Christ is our Saviour, Advocate, Propitiation and Redeemer

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans 8:33-34 (NASB) 

The “Emergent” gospel is one that claims that the sound doctrines of orthodoxy which teach us about the atonement, advocacy, and propitiation of Christ for the sake of His sheep are unnecessary “add-ons“ to Christ Jesus and, in fact, simply get in the way of truly knowing and emulating Him. If that is so then why did the God-inspired writers of the New Testament give these sound doctrines to us in such great and clear detail? These are not “doctrines” of demons. These are not “doctrines” made up by men. No, these are the doctrines given to us by God Himself that reveals God to us, gives us the truth about our own sinfulness and spiritual bankruptcy outside of His grace, and the superiority of Christ our Saviour, our Advocate, Our propitiation, our Redeemer. View article →

Do Apes Deserve ‘Personhood’ Rights? Lawyer Heads to N.Y. Supreme Court to Make Case

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NBC News reports:

When Steve Wise first started out as an animal rights lawyer, people used to bark at him when he entered a courtroom.

For more than 25 years, Wise has been arguing that animals who have cognitive complexities similar to humans should be legally endowed with basic rights of autonomy.

Now when he enters a courtroom, no one is barking.

On Thursday, Wise — who founded the Nonhuman Rights Project on behalf of the great apes, cetaceans and elephants — will go before the appellate division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Manhattan and argue that two of his clients, chimpanzees Kiko and Tommy, should be afforded the rights of “personhood.”

“‘Personhood’ is not synonymous with ‘humans.’ It is not now and never has been,” Wise told NBC News. “A ‘person’ is the law’s way of saying that entity has the capacity for rights. A ‘thing,’ which chimpanzees are now, don’t have capacity for any kind of rights.”

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Pope Francis open to allowing married priests in Catholic Church

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According to USA Today:

Pope Francis said he is open to the possibility of permitting married men to become priests to address the serious shortage of Catholic priests in some countries.

The pope raised the idea in an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit.

He ruled out the prospect of allowing single men who are already priests to marry but was open to the idea of allowing unmarried laymen or men already married to be ordained.

The pope raised the prospect in the context of allowing “viri probati,” Latin for “tested men,” to be ordained in places with a scarcity of priests.

He told the newspaper the lack of Catholic priests was an “enormous problem” for the church.

“We need to think about whether ‘viri probati’ could be a possibility,” he told the German weekly. “If so, we would need to determine what duties they could undertake, for example, in remote communities.”

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See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Post-Shack Christianity: The Lesson We Must Learn About Vigilant Discernment

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“For close to a decade, a few discerning Christians have been warning about The Shack,” says Gideon Knox. “Unlike other books that are equally as bad, this one even attracted the ire of more prominent men like [Albert] Mohler and [Tim] Challies. And yet, few listened.” Dr. Mohler charged that the book contains “undiluted heresy.”  And he’s right. There are 13 heresies in the book.  Even so, a large number of professing Christians read the book and had no problem recommending it to friends and family.  Putting aside the controversy over the book, they rushed to theaters and filled their mouths with popcorn while enjoying Hollywood’s trashing of the Trinity on the silver screen.

Thanks largely to those who claim to follow Jesus, the movie’s a box office success.

In his piece over at Pulpit & Pen, Gideon Knox argues that discernment within the church is not vigilant and it must be. With this in mind, he has some excellent advice for pastors and church leaders. He writes:

While we should be thankful for the plethora of warnings about The Shack that have been published in recent weeks, there is still a cause for concern in Zion. Pastors and concerned laypeople have done an admirable job, by my estimation, of sharing articles on their social media pages, providing a polemical view of both the movie and the book. And even if the articles don’t include the word polemical, they nonetheless are, and they are obligatory warnings for our friends being carried away by the novelty and sensuality of a cinematic, modalistic, patripassian, whore-god who is an imaginary graven image of Yahweh, created and promoted by the money changers of the Christian book industry.

