(Kate Shellnut – Christianity Today) What Protestants, Catholics & Jews believe about God.
Does God talk to you? Has God punished you? Here’s how denomination, gender, and political party relate to how we see the divine.
“We believe in God,” Amy Grant famously sang in the ’90s. Today, 4 out of 5 Americans still say the same.
But according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, what they mean by God varies a lot. Continue reading
(Heather Clark – Christian News Network) A male inmate who identifies as a woman has sued the Lanesboro Correctional Institution in North Carolina for not accommodating his practice of Wicca, also known as pagan witchcraft.
Duane Fox, who goes by the name Jennifer Jasmine, alleges that chaplains at the institution have violated his constitutional right to religious exercise, including his specific dietary needs.
Fox says that he has been denied his request for vegan meals, and states that he was told that if he wanted vegan accommodation, he must be Rastafarian or a Buddhist. He outlines that each Wiccan festival entails a specific focus, such as dairy or dried herbs. Continue reading
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men. Proverbs 4:14 (NASB)
There are things taking place in Christendom that I never thought I would see. The Roman Catholic Church seems to be returning to its former aggressive ways while much of non-Catholic professing Christians are seeking reconciliation with the “Mother Church.” We are fast approaching the end of this age. These “signs of the times” will only increase not only in intensity, but frequency as our Lord lines things up in this World according to His will to bring His Kingdom to completion. What are those of us who are not blind to these things to do? The focus of my last several posts has been on drawing our eyes to our Lord alone. We are to seek Him and do as He says because this is the way of the Righteous and not according to the path of the wicked.
(Michael W. Chapman – CNSNews) The California House recently passed legislation (AB 2943) that says “advertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual” is a fraudulent business practice, and if it passes in the Senate and becomes law, it could result in certain books, speakers, and conferences being banned, including the Bible, said Mat Staver, president of the Liberty Counsel.
The bill “is so broad that it bans books, printed materials and advertisements that provide information that a person facing unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion can change,” said Staver. “[It] is a dramatic infringement on First Amendment rights and is a classic viewpoint discrimination. It declares certain kinds of speech as consumer fraud.” Continue reading
Photo credit: 8:28 Ministries
(Robert Nelson – Reformation Charlotte) “It is in this hour that the evangelist needs doctrinal discernment. A preacher must be ready to tear down these false gospels that oppose the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We must be equipped as Paul says In 2 Corinthians 10:4-6.”
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. –Matthew 10:16
One of the most important qualities among evangelists is passion. It takes real passion to stand before a group of heathens at, for example, a Gay Pride parade and proclaim the truth of God’s word. … Continue reading
President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder
(Jeff Mordock – Washington Times) Tucked inside the inspector general’s report on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was the story of an August 2016 phone call from a high-ranking Justice Department official who Mr. McCabe thought was trying to shut down the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was running for president.
The official was “very pi–ed off” at the FBI, the report says, and demanded to know why the FBI was still pursuing the Clinton Foundation when the Justice Department considered the case dormant.
Former FBI officials said the fact that a call was made is even more stunning than its content. Continue reading
7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” Matthew 15:7-9 (NASB)
What does it mean biblically to draw near to God? Obviously, the Jews our Lord confronted as Matthew recorded in the passage above were not doing so. However Hebrews 10:22 says to those who are truly born again:
22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 (NASB)
(Breitbart) By inserting negative search suggestions under the name of a candidate, search engines like Google can shift the opinions of undecided voters by up to 43.4 percent, according to new research by a team at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and reported exclusively by Breitbart News.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Epstein, has previously conducted research into what he calls the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME). … Continue reading
(Pulpit & Pen) Dr. Michael Brown refers to the New Apostolic Reformation (commonly known by the acronym, NAR) as the “so-called NAR.” As virtually anyone with basic reading comprehension can easily know, NAR exists. It hasn’t been a secret. Although its name has been changed over the years, there is no doubt that the New Apostolic Reformation was and is an organized and relatively open movement in charismatic Christianity. Dr. Brown, who is the lead apologist for the heretical movement, is unique among NAR leaders in that he enjoys close fellowship with non-charismatic evangelical leaders. For the most part, Brown denies that NAR exists or is a strange, convoluted conspiracy theory when in front of non-charismatics, but among NAR audiences, he recognizes its existence and embraces its chief leaders. Continue reading
(Bradford Richardson – Washington Times) “We have had enough, and we’re not going to take it anymore. Canada is a nation that has a Charter of Rights, which include freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. Our rights have been trampled by the sex-ed curriculum in our schools.”
“Mom, you won’t believe what my teacher’s talking about right now.”
That is the text message Regina Young, a parent in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, said she received from her seventh-grade daughter one day. Continue reading
27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:27-30 (NASB) (Read verses 29-30 on the site)
God awoke this believer from a spiritual stupor in 2004. From my rebirth in January 1986 through the end of 2003 I rode a roller coaster of faithfulness and backsliding to the point that I despaired of ever being able to be consistent in my walk. What always amazed me during that period is how God still used the spiritual gifts He had given me despite my own sorry spiritual state. …
(Jordan Standridge – The Cripplegate) “The pope’s false teaching would have been bad enough had he just whispered it in the child’s ear. But then, with the child’s permission he decided to relay to the crowd the false teaching as well. He didn’t have to do that. He could have just lied to the child, and one could have said he buckled under pressure. But the moment the pope went out of his way to teach the crowd, was the moment that he went from being a coward to a tool of the devil.”
