Scripture twisting

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

17 Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. 18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. 19 For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:17-20 (NASB) 

Martin Luther’s ministry as a reformer was in the early 16th Century. However, even back then people were trying to force their own man-made doctrines on the Bible. Nothing has changed. People still do this. The use of the Bible this way is always eisegetical. That is, it is reading into the text that which is not there. This does violence to the authority of scripture and it’s inerrancy. Every heresy started this way. Also, much of the rebellion against traditional churches these days is born within those who believe that established denominations are guilty of doing the same thing. This has tragic consequences. No matter how we “feel” about these things, we must not fall into the mistake of throwing out the baby with the bath water. I am not alone in contending that the Church is ripe for another Reformation. However, currently there are many counterfeit reformations taking place that are extra-Biblical in nature with a focus on the temporal rather than the eternal. In their zeal to reform, they have done away with the Authority of Scripture as our baseline. This is a huge error and we must take a stand and not give in the least little bit on the truth and veracity of God’s Word, that it is inerrant and complete. View article →

Trump Officially Reinstates Ban on Transgenders in the Military

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

“In my judgment,” said President Trump, “the previous Administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating the Departments’ longstanding policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources, and there remain meaningful concerns that further study is needed to ensure that continued implementation of last year’s policy change would not have those negative effects.”  Kathryn Blackhurst of LifeZette has the story:

President Donald Trump directed the military Friday to reinstate its ban on admitting transgender individuals and fully implement the longstanding policy that former President Barack Obama had reversed near the end of his administration.

The Obama administration lifted the transgender ban in 2016, with Defense Secretary Ash Carter saying at the time that there are an estimated 2500 active duty service members who are transgender. In a directive issued to the Department of Defense, the president ordered the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to refrain from recruiting transgender individuals and cease allocating military funds to cover sexual reassignment surgeries for transitioning service members, unless they had already begun medical procedures.

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First Grader Sent to Office, Investigated, for ‘Pronoun Mishap’

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Todd Starnes, host of Fox News & Commentary, has the story:

A first grader at a California charter school was sent to the principal’s office this week after she accidentally “mis-gendered” a transgender classmate in what’s being called a “pronoun mishap.”

The incident occurred at Rocklin Academy, a school rocked by controversy after a kindergarten teacher led an in-class discussion on transgenderism that included a “gender reveal” for a little boy who was transitioning to a little girl.

For kindergartners.

Parents were furious because they were not informed in advance and were not given the chance to opt-out their five-year-old’s from the classroom transgender activity. However, school leaders informed moms and dads – they were not allowed to opt-out – and the state did not require them to notify parents.

The latest incident occurred during the first week of school when a first grader came across a classmate on the playground. She called the student by his given name – apparently unaware that the boy now identified as a girl.

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God Keeps His Promises

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

God Made a Promise

Once upon a time, there lived a man and a woman in the garden Paradise, where they were terrifically happy. Their names were Adam and Eve, and God made them. He made them in his image—like little mirrors to reflect his glory. And like everything else God made, he made them good. It was a wonderful time to be God’s children in his wonderful world.

But things didn’t stay happy and wonderful for long. One terrible day, Adam and Eve sinned. They ate from the only tree in the garden that God had declared off-limits. Adam and Eve had disobeyed God’s word; they believed the lie of the devilish Snake instead of the truth. God made Adam and Eve go away from the garden Paradise. It wasn’t possible for people so bad to live in Paradise with a God who is so good. View article →

Trump Advisory Council Warns of ‘9/11-Level Cyberattack’

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According to LifeZette:

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) is a task force the National Security Council commissioned to review and evaluate a long list of ways the federal government determines how to secure critical infrastructure — such as dams, bridges, power grids, and airports — against targeted cyberattacks.

The advisory council garnered headlines this week from the media for joining other councils in having members resign after several weeks of controversy dogged the White House. Less covered and of more importance to the nation was the first report the council issued this week — which generated little attention.

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Atheist Group Calls Bible a ‘Violent, Racist Book’ in Scolding Gov. for Lamenting Bible’s Removal From Schools

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Christian News reports:

A prominent professing atheist organization characterized the Bible as a “violent, racist book” in scolding the governor of Kentucky over his recent remarks lamenting the ramifications of removing the Bible from public schools.

Gov. Matt Bevin appeared on the Tom Roten Morning Show on Aug. 15, where he discussed the public unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a recent bill he signed dubbed as the “Bible Literacy Bill.”

“When you go back a couple of hundred years, in most instances the only textbooks that were in our public schools were the Bible,” he said. “And so to that end to pretend, again, to scrub history and pretend that that wasn’t reality, I think is a dangerous precedent.”

