abortion, Feminism

One woman said of her abortion: “I never did think of the cell cluster as ‘my baby,’ nor the sperm donor as ‘the father.’ … My whole view on the thing was quite neutral. Scientific.” Somehow it’s “neutral” and “scientific” to deny the humanity of “the thing.”

(Brent Bozell & Tim Graham – CNSNews) Over the years, Oprah Winfrey has seemingly evolved into America’s mom. After her TV career, she sounds like an evangelist preaching a feminist substitute to replace religion in her monthly Oprah Magazine. Her August issue carries this motivational nugget of Oprah wisdom on the cover: “We all want to feel radiant, joyful, and alive. It starts with choosing love — in any form.” No mention of faith, but no surprise there. Continue reading →

Russell Moore to Speak at George Soros Event

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 25, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Immigration, Progressive Christianity, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convention, Moore Russell

“As the links above demonstrate, the National Immigration Forum is directly funded by George Soros. Its initiative, Bibles, Badges, and Businesses, is an explicit strategy to get evangelical churches (Bibles), law enforcement (badges) and corporations (businesses) to coalesce for the purpose of ending national sovereign borders.”

(Pulpit & Pen) Russell Moore will be a plenary speaker at the National Immigration Forum, an organization formed and funded by Democrat financier, George Soros. The purpose of the National Immigration Forum is to advance the cause of amnesty for illegal aliens, demolish national sovereign borders, and establish a global government. … Continue reading →

Tim Keller’s Full Endorsement Of Being Gay & Christian

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 25, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ False Doctrine, False Gospel, False Teacher, Homosexuality, Progressive Christianity, Social Justice, Tim Keller

By Toni S. Brown

The Apostle Paul warns us:

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

No warning has been more marginalized or flat out ignored by the professing, visible church than this one from our Lord’s great servant and apostle. There are many dangerous voices of error invading the church to condemn God’s Word on the clear, biblical truth regarding the sin of homosexuality. This blog post will focus on just one movement afoot that in its cleverness and subtlty has and will continue a full, frontal assault on God’s truth.

Sam Allberry, who identifies as “gay and Christian” and pastors St. Mary’s Church in Maidenhead UK (Pictured above), promotes the idea that one can be homosexual and Christian, and therefore must have inclusion in the Lord’s Church. The Word of the one, true God clearly proclaims otherwise:

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Sam Allberry has established a ministry website that is solely devoted to the false teaching of “gay” Christianity; www.livingout.com. While there are many prominent, professing evangelicals supporting Allberry and his ministry, none are as devoted to Allberry’s philosophy as the ever-popular Dr. Tim Keller, who has been behind the scenes quietly and cleverly pushing the same ideas for years promoting his powerless, non-transforming and false gospel. In June 2018 Allberry hosted a conference through his Living Out ministry with Keller as keynote speaker.

The conference was promoted with an Identity in Christ theme, but it was quite clear from the beginning that they have a far different agenda, as they promote the idea of ignoring the homosexual’s sexual preference (or “identity”) and focus instead on their” identity in Christ”.

The glaring problem is that there is no such thing as a Christian homosexual, therefore they have no identity in Christ.

They are self-deceived, lost souls in dire need of a faithful servant of Christ to come forward and proclaim boldly to them the all-powerful, transforming gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The link below is the promo video for the conference featuring Tim Keller: http://www.livingout.org/resources/tim-keller-gives-a-taste-of-the-identity-in-christ-conference

This conference team produced a list consisting of 10 points or questions they claim every church must get in line with in order to be “biblically inclusive.” They refer to this as an “audit” for every church: http://www.livingout.org/resources/the-living-out-church-audit

Articles regularly posted by Allberry and others on the LivingOut site demand inclusion by way of deceptive, clever language, as this excerpt from an article recently published on the site demonstrates:

Contributed By Sean Doherty

I became a Christian in my late teens, and not long after that I came to acknowledge that I was gay. I was committed to celibacy. At university I said I was gay, and I never experienced homophobic treatment from other Christians. This has convinced me that love and unconditional acceptance of gay people does not require approval of same-sex activity. Love and acceptance was my consistent experience. I was involved in the Christian Union in my university and I served on its ‘exec’ for a year, working alongside other young evangelicals who all knew I was gay and only ever treated me with great respect and affection. My evangelical college chaplain, also conservative about sexuality, strongly encouraged me to pursue ordination. I found the church to be a deeply supportive and affirming place. I was nurtured, given responsibility in ministry, and encouraged towards ordination. It is undeniable and indefensible that in the church there has been prejudice and even mistreatment of people because of their sexuality. But my experience has convinced me that this prejudice and mistreatment does not come from believing what the Bible says about marriage and sex. View article →

Research:

Tim Keller here and here

Homosexual Agenda

Progressive (Social Justice) “Christianity”

God’s Faithfulness

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 25, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ Stedman Ray

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause. Jeremiah 20:11-12

Previously in this chapter, Jeremiah poured out his complaint to the Lord while he was in the stocks. But now faith comes to Jeremiah’s rescue and begins to strengthen him. Faith counterattacks to uphold the tottering prophet. Jeremiah is now fighting back against the assault he is victim of. He begins now to reckon on reality, to count as truth what God had made known to him. View article →

New False Prophets to the Old False Prophets — Time for you to Step Off

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 24, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Charismaticism, False Doctrine, False Teacher, New Apostolic Reformation

“The message is clear and the gauntlet has been thrown down. If you are part of the old regime that has fleeced God’s flock through lying about what He says — time to step off! Have some humility to let the new batch of wolves into the pen.”

Read Jeremiah 23:16-32

(Anthony Wade – 8:28 Ministries) It seems there is a civil war brewing within the apostate church. For the sake of their master, I am sure they will remember how to sing Kumbaya but in the interim the irony is gratifying. R. Loren Sandford is a pastor in Colorado and apparently he thinks it is time the old guard goes off to that false prophet retirement ranch. What is delicious is he takes their own false prophet network language, weaponizes it and uses it against them. Thus get ready get ready get ready because there is a shift coming in the prophetic atmosphere! Let us reason together through above linked article: Continue reading →

Progressive Christians and their doctrines of devils (Reprise)

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 24, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ False Doctrine, False Teacher, Progressive Christianity, Social Justice, Wallis Jim, West Marsha

This article by CRN managing editor Marsha West was published December 3, 2016.

Do not be fooled by professing Christians who prefer either “progressive Christian” or “social justice Christian” over evangelical. It matters not what trendy terms they come up with to describe themselves, these folks are leftists. Some are Marxists. And others are Communists. As I said in a series of essays I wrote entitled “Liberals created the culture of evil and death” the visible Church has been infiltrated by:

…ubiquitous, aggressive liberals many of whom are renowned pastors, authors, conference speakers, missionaries, televangelists, radio hosts, and CEOs of Christian organizations. As of late, even some of our most beloved evangelical leaders appear to be morphing into theological liberals. Continue reading →

The glorious Gospel vs the contextualized gospel

Posted by Mike Ratliff ∙ August 24, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but suffer together in the Gospel by the power of God, 9 the one having saved us and having called us to a holy calling, not by our works, but by His own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began 2 Timothy 1:8,9 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

The Apostle Paul’s understanding of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and that of most of what we refer to as the visible church in our time is quite different. I’m not talking about Reformed Theology as opposed to Arminianism or Semi-Pelagianism or even Pelagianism here. View article →

Steven Furtick is the Most Dangerous Kind of False Teacher

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 23, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ False Doctrine, False Teacher, Word-Faith, Furtick Steven

“The issue here stems from the fact that Steven Furtick is not qualified to teach in any capacity, nor does he heed the harsh warnings for teachers. With respect to this, one can only conclude he willingly embraces his role as a false teacher.”

