Not “Tired,” but Tried and True!

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

There are some naysayers in the Christian community who have come out against online discernment ministries (ODM’s) as they feel the work “discerners” do is, in their view, unbiblical. Amy of Berean Research, a popular discernment blog, disagrees.  In this piece, she explains the purpose of ODM’s and why pointing discouraged and confused believers in the right direction has helped them discover Truth.  Because of ODM’s, many people who were once caught up in a cult, false teaching, and idolatry say they’ve been set free.

Sheep butting heads “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”  — 2 Timothy 4:3-4

I recently heard someone lament that discernment reporters always trot out the same tired old Scripture verses to defend why they report all the negative things that today’s Bible teachers teach and do that aren’t lining up with Scripture. I thought it a strange thing, to tell Christians that using the Word of God as a basis for following His commands to be discerning and defend the true faith as being a bad thing.

When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what would be the signs they could look to as the end of the age, the first thing Jesus did was to warn them not to be deceived. (You can read about that here.)  His words were to the believers and true followers. Yes, it seems that true Christians CAN be deceived, or Jesus wouldn’t have warned us to take care not to be.

Why do reporters write about those in our times who are twisting Scripture? Is it because we are hateful, or singularly focused on negative things?  No. I believe that discerning Christians need to be Bereans to continually search Scriptures to make sure they are following the truth rather than what sounds almost true. But here’s the problem: They are not being taught how to do that by their leaders. Instead, their leaders are giving a nod of approval to false teachings and teachers.

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Obama Administration Proposes Rule That Could Ban States From Defunding Planned Parenthood

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Christian News Network reports:

Planned Parenthood - ObamaConcerns are being expressed over a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that suggests that it plans to ban states from defunding abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

The notice of proposed rulemaking, “Compliance with Title X Requirements by Project Recipients in Selecting Subrecipients,” outlines that it plans to amend the Code of Federal Regulations to read, “No recipient making subawards for the provision of services as part of its Title X project may prohibit an entity from participating for reasons unrelated to its ability to provide services effectively.”

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Does Jeremiah 29:11 Apply to Us Today?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason answers the question.  He explains why “we should never read just one Bible verse to understand it’s true meaning and purpose. We need to read the context.”

All in need of God’s righteousness have condemnation awaiting them

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:9-18 (NASB) 

In this post we will look at Romans 1:18-3:20. That may sound like a lot of verses, but remember my brethren, Paul didn’t write Romans with chapters and verses. In any case, that section of Romans is what Paul uses to build his case against all mankind in that they are born dead in trespasses and sin without exception. God is Holy, Righteous, and Just and there is not anything any person can do to become justified or declared righteous on their own merit. No, there must be another solution that does not compromise God’s perfect Righteousness. In any case, in this post we will look at the airtight case Paul builds against all mankind that shows the utter wretchedness of the natural man. View article →

University of Colorado Bans Free Inquiry of Students Questioning Global Warming

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Breitbart reports:

Freedom of Thought Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin, 1722

In the midst of national debates concerning free speech on college campuses, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has opted to clamp down on students who challenge the reigning orthodoxy regarding manmade global warming.

Last week, three professors co-teaching a course titled “Medical Humanities in the Digital Age” emailed a statement to all students informing them that anthropogenic climate change is not up for debate in their course.

“We will not, at any time, debate the science of climate change, nor will the ‘other side’ of the climate change debate be taught or discussed in this course,” the professors said in their letter obtained by The College Fix.

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How Liberal Judges Took Control of 70 Percent of US Appeals Courts

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

According to Philip Wegmann of The Daily Signal:

JudgingOn the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform the United States of America. After nearly eight years as president, he has delivered on one front by reshaping the federal judiciary.

That revolution has been comprehensive, dramatic, and under the radar.

When Obama entered the Oval Office, liberal judges controlled just one of the 13 circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Fifty-five successful presidential nominations later, liberal majorities now control nine of those appeals benches, or 70 percent.

Outside of legal circles the transformation of the influential federal appeals courts has gone largely unnoticed, though.