“And it’s interesting, the more we’ve removed any sense of spiritual obligation or moral higher authority or absolute right and wrong, the more we’ve removed things that are biblically taught from society, the more we’ve seen the kind of mayhem that we were just discussing,” Bevin stated.

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Jen Hatmaker’s Revision of Truth

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Lorie Alexander of The Transformed Wife tackles Emily McFarland Miller’s interview with Jen Hatmaker. Miller’s piece appeared in the progressive news site Religion News Service. Recently LifeWay Christian stores pulled Hatmaker’s books from its shelves over her very vocal and unbiblical stance on homosexuality — she believes gay relationships can be holy —  so she has some explaining to do. It’s not terribly surprising that Miller threw her this softball question: You took a stand last fall saying LGBT relationships can be holy, and it got your books banned from LifeWay stores. Why was that important to you?

Good grief.

Professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, Denny Burk, recently wrote that Progressive Christians (PC) like Hatmaker have a propensity to erase 2,000-years of Church history in an effort to see that the Church becomes more inclusive, more relevant, more open-minded. “There are many voices within the North American evangelical movement,” says Burk, “that are turning away from what the church has always believed and confessed. Hatmaker is now among them.” In his view the PC agenda (yes, liberals have an agenda) is to “re-imagine” Christianity to look a lot less like historic orthodox Christianity and more like the world. (source)

So with this in mind, following is Lorie Alexander’s post:

If we don’t like parts of the Bible can we simply decide they aren’t agreeable to us and refuse to believe them? Jen Hatmaker believes she can and she does. Here are a few of her quotes from a recent article:

She was asked: “You took a stand last fall saying LGBT relationships can be holy, and it got your books banned from LifeWay stores. Why was that important to you?”

Jen replied, “I just sort of have this dream for the church where it is safe and it is wide and it is generous and it includes all of our voices. For the longest time, the church has essentially had one voice — sort of the white, male voice. I’m starting to realize how much the church is missing when we silence whole people groups, like you’re either not welcome at all, or you’re welcome but not your voice, not your experience, not your life, and I saw that with the LGBTQ community.”

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Shame and a tender conscience

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” 34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:31-38 (NASB) 

One of the major weapons of our enemy is attacks centered on provoking our pride, to incite us to be deeply concerned about what others think of us in relation to our profession of faith and how we walk the narrow path set before us by God. Our Lord warned us that this sort of attack would be coming our way and it causes professing Christians to lose their boldness as they actually seek to preserve “their life” for their own sake. When we are more concerned with our image and standing before men rather than for Christ and His gospel then we compromise because we have set our minds on the things of man rather than the things of God. View article →

Planned Parenthood has a new financial lifeline…from the adult sex toy industry

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

Earlier this week CRN reported that all proceeds of the “uterus” emoji app in shades of millennial pink will go to abortion mill Planned Parenthood. “You can catch Ooti drinking cold brew, wasting time on the phone, and, of course, swiping.”  So now The Washington Times reports that a Denver-based adult toy shop was established with the “sole mission” of supporting Planned Parenthood. Bradford Richardson has the story:

Ooti the uterus app

 Supporters of Planned Parenthood are trying to boost the abortion giant’s shaky bottom line by selling sex toys, uterus-themed emojis and sex-positive wrapping paper.

The merchandise may be X-rated, but abortion opponents say it’s just another argument in favor of weaning Planned Parenthood off taxpayer funding.

“Planned Parenthood from the beginning has been the recipient of private charitable donations and foundation donations,” said Jay Richards, executive editor of conservative news website The Stream. “If you look at all of the corporate donations they have, it’s staggering. Even other nonprofits, like the Susan G. Komen foundation, which deals with breast cancer, give Planned Parenthood funding. And now, apparently, we have sex toy shops.” [emphasis added]

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College’s ‘Welcome’ Concert Celebrates Misogyny, Drug Use

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

Why would Ole Miss, a university dedicated to promoting goodness and beauty to young people, invite a known pothead whose lyrics celebrate the sexualization of women and glorify alcohol and drug use, as the headliner at their beautiful new 10,000 seat basketball arena during Welcome Week? Lee Habeeb of LifeZette has the story:

It’s the first week of school in the college town of Oxford, Mississippi, home of the University of Mississippi — otherwise known as Ole Miss. Returning college students, a good number of them newcomers to the school, got the full treatment this past week about all manner of things, some of which no doubt had to do with the usual sensitivity and tolerance training now common at most universities. And some of which had to do with alcohol awareness, public safety, and the Ole Miss Creed, which covers the subject of public decency, among other topics.

