The Washington Post reports:
Pastor Su Tianfu slides into the back seat and tells the driver to hit it.
He looks over his shoulder: “Is there anybody following us?”
It is days before Christmas, but instead of working on his sermon, Su is giving his tail the slip.
The slight and soft-spoken Protestant preacher is no stranger to surveillance. Su has worked for years in China’s unregistered “house churches,” and he said he has been interrogated more times than he can count.
By Jim Stitzinger
The Cripplegate blog
The concerts are over and candle-light services are nearly complete. No more caroling, food drives, corporate holiday parties and the sound of Salvation army bells are quickly fading. The world will soon say goodbye to “the holidays” and will soon pivot its attention to New Year’s and Super Bowls.
The world may soon have Christmas almost in it’s rear view mirror, but for Christ’s church the wonder and joy of Christmas never ends. Isaiah prophesied that a virgin will conceive and bear a Son whose name will be Immanuel, God with us. He came to earth that day, and remains with us in every day. The Creator of the universe stepped aside from the full display of His majestic glory and dove headlong into His creation.
The day Christ was born slipped by, uncelebrated throughout the world. It was not for lack of Instagram, satellite communication or weak cell phone coverage. It was not because the postal service lost His birth announcement or a webpage failed to update. Christ entered time and space as planned. The seclusion from the abusive prying eyes of the world kept King Herod from carrying out yet another satanic attempt to assassinate the Savior.
Beyond the safety of our Savior, the world did not see the eternal significance of the first Christmas for the same reason that it cannot understand Christmas today. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Eyes that are blind to the truth can never see the glory of the Savior who was born.
The world cannot see Jesus, but the world can see Jesus in you.
Here are five windows through which those without hope are able to see Jesus in our lives:
18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 19 Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20 The Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.” (1 Kings 22:18-23 NASB)
There is not a day during the week that goes by without me becoming involved in a discussion with friends about this or that very well known “Christian” figure saying or doing something that reveals fruit of apostasy in their lives and ministries. It used to be a surprise and we all marveled, but not anymore. Oh, we mourn, and we wonder at who will be next, but we have learned that our rock is Christ not any man. We cling to the Cross and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, not the life and ministry of any man. I grew up a Southern Baptist and was a Deacon and Bible teacher in multiple SBC churches from the late 1980’s until we left our old church in 2006 when it was preparing to go Purpose Driven. During that time, I was quite acquainted with the SBC way of making celebrities of its superstar preachers and evangelists. This same thing is also found in other denominations and church groups I am sure. These superstars have become idols and have taken a place in these churches that should only be held in a place in the hearts of the people reserved for our Lord.
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “ A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53-58 NASB)
As we continue to look at the evidence of God sending out a strong delusion upon professing Christians who appear to be running headlong into apostasy in ever increasing numbers let us look at what it is in these people that has brought this about. Why have they fallen into darkness and we have not? Not long ago I received a “comment/link” to one of my posts concerning this. The blogger there was insistent in his post that I was actually blaming God for the apostasy we were seeing. I have run into many with that sort of “mind-set” in my many years as a Bible teacher. I have always taught God’s Word as literal truth and there are many places in the Word that some professing Christians have a problem taking literally because, if we do, then it refutes their pet theology exactly to the point. That is the nature of God’s truth. I have had some very ugly discussions in Bible Study classes about doctrine in which certain people were insistent that a section of God’s Word cannot be taken literally even though the only refutation they have against doing so is human philosophy. This, my brethren, is unbelief in action.
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has addressed the controversy that ignited when a Wheaton College professor decided to “wear a traditional Muslim hijab over the holiday season in order to symbolize solidarity with her Muslim neighbors,” and “asserted that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.”
Dr. Mohler opined:
Hard times come with hard questions, and our cultural context exerts enormous pressure on Christians to affirm common ground at the expense of theological differences. But the cost of getting this question wrong is the loss of the Gospel. Christians affirm the image of God in every single human being and we must obey Christ as we love all people everywhere as our neighbor. Love of neighbor also demands that we tell our neighbor the truth concerning Christ as the only way to truly know the Father.
By Daniel Emory Price
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say: “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”
Then how all the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee: “Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer, you’ll go down in history!”
We all love a good story when the underdog comes out on top. We love Rocky winning the title round, Hoosiers taking the championship, Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star, and yes, even Rudolph guiding Santa’s sleigh in the fog. And Rudolph gets the added bonus of having the object of his ridicule turn into the only hope for his haters. And man—we love that.