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Just doing church is nothing but the fruit of blind hypocrisy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34 (NASB) 

To be honest, I never thought that I would ever end up in the part of the battle that I have found myself. For the first 19 or so years after my salvation, I was just your typical church member who “occasionally” found my faith peeking through into my work week. As I matured, I became a Bible teacher and a Deacon. I did participate in Evangelism Explosion training and used that training as a counselor on Sunday mornings at the altar. However, the rest of the time I was not exactly giving God much of my time. That changed in 2004. View article →

How to tell a wolf or hireling from a shepherd of the sheep

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Matthew 7:15-18 (NASB) 

Since God put me into this ministry back in 2006 the tragedy of the growing apostasy in the visible church seems to have only gotten worse. In discussions with friends about this some have lamented that at times it seems that there is no one who can be trusted anymore. My own perspective is that, yes, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to trust the fruit of those who minister for money or whose livelihood depended upon popularity. This is really nothing new. Our Lord, in His Sermon on the Mount, told us to beware of false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. He told us how to recognize them. How? It is by their fruits. This has not changed. Therefore, when I sit at the feet of a teacher or preacher of God’s Word I look for this within what is taught and within how he lives and with whom he associates and how he conducts himself in this life.  One who is not really God’s man will be revealed in this because of his inconsistencies in godliness and his consistencies in worldliness because, we “…will know them by their fruits.”  View article →

Beauty and the Beast: Why Christians Can Calm Down

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Sara Wallace of The Gospel-Centered Mom reminds Christians not to panic. “Yes, Hollywood has an agenda,” says Wallace “but so do we. If Hollywood is trying to indoctrinate our kids then we must indoctrinate them first. You must speak of God’s word to your children ‘when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.’ (Deuteronomy 11:19)”

On March 1st my newsfeed exploded with angry moms. Our beloved Beauty and the Beast is GAY.
 
Well, not exactly. And perhaps that’s where we should start. Is this a “Gay” movie? Or is this just another worldly movie made by worldly people with worldly agendas? Believe me, I’m upset, too. But there is an important difference here worthy of a second look.
 
Al Mohler, at the recent Shepherd’s Conference, summarized this distinction well. He said there’s a difference between culture being infused into a movie and a movie glorifying a particular sin. Gay characters will be the norm in movies from now on. That’s the agenda. The question we should ask is: Does it glorify the sin, or does it discuss/portray an aspect of culture?
 
This is the culture God has appointed for us to raise our children in. We need to know how to live in it and interact with it. Our kids are watching us. Our response to this issue will shape how they live within this culture. As we respond to Beauty and the Beast there are two words that should not characterize us as Christian parents.

Canada spending $650-million on reproductive rights, including fighting global anti-abortion laws

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The Globe And Mail reports that Canada plans to pay for advocacy groups to challenge laws in countries that severely restrict abortion such as Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East:

In a sharp reorientation of Canada’s foreign-aid strategy, the Trudeau government plans to spend $650-million on sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide – a move that could see Canada paying for a battle against anti-abortion laws in dozens of countries.

The three-year plan, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday as he marked International Women’s Day, would finance a range of global programs, including contraception, reproductive health, legal abortion, sexuality education and advocacy work.

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Which Jesus does your Roman Catholic friend believe in?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Roman Catholics say that they believe in Jesus.  But many do not believe it the correct Jesus, says Jordan Standridge of The Cripplegate.  Standridge suggests three questions to ask if you want to find out which Jesus your Catholic friend believes in:

As we celebrate the 500th year of the reformation this year, I’ve been very encouraged by the fact that there are so many in the church who understand that the reformation is not over.

Coming to America after growing up in Italy was very interesting. The world has a lot to learn from the American church, who, for so many years, has supplied the world with most of its Christian missionaries, and yet the American church has a lot to learn from the rest of the world when it comes to being able to condemn false religions.

This year is an opportunity for the American church to really explore what the Roman Catholic church actually is, and ask whether or not it teaches the truth. Secondly, each believer must ask himself whether, when speaking with the Catholic individual, they are asking the right questions.

Many Christians may accept the fact that the Roman Catholic church is a false church that teaches works-righteousness, but may have “the neighbor” who says he really loves Jesus, making it very difficult to figure out how to really know if they believe in grace or if they believe in works.

I understand the dilemma. I have had many conversations recently during which someone, either Mormon or Catholic, who had all the same words until we got to the heart of the Gospel, and then simply denied it. I think that, and perhaps this sentence will be controversial, when you are dealing with a Roman Catholic, you must begin from a skeptical position when it comes to whether they are saved or not.

