Fox News reports:
The Clinton Foundation has accepted millions from Middle Eastern and other foreign governments that criminalize homosexuality – but prominent gay rights groups in America have stayed silent on the apparent disconnect between Hillary Clinton’s rhetoric and the donations.
“Unquestionably, they’re not standing up for their principles,” said Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen.
CNSNews reports:
Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that U.S. efforts have not reduced the “terrorism capability and global reach” of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach,” Brennan said in his written testimony.
Mike Gonzalez of The Daily Signal wonders how a person born and raised in America can turn into a terrorist bent on executing his fellow countrymen. Gonzalez makes the point that Americans need to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. He writes:
Despite signs everywhere that the Orlando massacre has failed to bring the country together, there seems to be a growing consensus on at least one point—considering a return to E Pluribus Unum.
This is a national debate that conservatives have long demanded and should relish having.
3 Συγκακοπάθησον ὡς καλὸς στρατιώτης Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ. (2 Timothy 2:3 NA28)
3 Take your part in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3 translated from the NA28 Greek text)
Over the last few years I have been sorely tempted by our enemy into despairing of this ministry. Why? This happens as my focus goes inward and with that always comes a sense of my sinfulness and unworthiness to even be called a Christian. I look at those whom God uses to feed me spiritually and I see how small I am. How can God use one such as me? What have I done in the past to help me through these times? I look at the biographies of men such as William Tyndale and John Bunyan. Bunyan is a great role model for us. As we read of Bunyan’s early Christian walk, it soon becomes apparent that there are some parallels with how God uses not only me, but many others like me in these dark times. The well educated and those with large ministries are more often then not the ones who are on the road to apostasy just as in Bunyan’s day. Bunyan was barely educated and his only education in theology was from the Word of God and sitting at the feet of his pastor. God raised him up to do a mighty work in the Church, but it was one that involved much suffering.
Breitbart reports:
Thursday at a hearing on CIA intelligence activities, CIA Director John Brennan said ISIS is attempting infiltrate operatives into the West through “refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate methods of travel.”
Brennan said, “Unfortunately, despite all of our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the groups terrorism capability and global reach. The resources needed for terrorism are modest. The group would have to suffer even heaver loses on territory, manpower and money for the terrorist capacity to decline significantly. Moreover the groups foreign branches and global networks can help preserve the capacity for terrorism regardless of events in Iraq and Syria. In fact, as the pressure mounts on ISIL we judge it will intensify it’s global terror campaign to maintain its dominance of the global terrorism agenda.”
Bill Muehlenberg of Culture Watch examines how Islam, Judaism and Christianity view homosexuality. Do all three of these monotheistic religions affirm death for homosexuals? According to Muehlenberg,
Homosexuality is condemned in all three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. While there are some similarities found on this issue in all three, there are also some major differences. Here I wish to focus on just one aspect of this: homosexuality and the death penalty.
In short, Judaism and Islam both call for the death penalty on this, while New Testament Christianity does not. But this needs to be much more fully explained. Part of the reason I raise this issue here is because the enemies of Christianity love to abuse and misuse all this.
Christian News Network reports:
In an incident that some are calling “demonic,” a viral online video shows a California abortionist confronting a man last week with scissors while declaring his love for killing babies and his refusal to turn to Christ.
The confrontation took place at Family Planning Associates in San Diego on Saturday as Zephaniah Mel stood outside of the facility preaching the gospel and calling those inside to repent.
“You’ve got to repent, sir, from murdering babies,” Mel states calmly as he sees abortionist Robert Santella, 72, step outside.
31 νῦν κρίσις ἐστὶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, νῦν ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω· 32 κἀγὼ ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν. 33 τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν. (John 12:31-33 NA28)
31 “Now is the judgment of this world. The ruler of this world will be cast out 32 when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” 33 And in this saying, He was signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. (John 12:31-33 translated from the NA28 Greek text)
In this passage (John 12:12-50) we are in that six-day period leading up to our Lord’s last Passover feast. Of course, we know that He was also crucified just prior to the Sabbath of this week so in these last few days our Lord is done with the confrontational stands against the Jewish religious leaders. Now, He is preparing His disciples for what is coming. They still do not get it. Remember, we look at our Lord’s words of His sovereignty, His deity, and joyful submission to the authority to the Father who, in turn, joyfully gives Him all authority throughout creation because of His obedience. Yes, we see this, but remember, He had not yet gone to the Cross nor had He been resurrected. What is so puzzling to those of us who take God’s good doctrines to heart and defend His Gospel with our all is why there are so many wolves in sheep’s clothing in our time with their huge churches running amuck in the visible church causing, seemingly, much damage. What we must never forget my brethren is that this is nothing new and our Lord has all this under control. We must stay the course in our obedience and submission to the Lordship of Christ in all things. Those who are in our Lord’s sheepfold are in no danger of being snatched away. Those falling away into apostasy were never in His sheepfold to begin with.