We love it because we’re all theologians of glory. It’s a tough default theological position to fight. How dare those other reindeer laugh at poor Rudolph! How dare they not let him join in their games! What happened to Santa? Why does he allow this bullying? Rudolph could really use some of that legalistic, naughty or nice, reward or punishment ethic dumped on Dancer and Prancer for a change.
H/T Chris Rosebrough
28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:28-29 NASB)
There are two types of people in the world. There are God’s children and everyone else. One of the reasons I love to read the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation is that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:7), wrote very profound words that have no gray areas. Of course he wrote as the Spirit breathed these words through him, but God used this man’s entire makeup in that process. John was very pastoral, but he was also a Christian apologist of the highest order. He was one the three Apostles who made up the inner circle closest to our Lord during His earthly ministry. Before Jesus called him to be his disciple, he was a disciple of John the Baptist along with Andrew, Peter’s brother. Jesus called him and his brother James, the Sons of Thunder. He had great faith, but like most of us, he could get full of himself and focus inward instead of humble and lined up with our Lord’s will alone.
International Business Times reports:
More American Christians are accepting LGBT people, even if their churches strongly oppose gay and lesbian relationships, according to a Pew Research Center report of U.S. religious beliefs and practices released Friday. While more non-Christians accept gay relationships than Christians, the number of Christians who say LGBT relationships should be accepted and not discouraged has grown by 10 percentage points since 2007, the study found.
Overall, 54 percent of Christians say gay people should be accepted, compared with 76 percent of non-Christians and 83 percent of religiously unaffiliated people. Across the general U.S. population, 62 percent accept gay relationships, up from 50 percent in 2007. Most churches teach gay relationships are an act of sin or “intrinsically disordered,” the Pew study said.
According to Christian News Network:
Remarks from Billy Graham asserting that Muslims and those of other religions who “turn to the only light they have” without consciously trusting Christ are saved—despite clear warning in Scripture—have come back to light after his son Franklin Graham, the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), expressed disagreement with a Wheaton professor who contends that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
As previously reported, associate professor Larycia Hawkins posted to Facebook two photos of herself wearing a hijab earlier this month, and stated in a lengthy explanation that she plans to wear it everywhere she goes during the Advent—including at the professedly Christian college and to church.
“I stand in human solidarity with my Muslim neighbor because we are formed of the same primordial clay, descendants of the same cradle of humankind—a cave in Sterkfontein, South Africa that I had the privilege to descend into to plumb the depths of our common humanity in 2014,” Hawkins wrote.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains, You have founded them. (Psalms 89:11 NASB)
The real work done via Diaprax by Leadership Network and those it sponsors such as Rick Warren is done in the background in a way that will not be obvious to the Church. Why? It is done this way because what is being done can only be accomplished via deception. If these people were up front with what they were trying to accomplish, it would be stopped cold. However, we are now in a stage in their process where we see the carnage of apostasy with local church after local church all across this globe going the way of man-focused seeker-sensitivity, losing their eternal focus, and along with that, the Gospel itself. This was accomplished as a fruit of deceit. In the New Testament, the word that is translated from the Greek as “deceit” is δόλος or dolos. Our Lord Jesus lists δόλος as one of the sins that come out of the human heart in Mark 7:22. He stated about Nathanael that there is no δόλος in him in John 1:47. Paul and Peter also include δόλος in their list of vices (Romans 1:29; 1 Peter 2:1). Let’s face it, δόλος is serious to those who truly fear God. Of course, to those who have no fear of God, so what, right? Let’s take a closer look.
Christian News Network reports:
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, also known as “Mother Teresa,” will be sainted next year as she is being credited with the purported healing of two people through what Roman Catholics believe is her intercession after her death, the Vatican announced on Friday.
Jorge Bergoglio, also known as “Pope Francis,” approved a decree on Thursday that Bojaxhiu was responsible for a second miracle 11 years after she died.
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. (James 1:22-24 NASB)
How important is obeying the words of Christ? This is, of course, the essence of Lordship. Jesus Christ is Lord. That is not just a title nor is it something we say to revere him nor is it part of some religious controversy. No, He is Lord over all. He is one in essence with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit in the Hypostatic Union of the Holy Trinity. God is Sovereign and because of his role in the Hypostatic Union, his submission in humbling himself to become a man, the Messiah, his obedience to the Father’s will in all of this as well as keeping the Law perfectly, he also, at the perfect time ordained by the Father, laid down his life as the propititiation for those he came to save.
