The sheep and the goats

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NASB) 

Read Luke 19:12-15  and Luke 19:26-27 on the site.

Let us now look at that element in Man’s heart that refuses to bow the knee to any god except one with whom it is comfortable. If God the Father or our Lord Jesus Christ are honestly portrayed as we read in Sacred Scripture the vast majority, those whose hearts are overrun by relativism, will stiffen their necks in rejection. … View article →

Just Stop it, Part 3: How To Repent Of Anger

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

“Don’t call it being crabby, irritable, or hot-headed. We often speak in terms of anger coming from a source other than ourselves. We use victim terminology. We ‘lose our temper’ because he ‘makes us so angry.’” 

(Clint Archer – The Cripplegate) When I was a really little kid a cheesy 80’s horror movie hit the big screen. It was called Gremlins. The story is about a boy who finds a small, furry, odd-looking creature called a mogwai that seems as harmless as a hamster. But you discover that if this unassuming little pet stays up past midnight, and has a snack, it morphs into a grotesque, brutally violent monster called a Gremlin. Like I said, it was the 80’s. Continue reading →

Liberal Christian Leader Tony Campolo: ‘God Is Not in Control’

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

“The whole statement from Campolo is as squishy and nonsensical as much of what stems from liberal Christianity these days. In fact, this very rejection of God’s sovereignty is what led Campolo’s son Bart to reject Christianity.”

(Chris Queen – JP Media)  A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to the Red Letter Christians, a group of liberal believers whom the New York Times breathlessly profiled recently as the face of Christians who don’t worship Donald Trump. One of the group’s leaders, Tony Campolo, recently gave an interview with Premier, a Christian website in the UK, in which he stated that he doesn’t believe that God is in control — yet. Continue reading →

‘Are You Gay Allies?’: Creepy Government Video Indoctrinates Children for Pride Month

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(Dan Andros – Faithwire)  A video produced by CBC Life, a vertical on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s website, has caused controversy after using children to promote gay pride month.

“Happy pride everybody!” Canadian television host Jessi Cruickshank begins, while being met by a throng of cheers from the impressionable young children who took part in the video celebrating gay pride month.

After asking the kids if they know what gay pride means, she says “that’s absolutely right, it’s a celebration of sexual diversity,” before explaining that she is a “I’m not gay, but I’m a gay ally.” Cruickshank then puts the children on the spot and asks them if they, too, are gay allies. View article →

The Gospel vs Another Gospel

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:23-24 (NASB) 

I will be 67 years old later this year. I have been a Christian for over 32 years, but I grew up in a “Christian” home going to church every Sunday until I grew up and went my own way. I know that Christians are commanded to be forgiving, kind, and gentle with others. However, we are also commanded to stand firm and withstand false teachers and their doctrines. When I began writing and blogging as an extension of my teaching ministry, I soon experienced a very rude awakening. … View article →

An Encounter With a Mother-God Cult Evangelist

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

“There are truly only two-religions in the entire world, and though it is helpful to know a few details about each religion—at least the big ones—it isn’t necessary for faithful evangelism. You just need to know what the Gospel is and why it is unique.”

(Jordan Standridge – The Cripplegate) I’m sure you’ve heard of it by now, it’s called the Mother-God cult. The official name is the World Mission Society Church of God. I’ve had my share of run-ins with them over the years.

The Mother-God cult is a religion that started in South Korea, and now has more than 2.7 million members. Continue reading →

American Evangelical Christianity, A Horse Of A Different Color

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

“We are beginning to see just how many hypocrites and fakes there are in the ranks of the so-called American Evangelical Christian Churches.”

Same-Sex Attraction and the Continued Collapse of American Evangelical Christianity By Ed Dingess

Christianity isn’t collapsing! The gospel hasn’t changed an iota! Jesus Christ is the same today as he always has been and always will be. The gospel is still saving men just as effectively and efficiently as it always has. That’s what the gospel does. Men of God are still standing in their pulpits and thundering the truths of Scripture just like men of God have done since men of God began to exist. The Holy Spirit is still applying the truths of biblical revelation to the hearts of the elect and transforming their lives more and more into the image of Christ. Amen! Biblical Christianity has not changed. American Evangelical Christianity on the other hand? Well, that’s a horse of a very different color. … Continue reading →

Gallup: Record Support for Gay Relations and Polygamy; Plurality Still Oppose Abortion

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(Michael Faust – Christian Headlines)   A record percentage of Americans believe that gay and lesbian relations, pornography and polygamy are morally acceptable, although a plurality believe that abortion is morally wrong, according to a new Gallup poll.

Gallup on Monday released its annual Values and Beliefs survey, which began in 2001 and surveys Americans’ attitudes on a host of issues. This year’s poll examined beliefs on 21 issues.