The church, as we know, has made salvation very easy. Over the years, many evangelists and pastors have boiled it down to just saying a prayer; perhaps, out of a desire to see more decisions for Christ, they have lowered the bar. Over the years, this way of evangelism has trickled down to us. So many believers, out of a godly desire to be encouraging, have perhaps neglected questioning and embraced accepting people at face value.  View article →

See our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

 

CNN Host Reza Aslan Sparks Outrage After Eating Part of Human Brain While Meeting With Cannibals

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First a quote from “Reza Aslan Doesn’t Get Religion” by John Stonestreet for some background:

Reza Aslan’s “Believer,” a “spiritual adventure series” it’s called, which premiered Sunday on CNN, explores belief systems from around the world. But in a recent opinion piece at CNN, Aslan (who identifies himself as a Sufi Muslim) makes it clear that he doesn’t believe there are any essential differences between the world’s religions. As a matter of fact, he seems to think all religions are basically subjective nonsense.

“I know better than to take the truth claims of any religion (including my own) too seriously,” he writes. And considering the “conflict” and “bigotry” religion inspires and the way it clashes with reason, Aslan thinks it’s “understandable why so many people view religious faith as the hallmark of an irrational mind.”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is your tour guide to the religions of the world.

Now, according to Heather Clark over at Christian News:

Shiva, Hindu God of Destruction

CNN host Reza Aslan, a Muslim, is sparking outrage after eating part of a human brain during a televised meeting with a cannibalistic extreme Hindu sect called the Aghori.

The meeting was part of his television series “Believer,” which is said to feature the “world’s most fascinating faith-based groups.”

The Aghori, while identifying as worshipers of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, are condemned by mainstream Hindus for their practices, which includes drinking out of human skulls and eating the flesh of the dead. They also wear the ashes of cremated humans on their faces and consume their own urine and excrement.

View article →

Basic Training: The Bible Is Sufficient

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Today there is a growing lack of confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture among Christians. Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley tells us why extra-biblical revelation is both unbiblical and unnecessary and offers six reasons God’s word is sufficient for our every need.  For example: What makes you so sure it’s God who’s speaking to you?

Good question. Now listen to Michelle’s answer….

God said to me…/I heard God say…

Listen for God’s voice…

God spoke to me in a dream…

God gave me a vision of…

We hear things like this non-stop these days in pop-evangelicalism. And it’s not just in the whack job Word of Faith or New Apostolic Reformation movements, or in Charismatic churches, either. These words are coming out of the mouths of regular, every day Baptists and Methodists and Lutherans and Presbyterians, too. It’s largely due to the infiltration of Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation false doctrine into our churches via a) “Bible studies” from false teachers like Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, Priscilla Shirer, Christine Caine, Lysa TerKeurst and others and b) individual church members who feed on a steady diet of “Christian” television such as TBN, CBN, Daystar, and GodTV. Christians are getting the false idea that they need to hear, or should be hearing, God speak to them instead of trusting in the sufficiency of God’s word.

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The Beth Moore Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Mysticism, and Impassioned Frenzy

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Steven Kozar of Messed Up Church gives a whole host of reasons that author, speaker and Bible study teacher Beth Moore cannot be trusted.  Kozar has put much of her false teaching–yes, she’s a false teacher–into one place so that inquiring minds will have plenty of resources to explore what she teaches. Included are links to articles from Christians who have different theological perspectives, but according to Kozar “they all agree that Beth Moore’s teachings are not totally trustworthy and Biblical, and in some cases, she is teaching ideas that go directly against God’s Word.” Also included are sound clips so that we can hear unbiblical teaching coming from Mrs. Moore’s own lips, plus a video that shows her fawning over another false teacher, Word of Faith prosperity preacher Joyce Meyer.

Now to Steven Kozar’s exposé:

Beth Moore is a mainstream Evangelical superstar who speaks with an impassioned frenzy that inspires many women to become fanatical followers. She is not (officially) a pastor or theologian, but she serves both of those functions for millions and millions of people in the church. She first gained popularity in the 1990’s when her theology was viewed as middle-of-the-road, Bible-based, Baptist teaching, but her teaching has become more mystical and subjective over the years. Beth Moore sometimes refers to her own direct conversations with God in order to establish and validate her teachings, and she emphasizes unity in the church over sound teaching about important doctrinal matters. Moore has partnered with and endorsed Word of Faith false teachers like Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen and Christine Cain, and she is featured prominently on TBN:

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Air Force says words like ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ could be offensive

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Todd Starnes, host of Fox News and Commentary, has an exclusive on the United States Air Force’s attempt to ban words and phrases that might offend someone — phrases like “blonds have more fun.” He writes:

The Air Force fears that words like boy, girl, colonial and blacklist might offend people, according to an email sent to Airmen at Joint Base San Antonio.