Pope Francis has made several controversial statements throughout the years, but perhaps none quite as controversial as the one in this video. You can watch it here. Continue reading
(Cal Thomas – Fox News) “What would happen in our culture and especially in our politics if all of those who call themselves evangelicals began obeying the commands of Jesus of Nazareth?”
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)
The verse refers to money, but in light of today’s debate about the unaccountable devotion many Christian leaders have for President Trump it is not a stretch to apply it to their relationship with him. Continue reading
(Faith Moore – PJ Media) “Is there such a thing as toxic femininity? If not, there should be. It would be the practice of claiming that anything male is inherently wrong and must be destroyed and replaced with femininity. Oh wait, that already has a name. It’s called ‘feminism.'”
For a while now, feminists have been trying to find a way to combat “toxic masculinity.” The feminist belief that rape and other sexual crimes stem from societal norms about masculinity has caused the term “toxic” to come to encompass any behavior that is traditionally considered male. … Continue reading
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” Revelation 17:1-2 (NASB)
John the Baptist was the one who was sent to make the way straight, to prepare the way for the one was to come. Of course the one who was to come is our Lord Jesus Christ the long awaited Messiah of the Jews. …
(Josh Buice – Delivered By Grace) Yesterday morning, I had the privilege to preach Romans 1:24-32 in our series through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. In our previous study, we covered Paul’s warning regarding God’s wrath and how it’s poured out upon those who continue to suppress the truth and ignore the reality of God’s existence and God’s grace. Many people in our present culture like to talk about God’s judgment as if it’s an eschatological judgment reserved for the future. Could it be that the judgment articulated in Romans 1 is already present in our culture today? If so, what is the evidence of such judgment? Continue reading
According to Elizabeth Prata of The End Time, the word broken is being used by Christians to change perceptions, even to redefine sin. “Is it acceptable to use the word broken when referencing already-saved Christians? Or even non-saved people?” inquires Prata. No! “The truth is, we are not broken. We are sinners WITHOUT righteousness. We are totally corrupt. We need HIS external righteousness. We are not just broken, but beyond repair. We’re dead! That’s why the Bible says when we’re saved, we are a new person, from a new birth, regenerated, born again, given a new heart.”
Elizabeth has more thoughts on substituting the word brokenness for what the Bible calls sin. She writes: Continue reading
(Bob Smietana – Christianity Today) Last night, Willow Creek Community Church made a promise to its members following the early departure of its founder and senior pastor, Bill Hybels.
“Even though Bill is no longer in his role, our work to resolve any shadow of doubt in the trustworthiness of [Willow] is not done,” the church’s board of elders told members in a Friday evening letter. “With the benefit of hindsight, we see several aspects of our past work that we would have handled differently, and we have identified several areas of learning.” Continue reading
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12 (NASB)
Christian apologetics and discernment are very serious things. It is very easy to incorporate the ways of the world into method and focus in this. When this happens then attacks on professing Christians come from an impure motive. This then causes the ones making the accusations to use slander, speaking evil against their target falsely. …
(Derek Thomas – Ligonier Ministries) According to Jesus, it is what we do in secret that matters most. Jesus is not suggesting that the outward is unimportant—far from it. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14).
The answer is emphatically no. Still, it is also possible to have outward works but no inner reality. In this instance, religion is a pretense. Six times in the Sermon on the Mount, alluding to three distinct exercises, Jesus employs the term secret:
There are a gazillion reasons for those who attend Bethel Church in Redding, CA to RUN AWAY from that “church.” Steven Kozar of Messed Up Church lists 10:
1. Bill Johnson & Kris Vallotton (and other Bethel pastors) put their own words above the Word of God. Listen to them talk and you’ll hear very few actual Bible verses, but you will hear a lot of their own thoughts and ideas that they claim to have received directly from God. This is not accidental. They believe they are a new and better type of Christian leader who can hear directly from God and get “downloads” of new information. They believe the Bible is merely a good starting point that has useful information about God, but to really know Him you must go further than the Bible-you need to go “off the map.” Continue reading
(George Stiekes – Proclaim & Defend) And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Job 1:8
There are so many questions asked in the book of Job. When God’s people suffer hurt and tribulation, it is not unusual at all for them to ask questions.
(Matt Walsh – Daily Wire) If you want to catch a glimpse of the horrific, dystopian implications of socialized medicine, you need not skim through a science fiction novel. Simply look overseas to Europe, where yet another sick child has been sentenced to death by a U.K. death panel. First Charlie Gard and now this.
Little Alfie Evans was put into a coma by a mysterious brain condition that doctors still have not been able to diagnose. Doctors at Alder Hey hospital in London have decided that Alfie will never get better and his life is no longer worth living. … Continue reading
(Clint Archer – The Cripplegate) “They don’t use computer graphics to remove the clothes off actors in nude scenes; that’s them baring what God wants to be covered in public (Gen 3:7,21; 9:22-25). And they don’t CGI a finger on the Christian actor to create the illusion of a rude gesture.”
Actor William Shatner once did a parody performance of himself reacting to his obsessed fans at a Star Trek convention. He exploded with a sharp rebuke: “Get a life! It’s only a TV show!”
To a Trekkie that’s like being told Santa isn’t real…by Santa.