If Hillary Had Been A Soldier In the Army, Here’s How She’d Be Treated

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

David French of National Review believes that the best-case scenario would be that Mrs. Clinton would lose her security clearance and get kicked out of the Army.  He writes:

Hillary ClintonThe double standards are painful. I served ten years as an Army lawyer, and one of my responsibilities was advising the command on matters of military justice, including incidents where soldiers mishandled classified information. And if Hillary Clinton was a soldier, she would lose her security clearance, face administrative action, and face the specter of criminal prosecution. I’ve not only seen the pattern, I’ve also participated in the process. Here’s how it would work.

Imagine for a moment that an officer downrange in Afghanistan comes across timely drone footage of suspected insurgents — information that would be clearly Secret (if not Top Secret) at the moment of inception. Unfortunately, however, she doesn’t have immediate access to SIPRNet (for Secret) or JWICS (for Top Secret), so she grabs her iPhone — which is on the base’s civilian WiFi system — and bangs out a text message to a superior officer. She doesn’t describe exactly what she’s seeing, but from context, the message is plain. Shoot or don’t shoot? She needs a decision.

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Federal Judge Blocks Florida Law Defunding Abortion Giant Planned Parenthood

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Christian News Network reports:

A federal judge has blocked key parts of a Florida law that, among other aspects, prohibits funds from going to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood.

As previously reported, House Bill 1411 reallocates funds that abortion providers had been receiving as Medicaid reimbursement, and prohibits the government from contracting with organizations that offer abortion services—with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Florida abortion facilities receive approximately $200,0000 a year in Medicaid funds.

“A state agency, a local governmental entity, or a managed care plan … may not expend funds for the benefit of, pay funds to, or initiate or renew a contract with an organization that owns, operates, or is affiliated with one or more clinics,” the bill reads.

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The Doctrine of Imputation, Treasure, and Dung

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 NASB)

The doctrine of imputation is under severe attack in our day. Those who have made the mistake of seeking a peace with those who desire to change or do away with this doctrine have erred egregiously. This doctrine must never be compromised. Why? The changes certain people desire to make to this doctrine would change our justification from being according to faith alone to a combination of faith and works. According to Galatians 5:3, this would make us obligated to keep the whole law, which none of us can do. Only our Lord Jesus Christ kept the commandments perfectly, therefore, His righteousness is imputed to those who trust in His obedience to be justified. View article →

Rachel Held Evans and Homosexuality

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ , ,

Wolf in sheep's clothingGlenn Chatfield of The Watchman’s Bagpipes takes on Christian author, blogger, and speaker Rachel Held Evans for her unbiblical response to the recent terrorist attack in Orlando.  Outraged by the event, and rightly so, Evans posted a commentary on Facebook to show her support for homosexuals.  In doing so, she chastised Christians who come out and say what the scriptures clearly teach regarding sexual sin. Held, who is emergent, doesn’t like it because, in her view, those who hold that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God “hurt LGBT people every day.

Chatfield does a stellar job dissecting Evans’ commentary.

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Two More Ways Hillary Clinton Committed Perjury At Benghazi Committee

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According to Breitbart:

Hillary Clinton appears to have perjured herself before the House Select Committee on Benghazi in at least three ways: first, by stating that she had turned over “all my work related emails” from her private email server to the government; second, by insisting there was “nothing marked classified on my e-mails”; and third, by telling the committee that her attorneys “went through every single e-mail.” FBI director James Comey’s statement Tuesday suggests none of those statements were true.

On Tuesday, Breitbart News published the relevant portion of the transcript of Clinton’s testimony dealing with the question of whether she had turned over her work-related emails. The other two instances in which Clinton perjured herself arose in her statements to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)…

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Judge Grants Injunction Against Indiana Law Banning Abortion of Down Syndrome Children

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Christian News Network reports:

A federal judge has granted an injunction against an Indiana law that bans the murder of unborn children based on a Down Syndrome diagnosis or any other disability, but stops short of ending all abortion in the state.

As previously reported, H.B. 1337 was signed into law in March to protect babies that would otherwise be killed because of an adverse diagnosis.

