What are the greater works Jesus promised we would do?

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The key is to see that these “works” were a signpost, along with Jesus’ words, that bore witness to the truth of Jesus – that he was indeed God’s promised King. The works we do, as Christians, are the good things that are part of the normal Christian life that bear witness to the truth of Jesus.

(PastorFish) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) Continue reading →

Bethel’s delusions of grandeur – impervious to the realities of the Carr fire

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Before we get to Rick Becker’s piece, here’s a quote by Theresa Dedmon, a woman who’s on the pastoral staff at Bethel Church in Redding CA. Bethel’s not far from the raging Carr fire that took the lives of 7 people and destroyed well over 160,000 acres and 1,077 homes in Shasta County:

All of us have most likely experienced raging fires, like the Carr fire, that has come against us either in our relationships, pursuing our dreams, or feeling secure for our future. Remember, that support from others, hearing God’s voice, declaring, and giving thanks will be key for your victory. I can hardly wait to share with you stories of victory and breakthrough as we press in for God’s mercy and blessing for protection and restoration. Remember you are Born to Create, and declare life! (Emphasis in the article) Continue reading →

The Natural Man, the visible Church, and telling the truth

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14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB) 

A pernicious lie currently permeating the visible Church in our time says that all who profess Christ are genuine believers. This lie conveniently overlooks that even our Lord’s chosen 12 contained one devil. Another closely associated and equally detrimental lie says that Christians must never judge. If taken together, these two lies create an environment of deceit in which professing Christians who prove their disingenuousness by their words, their actions, and their doctrines, which is their “fruit,” cannot be brought before the ecclesiastical court of their church brethren for discipline. In fact, in this environment, to even address the issue is to be classed as a judgmental hypocrite. View article →

Hybels Heir Quits Willow as New Accusations Arise Before Global Leadership Summit

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“The new facts and allegations that came to light this morning are horrifying, and my heart goes out to Ms. Baranowski and her family for the pain they have lived with.  These most recent revelations have also compelled me to make public my decision to leave, as much as it grieves me to go.”

(Bob Smietana – Christianity Today) Steve Carter, teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, resigned Sunday after new allegations surfaced against founding pastor Bill Hybels. Continue reading →

Revoice: Sliding into Heresy

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“In spite of the Scripture’s clear teaching against homosexual activity … the church will be splintered, divided not so much by justification by faith or the status of Scripture but by non-binary homosexuality, which claims to be god-honoring but will lead to outright paganism.”

(Peter Jones – truthXchange)  A mixed bag of straight and gay pastors, celibate and non-celibate gays, parents and children—450 in all—have just met in a church (PCA) in St Louis. The conference attempted to integrate into the church and its ministry homosexuals who accept the biblical view of sex and marriage as limited to heterosexual people, but who see their same-sex orientation as unchangeable, even as a normative part of creation. … Continue reading →

Women Preaching: It’s Not a Secondary Doctrinal Issue

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Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber

According to Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley, there are “essential”, “primary”, or “first tier” doctrines a person must hold in order to become a Christian and/or be considered a Christian. So, what are these doctrines? One example she gives is that you must believe you’re a sinner. And if you don’t believe you’re a sinner? You’re not saved. Period.

Michelle also delves into what the Church considers “secondary issues” a.k.a. non-essentials.  As you can see by the title, she believes the Bible teaches that women should not preach. Moreover, she has confidence that women should not serve as pastors, teach men Scripture in the church, and exercise authority over men in the church.

Now listen to Michelle Lesley explain all the reasons for believing that her’s is the biblical view.  She writes: Continue reading →

Saving faith vs Human faith

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15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. Luke 2:15-20 (NASB) (Read verses 17-20 on the site)

Human faith is not the same thing as saving faith. The former is based in Human reason and intellect. The latter is supernatural. What passes for faith in many professing believer’s “Christianity” is a belief based in who preaches to or teaches them. This is not saving faith because it is not a belief in the Word or in God through the Word. These are “believers” who will eventually fall away. Some may last a lifetime, but as soon as the fires of tribulation come upon them they slide into apostasy because their faith is not of the substance that endures. View article →

What does Jesus think about discernment? This verse tells you

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Photo credit Stuart Miles – from 8:28 Ministries

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. (Revelation 2:2).

(Elizabeth Prata)  We live in an age where fellow Christians say that to speak of someone specific being a false teacher is mean, or ill-mannered, or inappropriate. “Just let them alone, God will take care if them,” they say. Or they claim that speaking against false teaching is uncivil, and to “Just pray for them.” Many of thems ay, “You can’t know if he/she is false, you don’t know their heart.” Continue reading →

Court sides with customer booted from Planet Fitness

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“The transgender man Cormier saw has been identified as “Carlotta” Sklodowska (pictured at left), of Midland, who told the news media that he has been told he has a “masculine” body structure and appears to be a man.”