An outraged Airman sent me a copy of the email – as evidence the military is still infected with Obama-era political correctness.

The email included an attachment that listed a number of words and phrases that might be construed as offensive.

Now, to be fair there were some legitimately offensive and racially charged words and phrases on the list. But also included on the list were the words boy and girl.

The email was written by a senior Air Force leader and was sent to an untold number of personnel at Lackland Air Force Base.

Airmen were advised to study a list of words and phrases that “may be construed offensive.”

Here’s a partial list of some of the dubious words and phrases deemed troublesome by the Air Force:

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There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

I have yet to encounter a person who has a problem with the gospel, the sovereignty of God, election, the exclusivity of genuine discipleship, et cetera who does not also force a man-centered perspective on God’s Word in one form or another. These same people lean towards a form of Christianity that is almost all experiential. Since their view of how the gospel works and how God works with Man is wrongly focused and the Word of God contains clear teachings about the sovereignty of God, these people conceive of their entire “Christian” paradigm from a philosophical and existential base rather than on the authority of Sacred Scripture. View article →

Resolution Declaring Pornography a ‘Public Health Crisis’ Unanimously Passes Tennessee Senate

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Christian News reports:

A resolution that declares pornography as being a public health crisis passed the Tennessee Senate unanimously on Monday and now moves to the desk of Gov. Bill Haslam for signing.

The resolution had been presented by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, at the urging of Ricky Darr of Make America Porn Free, which works in conjunction with the organization Girls Against Porn and Human Trafficking to urge enforcement of obscenity laws and “to remove the easy accessibility of pornography from the reach of children.”

“My six-year-old came across pornography last year,” Darr told the Senate Health Committee last week, where the resolution likewise was approved without objection. “My son came up to me and said, ‘Dad I’ve seen a whole lot of illegals.’ He calls them illegals, and I knew what he was talking about.”

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Another temper tantrum on campus

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Over at NewsOK, Bernard Goldberg reports that a group of “infantile college students refused to listen to ideas that make them feel uncomfortable” so the students raised such a ruckus that the conservative speaker was forced to leave.  Both he and the professor that was escorting him off campus were terrorized by the angry mob.  The professor, a woman, ended up in the ER and is now wearing a neck brace. So much for tolerance.

Bernard Goldberg has the story:

The cupcakes have struck again.

This time it was at Middlebury College, a small liberal arts school in rural Vermont, where hundreds of cupcakes (also known as snowflakes) disrupted a speech by the conservative scholar Charles Murray.

The cupcakes say he’s a bigot so they wouldn’t let him talk. They chanted, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Charles Murray, go away.” I think they threw in the “anti-gay” part because they needed something to rhyme with “go away.”

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See also How to Stay Safe When Everyone’s Protesting by F.T. Cage

 

School Teaches Zi & Zir Without Permission from Mom & Dad

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Todd Starnes, host of Fox News and Commentary, informs us that, unbeknownst to parents, children are being indoctrinated in the radical homosexual agenda in some public schools:

Indiana parents are furious after eighth graders at Lincoln Junior High School were exposed to a classroom lesson on sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity issues – without being notified in advance by the school district.

The 12-year-olds were required to watch a video titled, “LGBTQ: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities.” They were also required to answer a questionnaire with all sorts of probing questions.

Among the questions….

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Why do the Saints persevere?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (NASB) 

Why do authentic Christians persevere? Carefully read the passage I placed at the top of this post. Genuine Christians persevere to the end because God is faithful. The faithfulness of man is at best unreliable. Also, notice that Paul did not say that Christians persevere because of faithful ministers to lead and guide them. No, God would never trust His children’s perseverance to mere men. Instead, the whole burden of our salvation must rest on the faithfulness of our covenant God. View article →

A Culture of Counterfeit Christians (Reprise)

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Marsha West, General Editor CRN

Have you ever run over a dead skunk in the road?  I have, during a heat wave.  The smell got into my tires and permeated our garage for days!  I’ll go out on a limb and say that no one takes pleasure in the highly offensive smell of skunk spray, dead or alive.