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Depression & the Ministry – Part 1

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Eric Davis of The Cripplegate has written a thought provoking piece for spiritual leaders who sometimes experience “the dark guest within.” Davis offers 5 reasons why our church leaders may go through times of sorrow. Sorrow is almost inherent to the ministry, says Davis who pastors a church in Jackson Hole, WY. In part 2 he addresses the reasons that often lie behind sorrow experienced in the ministry, considers some of them, and then draws conclusions.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 42:5).

These are not the words of a spiritual infant. They are not the cries of a neophyte believer. This was a spiritual leader, involved in the daily ministry of the word of God to the people of God. Even so, his struggles with sorrow are deep.

It’s no secret: spiritual leaders can battle with depression. The more pastors I talk to, the more common this seems. I’ve worked jobs from lumber mills to heavy construction to engineering to research labs, and I have never encountered sorrow in those like the pastorate. Pastors, if you struggle with sorrow, chances are, things are pretty normal. Christians, chances are, your pastor has, or will have, bouts with soul-sorrow. It’s just normal.

And we need to avoid parochial conclusions when it comes to battles with sorrow. The presence of depression does not always mean the presence of raging sin. Strong saving faith and deep discouragement are often found in the same soul. Ed Welch has rightly said, “It is a myth that faith is always smiling. The truth is that faith often feels like the very ordinary process of dragging one foot in front of the other because we are conscious of God” (Depression: A Stubborn Darkness, 31). Jeremiah had his bouts (Jer. 9:1-2, Lam. 3:48). Elijah probably did too (1 Kings 19:4). Though Paul always rejoiced, he was also sorrowful (2 Cor. 6:10). The great apostle even experienced “great sorrow and unceasing grief” (Rom. 9:2). And Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:3). Likely he could have been diagnosed with clinical depression by the standards of our modern psychiatrists. Charles Spurgeon said, “No sin is necessarily connected with sorrow of heart, for Jesus Christ our Lord once said, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.’ There was no sin in him, and consequently none in his deep depression.”

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Conservative Legend Phyllis Schlafly Dies At 92

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Breitbart reports:

Phyllis SchlaflyConservative icon Phyllis Schlafly died on Monday afternoon.

The “Sweetheart of the Silent Majority” passed away surrounded by family in her home in Ladue, Missouri just a short 10-minute drive from where she was born in St. Louis on August 15, 1924.

Her death marks a palpable loss for the conservative movement which, just last month, celebrated the grassroots heroine’s 92nd birthday.

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“Mother Teresa” Declared a Saint by “Pope Francis” After Being Credited With Miracles in Death

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Christian News Network has a quote from Mike Gendron of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries that some folks will find hard to believe.  Nevertheless, what Gendron says is true:

Mother Teresa did not believe or proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation.  She encouraged Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists to be better Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. She never pointed people to Christ as the only savior, mediator and redeemer. Instead she taught a bizarre ‘pseudo-pantheism’ in which she believed Jesus was present in everyone.

In her piece for Christian News, Heather Clark reveals a whole lot more about the controversial Catholic nun:

Mother TeresaAgnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, also known as “Mother Teresa,” was declared a venerated saint on Sunday after she met the Vatican’s requirement of being credited with the purported healing of two people through what Roman Catholics believe is her intercession in death.

“[A]fter due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a saint, and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole church,” Jorge Bergoglio, also known as Pope Francis, declared at the Vatican before an estimated crowd of 120,000 people on Sunday.

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Take a look at CRN’s research paper on Roman Catholicism

80 Percent Captured at Border Set Free in U.S., Says Agent

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According to Breitbart:

Illegal Immigration3U.S. Border Patrol agent told Fox News Channel that eight out of ten illegal immigrants who are captured at the border are initially set free into the United States.

Border Patrol Agent Hector Garza, acting in his role as president of the National Border Patrol Council, Local 2455, appeared on Fox News Channel recently to discuss border security and the need for building a wall. “Eight out of ten people that are caught entering our country illegally are not deported and are allowed to stay in the United States,” Garza explained. “Unfortunately for Border Patrol agents, we are trying to do our jobs as best we can with the very limited resources that we have.”