(OneNewsNow) A woman who was tossed from a Planet Fitness gym after complaining about a transgender woman – a biological man – in the women’s locker room has won her appeal before the Michigan Supreme Court. Continue reading →

To Know His Will

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A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight! And at that very moment I was able to see him. Then he said: The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”  Acts 22:12-15

Paul recounts his own conversion experience to this enraged mob which had just been ready to tear him limb from limb! I am sure that if I had been in his shoes I would have been trying to get out of there as fast as possible. But Paul recognizes this as his opportunity and he wants to be the instrument to reach this stubborn crowd. So he seizes the only opportunity he has, hoping the Lord will give him success, and he tells of his own conversion and specifically the role which Ananias played.  View article →

Planned Parenthood Launches New Abortion Manifesto Calling Abortion a ‘Human Right’

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“The campaign released a star-studded video featuring music from Sia and an appearance by “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik. Planned Parenthood has long touted support from celebrities to help promote their abortion agenda.”

(Lauretta Brown – LifeNews)  Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, launched a new campaign Thursday ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The “Unstoppable” campaign highlights eight leftist tenets that the abortion organization lays out in a manifesto. Continue reading →

Why There Is No Such Thing As the Gift of Tongues

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For some reason while speaking in tongues some charismatic leaders repeat the phrase “shaka baba” (here).  What language is this and what does it mean exactly? NAR “apostle” Heidi Baker says it means “to ascend.” While preaching, another NAR leader John Kilpatrick uttered “shi-yah-nih-yah…yi-yi-yi-yi…oh come on praise him!” Later “sha-ba-ba-ba….ba!  Charismatics would have us believe that the Holy Spirit fills followers of Jesus Christ to have them utter baby talk that makes no sense to anyone.  There’s more where this came from, brethren. Go to YouTube and search “talking in tongues.” Continue reading →

Are you a member of the HFIB Club? (Reprise)

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY

This article by CRN managing editor Marsha West was published July 3, 2015.

Many Bible believing Christians are members of the HFIB club.  The acronym stands for hate, fear, ignorance and bigotry.  To be inducted into HFIB all one has to do is oppose homosexual “marriage” or—gasp!—proclaim that homosexuality is a sin against a holy God. For example, talk show host Montel Williams labeled social conservatives hateful bigots for disagreeing with the High Court’s broad interpretation of the U.S. Constitution regarding same-sex “marriage.”  Montel has chosen sides, it seems – he’s taken the side of the totalitarian and intolerant left. In a piece by ChristianExaminer columnist Michael Foust entitled Talk show host Montel Williams compares gay marriage opponents to ISIS, Taliban, Foust writes: Continue reading →

God’s perfect knowledge

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1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. Psalms 139:1-4 (NASB) 

Our God is beyond our understanding. Thankfully, He has revealed Himself to us, to a degree, in His Word. Those who claim to serve Him, but treat His Word as if it was not important, or refuse to submit to the truths therein are fools. That has always puzzled me about those who take a sliver of God’s Word, misinterpret it, and then build massive doctrines around their misinformation. Have they no fear of God? View article →

This isn’t culture war. It’s worse.

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“This isn’t ‘culture war.’  Culture has nothing to do with it.  It’s war on normality by Brownshirts, incited or paid for by the likes of George Soros and Tom Steyer.  It has now graduated from street-fighting to trying to take down the U.S. government.”

(Jack Rail – American Thinker)  Progressives continue to astonish normal people with their complete incomprehension of normals (as Kurt Schlichter calls them) as human beings.  Perhaps that’s because they don’t see us as human beings.  They call us unsavory names – deplorables, bitter clingers, toothless, plus every dirty word they can think of.  They throw nasty, biological things.  They spit on people.  They shove people, break windows, start fights, and go out of their way to ensure that everybody has a bad day. Continue reading →

Pope seeks to abolish death penalty, changes church teaching

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“In an accompanying letter explaining the change, the head of the Vatican’s doctrine office said the development of Catholic doctrine on capital punishment didn’t contradict prior teaching but rather was an evolution of it — a defense to fend off critics who have already accused the pope of heresy for challenging past doctrine on capital punishment.”