(Grayson Gilbert – Patheos) Steven Furtick has long been a bane to the Evangelical church on the basis of his own self-admission: he’s unqualified for the pastorate. He literally wrote the book on it in response to MacArthur’s one word answer when asked what his thoughts were on Furtick. Yet, rather than reassess whether or not he would be qualified per Scripture’s own stance, Steven Furtick doubled down in his pride with a publishing deal. Continue reading →

Saddleback Church youth mentor convicted of lewd acts with teen boys

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 23, 2018 ∙ In News ∙ Crime, Sexual Assault, Saddleback Church, Warren Rick

When Ruven a.k.a. Ruben Muelenberg was arrested in May 2018 on child molestation charges, Saddleback Church, whose senior pastor is Rick Warren, downplayed Muelenberg’s role at the church. As it turns out, he was not just a mentor to troubled youth, he was on staff at Warren’s church. On August 22 the jury found Muelenberg guilty of the charges against him. The Orange County Register has the details:

A Saddleback Church youth mentor was convicted Wednesday of molesting twin teenage boys on two occasions when they were 13 and 14 years old. Continue reading →

When Should I Leave My Church?

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 23, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Apostasy, Bible, Christianity, Church

How do you know if you should stay or go? What theological and practical guidelines should be considered before moving to another church?

(Josh Buice – Delivered By Grace) Far too many people leave their church prematurely and without biblical warrant. The evangelical church today is infected with a disease called—church consumerism. People often choose a church based on what the particular congregation can do for them. In other cases, people are too quick to abandon their church on the basis of unbiblical or superficial rationale. This is not a new problem and it likely will remain a problem until genuine reform happens on a local church level in the area of biblical ecclesiology. Continue reading →

How Do You Know if Your Church is Healthy?

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 23, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Christianity, Church, Challies Tim

There are healthy churches and unhealthy churches (so, so many unhealthy churches). How would you know the difference?

(Tim Challies) Today I want to talk about the health of a local church. Are there ways we can know that a church is healthy or a way we can know it’s unhealthy? And this comes from a question I received from somebody who’s been watching these videos. Let me read the question:

“I’m curious to know how you might go about evaluating the spiritual health of the congregation? Here’s the key; are there objective ways of identifying whether a congregation is growing or stagnant and is there a clear set of biblical markers or indicators that you would use to assess whether the congregation is spiritually healthy?” Continue reading →

Are you on the right path?

Posted by Mike Ratliff ∙ August 23, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? Luke 9:23-26 (NASB) (Read verse 26 on the site)

When I was in my 20’s I made a commitment to become fit enough to run one mile in under 5 minutes, run 5 Kilometers in under 18 minutes, run 5 miles in under 30 minutes, run 10 Kilometers in under 37 minutes, and run 10 miles in under an hour. By the time I was 33 years old I had accomplished the first three. I had missed my goal for the 10K by less than a minute, however, my best time for a 10 mile race was 1 hour and 4 minutes. Continue reading →

‘Raise the Rainbow Flag, We Surrender’

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 22, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Homosexuality, Roman Catholicism, Sexual Assault, Pope Francis

Pope Francis “definitely got his nerve purging his message to a shell-shocked American Catholic community of anything that could
vaguely comfort her amid this storm.”

“Facts are notoriously stark, and numbers don’t lie: that homosexuality at all levels of the [RCC] hierarchy is a huge part of the problem is not debatable anymore.”

(Alessandro Marinelli – The American Thinker) These are stormy times for the Catholic Church in North America. First, Theodore McCarrick, whose resignation as cardinal Pope Francis accepted in July. Then the Pennsylvania grand jury report, which is having the effects of the detonation of an atomic bomb with its subsequent devastating shockwave and radioactive fallout. As a Catholic, I would be lying if I said the mind-blowing revelations over the extent and the creepy deep-rootedness of sexual promiscuity and perversity in the clergy have not taken a toll on my trust in the Church. As many of us are still reeling from the shock and the disgust, rage and exasperation mount. Continue reading →

Study: Children of Same-sex couples do less well than those of married couples

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 22, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Family, Health, Homosexuality, Marriage

“Adults should NOT be thinking about how to duct-tape a child onto any old relationship that doesn’t offer the same safety and stability that opposite sex marriage offers. We should be passing laws to strengthen marriage in order to protect children, not to weaken it.”

(Wintery Knight) The Public Discourse reports on a recent study out of Canada.