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For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. (John 3:34 NASB)

34 ὃν γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ θεοῦ λαλεῖ, οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσιν τὸ πνεῦμα. (John 3:34 NA28)

In John 3:1-21 our Lord spoke the words of God to “ a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” In this passage our Lord clears the table and tells it like it is. He tells Nicodemus in v3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Of course, Nicodemus doesn’t “get it at first and asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” in v4 and, “How can these things be?” in v9. In between those two perplexed questions, our Lord, the Λόγος or logos or Word, the living Christian proclamation as a whole of the New Testament proclaimed τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ or “the words of God” to Nicodemus in a way that he had never heard before. He said,”Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” As we read in John 3:34 (above), He spoke or uttered the ῥήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ to this man and all who read John 3. What did he say? Only those born again are part of the Kingdom of God and to be born again is to born of the Spirit. Notice carefully that this rebirth is not something controlled by or contained by or comprehended by people of the flesh. Everyone truly born of the Spirit are so by the work of the Holy Spirit not by the works of men. These are the ῥήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ. View article →

FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

According Andrew “Andy” C. McCarthy’s bio he is a “former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and of planning a series of attacks against New York City landmarks. He also contributed to the prosecutions of terrorists who bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.”

Following is Andy McCarthy’s take on Director Comey’s recommendation against prosecuting Hillary Clinton on the grounds that there was “no intent to harm the United States:

There is no way of getting around this: According to Director James Comey (disclosure: a former colleague and longtime friend of mine), Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code (Title 18): With lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody, and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it, in patent violation of her trust. Director Comey even conceded that former Secretary Clinton was “extremely careless” and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications (her own and those she corresponded with) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services.

Yet, Director Comey recommended against prosecution of the law violations he clearly found on the ground that there was no intent to harm the United States.

In essence, in order to give Mrs. Clinton a pass, the FBI rewrote the statute, inserting an intent element that Congress did not require. The added intent element, moreover, makes no sense: The point of having a statute that criminalizes gross negligence is to underscore that government officials have a special obligation to safeguard national defense secrets; when they fail to carry out that obligation due to gross negligence, they are guilty of serious wrongdoing. The lack of intent to harm our country is irrelevant. People never intend the bad things that happen due to gross negligence.

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The Rotten Fruit of the NAR

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙ , , ,

(Marsha West – Christian Research Network)  To fully grasp all the reasons the New Apostolic Reformation is such a dangerous movement and why discernment bloggers incessantly warn about this cult I’m going to take an excerpt from a piece I wrote a few years ago entitled “Dominionists are on the move…and they mean business.”  I began with a quote from NAR’s Grand Poohbah, C. Peter Wagner:

Once we have the apostles in place, we will then bring the intercessors and the prophets into the inner circle, and we will end up with the spiritual core we need to move ahead for retaking the dominion that is rightfully ours.

Wagner was speaking of modern-day apostles and prophets.  What did he mean by taking dominion that is rightly ours?  I’ll reveal his plans in a moment.

But first, I must urge readers to take Wagner and other NAR/word-faith wolves seriously. Moreover, it is imperative that Bible believers fully understand the inner workings of the NAR in order to, “recognize them by their [rotten] fruit.” (Mat. 7:16)

Listen to the words of Charles Spurgeon:

If you wish to know God, you must know His Word. If you wish to perceive His power, you must see how He works by His Word. If you wish to know His purpose, before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word.  (H/T Bud Ahlheim)

Lastly, while reading this, keep in mind that many NARwolves have been appointed to Donald Trump’s Christian Advisory Board along with several Southern Baptist luminaries.

Dominionists are on the move…and they mean business (2011)

The NAR has a plan and a purpose.  They believe that they have a mandate from God to restore the office of Apostles and Prophets and advance the Kingdom of God.  According to Albert James Dager “dominion theology is predicated upon three basic beliefs: 1) Satan usurped man’s dominion over the earth through the temptation of Adam and Eve; 2) The Church is God’s instrument to take dominion back from Satan; 3) Jesus cannot or will not return until the Church has taken dominion by gaining control of the earth’s governmental and social institutions. (Source)

So – the NAR/dominionist’s goal is to transform society into the kingdom of God on earth.  How?  By controlling various aspects of society.  The term they use is the “Seven Mountains,” or “Seven Spheres” of society.  The Seven Mountains are: 1) Arts and Entertainment; 2) Business/Economy; 3) Education; 4) Family; 5) Government; 6) Media; 7) Religion.   The NAR holds that as they accomplish ridding the world of evil, things will get better and better and then Jesus Christ will return to set up His kingdom.

The goals of the CR and the NAR seem like a good idea, right? I mean, who could argue with wanting to influence the seven spheres of society that are dominated by secular humanists.  Christians are not wrong in desiring to have a society based on Judeo-Christian principles.  But here’s the problem.  This “mandate” the NAR mob subscribes to did not come from the Lord Jesus Christ.  In John 18:36 Jesus made it clear: “My kingdom is not of this world.”