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“Increasingly Aggressive” Atheists Target Children in New Evolution-Promoting Book

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Christian News Network reports:

Photo credit: Amazon.com

Photo credit: Amazon.com

An evolution-propagandizing illustrated children’s book is drawing praise from the secular community and currently ranks as a best seller on Amazon.com.

“Annabelle & Aiden: The Story Of Life” is a 26-page children’s book that was published last month. Advertised as an “inspirational storybook” that will help kids “gain a basic understanding of evolution,” the book walks readers through the history of life according to Charles Darwin.

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This Company Lets You Filter Explicit Content From Movies

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Leah Jessen of The Daily Signal has the story:

VidAngelDo you want to watch a movie at home without hearing profanities? There’s a filter for that.

VidAngel is a video filtering service started by four brothers who grew up in Idaho, which offers a tool to filter out bad language and graphic scenes from Hollywood productions, making video content family-friendly.

“We created this company because—as parents and consumers—we understand deeply the surging demand for filtering content to suit the needs of families,” Neal Harmon, CEO of VidAngel, said in a prepared statement.

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If God Is Loving, Why Doesn’t He Just Forgive People?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

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!” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

Cross of ChristHave you ever wondered why Jesus had to die on a cross for people’s sins? After all, if God is loving, why couldn’t he just forgive everyone instead of putting his Son through all that suffering to make atonement for sin?

We find the answer to this question in God’s attribute of simplicity. A lot of people view simplicity as meaning “uncomplicated,” something that is easy to do. True, the word is certainly used that way. When referring to God as being simple, however, we mean that God is not complex. God is pure spirit; he is not made up of a bunch of parts (John 4:24).

Let’s use an everyday cooking example to make this point. When making stew, people usually use a variety of ingredients, including meat, potatoes, grains, vegetables, broth, and various spices, to name a few. All these ingredients are combined together to make a nourishing meal. Many people view God in a similar way. They look at all of God’s attributes—including his love, holiness, goodness, righteousness, mercy, justice, and greatness—and think that all these things are combined together in the being of God.  View article →

How to make the Bible support any sexual practice in 3 easy steps

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Satire ∙ ,

Writing for The Federalist, Lutheran Pastor Hans Fiene, who is the creator of Lutheran Satire, has come up with three simple steps “that will help you pave the next mile of the Sexual Liberation Expressway and get those Bible-believing bigots off the road.”

LGBTIn the not-too-distant future, when the transgender wars are over and the stick figure placards for male and female bathrooms have been thrown in the dustbin of history, the sexual progressives will need a new sexual practice to de-stigmatize. Whether it’s incestuous marriage or some other long-oppressed form of sexual expression, the new cause will emerge, desperately in need of a defense. On that day, we will need a liberated theologian to rise from the muck of church prejudice and explain away all those pesky passages of the Bible that prevent dimwitted bigots from embracing the new orthodoxy.

While this task may seem daunting, it can actually be carried out with ease if you follow the very simple formula given to us by Eliel Cruz. In a recent article for The Washington Post, Cruz argues Christians have no legitimate grounds on which to oppose transgenderism because the erroneously-interpreted-for-2,000-years Bible actually praises the practice.

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Rejoice and be exceedingly glad

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

 

He died a real death, but now he lives a real life, he did lie in the tomb, and it was no fiction that the breath had departed from him: it is equally no fiction that our Redeemer liveth. The Lord is risen indeed. He hath survived the death struggle and the agony, and he lives unhurt: he has come out of the furnace without so much as the smell of fire upon him. He is not injured in any faculty; whether human or divine. He is not robbed of any glory, but his name is now surrounded with brighter lustre than ever. He has lost no dominion, he claims superior rights and rules over a new empire. He is a gainer by his losses, he has risen by his descent. All along the line he is victorious at every point.