Bud Ahlheim of Pulpit & Pen examines what he deems are some of the problems with the Southern Baptist Convention. He believes the SBC “has set aside the sound teaching of Biblical truth. That it is “seeking the touchy-feely warm fuzzies that seem to soothe the unrepentant soul. Rather than edifying the believer, the SBC pursues ecstatic entertainment to appeal to goats.” He writes:
Pastor Ronnie Floyd, president, Southern Baptist Convention. Photo courtesy Pulpit & Pen
If you web wander over to the Baptist Press today (June 15) – today being the day after Ronnie Floyd’s 2016 National Call to Prayer for Spiritual Leadership, Revived Churches Nationwide, and Global Awakening – you will find numerous stories about the Southern Baptist Convention’s second day of business.
There was, of course, the vote for a new president which, according to the Christian Post, could be a turning point for the convention as it determines “whether Millennial Reformed Theology Represents The Future” for the denomination. The vote, if you don’t know, lacked the necessary majority. It has gone to a runoff with consideration of the issue carried over to today’s business.
According to The Daily Signal:
A recently released report confirms what Common Core critics have suspected all along: Common Core State Standards do not adequately prepare students for college-level work.
The ACT report finds many concerning shortcomings in the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by most states. Notably, the report reveals:
PJ Media reports:
An ISIS-affiliated media group issued new statements today praising Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen as a “lion of the caliphate” and a “hero” for slaughtering 49 “infidels” — and calling on other lone jihadis to follow his example.
The Obama administration has confirmed that Mateen was consuming ISIS propaganda online before he opened fire at the Pulse nightclub early Sunday morning and called 911 to swear fidelity to ISIS.
9 Ἔγνω οὖν [ὁ] ὄχλος πολὺς ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἐστιν καὶ ἦλθον οὐ διὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν μόνον, ἀλλʼ ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἴδωσιν ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν. 10 ἐβουλεύσαντο δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἵνα καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον ἀποκτείνωσιν, 11 ὅτι πολλοὶ διʼ αὐτὸν ὑπῆγον τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἐπίστευον εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. (John 12:9-11 NA28)
9 Therefore, when the great crowd of Jews knew that Jesus was there, they came not because of Him only, but also because of Lazarus that they may see whom He raised from the dead. 10 But the Chief Priests took counsel that they might kill Lazarus also, 11 because of him many were going away and believing in Jesus. (John 12:9-11 translated from the NA28 Greek text)
The hard heart that is in the darkness of unbelief simply will not believe even when given irrefutable evidence. That is what the earthly ministry of our Lord was. He fulfilled those prophecies of the Messiah exactly that were given by those Old Testament prophets that the fathers of these very men also persecuted and killed. John made it clear in the dialogues and the examples of miracles by our Lord in the face of the opposition by these men that they were without excuse. The same is true today. Christianity is not a religion based on feelings or liver shivers or whatever. No, it is based on clear, irrefutable historical evidence of what our Lord did and said. Those who hated Him killed Him, but He was resurrected on the third day and Ascended into Heaven 10 days before Pentecost. All of this was witnessed by multitudes of people and no one has ever been able to prove any of it wrong. The evidences of the truth were all from eyewitnesses. The evidences of naysayers are all from people who hate the truth who were not even there. In any case, in this post we will look at some of the events that took place in the last few days before our Lord’s arrest and crucifixion as recorded in John 11:45-12:11.
According to one of the club’s regular customers, the terrorist “was a homosexual and he was trying to pick up men. He would walk up to them and then he would maybe put his arm round them or something … That’s what people do at gay bars. That’s what we do.” The Guardian has the story:
The gunman who killed 49 people in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando is said to have been a regular at the venue and had messaged several people on gay dating apps, according to reports.
An unnamed FBI official told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the bureau was investigating the claims.
At least four regular customers said they had seen killer Omar Mateen drinking at the nightclub on multiple occasions. “Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent,” Ty Smith told the Orlando Sentinel.