Excerpt:

A new academic study based on the Canadian census suggests that a married mom and dad matter for children. Children of same-sex coupled households do not fare as well. Continue reading →

Consequences of Sexual Sin

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 22, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Adultery, Sexual Immorality

“When sexual impurity moves in, joy moves out (Ps. 51:8). The two cannot coexist in the heart at the same time. They are mutually exclusive. Joy and gladness will not move in until the lust has moved out and there has been repentance and confession.”

(Eric Davis – The Cripplegate) Life can get dicey this side of Genesis 3. Crops fail. Weather fails. Nations fail. Health fails. Resolve fails. Much of life is simply about learning to navigate disappointment and pain. But there is one thing which perhaps causes more pain than anything else; sexual sin. There’s the betrayal; the lying; the deception. There’s the severing of trust; severing of families; severing of relationships. Sexual sin in spiritual leadership packs an added severity. Churches are damaged; ministries are damaged; witness is damaged. Continue reading →

Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another

Posted by Mike Ratliff ∙ August 22, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;(NASB) (Read verses 20-21 on this site.)

William Carey (1761-1834) was a Baptist missionary to India. He was a pastor in England before going to the mission field where he served the Lord for 41 years translating the Scriptures. He never returned to England. When he became ill with the disease that would kill him, he was asked to select the Biblical text to be used at his funeral. View article →

Camp Followers Endanger the Church

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 21, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Christianity, Culture, Liberalism, Progressive Christianity

“It’s a camp exalting a Jesus who is a feminist, a sexual libertine and a socialist. Faith leaders like Franklin Graham are considered fools. Jonathan absorbs rhetoric from Black Lives Matter without questioning the manipulative race- baiting, anti-law-enforcement agenda.”

(Linda Harvey – MissionAmerica) Jonathan is a self-labeled Christian. He listens to CNN every day and never questions that he’s getting a reliable version of the truth.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Jonathan has a worldview issue but also a “camp” issue.

Which camp are you in? Have you decided? Continue reading →

Masters University Placed On Probation by Accrediting Agency

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 21, 2018 ∙ In Opinion ∙ Education, MacArthur John

“If you read the reports from WASC yourself, you’ll see that they didn’t make any clear accusations, but asked questions that need to be resolved.”

(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen) Masters University, the school associated with Grace Community Church and the esteemed John MacArthur, has been placed on probation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). According to WASC, there are a number of deficiencies that Masters must improve upon for them to come out from under their probationary status. Continue reading →

The Potter and the Clay

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 21, 2018 ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ Stedman Ray

We have commented in previous messages about the many things God uses to teach his people, these remarkable visual aids which appear from time to time in this book whereby God imparts lessons to this prophet. Jeremiah was sent down to the potter’s house, and there he saw three simple things, conveying to him a fantastic lesson. You may have observed the same things that Jeremiah did, for the art of making a pot has not changed through the centuries. The wheel is now turned by an electric motor, but that is about the only difference. Even this is still controlled by the foot of the potter. The clay is the same as it has always been. The potter is the same, with his capable hands, working to mold and shape the clay into the vessel he has in mind. View article →

Brown University provides ‘safe spaces’ … for men

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 20, 2018 ∙ In News ∙ Culture, Education, Political Correctness

Program helps students ‘unlearn’ toxic masculinity

(Michael Jones – The College Fix) Brown University is working to help its male students “unlearn” and “unpack” their masculinity.

A program at the Ivy League institution provides “safe spaces for men to unpack all of the things they have learned about masculinity and what it means to be a man,” according to its website.

“Rigid definitions of masculinity are toxic to men’s health,” campus officials state online under the heading: “Unlearning Toxic Masculinity.” Continue reading →

Pennsylvania AG: Cardinal under scrutiny over report on priest abuse ‘is not telling the truth’

Posted by Marsha West ∙ August 20, 2018 ∙ In News ∙ Homosexuality, Roman Catholicism, Sexual Assault, Sexual Immorality

Cardinal Donald Wuerl

“The predatory behavior of Father Ernest Paone dated back to the 1960s and he was shuffled from parish to parish all over the country, according to the grand jury report.”

(Jake Tapper & Clare Foran — CNN) Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is accusing Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, of “not telling the truth” as he attempts to defend himself amid criticism and calls for his resignation over the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing allegations of widespread predatory behavior by more than 300 priests against more than 1,000 children. Continue reading →