Never yet was there a victory won but what it was in some respects a loss as well as a gain, but our Lord’s triumph is unmingled glory – to himself a gain as well as to us who share in it. Shall we not then rejoice? What, would ye sit and weep by a mother as she exultingly shows her new-born child? Would you call together a company of mourners to lament and to bewail when the heir is born into the household? This were to mock the mother’s gladness. And so to-day shall we use dreary music and sing dolorous hymns when the Lord is risen, and is not only unhurt, unharmed, and unconquered, but is far more glorified and exalted than before his death?

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled “Sorrow At The Cross Turned Into Joy,” delivered November 3, 1878. Image by StephaniePetraPhoto on Flickr under Creagtive Commons License, without alteration.

Are We Brainwashing Our Children?

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In this piece over at Answers In Genesis, Dr. Tommy Mitchell asks: Are Christians unscientific? Is it brainwashing to teach children the truth about God and the Bible? What exactly is brainwashing anyway? Dr. Mitchell explains:

Children prayingHave you ever been told that your children are Christians only because you brainwashed them? Have you been accused of keeping your children from understanding “real” science by brainwashing them with the Bible?

Educators and other “experts” who embrace evolution declare that children taught to reject an evolutionary worldview will never understand the world around them. Many say that such children will be academic failures. Children will grow up to be unproductive citizens of the modern world, these experts warn, if they do not accept molecules-to-man evolution over millions of years as fact.

Secularists often claim that children who reject evolution have been “brainwashed.” Is this really true? Are some children being brainwashed? If so, is it Bible-believing Christians who are doing the brainwashing?

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Western Christians’ Bible reading crisis

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Professing Christians are not reading their bibles as much as they used to — and some Christians don’t read it at all.  Beth Stolicker of Mission Network makes a good case as to why Christians must read and memorize Scripture.  As Christians “we need to be able to recall full Scriptures, the redemption story, and the Bible’s full frame. That’s hard to do if Christians are only familiar with a few verses here and there.”  Stolicker offers tips to engage with God’s Word:

BibleWhen was the last time you picked up your Bible and spent time reading more than a couple of verses? If it’s been a while, you’re not alone.  

An unfamiliar crisis

Today, the average American adult’s attention span lasts for about 12 minutes. But, this isn’t a long enough time to really suck the marrow of life from Scripture’s bones. Chief Executive Officer at Biblica, Carl Moeller shares some insight.

“Christians, just like others in the culture, don’t read as much as they used to. And, this is a real crisis when we as evangelical Christians base our faith on the teachings of God’s Word,” Moeller explains.

“If we’re not reading God’s Word, it’s going to be very difficult for us to understand what He wants from us and how He wants us to live.”

There are Christians living without religious freedom, striving to memorize entire books of the Bible. Yet, some of us with religious freedom struggle to open ours. As Western Christians, have we lost, to some extent, what it means to live for Christ? To seek Him above all things in the midst of our busy, rushing, stressful days? Have we become a Martha instead of a Mary?

Possibly.

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Pope Francis: Global Warming a “Sin,” Man Can Atone by Recycling and “Car-Pooling”

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The Pope of Rome has announced a new list of environmental sins.  In all seriousness he said that global warming and loss of biodiversity is a sin that humans must atone for by recycling, planting trees and lowering our carbon footprint. Breitbart has the story:

Carbon footprintIn his message for the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” Thursday, Pope Francis said that human-induced global warming, as well as a loss of biodiversity are “sins” against God, which must be atoned for by planting trees, avoiding the use of plastic and paper and “separating refuse.”

“Global warming continues, due in part to human activity,” Francis said, adding that “2015 was the warmest year on record, and 2016 will likely be warmer still.”

“This is leading to ever more severe droughts, floods, fires and extreme weather events. Climate change is also contributing to the heart-rending refugee crisis. The world’s poor, though least responsible for climate change, are most vulnerable and already suffering its impact,” he wrote.

Repeatedly citing the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has “courageously and prophetically continued to point out our sins against creation,” Francis made his own a new list of such environmental sins, which include pollution, global warming and deforestation.