My point in bringing this up is that to God the stench of sin is far worse than skunk.  For an example of just how much the Lord hates sin, grab a cup of coffee and read First and Second Kings.  But given our penchant for wanting everything now, here’s a snippet from 1 Kings 16 to illustrate how God dealt with one of Israel’s most ruthless kings:

Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat.  (1 Kings 16:1-4)

God had already destroyed Jeroboam for his flagrant sins, yet Baasha repeated the same mistakes.  God rebuked the Israelites for their sinful ways and vowed to punish them.

Fast forward to 2017.  According to a recent Pew Research survey, seven in ten Americans identify as Christians.  If this is accurate then how is it that so many professing Christians behave pretty much the same way as the pagans did when Baasha was king?

Scripture teaches that Christians are to have a biblical foundation and that the Christian’s behavior should be Christlike.  Yet many who say they’re followers of Jesus wallow in sin!

Admittedly, when someone’s new to the faith it takes a while for the fruit to become ripe.  In other words, reaching maturity is a process. Sanctification, as the Bible calls it, doesn’t happen overnight.  There comes a time, though, when the vine brings forth fruit.  However, when a fruit tree remains barren year after year, one can’t help but wonder if the tree was pollinated.

One of my favorite pastimes is discussing (debating, dissecting) the Bible with brothers and sisters in Christ.  So it troubles me when I strike up a conversation with a long time believer who knows very little about the Bible.

Most Christians have heard the verse, “Sanctify [set apart for a holy use] them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17  Through reading and studying God’s Word, believers will learn about Christ, with their goal being to become more like Him. Moreover, they’ll grow in their faith and receive divine guidance on how to live their lives.

To have a close relationship with a person we must get to know them.  So the obvious course of action is to ask probing questions.  We’ve got to dig below the surface to uncover the intimate details of his/her life.  If we’re not interested in a meaningful relationship, we won’t probe!

Because our Father in heaven loves His children, His desire is to be in relationship with each one of us – to pull His beloved into a bear hug!  Those who sincerely wish to be in relationship with the Father must dig deep into the scriptures, because that’s the one and only place to learn about God and His ways. “What we believe about God,” said A. W. Tozier, “is the most important thing about us.”

Getting To Know YOU, Getting To Know All About YOU

Nothing should stand in the way of spending a few minutes each day with the King of kings and Lord of lords.  While we sit at His feet we can thank Him for our many blessings; we can pour out our hearts to Him and even make requests, trusting that the answers to our prayers will come.  Sitting at His feet, our hurts will be healed and our joy restored.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Countless Christians admit to not reading their bibles regularly, they hardly ever pray, rarely attend church, they’re not in a Bible study nor do they study on their own.  Moreover, meeting with other believers isn’t a priority.

Getting back to my point—sin.  The Bible says Christians are not to tolerate blatant sin.  Furthermore, we must stop sinning.  Take for example sexual sin.  In this day and age, many professing Christians ignore the fact that one of the gravest sins we commit is sexual sin.  Having sexual relations outside of marriage (the biblical understanding of marriage is the union of a man and woman) goes against the clear teaching of Scripture.

In dealing with sexual taboos, C. S. Lewis pulls no punches:

Our warped natures, the devils who tempt us, and all the contemporary propaganda for lust, combine to make us feel that the desires we are resisting are so ‘natural,’ so ‘healthy,’ and so reasonable, that it is almost perverse and abnormal to resist them. Poster after poster, film after film, novel after novel, associate the idea of sexual indulgence with the ideas of health, normality, youth, frankness, and good humour. Now this association is a lie. Like all powerful lies, it is based on a truth …that sex in itself (apart from the excesses and obsessions that have grown round it) is ‘normal’ and ‘healthy,’ and all the rest of it. The lie consists in the suggestion that any sexual act to which you are tempted at the moment is also healthy and normal.  Now this, on any conceivable view, and quite apart from Christianity, leads to impotence, disease, jealousies, lies, concealment, and everything that is the reverse of health, good humour, and frankness. For any happiness, even in this world, quite a lot of restraint is going to be necessary; so the claim made by every desire, when it is strong, to be healthy and reasonable, counts for nothing. Every sane and civilized man must have some set of principles by which he chooses to reject some of his desires and to permit others. One man does this on Christian principles, another on hygienic principles, another on sociological principles. The real conflict is not between Christianity and ‘nature,’ but between Christian principles and other principles in the control of ‘nature,’ for ‘nature’ (in the sense of natural desire) will have to be controlled anyway, unless you are going to ruin your whole life. (Excerpt from Book III, Chapter 5, of Mere Christianity)

There’s no getting around it.  Sex without holy matrimony is a sin, so “quite a lot of restraint is going to be necessary” if one wishes to be God-honoring and obedient.