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Post-Christian America: Gullible, Intolerant, and Superstitious

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

David French, columnist for National Review, reveals that many of the best-educated and least-religious people he knows aren’t all that reasonable. Why does he say that? Because a large number of so-called intelligent people hold to some pretty irrational views about reality. For example, a former Harvard Law School classmate of his laughed at the Bible but believed in reincarnation. French also remembers Harvard students who wouldn’t step foot in a church frequenting a local witchcraft store. So how is it that really smart people think the Bible is dumb, yet they have a fascination with charms, potions and spells? In other words, the world of the occult.

David French offers his view of what has caused many Americas to choose darkness over light:

In some secular progressive circles, a certain myth persists. If you defeat the forces of traditional Christianity — you know, the rubes and fools who believe the Bible is the Word of God — then you’ll make way for a more enlightened, rational, and humane nation and world. In other words, the alternative to religion is reason, and reason is mankind’s great liberating force.

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The Intolerance of Liberal Christianity

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Psalms 119:89 (NASB) 

Truth is not relative. If truth were then it couldn’t be truth for what would be true for one could be considered a fallacy by another. Therefore, it is utter foolishness to make assertions that truth is just a matter of opinion and we must be tolerant of other’s views on the Gospel and all of the vital aspects of our faith. On the other hand, I am perfectly willing to call another Christian my brother or sister in Christ even though we may disagree on things about our faith that are not barriers to orthodoxy. I find the discussions about these things with them to be wonderful opportunities of iron sharping iron. However, that is not the same thing as joining in fellowship with those who have serious issues with vital parts of doctrine that are non-negotiable. What do I mean? I have no problem loving and having fellowship with a Christian who has little to no understanding of Reformation Theology. However, I draw the line and, as God leads, contend with those who, for example, deny the deity of Christ or add works as a requirement for salvation or deny the inerrancy of the Bible or teach that Biblical Truth is inherently unknowable, therefore, we cannot hold to solid doctrinal truths, et cetera. View article →

Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Richard Foster – Are We Wrong in Calling Them Emergent/Contemplative?

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CRN agrees with Lighthouse Trails (LHT) that there is no question that these men are Emergent/Contemplatives who are known for engaging in a set of disciplines known as Spiritual Formation. Pastor Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries spent a great deal of his time blogging on the late Dallas Willard and Quaker mystic Richard Foster, whom he dubbed “spiritual twins.” In this piece over at LHT, the editors reveal their reasons for voicing their opinion that Willard, Foster and Ortberg are Emergent/Contemplative:

Recently, we were asked to give an account as to why Dallas Willard (d. 2013), Richard Foster, and John Ortberg were listed in Roger Oakland’s booklet How to Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging Into Your Church as part of the emerging church. 

  1. We would first like to say that it is understandable how someone could take offense to these men being named in a booklet on the emerging church. All three have stated that they love Jesus and have often used Scriptures in their writings and lectures. So why say they are part of the emerging church?

THE REAL CRUX OF THE MATTER

The real crux of this matter comes down to the contemplative prayer movement, which because it has its roots in panentheism (God in all) and interspirituality (all paths lead to God)  as we have been able to document in our writings these past many years, it is basically a synonym for the emerging church. In fact, without contemplative prayer, the emerging church would not have had the success (if you will) that it has had because contemplative prayer is the force that drives it. And given the fact that there are so many variables equal between the two, if someone is a proponent of contemplative prayer, we classify him as part of the emerging church. Many people mistakenly think that the emerging church would just be those of the caliber of Brian McLaren or Rob Bell. But we cannot agree with this at all. We believe the documentation we have gathered these past 15 years clearly shows that the two movements are one in the same.

That being said, one of the problems is that many Christians do not  understand what contemplative spirituality is. They believe that contemplative prayer is just prayer that contemplates (ponders) the things of God. Or that it is likened to a time of solitude (e.g., a quiet time with the Lord, perhaps sitting by a creek or turning off the radio). But contemplative prayer, as Richard Foster has very often made clear in his writings, is a practice that requires one to remove all distractions of the mind by practicing some type of mantric-like meditation (breath prayers, centering prayer, lectio divina, etc) and allowing the mind to enter a neutral state where all thought is gone. If contemplative prayer were just normal, but perhaps more focused, prayer, then why has there been so much differentiation in the church regarding it, whereas now through Spiritual Formation programs, countless Christian colleges and seminaries have brought contemplative spirituality into their schools? View article →

 

Should President Trump’s Evangelical Advisors Resign?