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 Check out our Research Paper on Roman Catholicism

Greg Laurie’s Continuing Slide Into Apostasy

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CRN has warned you about Calvary Chapel rock star Greg Laurie for quite some time (here).  Many other discernment bloggers have alerted the evangelical community as well.  In a piece over at Pulpit & Pen, Jeff Maples offers numerous reasons why Bible believing Christians must flee from the so-called evangelist.  According to Maples, “With Greg Laurie, it isn’t about sound doctrine and a solid Gospel message that saves–it’s about “filling the stadiums with youth” to “bring about revival.” It’s a numbers game. It’s about “uniting denominations” into a single, watered-down, inoffensive, ear-tickling, man-pleasing entertaining religion of harmonious solidarity.”  Maples continues:

WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHINGGreg Laurie has been a prominent figure in Christendom for quite some time. He is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA, one of the largest churches in America. Many have touted him as being the next Billy Graham. In the likeness of Billy Graham’s crusades, Laurie has invested endless efforts in his Harvest Crusades since the early 1990’s, reaching audiences in the hundreds of thousands at every event. Laurie’s popular style of watered-down preaching and making the adulterated Word of God more palatable to the world has helped his empire grow tremendously, and transform Laurie into a celebrity.

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Ask Not for Whom the Volcano Erupts; It Erupts for Thee: A Response to David Gushee

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , , ,

Albert Mohler, president of Baptist Theological Seminary responds to David Gushee, a “progressive evangelical” who penned a piece for Religion News Service arguing that the “middleground” is disappearing on LGBT rights.  Recently we posted Professor Denny Burk’s response entitled “The Disappearing ‘Middleground’ and the Coming Conflict” which you will find here.  Not surprisingly, Gushee’s article caused quite a stir in the evangelical community.  Shortly thereafter Gushee took on his critics, Dr. Mohler being one of the most prominent.  In the blog post he wrote he reveals the following:

Volcano lavaWhen those on the receiving end of Gushee’s stern advice complained about both the tone and the substance of his essay, he responded with a second essay in which he offered this analogy: “I was saying: ‘Watch out, I notice that volcano over there is smoking ominously, and if it erupts, hot molten lava will wash over you.’ I was not saying: ‘I hope that the volcano erupts, and hot molten lava washes over you.'”

He was merely describing and predicting, he insisted, not at all prescribing what should happen. But there is a big problem with that defense. The language and framing that he deploys in both of his articles (and in his recent book projects as well) clearly imply that conservative Christians are a menace to the cause he champions. He has described evangelical Christians as the last major hold-outs on the road to full LGBT equality, and he claims to be a full convert to the LGBT cause. (emphasis added)

Later in the article Dr. Mohler declares: “Professor Gushee’s warning has been both delivered and received. His words clarify where we stand, and I agree that the earth is shaking under our feet.”

We urge you to read Dr. Mohler’s piece in its entirety and then share it far and wide.

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The Basis of Christian Marriage

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ ,

God never intended nor does He condone same-sex “marriage.”  Theologian R.C. Sproul reveals God’s plan from the very beginning: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2: 24). Listen to a lecture R.C. did many years ago or read his words here:

Gay marriage

What is wrong with this picture?

Some years ago, I attended an interesting wedding. I was especially struck by the creativity of the ceremony. The bride and the groom had brainstormed with the pastor in order to insert new and exciting elements into the service, and I enjoyed those elements. However, in the middle of the ceremony, they included portions of the traditional, classic wedding ceremony. When I began to hear the words from the traditional ceremony, my attention perked up and I was moved. I remember thinking, “There is no way to improve on this because the words are so beautiful and meaningful.” A great deal of thought and care had been put into those old, familiar words.

Today, of course, many young people not only are saying no to the traditional wedding ceremony, they are rejecting the concept of marriage itself. More and more young people are coming from broken homes, and as a result, they have a fear and suspicion about the value of marriage. So we see couples living together rather than marrying for fear that the cost of that commitment may be too much. They fear it may make them too vulnerable. This means that one of the most stable and, as we once thought, permanent traditions of our culture is being challenged.