However, dominionists never let a little thing like what Jesus said get in the way of their lofty goals.  One of the most troubling aspects of their “theology” is the unbiblical teaching on spiritual warfare.  They believe they have a kingdom mandate to do “strategic-level spiritual warfare” which is “a popular charismatic method of casting out demons from geographical locations or territories.  It identifies three levels of demonic control on earth.  Firstly, are “Ground-Level” demons, which possess people.  Secondly, “Occult-Level” demons empower witches, shamans, magicians.  Finally, “Strategic-Level” demons which are the most powerful of the three, are said to rule over certain regions or territories.  Their main purpose is to hinder people from coming to Christ.” (Source)

Hence, dominionists go hither and yon to do strategic-level spiritual warfare to tear down demonic strongholds established by Satan and his demons.  This is not local; it’s global.

Mainstreaming A Cult

Discernment ministries such as Deception in the Church, Let Us Reason, and Herescope have been reporting on the apostate Latter Rain, now the NAR, for decades.  The Latter Rain holds that God is pouring out His Spirit just as He did at Pentecost and is using believers to prepare the world for His Second Coming.  The name has been changed numerous times.  “Presiding Apostle” C. Peter Wagner is the one who dubbed it the New Apostolic Reformation.

Some pro-family organizations such as the AFA, the Family Research Council and Liberty Counsel have joined forces with the NAR to fight the culture war. Until recently not many folks were paying attention – but they are now.  Why?  Because the CR has brought the NAR cult into the mainstream.

In A Warning About Latter Day Apostles Herescope’s Orrel Steinkamp gives us some background info on Wagner: 

This restoration teaching percolated on the back burners of the Charismatic Renewal for years, but it was never promoted heavily and no one attempted to systematically implement it on a worldwide scale.  Into this vacuum has stepped  C. Peter Wagner [who is now deceased] as a central personality.  Wagner has given organizational and promotional impetus to this so-called restoration and has taken bold steps to implement apostolic restoration to a wider Global Church–as a result he is positioned to have a greater influence than many other promoters of apostolic restoration.

Beginning with his association with John Wimber, Wagner moved quickly into charismatic Christianity.  He has systematized certain charismatic spiritual warfare practices and developed his strategic warfare mentality etc.  He also promoted what he called the “Third Wave.”  In this “Third Wave” he saw generic evangelicals getting involved with signs and wonders without adopting traditional Pentecostal Theology.  He has a broad Evangelical pedigree and has notoriety as a former missiologist at Fuller seminary.  He is the recognized heir and successor to Donald McGavern, the founding father of all church growth teaching.  In addition to being a co-founder of the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs, he is the founding president of Global Harvest Ministries, which is responsible for the “United Prayer Track” of AD2000 and Beyond” as well as many other missions related activities outside the AD2000 organization.  The Billy Graham Lausan conference adopted Wagner’s missions/evangelism agenda.  And he is now in association with many holdovers from the Latter Rain of the 50’s who got a new lease on life in the Charismatic Renewal. Bishop (also prophet and apostle) Bill Hamon is a significant name in this regard.

Pinocchio’s Nose

In a piece I wrote (here) I said that the CR was uniting with cultists.  Wagner was indignant that I referred to the NAR as a cult.  Within days he sent AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM PETER to his mailing list explaining what the NAR is and is not.  Is it a cult, as I claimed?  No, he said. “The NAR is definitely not a cult.” He went on to say:

Those who affiliate with it believe the Apostles’ Creed and all the standard classic statements of Christian doctrine. It will surprise some to know that the NAR embraces the largest non-Catholic segment of world Christianity. It is also the fastest growing segment, the only segment of Christianity currently growing faster than the world population and faster than Islam.

The NAR is not an organization. No one can join or carry a card. It has no leader. I have been called the “founder,” but this is not the case. One reason I might be seen as an “intellectual godfather” is that I might have been the first to observe the movement, give a name to it, and describe its characteristics as I saw them. … The roots of the NAR go back to the beginning of the African Independent Church Movement in 1900, the Chinese House Church Movement beginning in 1976, the U.S. Independent Charismatic Movement beginning in the 1970s and the Latin American Grassroots Church Movement beginning around the same time. I was neither the founder nor a member of any of these movements, I was simply a professor who observed that they were the fastest growing churches in their respective regions and that they had a number of common characteristics.” (Source)

Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason responded to Wagner’s explanation in a piece entitled “A Case of Pinocchio’s Nose”: 