Justin Holcomb of Townhall has the story:
The United Cyber Caliphate, an offshoot of the ISIS cyber warfare group, has released a list that includes names, addresses, and email addresses belonging to over 8,000 people, making it one of the longest target lists ISIS-affiliated groups have distributed.
Christian News Network has the story:
An illustrious chemist who has previously shed light on critical shortcomings in scientists’ understanding of evolution has written a detailed essay explaining “the massive gaps in our understanding” of how life first originated.
Dr. James Tour is a professor of chemistry, computer science, and materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University. He has written over 590 research publications and over 100 patents, and he is the recipient of numerous scientific awards.
25 εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή· ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ κἂν ἀποθάνῃ ζήσεται, 26 καὶ πᾶς ὁ ζῶν καὶ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. πιστεύεις τοῦτο; (John 11:25-26 NA28)
25 Jesus said to her, “I am The Resurrection and The Life; the one believing in Me, even if he should die will live, 26 and everyone living and believing in Me never dies into the age. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 translated from the NA28 Greek text)
In this post we will look out our Lord’s final and ultimate messianic sign. John also bluntly contrasted our Lord’s spectacular, uncontested miracle with the evil intent of the Jewish religious leaders who resolved to arrest Jesus and kill not only Him, but Lazarus whom our Lord raised from the dead. John also reveals their self-centered motivations for this later in John 11:45-57. In this post we will look at John 11:1-44.
Marsha West, General Editor CRN
When I heard that Jan Crouch died of a massive stroke, to be quite honest, I was not saddened by the news. Why? Well, for one thing Jan and her deceased husband Paul promoted the worst sort of heresy imaginable: Word of Faith. But you wouldn’t find that out by reading the Christian Post’s puff piece. Janice Crouch was a controversial figure to be sure. But inquiring minds learned nothing about that from CP. Certainly part of the reason for the controversy was the colossal pink-tinged “cotton candy” wigs, heavy make-up, and the lavish lifestyle she and husband Paul enjoyed. But there were many other reasons the Crouches were controversial. So let’s take a quick look at their history.
The couple were the founders and leaders of Trinity Broadcasting Network. TBN has been in business since 1973 and has an estimated net worth of half a billion dollars. A single Praise-A-Thon can bilk faithful viewers out of as much as $50 million tax exempt donations. The Crouches were known for their scandalous statements against anyone who dared challenge the cultic Faith teaching they were spreading on a global scale via their cable TV network. The following is excerpted from “Televangelist Paul Crouch Leaves a Dirty Legacy; Evangelical Christians Look the Other Way” by Terry Firma:
The New York Times published an exposé of the Crouches’ financial tricks last year. It tells you volumes about how the darling duo spent all that revenue from donations, TV rights, and investments.
The [couple’s] lavish perquisites, described by [estranged granddaughter and former financial officer Brittany] Koper and corroborated by interviews with two other former TBN employees, include additional, often-vacant homes in Texas and on the former Conway Twitty estate in Tennessee, corporate jets valued at $8 million and $49 million each and thousand-dollar dinners with fine wines, paid with tax-exempt funds.
More:
[F]ormer TBN employees also said that dozens of staff members, including Ms. Koper, chauffeurs, sound engineers and others had been ordained as ministers by TBN. This, she said, allowed the network to avoid paying Social Security taxes on their salaries and made it easier to justify providing family members with rent-free houses, sometimes called “parsonages.” (Source)
The above is just a tidbit of information that can be gleaned from a Google search. But nothing like this was mentioned in CP’s report, even though the controversy still rages. Also not mentioned in the puff piece is the fact that because of TBN, Faith teaching has become one of this era’s greatest threats to authentic Christianity.
James Carafano of The Daily Signal reports:
It’s not surprising that, after the first responders, the first response to the horrific attack that killed 50 or more people at gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando was a sometimes vicious debate.
The instant anger to President Barack Obama’s statement about the attack reflects a deep and growing distrust over how this administration responds to the threat of global terrorism.
According to Oregon Live:
An Oregon judge ruled Friday that a transgender person can legally change their sex to “non-binary” rather than male or female in what legal experts believe is a first in the United States.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Amy Holmes Hehn legally changed 52-year-old Jamie Shupe‘s sex from “female” to non-binary.