(Nichole Winfield – AP)  Pope Francis has decreed that the death penalty is “inadmissible” under all circumstances and that the Catholic Church must work to abolish it, changing official church teaching to reflect his view that all life is sacred and there is no justification for state-sponsored executions. Continue reading →

The hidden pitfall of Bill Johnson’s ‘Red-Letter Revival’

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Holly Pivec of Spirit of Error addresses Bethel Church lead pastor and so-called apostle Bill Johnson’s teaching that believers ought to regularly pursue direction from outside of Scripture, “from subjective impressions experienced by ourselves and others rather than from the objective Word of God.”  Are “subjective impressions” found in the Bible?  And do the scriptures suggest that believers are to follow their own imaginations?

What most people fail to realize is that the sorts of things Bethel Redding’s leadership promotes (here) will lead them into the world of the occult.

Now listen to what Holly Pivec has to say about the very controversial Bill Johnson. She writes: Continue reading →

‘No more boys and girls’: BBC champions ‘gender free’ child raising in new documentary

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“This is psychological child abuse, and no kid should be subjected to this indoctrination of gender confusion period.”

(Calvin Freiburger – LifeSiteNews) – A video recently shared by the BBC purports to shame adults for “gender-stereotyp[ing]” children and suggests that distinctions between boys and girls should be erased entirely.

The video, tweeted over the weekend, highlights an experiment in which a male or female baby is dressed in clothes opposite to the baby’s sex, a mat full of toys is laid out, and a series of adult volunteers are filmed playing with the babies. … Continue reading →

Be on guard

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11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:11-14 (NASB) (Read 13-14 on the site)

Genuine Christians are marked in this life by a spiritual journey that God uses to sanctify them. Sanctification is the process whereby God removes Christians from the pollution of the world and conforms them unto His holiness. I have had some so-called “Christians” attempt to deny this as true for all Christians. They claim that only God is Holy and there is no call by God for His people to repent and mortify their sins. Regardless, the Word of God does contradict what they say. View article →

An Open Letter of Confession from Art Azurdia

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It is with great disappointment, my dear friends, that I must express this confession to you in a manner that, for me, has always seemed so distant and detached. I would’ve preferred a much more personal and direct means of communication . . . sitting in a coffee shop or at a kitchen table. Unfortunately, however—given the number of people to whom I must acknowledge my failure, as well as the vast distances that separate us—I ask you to graciously recognize this as my best effort to reach as many of you as possible.

July 27, 2018

To my wife and family members, the elders and congregation of Trinity Church, the faculty of Western Seminary, and friends and colleagues both near and abroad . . . Continue reading →

Democrats’ Impeachment Army: $110 Million, 1000 Staff, 2000 Volunteers

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Photo credit: Mark Dixon

Democrats who are pushing for the impeachment of President Donald Trump will have $110 million to spend on the cause, thanks to the efforts of left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer.

(Joel B. Pollack – Breitbart)  Steyer’s organizations, NextGen America and Need to Impeach, will also have a combined 1,000 employees and 2,000 staffers as they take the case for impeachment to voters in November, according to Politico. Though House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has discouraged impeachment talk, grass roots Democrats favor the idea. Continue reading →

Portland’s Anti-ICE Policies Just Put Agents’ Lives In Danger, Says Union

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Portland OR mayor Ted Wheeler forbid the police from protecting ICE agents

“We understand that you have a difference of opinion with the current President of the United States, and some of his policies, but we fail to see why targeting the employees of ICE and leaving them vulnerable to violence, harassment and even death furthers a legitimate government interest,” writes Riddell. “Your policy has created a zone of terror and lawlessness.”

(James Barrett – Daily Caller) A union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Portland’s mayor after police allegedly refused to respond to emergency calls from agents “trapped inside” their offices amid anti-ICE demonstrations. Continue reading →

Study Indicates Beginning of Scripture Neglected

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How often do you read the Bible, and where do you read from? These were two of the questions a recent study from the ministry publisher Crossway asked 6,000 Bible readers. The results showed, rather predictably, that most Bible reading is confined to the New Testament (with considerable focus on the last book, Revelation), and that people typically find the Old Testament prophetic books the most difficult to understand. But this survey serves as a reminder that we need to read the whole Bible—not just the New Testament!

(Ken Ham – Answers In Genesis)  There are some encouraging results in this study. The book of Genesis shows on the infographic as being in the top 10 books respondents had read in the previous year, the previous six months, and the previous month. Continue reading →

The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal

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15 For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (NASB) (Read verses 17-18 on the site)

“Religion, if it is worth anything, is worth everything; but it is worth little if it is not worth suffering for.” – Matthew Henry

There has been such a long drought of the Word of God being rightly divided by true shepherds of the flock in so much of the visible Church that the spiritually weak and immature believers make up the vast majority. Their understanding of God is not well developed. … View article →