A record 67 percent of American adults believe that gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable, an increase from last year’s high of 63 percent. Continue reading →

God will abundantly pardon

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

4 “Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, A leader and commander for the peoples. 5 “Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which knows you not will run to you, Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:4-8 (NASB) (Read verses 7-8 on the site)

We have been looking long and hard at the narrowness of the Gospel and how it it is not editable. It is not open to change. No matter how much a person wants it to be otherwise, it is unchangeable. It is God’s Good News to fallen man. This good news is the proclamation that there is a way, only one way, for sinful people to be reconciled to God. It is good news because all people suffer from the same condition. … View article →

20 Years After ‘Sex And The City,’ The ‘Real-Life Carrie Bradshaws’ Are Wishing They Hadn’t Slept Around

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

“There’s only one problem: eventually women do want to settle down. In fact, many of the women who bought into the Sex and the City lifestyle 20 years ago are coming forward to share their regrets. “

(Faith Moore – Daily Wire)  Sex and the City, which premiered 20 years ago this week, changed the way women thought about sex. The assertion of the show’s main character, Carrie Bradshaw, that she will start having sex “like men” — sleeping around and feeling “nothing” afterwards — struck a chord. … Continue reading →

Justice Thomas: America Now in Conflict Between Religious Liberty and Court’s Decree on Gay Marriage

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

(Terrence P. Jeffrey – CNSNews) – In his dissenting opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, Justice Clarence Thomas predicted that the court’s declaration that same-sex marriage is a right would ultimately lead to conflict between that purported right and religious liberty.

In his concurring opinion today in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Thomas concludes: “This case proves that the conflict has already emerged.”

In Obergefell, decided by a 5-4 vote in 2015, the Supreme Court declared that the 14th Amendment creates a right for people of the same sex to marry one another. Continue reading →

SBC Leaders Float Idea of Beth Moore As Next Denomination President

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(Pulpit & Pen)  Beth Moore, who is best known as Lifeway’s Cash Cow of Bashan, the extremely popular women’s teacher whose increasingly wild-eyed prophetic visions have gained prominence in a wide berth of evangelicalism well outside the SBC (especially in charismatic circles, as she coalesces with other egalitarian prophetesses like Anne Voskamp, Joyce Meyer, and Christine Caine), may very well be promoted as the next president of the SBC after the upcoming term of JD Greear.

Greear, who is seen as the favorite for the 2018 SBC election, holds to a modified Complementarian position that is, for all intents and purposes, Egalitarian. Also a Continuationist and a #woke Social Justice Warrior, the megachurch satellite campus pastor is well departed from Southern Baptist historic orthodoxy on a number of points. … Continue reading →

The Orthodox Christian view of sin

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5 NASB)

Those who have a problem with the Doctrine of Original Sin and the Wrath of God against all sin attempt to paint the God of Reformation Theology as some sort of ogre full of anger with very little love manifest except in the case of a chosen few. In their examples of how God operates in saving people, sin is never the issue. …  View article →

LGBT Christians

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

“Even more problematic is how the Revoice conference identifies Christian with LGBT lifestyles. Their goal is to support and empower and encourage LGBT Christians as if the LGBT descriptor cannot be separated from Christians. One who was once immersed in a homosexual orientation and desire cannot just be a Christian now, but must be a LGBT Christian.”

(Fred Butler – Bible Thumping Wingnut)  The crazy train driving conservative evangelicals to normalize sexual perversion keeps chugging along down the track. While it may sound like a think-tank associated with the United Methodists, or the PCUSA or even the Unitarians, The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender insists they are conservative evangelicals. They are even endorsed by such luminaries as Francis Chan, Matt Chandler, and Karen Swallow Prior. Continue reading →

Supreme Court sides with Colorado baker who refused to make wedding cake for same-sex couple

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(Fox News)  The Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, in one of the most closely watched cases of the term.

In a 7-2 decision, the justices set aside a Colorado court ruling against the baker — while stopping short of deciding the broader issue of whether a business can refuse to serve gay and lesbian people

The narrow ruling focused on what the court described as anti-religious bias on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission when it ruled against baker Jack Phillips.. Continue reading →

Are You Godly Enough to Watch Smut?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

“It is considered legalistic to suggest that perhaps this is unfitting fare for Christians and inconsistent with Scripture.”

(Tim Challies) The more time you spend reading history, the more you see how things that are considered normal by one generation are often considered scandalous by the next. The moral laxity of one age often gives way to the moral clarity of the one that follows. I’m convinced an area of moral laxity among today’s Christians is entertainment, and especially the general apathy toward blatant sexuality and nudity in our movies and television series. Continue reading →

The vast majority of the “visible church” are “cakes not turned”

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

8 Ephraim mixes himself with the nations; Ephraim has become a cake not turned. Hosea 7:8 (NASB) 

The Gospel is not something given to us in such a way that gives us the right to edit it. Nor is it our prerogative to change the focus of our local churches from what God intended. The Church Growth movement does both. Of course, this movement has pragmatism at its core. It is actually a philosophy. This philosophy says that if something produces the desired results then it must be right and, therefore, the will of God. However, there is a major flaw in this philosophy. It begins with a false assumption. View article →