Recently Pope Francis met with Pastor Life Coach Joel Osteen as well as a group of televangelists that included Kenneth Copeland and James Robison. Now the Pope has reached out to New Apostolic Reformation leaders, including Bethel Church’s residing senior associate leader Kris Vallotton. Charisma News, a site we do not recommend, has the story:
Some of the most recognizable names in the charismatic movement had a private meeting with Pope Francis on Friday. Mike Bickle, Che Ahn, Kris Vallotton, Stacey Campbell and dozens of other Protestant leaders from North America and Europe gathered at the Vatican.
According to Bickle, director of IHOP in Kansas City, the purpose of the meeting was to engage in an on-going dialogue about the pontiff’s views on Jesus and Christianity.
“The meeting lasted a couple of hours. They gave us the opportunity to ask questions. The meeting was very warm and personal,” Bickle told Charisma News. “I asked him about his views on the serious error and deception of universalism that claims that ‘all paths lead to God’ and other religions being saved without receiving the grace of God that only comes through Jesus. He assured me that he believes that Jesus is the only way of salvation.”
See our research paper on the Roman Catholic Church
1 When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. (Mark 2:1-2 NASB)
A few weeks ago a friend contacted me with a question that came up because of a theological disagreement between him and his pastor. The disagreement centered on the necessity of repentance as part of our salvation and as the discussion continued the pastor insisted that Jesus never taught that nor did he preach the gospel because He had not yet gone to the cross. Here is part of the quote from our conversation.
“He asserted that he (Jesus) did not preach the gospel because he had not yet died or had been raised from the dead so therefore there was no gospel to preach at that point. I then asked him from what then and why did Jesus asked them to repent and why and what did he ask them to believe in. He did not really answer this question but went on another line of thought.
He is heavily influenced by the writings and teaching of Tim Keller and NT Wright CS Lewis. He told me to reread the gospel and that I would never witness Jesus preaching the gospel.”
I must admit that this took me by surprise so I am sure my response was not adequate for my friend. However, this has been bothering me since then. Today at church our interim pastor preached on Mark 2:1-12 and he actually spent some time on v2 which is what this post is going to be about.
Fox News has this breaking story:
A gunman who federal authorities say had possible ties to terrorism opened fire early Sunday morning in a packed Orlando nightclub, killing 50 people and wounding at least 53 more in a bloody scene that ended hours later when police stormed the building and killed the shooter.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer asked Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency following the attack.
The gunman was identified as Omar Mateen, Rep. Alan Grayson said during a Sunday morning press conference. Mateen was a U.S. citizen, Grayson said, though that was “not true of other family members of his.” Mateen, 29, lived in Fort Pierce, Fla. He was born in the U.S. to parents of Afghan origin and was a Muslim, Fox News confirmed.
Authorities were going through Mateen’s belongings on Sunday morning trying to identify a motive for the attack, Grayson said.
“More likely than not, that it was an ideologically motivated attack,” Grayson said, though he said it was unclear if Mateen was linked to any terror groups.
Lee Duigon, contributing editor with Chalcedon Foundation, shows the ways in which liberals are decimating every trace of biblical morality. He writes:
Again I say it: kill the culture, and the culture will kill you right back.
Throw off God’s laws, and man’s laws will suffer, too.
Few cities reject godliness like San Francisco, Gay by the Bay. Its leaders, its thinkers, speak of “San Francisco values” is if they actually believed in them. Those values would include the public festival of sexual lawlessness that they call a “pride parade,” defiantly taking pride in what ought to be a source of shame.
Would it surprise you to learn that property crime in San Francisco is up 60 percent since 2010? That it now has the highest per capita property crime among all of America’s top 50 cities? And the city tourist board is getting nervous about “street behavior” that sends the tourists fleeing to Des Moines. “Street behavior” is a euphemism covering many antisocial acts, from “overly aggressive panhandling”—is that another euphemism for mugging?—to shooting up with drugs right out on the sidewalk for everyone to see.
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:1-4 ESV)
When I went off to Oklahoma State University in the Fall of 1969 after graduating from High School just three months earlier things were philosophically very different in the world than what we have now. That is, on the surface they are different. My professors in college and many of my former teachers in High School were assured that Christianity and all organized religion was a bunch of nonsense, that it would soon be proven through Science that Natural Selection produced everything living, and that the Universe was created through natural processes. I even had a Roman Catholic Nun as Biological Sciences Lab instructor at OSU that enthusiastically supported Darwinism. However, things have not turned out as these people planned at all. If anything, the world has grown even more religious than it was back then. On the other hand, I would put the Bible knowledge of many of my Grandparents’ generation up against that of most professing Christians in our time and it would be absolutely embarrassing how shallow theological knowledge and understanding within the visible church has become.