Just Follow Jesus

Our Lord spoke plainly when He said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”  John 12:26   And, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15  Jesus wasn’t just addressing the apostles; what He stated was meant for all those who have placed their faith in Him!

Jesus also gave this warning:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit (John 15:1-2).

For clarification, Jesus Christ is the vine and the fruitful branches are Christians who, through a personal relationship with Him, will bear much fruit.  The unfruitful branches are the people who make a superficial commitment and bear little or no fruit.  The Father will prune the vine and discard the fruitless branches.

Those who professes Christ and behave like heathens may find themselves lopped off the vine – and not because God is mean and intolerant.  On the contrary.   God is long suffering, not willing that any should perish.

Holy Smokes!

Authentic Christians understand that God loves us…that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins…that His crucifixion was the ultimate act of love.  What many believers fail to understand, though, is that the Creator is holy.  Christians, of all people, should understand that we serve a holy God.  So let’s go to Isaiah 6:1-7 for a glimpse of the prophet’s vision of God:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Bible expositor Matthew Henry describes Isaiah’s vision:

The prophet, standing outside the temple, sees the Divine Presence seated on the mercy-seat, raised over the ark of the covenant, between the cherubim and seraphim, and the Divine glory filled the whole temple. See God upon his throne. This vision is explained, John 12:41, that Isaiah now saw Christ’s glory, and spake of Him, which is a full proof that our Saviour is God. In Christ Jesus, God is seated on a throne of grace; and through him the way into the holiest is laid open. See God’s temple, his church on earth, filled with his glory. His train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole world, for it is all God’s temple. And yet he dwells in every contrite heart. See the blessed attendants by whom his government is served. Above the throne stood the holy angels, called seraphim, which means burners; they burn in love to God, and zeal for his glory against sin. The seraphim showing their faces veiled, declares that they are ready to yield obedience to all God’s commands, though they do not understand the secret reasons of his counsels, government, or promises. All vain-glory, ambition, ignorance, and pride, would be done away by one view of Christ in his glory. This awful vision of the Divine Majesty overwhelmed the prophet with a sense of his own vileness. We are undone if there is not a Mediator between us and this holy God. A glimpse of heavenly glory is enough to convince us that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Nor is there a man that would dare to speak to the Lord, if he saw the justice, holiness, and majesty of God, without discerning his glorious mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. The live coal may denote the assurance given to the prophet, of pardon, and acceptance in his work, through the atonement of Christ. (Source)

I’ll close with a warning to those who profess Christ and act like the devil.  In his book The Holiness of God, Dr. R.C. Sproul explains that every single sin a person commits is a capital offense.  “Sin is cosmic treason,” says Dr. Sproul. “Sin is treason against a pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself.”

Resources:

Book: The Holiness of God By R.C. Sproul

Book: Know What You Believe: A Practical Discussion of the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith By Paul E. Little

Copyright 2014 by Marsha West.  Revised March, 2017.

 

Planned Parenthood rejects Trump offer to keep federal funding, stop abortions

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According to Jessica Chasmar of Washington Times: 

Planned Parenthood has firmly rejected a proposal by President Trump offering to preserve federal funding for the women’s health organization if it stopped providing abortion services.

Mr. Trump reportedly confirmed Monday to The New York Times that an informal proposal was made to Planned Parenthood offering to maintain federal funding — about $500 million each year — if the organization ended abortion procedures. Sources told the newspaper that White House officials even suggested there could be an increase in that funding if they accepted the deal.

Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood’s executive vice president and chief brand officer, told The Times that no federal funds are used to pay for abortions.

“Offering money to Planned Parenthood to abandon our patients and our values is not a deal that we will ever accept,” she said. “Providing critical health care services for millions of American women is nonnegotiable.”