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CRN has reported that some of President Trump’s spiritual advisers are anything but authentic Christians; they are Word of Faith health and wealth prosperity preachers, which qualifies them as false teachers…wolves in sheep’s clothing. One such adviser to the president is his close confident and “pastor” Paula White. White is also the “spiritual daughter” to anti-triniterian prosperity preacher T.D. Jakes’, as you will see here. During a recent interview with Pastrix Paula, another word-faith wolf, Jim Bakker, proclaimed that this woman has “full access to the White House anytime she wants,” as she sat there nodding and grinning. So if some members of Trump’s “evangelical” advisory council feel they must resign, let’s cross our fingers that Paula White will be one of them.

Now to the story over at (questionably) Christian Headlines:

President Donald Trump & Paula White. 

People are certainly divided over their support for President Trump. This division is not only seen in the country in general, but even within the Republican party, and also within the Christian community.

Trump created his Evangelical Advisory Board–a group of evangelical pastors and Christian leaders who are there to give him advice–during his presidential campaign. The Evangelical Advisory Board includes such prominent Christian figures as Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, Pastor Paula White of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida, and Christian author and speaker Johnnie Moore.

Recently, some members of this advisory council have been considering stepping down, due to what they see as a disconnect in values between themselves and the President. Pastor A. R. Bernard, one of Trump’s advisors, actually did step down, and explained his reasoning here.

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The best place to be

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NASB) 

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:10-13 (NASB) 

I believe that what ails the visible Church the most at this time in the early 21st Century is actually the root of most, if not all, of the growing apostasy we are witnessing. This ailment is the product of decades of poor doctrine and man-serving preaching and teaching. God has given the Church, except for His Remnant, a spirit of stupor that has blinded them so that they have believed the lie that the center of all things is not Christ, but themselves. Their felt needs are far more important to them than God’s glory. They view God as being good when their circumstances are ok, but not good when they aren’t. They have bought their goods at Vanity Fair and they have become their idols. Let us look at a wonderful Biblical example of a man who did not devalue his relationship with God in order to have temporal pleasure. View article →

‘Ooti’ Uterus Emoji Sticker Supports Planned Parenthood

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Breitbart has the story:

A recently released sticker set app that depicts a cartoon “uterus” will donate all of its proceeds to support abortion chain Planned Parenthood.

“Meet Ooti, the uterus,” says the sticker’s website. “Ooti is an expressive uterus in shades of millennial pink. You can catch Ooti drinking cold brew, wasting time on the phone, and, of course, swiping.”

The emoji’s press statement continues:

Ooti’s here so we can celebrate this amazing reproductive organ as well as support the fantastic health services Planned Parenthood provides. All proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood so they can continue offering accessible care to those who need it.

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God’s indeed a good Father–how NAR leaders have twisted a biblical truth

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Does the Bible teach that God sometimes allows people to suffer from sickness and disease for specific purposes? Or is NAR “apostle” Bill Johnson right when he says that Christians who believe that God allows sickness in order to build character won’t have confidence praying in most situations where healing is needed. Holly Pivec of Spirit of Error responds to what Bill Johnson has to say about miracles and healing in his new book. She writes:

Christians would agree: God is good. But not every Christian would agree with what that means exactly. For instance, could God, as a good father, ever use a sickness, disease, or other type of suffering to teach his children a lesson?

Most Christians would say yes, that God does sometimes work in the hearts of individuals through human suffering, painful though that truth may be. But many leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) insist that a good human father would never do such a thing and, therefore, neither would God. This teaching is promoted by the influential NAR apostle Bill Johnson, the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, who has written a new book titled God is Good: He’s Better Than You Think. In his popular book When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles, Johnson writes this:

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Americans Wanted ‘Drain the Swamp, Not Clear the Desert’

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LifeZette reports:

LifeZette editor-in-chief Laura Ingraham said the American people “thought they were going to get drain the swamp, not clear the desert” during an interview Tuesday on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” the day after President Donald Trump announced his plans to recommit to the war in Afghanistan.

Trump, who ran on a largely non-interventionist “America first” foreign platform, acknowledged his reversal in a Monday night address to the nation and hinted that the U.S. would be sending more troops to Afghanistan. After nearly 17 years of U.S. involvement, Ingraham said she wasn’t “a big fan of a surge of troops in Afghanistan.”