Wagner is claiming he does not want to be labeled a cult. He, as a teacher, ignores the fact that there are cults within Christianity that do confess many of the tenets of the apostle’s creed on paper, they just don’t implement them in practice. Cult expert, Walter Martin, says Oppenheimer described a cult as “a group of people gathered about a specific persons [sic] interpretation of the bible… from a theological view point, the cults contain not only a few major deviations from historic Christianity.”  Moreover, “A cult in its most simplistic meaning operates in falsehood, either theologically, sociologically or both (in beliefs and practices). Some are theologically dangerous others are sociologically dangerous. Not all cults are physically harmful, but they are harmful spiritually. While the cults more often operate using control, they also operate in falsehood and will have secrets that are not public. They claim to have a new or better way applied to various aspects of Christianity, more often about salvation. This aspect is seen in the NAR as they state the church will not succeed without incorporating their apostles and prophets.” (emphasis added) 

Tap Dancing 

Recently [2011]Wagner appeared on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air.   The tap dance he did around the truth could rival Fred Astaire who made tap dancing seem effortless.  Granted, he did answer some of host Terry Gross’ questions straightforwardly.  For example, he admitted that the NAR’s influence at The Response  was “fairly strong and that it was a significant step forward in NAR’s work in America.”  This is a chilling thought!

When asked about his close friend Ted Haggard’s homosexual drug-fueled trysts with a male prostitute while pastoring the 10,000 member New Life Church, he lamented:

But when his homosexuality was revealed, it was a devastating blow to me, because not only was he pastor of this influential church, he was president of the National Association of Evangelicals. And he was a representative of all of us, and we all had a great deal of confidence in him.

When asked about the NAR’S Seven Mountain mandate, he made Fred Astaire look like a novice:

In terms of taking dominion, we don’t – we wouldn’t want to – we use the word dominion, but we wouldn’t want to say that we have dominion as if we’re the owners or we’re the rulers of, let’s say, the arts and entertainment mountain.

What we strive to do, and our goal is to have people in the arts and entertainment mountain who are committed to the kingdom of God. So therefore, we use the adjective they’re kingdom-minded believers, and we – our goal is to try to have as many kingdom-minded believers in positions of influence in the arts and entertainment mountain as possible. And the reason for that is to help bring the blessings of heaven to all those in the arts and entertainment mountain.

To help bring blessings?  Really?  Then why did Wagner teach the following during a conference?: 

Dominion has to do with control. Dominion has to do with rulership. Dominion has to do with authority and subduing and it relates to society. In other words, what the values are in heaven need to be made manifest here on earth. Dominion means being the head and not the tail. Dominion means ruling as kings. It says in Revelation Chapter 1:6 that He has made us kings and priests, and check the rest of that verse.  It says “for dominion.” So we are kings for dominion.   (Source)

Wagner also wrote in a newsletter:

The kingdom of God furnishes the template for our stream. We believe that God’s desire for this season can be discerned through ‘The Dominion Mandate’ and ‘The 7-M Mandate.’ Chuck [Pierce] has laid groundwork through his books, The Future War of the Church and God’s Unfolding Battle Plan. I have been doing the same through The Church in the Workplace and Dominion! We want to provide a viable opportunity for apostolic alignment for leaders who minister in all seven mountains….

We feel that Global Spheres, Inc., will fill a gap for many who believe in the direction that Chuck, Doris and I are taking into the future, and who desire official alignment with us as their apostolic leaders. We do not want it to be a traditional, religious organization, but rather an aligned network of leaders from all seven spheres that make up societal structures. This is a way that we can do our part toward fulfilling the Dominion Mandate.” [emphases and links added by Herescope] (Source)

Recommended Resources:

Dominionism/NAR

Peter Wagner: Takes the Kingdom Message to NPR’s “Fresh Air”–by Sarah Leslie

Spiritual Warfare Evangelism: How Did We Get Here?–by Orrel Steinkamp, The Plumbline, Volume 6, No. 5 – November/December 2001

Peter Wagner Quotes—Deception in the Church

Peter Wagner on taking Dominion—Herescope, November 2, 2005

The Coming Kingdom—“Apostle” Rick Joyner explains what the kingdom of God on earth will look like.  Joyner is frequently linked to pro-family conservatives.

Apostolic letter by C. Peter Wagner, May 31 2007

Copyright by Marsha West.

A Dustup at UNC Over Christmas Vacation and Other Microaggressions

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

According to The Daily Signal, UNC has 50 elected delegates who are nonfaculty employees that exists to develop “proactive, progressive recommendations” for the administration.  What a surprise!  Andrew Egger informs us what the dust up was all about:

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill caused an outcry when it published “microaggression guidelines” on a college forum. Although UNC quickly removed the post from public view, some students say the standards represent positive change.

The post on microaggressions, removed quickly after it was published last week on UNC’s online Employee Forum, cautioned employees against “brief and commonplace” displays of “implicit bias,” such as sex-specific dress codes, staff meetings at country clubs, religious vacations, and the phrase “that’s so gay.”