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Vaccines: They’re ‘Morally Right’ for Kids’ Health

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Dr. Meg Meeker of LifeZette, who is a pediatrician, shares her view of the child vaccination controversy:

Recently I shared an article I wrote addressing what parents need to know about vaccines. Understandably, it sparked quite the passionate discussion and excellent debate. Parents are always encouraged to have dialogue about and discuss important parenting issues; we must never shut one another down.

I would like to offer a bit of followup. My position as a pediatrician has always been to advocate for parents. You are in charge of your child’s health, and if parents in my practice choose not to vaccinate, I respect their opinions. However, in many pediatric practices across the country, this is not the case.

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Christians can understand the Word of God

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. 10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. 16 I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. Psalms 119:9-16 (NASB) 

It is vital for Christians to know God’s Word, to love its precepts so much that they hide it in their hearts so they will never forget it. Why? This is the foundation of discernment. God gives the gift of discernment to His people. Some have more than others of course, but we all must learn to develop it and it begins by knowing and understanding God’s Word. Why? God’s Word is our plumb line. All Christians have a right and duty, not only to learn from the church’s heritage of faith, but also to interpret Scripture for themselves. The Roman Catholic Church had forbid this very thing, which resulted in the Protestant Reformation. The Church at Rome’s reason for doing this was a fear that people easily misinterpret the Scriptures. This is a legitimate fear. The Westminster Confession of Faith agrees that “All things in Scripture are not alike in plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all,” but it also states clearly the authority of individual believers to read the Bible for themselves: “not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding” of the Scriptures. What are these “ordinary means?” View article →

The Den at the Epicenter of Hillsong for Youth?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

According to Churchwatch Central (CWC), degrading imagery of Jesus is being promoted in Hillsong’s youth den that will leave you dumbfounded.  “The Jesus used, the symbols around Jesus, the upside down Jesus with wolf ears and the word ‘Judas’ above his head (and a wolf blowing fire on him), the Jesus with the words ‘Wolf Man Wolf Man’ and a wolf eating at his heart, the hand of man touching a hand of death…”

CWC’s piece contains disturbing images they collected from Instagram photos of the mural that were posted by Laura Toggs (Laura Houston) and Hillsong artist Dodgepangburn.

So what does it all mean?  CWC’s offers their perspective:

NBRS Architecture states that,

“The Hillsong Epicentre is the second stage of a two stage project. Stage one included the 300 seat Hillsong Chapel and carpark, which were completed in 2006. Stage two incorporates a 500 seat auditorium with foyer and back of house facilities including: a green room, guest room, storage, a loading bay, a professional TV studio & TV control room, 3 TV edit suites, a smaller college training TV studio, a professional sound studio with 8 professional sound edit suites, a smaller college training sound studio with 4 edit suites, 3 band rehearsal rooms, 9 music practice rooms, 20 classrooms, 2 large seminar / meeting rooms that will be used by the college during the week and children’s ministries on Sundays, a specialised preschool children’s playroom, a large youth area, carpark area providing spaces for 300 cars. The Hillsong Epicentre is currently under construction and is due to be completed in January 2017.” [Source]

It appears that Laura Toggs (Laura Houston) has already decided what she wanted for the “large youth area.” It appears she wanted a massive mural for the youth. So what kind of mural did she allow to go inside?

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WikiLeaks Claims CIA Lost Control of ‘Hacking Arsenal’

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Breitbart reports:

In a press release for their most recent data dump, whistleblowing service WikiLeaks claims that the CIA has lost control of their “hacking arsenal.”

The press release states that WikiLeaks’ publication of CIA documents is the “largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.” The data dump consists of 8,761 files and documents taken from a high-security isolated network situated inside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Explosively, WikiLeaks also claims that the CIA has lost control of their “hacking arsenal.”

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There’s A Wolf In the House: 18 Signs of Apostasy

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

Over at Pulpit & Pen Matt Sherro puts forward what he believes are the characteristics of apostates:

There is a danger that has come into the sheepfold; apostates have come in and they probably have always been here. However, with the prevalence of social media, their influence has spread and it is more important than ever before to recognize the marks of an apostate, a person who at one time knew and maybe even taught the truths of the Bible but walked away or a person who consistently teaches false doctrines to the Church. Jude, the Lord’s youngest human brother, points out several signs of an apostate and I want to draw your attention to them.

Book of Jude (HCSB),

1 Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James: To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.

2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

3 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. 4 For some men, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

Right away we begin to see the characteristics of the Apostates that Jude warns about…

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