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Christians worship the Lord by being Spirit-filled

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NASB) 

The Christian walk that John Bunyan set before us in his masterpiece The Pilgrim’s Progress is not one of “having your best life now” nor is it having all of your problems suddenly replaced with “opportunities.” No, Bunyan understood, and we need to as well, that no where in God’s Word are we promised that all we have to do is “come to Jesus and all our problems are over.” No, in fact, the opposite may very well be true. Jesus was not exaggerating when he said in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Why does the world hate real Christians? They are not of the world, but have been chosen by Christ out of the world, regenerated and made part of His Kingdom. This change is radical. This salvation is by grace through faith not according to merit or works, but, according to Ephesians 2:10, good works are part of what this Christian walk is all about, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” In fact, our Lord Jesus went so far as to say it very plainly in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Therefore, genuine Christians will be evident to the world because they will serve their Lord with their lives in obedience walking in the good works set before them by God Himself. That means also that they will not be those compromising all over the place with false religions seeking unity with false brethren and obvious wolves in sheep’s clothing for the sake of a friendly, false peace. Doesn’t this explain why the world hates us? View article →

Is ‘Holy Fire’ really something we want?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

From Berean Research:

♫ “Set Your church on fire Win this nation back Change the atmosphere Build Your kingdom here We pray…”

Rend Collective lyrics, “Build Your Kingdom Here”

♫ “This is a church on fire, this is the Holy Spirit flame We have a burning desire to lift up Jesus’ name Let the fire burn in every heart to light the way, defeat the dark Let the flame of love burn higher This is a church, this is a church on fire”

Hillsong lyrics, “Church On Fire”

We often hear people praying for holy fire to rain down, or a fire to ignite their spirits. But does Scripture really instruct us to desire fire?  That’s a question I’ve been pondering as I study the Bible. after all, doesn’t God use fire as an instrument of His wrath?  Fortunately, there are some solid word studies on “fire” that we can use to help us further explore God’s Word.

If you want to know WHY we may not want to pray for the Holy Spirit’s fire in our lives, you need to check out the following by Lyndon Unger, who originally published this excellent article over at Cripplegate a few years ago. He has given me permission to repost it here.

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10 Common but Illegitimate Reasons to Divorce

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Does God say Christians can get a divorce for the sake of the kids? Is it okay to get a divorce because you’ve fallen out of love with your spouse? Does God sanction divorce because the marriage is just not working out and He wants His children to be happy? Blogger, author and book reviewer Tim Challies lists 10 illegitimate reasons professing Christians offer for severing a marriage that he came across in a book by Jim Newheiser:

It is clear in the Bible that God’s intention for marriage is that it remain in effect until the death of one spouse. I believe it is also quite clear that God has provided a limited set of circumstances in which a marriage can legitimately be severed. However, many people—even Christians—offer reasons to divorce that are not sanctioned by God. Jim Newheiser helpfully outlines a number of these in his book Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers. Here are 10 common but illegitimate reasons to divorce.

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After Confederates, Leftists Eye These Targets

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According to LifeZette, next on the list will be America’s Founding Fathers, great presidents, and Catholic priests. Edmund Kozak has the story:

In the wake of shocking violence that erupted after far-left and far-right protesters clashed at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia the Left has only increased its calls to remove all traces of the Confederacy from American public life.

Critics of these efforts, including President Trump, argue that it isn’t wise to “erase history.” They claim that if we take down Confederate monuments on the grounds that they represent slavery or might be considered “racist” by some people in the modern era, then we open the door to removing far more than just the statues honoring the Confederacy.

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Genetic Research Scientist: Likely Some Aborted Babies Are ‘Alive Until Their Hearts Are Cut Out’

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Breitbart reports:

Photo credit::Kelsey Lucas Visualsey,The Daily Signal

The biomedical scientist—who assisted the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) in its preparation to infiltrate Planned Parenthood and expose its practice of harvesting aborted baby parts for sale to biomedical companies—says she suspects that the “babies in some of these cases were alive until their hearts were cut out” for harvesting.

In an interview with Breitbart News, Dr. Theresa Deisher, a world-renowned scientist in the field of adult stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine, discussed what is involved in harvesting the organs of aborted babies.

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Our Blessed Hope is worth suffering for

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:1-4 (NASB) 

33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NASB) 

While the emergents and other forms of relativistic Christianity attempt to refocus Christians to this present age, we are clearly taught throughout the New Testament that what awaits us after we leave this life is that for which we should really be preparing. In the world, we will have tribulation (θλιψιν) (John 16:33). Θλιψιν symbolically means grievous affliction or distress that applies pressure or burden upon the spirit. Θλιψιν is used to give the picture of one being crushed. At the same time we are given these warnings about our life here as resident aliens, we are also given encouragement beyond measure. View article →