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Transgender British athletes born male set to make Olympic history by competing in the games as women

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ , ,

Two males who identify as female (but will never become female because a person’s DNA determines their gender) will compete against legitimate females for Olympic gold. Naturally the Left hails their inclusion in the games a “remarkable human victory.” MailOnline has the story:

Two British athletes born male are on the verge of making history by competing in women’s events at next month’s Olympic Games, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

If selected, the unnamed pair will become the world’s first transgender Olympians at Rio.

But worryingly for British sports fans, they have revealed they are so fearful of being exposed and ridiculed under the Olympic spotlight, they would ‘probably drop back’ if they found themselves in a medal-winning position.

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Who are apostates?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

12 “If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13 some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14 then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. (Deuteronomy 13:12-15 NASB)

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; 2 He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. 3 For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, 8 DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, 9 WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. 10 “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; 11 AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'” 12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:1-13 NASB)

It must have been about eight or nine years ago that I was in a discussion on this blog after I had written a piece about some of the confusing things coming from the ministry of Dr. John Piper and others. I made the comment to one of my friends that I thought that Dr. Piper needed to show the fruits of repentance for some of the things he had said and done or he would eventually be considered an apostate. Someone not in that conversation (a bottom feeder or troll??) jumped all over that statement and condemned me for calling Dr. Piper an apostate which he refused to consider because (according to him) an apostate is one who drops all pretense of Christianity and walks away from his faith. Using that reasoning those who continue to claim to be Christians even though they preach heresies such as Modalism (T.D. Jakes for instance) or deny the necessity of the Atonement and Justification by Faith alone and the reality of Hell (Rob Bell for instance) or those who insist on Christianity that is forever changing according to whatever society demands or wants (pragmatism) and insist that doctrine is not needed, but works is what God wants (Rick Warren for instance) are Christians along with the Roman Catholics, Mormans, and anyone else who claims that they are. Of course then there are those fellas (Steven Furtick, and James MacDonald for instance) who are all about erecting “cool” idolatrous worship which is really all about themselves and they sell this product to other wannabe preacherboys who want to be rich and famous like them. Do you see the common denominator in all this? Is any of what these people do about God and his glory? Is it about the edification of the Body of Christ through the genuine worship of God for his glory alone? No, it is about making money and becoming famous while fleecing the sheep who have been duped into thinking its all about the gospel. Have you noticed that these people never talk about the gospel without talking about money? View article →

America’s Founding Changed Human History Forever

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

“And we have no excuse for not passing on its singular importance to the next generation,” reminds Charles C.W. Cooke in a piece over at National Review.  He writes:

Independence DayToday is my son’s first Independence Day.

He doesn’t know that, of course, because he’s only three-and-a-half months old. But my wife and I do, and we’ve attempted to mark the occasion nevertheless — in loco filius, if you will. As such, Jack will be dressed in a special onesie (stylized picture of a milk bottle, “Come and Take It” tagline); he will wear his Old Glory sun hat; and he will be involved in all the festivities that the family has to offer. Naturally, none of this will make even the slightest bit of sense to him; as a matter of fact, today will be the same as is any other day in the life of a baby, just with more people around and a surfeit of BBQ. But you have to start somewhere, right?

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The Great American Divide

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ , ,

“America is still America,” says Robert Knight, “a beacon of liberty. Millions of Americans are raising families, working hard, living out their faith, and trying to ignore the ruling elites’ siren song of enlightened debauchery and government dependency. We have much to be thankful for.”  In a piece Knight penned for The Washington Times he brings to our attention the Left’s “full-throated liberal assault on God, reason and American liberty, dressed in the language of “equality,” “fairness” and “tolerance.”  Knight begins:

A guest speaker at a suburban Maryland church, I mounted the pulpit after a color guard had gone down the aisle with Old Glory. The congregation applauded those who had served in the armed forces. Then they settled in for what they hoped would be a Christian-themed patriotic message.

I started with humor, but soon fell into a jeremiad about how we were losing America’s culture war, turning us into a nation that our Founders wouldn’t recognize. It did not go over well. As I shook hands with people filing out, very few looked me in the eye. My wife later told me in a somewhat diplomatic tone, “it was a real downer, Bob.”

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Christian Mingle to Allow Homosexual Matching Following Discrimination Suit

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Christian News Network reports:

A dating site known as Christian Mingle has agreed to open its website for matching homosexuals following a class-action discrimination suit filed in federal court.

Being a Christian-identifying site, Christian Mingle currently only offers the options of a “man seeking a woman” or a “woman seeking a man.” But two homosexual men who went to the site found that it did not provide an option for those seeking a romantic relationship with the same sex.