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With Redefinition of Marriage, America’s Very Survival Is at Risk

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

Lynn Wardle, writer for CNSNews, warns: “When marriage is de-valued or marginalized all of society is at risk. When families are weakened, our entire society, our freedoms, our prosperity, and our way of life also are endangered.”  Wardle writes:

It is not unlikely that future scholars of social history will identify the public policy controversies in the United States concerning the legal meaning of marriage as the defining social issue for this generation of Americans.  Certainly, it has been one of the most, if not the most, divisive, contentious, and fervently debated issues in America during the first sixteen years of the twenty-first century.

Supporters of the legalization of so-called same-sex “marriage” will note that by the time the Supreme Court of the United States decreed in June 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. __, 135 S.Ct. 2584 (2015), that all American states (and, by clear implication, the federal government as well) must permit and recognize same-sex marriage, same-sex couples already could marry in more than two-thirds of the states.

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It Gets Worse: Bill Clinton Paid To Install Hillary’s Private Server With Taxpayer Money

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Breitbart reports:

Bill ClintonFormer president Bill Clinton used taxpayer funds from cash provided to him as an ex-president to pay for employees to set up the family’s private email server, according to a new report from Politico.

Clinton drew money from the General Services account to pay part of his aide Justin Cooper’s salary — the same person who helped set up a private email server in Clinton’s home.

It goes deeper.

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Elevation’s Code Orange Revival – 10 Day Heresy Parade Coming Soon

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What Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen describes as “the hurricane of heresy and panoply of prevarication” known as Code Orange Revival is baaaack.  A few years ago Ken Silva referred to COR as a devival of “Seeker Driven/attractional people-pleasing” event with “celebrity preachers, loud worship music and subsequent emotional highs.” Now we learn that COR will return to prophet-preacher Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church.  Maples has the story:

Code Orange RevivalRemember a few years ago when Matt Chandler rained on Steven Furtick’s parade? It was at Elevation Church’s 2012 Code Orange Revival. Chandler was invited as a guest speaker at, well, except for Chandler himself, this perfidious event adorned with scripture-twisting fabricators of false glory. Furtick, who is well known for reading himself into a biblical text, yet only in places where he clearly doesn’t belong, it appears, has cleaned his hands of anyone willing to challenge his false theology of what our friend Chris Rosebrough calls “narcigesis” (narcissistic eisegesis). We’re not sure why Chandler was ever invited in the first place, though it could be due to his charismatic leanings. But we’re sure of one thing–he won’t be invited back.

Fast forward four years later. The hurricane of heresy and panoply of prevarication in 2016 will be painful, to say the least, to anyone with any sense of biblical discernment, and love for God. The ten-day event will end with a two-day female festival of falseness that includes well-known charlatan and purveyor of “another gospel,” Joyce Meyer, and Word of Faith pastrix out of Hillsong, Australia, Christine Caine. Other speakers include Craig Groeschel, Louie Giglio, Carl Lentz, Dharius Daniels, John Gray, Levi Lusko, and of course, Elevation Church’s very own swindler of diabolical debauchery, Steven Furtick.

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Original Sin, Total Depravity, and Free Will

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10 (NASB) 

Sacred Scripture’s diagnosis of sin is as a universal deformity of human nature found at every point in every person (1 Kings 8:46; Romans 3:9-23; 7:18; 1 John 1:8-10 see above). Both the Old Testament and the New Testament describe sin as rebellion against God’s rule, missing the mark God set for us to aim at, transgressing God’s law, offending God’s purity by defiling oneself, and incurring guilt before God the Judge. The moral deformity is dynamic: sin is an energy of irrational, negative, and rebellious reaction to God. It is a spirit of fighting God in order to play god. The root of sin is pride and enmity against God, the spirit seen in Adam’s first transgression, and sinful acts always have behind them thoughts and desires that one way or another express the willful opposition of the fallen heart to God’s claims on our lives. View article →