The nature of hypocrisy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

6 “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days. 7 “May my enemy be as the wicked And my opponent as the unjust. 8 “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, When God requires his life? 9 “Will God hear his cry When distress comes upon him? 10 “Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times? Job 27:6-10 (NASB)

One of the easiest accusations that Christians can hurl at one another is the epitaph “Hypocrite!” I probably receive at least half a dozen emails or comments a week with that accusation firmly pointed at me. Most of those never make it through the spam process. What is a hypocrite? A hypocrite may be a very neat imitation of a Christian. He professes to know God, to converse with him, to be dedicated to his service, and to invoke his protection: he even practices prayer, or at least feigns it. Yet the cleverest counterfeit fails somewhere, and may be discovered by certain signs. The test is here: “Will he call on God at all times?” View article →

Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry – soaking, declaring and spinning into delusion

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Rick Becker exposes the occult practices that are going on inside Bethel Church in Redding CA through its School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), or as students like to call it “Christian Hogwarts.” Becker shows the ways in which undiscerning “Christians,” especially the younger generation, are being deceived by wolves in sheep’s clothing who are looked up to, some even idolized, because of their celebrity status.  Two highly esteemed Bethel Church celebs are Bethel’s Senior Wizard Pastor and so-called “apostle” Bill Johnson, and Senior Associate Wizard Leader and one of BSSM’s founders Kris Vallotton. And let’s not forget the hugely popular Jesus Culture band that was birthed at Bethel.

Now that we’ve offered some additional background on the aforementioned Christian Hogwarts, let’s go to Rick Becker’s report over at Famine In The Land: Continue reading →

Google is labeling a Trump-supporting Republican state senator a ‘BIGOT’

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

(Alex Thompson – Vice News)  Trudy Wade is a Republican state senator from North Carolina and an enthusiastic supporter of President Trump.

But if you search “Trudy Wade” on Google, the search giant displays an old photo in the “knowledge panel” of its search results with “BIGOT” superimposed in big red letters.

It’s just the latest example of Google not vetting the information that gets pulled into its “knowledge panels,” which are meant to give users quick information without them having to click through search results (often on other, non-Google websites). Continue reading →

A New Man and a New Name

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Acts 11:25-26

It has been as much as ten years since we have seen Saul. Ten years ago he left Jerusalem with his tail between his legs and went to Tarsus, his home town, defeated and disillusioned because he had been trying to serve God in his own eager zeal. He had not yet learned the process of dependence upon the Holy Spirit, upon the life of Jesus within. But in those ten years he has learned a lot. He was not entirely idle, as he tells us in Galatians. He preached the word throughout the regions of Syria, and of Cilicia, the area around Tarsus. Continue reading on Ray Stedman Daily Devotions

Hey #MeToo, Planned Parenthood Has Been Covering Up Sex Abuse And Child Rape For Decades

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

(Matt Walsh – Daily Wire)  Planned Parenthood is very thankful for Samantha Bee and Roseanne this week. The controversies surrounding both women have managed to overshadow, even among conservative pundits and publications, the news that the abortion giant has been aiding and abetting child rapists and sexual abusers for decades.

In a damning report published by Live Action, citing eye witness accounts, court cases, video footage, and the testimony of victims, it was revealed that the tax-funded abortion corporation has been engaged in a criminal conspiracy to cover up sex crimes. The specific cases mentioned in the report are downright chilling.    View article →

Just Stop it, Part 2: How To Repent Of Lying

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

We recently posted Just Stop It: Instructions on how to repent by Clint Archer of The Cripplegate. Following is part 2 of Archer’s series on sin and repentance. He writes:

This is one of those math questions that doesn’t look like a math question, and when you see it on a test it makes you want to cry:

If you encounter two men in the forest, each one guarding a path, and all you know is that one of them always tells the truth and the other always tells a lie, but you don’t know which one is the liar, what one question could you ask to determine which path to take? Continue reading →

Marijuana: Big Tobacco 2.0

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

This is a predatory industry at war with America’s general welfare.

(J.J. McCullough – National Review)  Big marijuana news was made last week when the firm Aurora Cannabis merged with rival MedReleaf in a $3.2 billion deal — the largest in the history of the industry. The merger will help consolidate Auroa’s status as “the biggest pure play cannabis company in the world,” the CBC reported, noting the company’s “supply and licensing agreements in countries as far afield as Germany, Italy, Brazil and Australia.” … Continue reading →

Prayer that is powerful and effectual

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray on behalf of one another so that you may be cured. The petition of the righteous, being effective, has great power. James 5:16 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

Prayer, to me, has always been a very personal thing. Yes, I have always admired those people who can pray those long eloquent prayers publicly, but I am not one of those. When I pray, I do so with a one-on-one between me and God. Of course, there is always Paul’s exhortation from 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

17 unceasingly pray, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)   View article →