They sued Spark Networks, Inc., the parent company of Christian Mingle, alleging a violation of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which requires businesses to provide services regardless of one’s “sexual orientation.”

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Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

15 Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ· (1 John 2:15 NA28)

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

If we are not prayerful and become careless in our own abiding in our Lord, we can become distracted and then susceptible to the wiles of our enemy to become discouraged and even despair about the strangeness and growing apostasy in the visible church. On the other hand, when we are in the heat of battle and God is using us, it is amazing how clear we can see the compromise all around us. We see believers with a love for truth and a profession of faith, but also with a love for this world and the things of this world that becomes evident in those compromises. When this takes place in “Christian leadership” what are the evidences we should look for? Are there consistent ones that obviously point to ones that we can say, “Blindness has blinded his eyes?” View article →

Jesus and God the Father are one.

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

30 ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν. (John 10:30 NA28)

30 “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

I read the following paragraph from one of my devotions the other day, “Visible disunity in the church is the worst it has ever been, but we must take care not to think that God’s people were once fully and visibly united on all matters of Christian living. Christians may have the Holy Spirit, but they are not free from sin in this life, and living in community with other believers always leads to disagreements…” Please notice that I am not writing this in defense of those certain so-called “Christian leaders” who “tweet” unbiblical and misleading things such as, “Spirit-led people can emphasize & interpret things differently. See FOUR Gospels! Your opinion isn’t the only Christian one.” My brethren, yes, there are four Gospels, but they are not four different “Christian opinions” nor are they in any way doctrinally opposed. That devotional that I quoted above went on to say that genuine Christians may indeed differ on many things, but not when it comes to true doctrinal issues such as the deity of Christ, the Gospel, our Lord’s Resurrection, Salvation by Faith through Grace alone, et cetera. As always, we must keep things in context. That passage I quoted above (John 10:30) seems enigmatic to some and I am sure some heretics have abused it, therefore, let us look at John 10:22-42. View article →

Pro-Lifers on Supreme Court Abortion Case: “We’re Coming Back in Full Force”

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The Daily Signal reports:

Members of the pro-life movement standing outside the Supreme Court on Monday were visibly discouraged by the 5-3 decision striking down a Texas law that imposed health and safety regulations on abortion clinics. But those activists showed no signs that they intend to back down from the battle over abortion in the United States.

“The pro-life generation is stronger than ever before,” Maddie Schulte, a regional coordinator at Students for Life, told The Daily Signal outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. “I’m excited to see what comes next. We’re coming back full force.”

“We believe in life,” added Anja Scheib, a programs intern for Students for Life. “Millennials,” in particular, she said, “are becoming more pro-life.”

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LGBT Crowd Eyes Preschool Children

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According to Fox News, homosexual activists are now pushing to brainwash preschool-aged children:

When enrolling your children in preschool, a curriculum check will now be mandatory.

“There was once a time when it was unthinkable to even mention the topic of homosexuality in a school setting,” said one pro-family activist.

A new web series called “Queer Kids Stuff” aimed at preschoolers (yes, you read that right) is now attempting to teach those barely out of diapers what the phrases “gay,” “bisexual,” and “transgender” mean.

In the  opening minutes of the first show, the host tells a teddy bear, as well as innocent viewers, that “gay means love.”

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James Dobson Reveals Who He Believes Led Donald Trump to Christ

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Marsha West, General Editor CRN

Marsha West, General Editor CRN

For many months there has been a lot of speculation over whether or not Donald Trump is an evangelical Christian, as he claims.  During a recent interview with Pastor Michael Anthony of GodFactor.com, Dr. James Dobson remarked that Donald Trump “did accept a relationship with Christ” and that he is a “baby Christian.” Moreover, Dobson said that he knows who the person is that led Trump to Christ.

Not surprisingly there was a big brouhaha over Dobson’s comments.  Inquiring minds wanted to know who that person was.  So to tamp things down a bit Dr. Dobson released the following statement on his website, Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk:

Only the Lord knows the condition of a person’s heart.  I can only tell you what I’ve heard.  First, Trump appears to be tender to things of the Spirit.  I also hear that Paula White has known Trump for years and that she personally led him to Christ.  Do I know that for sure?  No.  Do I know the details of that alleged conversion?  I can’t say that I do.  But there are many Christian leaders who are serving on a faith advisory committee for Trump in the future.  I am among them.  There are about 25 of us that include Jerry Falwell, Jr., Robert Jeffress, Jack Graham, Ben Carson, James Robison, Michele Bachmann, and many others whom you would probably know.  We’ve all agreed to serve. How will that play out if Trump becomes president?   I don’t know.  It is a good start, I would think.

If anything, this man is a baby Christian who doesn’t have a clue about how believers think, talk and act.  All I can tell you is that we have only two choices, Hillary or Donald.  Hillary scares me to death.  And, if Christians stay home because he isn’t a better candidate, Hillary will run the world for perhaps eight years.  The very thought of that haunts my nights and days.  One thing is sure:  we need to be in prayer for our nation at this time of crisis.

Dr. James Dobson

The faith advisory board Dr. Dobson mentioned in his statement includes Southern Baptist leaders such as Ronnie Floyd, Richard Land, Robert Jeffress and David Jeremiah as well as Word of Faith (WoF) and New Apostolic Reformation heretics. (See the full list here.)  Not surprisingly, pastrix Paula White is also on Trump’s board.

It is no secret that Paula White is a WoF prosperity preacher.  Sad to say that any person that rejects the true Gospel of Christ and embraces WoF’s false health & wealth gospel, as she does, is not a regenerate (born again) Christian.  In fact, those who have bought into WoF beliefs are caught up in a cult.  WoF is not historic orthodox Christianity — not even close!  Its teaching on faith is right out of the New Age playbook:

Faith is a tangible force. This force is released through the spoken word, thus name-it-and-claim-it. When we speak words of faith, power is discharged that will accomplish our desires. Through faith we can have health, wealth, success – anything we want!

Moreover…

Alleged laws of the universe can be manipulated independent of God. Does this mean God is subject to the laws He created? According to word-faith theology, yes. (Source)

In 2012 Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries reported the following on pastrix Paula:

White drives a Mercedes-Benz and flies around the country in a private jet. She lives in a $2.1 million mansion on Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard and has a Fifth Avenue condo in Trump Tower in New York City. The ministries took in $39.9 million in 2006, according to an audit of Without Walls and Paula White Ministries released in June by an independent Clearwater accounting firm.

About $28.6 million helped promote the church’s programs, conferences and outreach efforts, the audit said. Other expenses covered management and fundraising… White’s salary was not detailed, but her publicist says she has multiple streams of income outside the ministry…

And for his 50th birthday in June, White sent [WoF modalist T.D.] Jakes a black convertible Bentley. It was intended to be a quiet gift, White said, but an overzealous member of Jakes’ ministry shouted out the news at the retail show.

“Some people thought ‘Why would you do that?’ ”White later explained, saying that Jakes is her spiritual father. “I thought, ‘Well, why wouldn’t I?’ That’s not even an option.” (Source)

Silva just described the person who allegedly led Donald Trump to faith in Christ.  And if it’s true that it was Paula White, as Dr. Dobson seems to think, then we can surmise from what we know about this woman, that Donald Trump did not hear the true Gospel of Christ from her.  Sadly, what he heard instead was the false prosperity gospel that saves no one.

I’ll close with a warning from the Apostle Paul:

But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron… 1 Tim. 4:1,2

Related:

5 Most Sickening Parts of Trump’s Meeting With Evangelical Leaders by Rebecca Cusey

James Dobson Walks Back Assertion Trump Is Christian: ‘Do I Know That for Sure? No.’ by Heather Clark

T.D. Jakes Spiritual Daughter Paula White Teaching Word Faith Positive Confession 6-26-11 — video

The Pentagon’s New Policy on Transgender Soldiers Is Pure Social Engineering

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David French of National Review brings to light what the Left has in store for the U.S. armed forces — and the loons are just warming up. French bristles, “God help the Army doctor or medical professional who refuses to facilitate a servicemember’s ‘transition.’ Good luck being a chaplain preaching about the created order if there is a prickly leftist around.”  He writes:

Photo courtesy US Defense Watch (usdefensewatch.com)

Photo courtesy US Defense Watch (usdefensewatch.com)

In the year’s most predictable political move, the Pentagon has ended its ban on transgender soldiers serving in the military. There is no conceivable military justification for this move. The actual and potential transgender military population is tiny (the “upper end” estimate of 11,000 is hilariously exaggerated), the medical procedures for “transitioning” are hideously expensive, and the entire process can take soldiers out of the fight for extended periods.

But this move isn’t about national security, it’s about social engineering. Many members of the military will spend their entire careers without encountering a single transgender soldier, but they will endure hour upon hour of diversity training and thought control. Every time the military makes a move like this, it follows its pronouncements with briefings — so very many briefings. I was a brigade judge advocate when the military lifted its ban on openly gay servicemembers, and we were all treated to the full range of stern lectures about tolerance and diversity.

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Related: Pentagon’s Transgender Policy Defies Common Sense by Roger Severino

 

Who May Speak, After Orlando?

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Certainly not Bible believing Christians!  Immediately after the Islamic terrorist attack inside a bar frequented by homosexuals, the blame was placed on Christians because they allegedly promote hate against the LGBTQGN (GN in anticipation of “gender neutral”) community.  Christians who affirm that all Scripture is God breathed are unfairly accused of violence via “violent” speech, says Peter Jones of truthXchange.  So, quoting Scripture is deemed violent speech?  According to liberals it is.  In another excellent blog post by Dr. Jones, he warns that our free speech is at stake. He writes:

Who has a right to speak out about homosexuality after the Orlando Gay Bar massacre, and what should be said? It is tempting for Christians who hold to the biblical condemnation of homosexuality to go silent, but is that right?
One group that does not hesitate is ISIS, which from the beginning has openly claimed responsibility, describing the gunman as one of its heroic fighters. Various Islamic spokesmen, like Fahad Qureshi, admitted in 2013 that the desire to see homosexuals killed was a belief held even by “moderate” Muslims. Just weeks before Orlando, Muslim cleric Sheikh Farrokh Sekaleshfar, during a sermon at an Orlando-area mosque, called for gays to be executed “out of compassion.” In the same vein, the front page of an Islamic Turkish newspaper (with links to the country’s President Erdoğan) justifies the killing,calling those who died in the Orlando mass shooting “perverts” and “deviants.”

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California bill would ultimately erase religious schools

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If this bill passes, students will have grounds to sue religious schools for teaching their religion because they teach “discrimination.” Whatever happened to freedom of religion, inquires Holly Scheer of The Federalist.  She writes:

People used to expect that attending something sponsored by religious organization required abiding by mores and behavior that religious body professes. There was a simple option for avoiding the ideas or practices of a belief system you don’t agree with: don’t frequent their space. This courteous expectation naturally applied to all religions and expressions of faith.

California is now attempting to end this system of free association that allows people to define their local and religious cultures. California Senate Bill 1146 (SB 1146), which is slated for a vote Tuesday, seeks to limit the religious exemptions from federal Title IX regulations that colleges and universities use for hiring instructors, teaching classes, and conducting student services in line with their faith. Under SB 1146, a college would be eligible for an exemption only for training pastors or theology teachers.

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The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not man’s gospel

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

11 Γνωρίζω γὰρ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν κατὰ ἄνθρωπον· 12 οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ παρὰ ἀνθρώπου παρέλαβον αὐτὸ οὔτε ἐδιδάχθην, ἀλλὰ διʼ ἀποκαλύψεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. (Galatians 1:11-12 NA28)

11 For I make known to you brothers, the gospel that I preached, is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

The εὐαγγέλιον or euaggelion, which the word “gospel” above translates, means “good message” or “good news.” What Paul stated in Galatians 1:11-12 is vital for us to grasp. Those of us who are in Christ can proclaim this εὐαγγέλιον for it is a message of very good news about something our Lord Jesus Christ has done on our behalf, but we cannot “be the gospel” nor can we “live the gospel.” It is a message of Christ’s work of redemption that was successful. He died on that cross and in so doing, His perfect obedience was made available to be imputed to all who believe this εὐαγγέλιον and in so doing, receive Christ as Lord and Saviour in repentance being saved by God’s grace through faith. In this, the Father justifies them, imputing Christ’s perfect righteousness to their account. This is possible because, while he was on that cross, their unrighteousness was imputed to his account and through his death, he became their propitiation. This εὐαγγέλιον is indeed good news because it means Christians do not have to work their way to God. Their salvation according to Ephesians 1,2 is actually God’s work entirely, not theirs. The preaching of the gospel is a call to repent and believe which is how those who do become Christians receive Christ as Lord and Saviour. Now, is that the gospel prevalently heard in the visible church in our time? View article →

Why the Stock Market Shouldn’t Be Used to Judge Brexit

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According to The Daily Signal:

Last week, the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. The U.K.’s earlier decision to stay out of the euro currency (which most, but not all, EU member states use) contains an unexpected lesson about economics and humility.

In 2003, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced that Britain’s economy had not met the five criteria necessary for joining the euro and abandoning the pound.

With the political mood firmly against entry into the euro, pro-euro Prime Minister Tony Blair allowed Brown’s test to stand. Both men favored eventual accession to the euro, but were convinced that economic conditions in the U.K. were sufficiently different than those in mainland Europe that monetary union was risky.

Although the question of euro entry was debated by economists at the time, it is now widely believed that the Bank of England, which issues the pound, performed much better than the European Central Bank in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.

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