From Berean Research:
Peter Jones of Truthxcange examines the pagan worldview entrenched in Star Wars. George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars saga, wanted to “produce a children’s fairy tale set in outer space as a ‘teaching tool’ for the re-creation of ‘the classic cosmic mysteries,’” says Jones. Lucas succeeded, big time. There’s no denying that his New Age worldview, which is decidedly pagan, has been embraced by many fans of the hit series. As a result of the film makers’ brilliant marketing strategy, most people in America have heard of Yoda, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’d have to be living on another planet far, far away not to have heard the phrase “may the Force be with you!” Try as they might, parents know that it is almost impossible to shield their kids from the Star Wars marketing machine.
So with all this in mind, how should those with a Christian worldview handle Star Wars? Dr. Jones offers some excellent advice.
From Berean Research:
Over at Now the End Begins, blogger Geoffrey Grider fills us in on Hillsong Church’s
Christmas extravaganza that includes nearly naked “drummer boys” and songs about Santa Claus and Rudolf. Grider lamented: “It’s just not a proper celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ without roaring 20’s flappers, rock bands, hoochie coochie dancers, laser light shows and lots and lots of leg in a nightclub setting. Happy Birthday, Jesus, hope you like it.”The question is: Does Hillsong Church’s production in any way honor God?
Um, no. Watch the Youtube video of Hillsong’s 2014 version of Silent Night, Holy Night and decide for yourself.
Christian News Network reports:
A number of students from a prominent Christian-identified university are demanding that school officials reinstate an associate political science director who posted photos of herself wearing an Islamic hijab, stating that she was doing so to show solidarity with Muslims.
As previously reported, Larycia Hawkins posted to Facebook two photos of herself wearing a hijab last Thursday, and stated in a lengthy explanation that she plans to wear it everywhere she goes during the Advent—including at the Christian college and to church.
There’s a ban on the Baby Jesus in Johnson County Kentucky. Todd Starnes, host of Fox News and Commentary, informs us that that an elementary school was instructed to remove a scene where Linus shares the true meaning of Christmas by reading from the Gospel of Luke. Starnes laments:
There are some days when this anti-Christmas nonsense is enough to make you deck somebody’s halls.
The latest yuletide lunacy comes from Johnson County, Kentucky where the school district has censored an elementary school presentation of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
The district also ordered other schools to remove all religious references from their upcoming Christmas productions.
10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:10-13 NASB)
Receiving Christ’s Word and becoming like Him in our conduct will unavoidably mean being treated by the world in the way it treated Christ.
14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:14 NASB)
The believer is privileged to participate in the fellowship of His suffering (Philippians 3:10), and it is only as we are willing to bear His reproach and suffer for His sake that we are promised that we will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). Jesus Himself was blasphemously accused of being demon-possessed. They hated Him without a cause (John 15:25). The believer, like Christ, must be willing to be misunderstood and have his good works maligned. Since our best efforts in serving Christ are mingled with sin and human imperfection, it should come as no surprise that our motives and behavior will be misinterpreted because of our forthright identification with Him.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12 NASB)
A mark of the world is to call evil good and good evil.
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight. (Isaiah 5:20-21 NASB)
From Berean Research:
Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren once again unites with the apostate Roman Catholic Church, this time to talk about “The Joy of the Gospel of Life,” which is ironic because he’s fully aware that the RCC’s gospel does not bring joy. Why? Because it is a false gospel, a gospel that saves no one. In fact, Protestants hold that the RCC’s man centered gospel is in opposition to biblical Christianity. Pastor Warren knows perfectly well what the Bible says about those who teach a false gospel — let him be accursed!:
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8, 9)
So – why would a shepherd lead his sheep into a den of wolves?
Recorder Standard has the story:
According to Fox News:
Some parents outside Detroit were questioning a Catholic high school’s decision to allow a special room for Muslim students to pray, Fox 2 reported Wednesday.
Brother Rice High School, an all-boys school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, reportedly granted a request from Muslim students to use the religious reflection room throughout the day. Roughly a dozen of the school’s 800-plus students are Muslim, according to WXYZ.
One unnamed parent told the news station the room was “unconscionable,” arguing that her son’s paid Catholic education would be “undermined.” Fox 2 reported receiving similar criticism.
LifeSiteNews reports:
The House’s new Speaker has unveiled a $1.67 trillion budget that fully funds Planned Parenthood for the next nine-and-a-half months.
The budget comes five months after a series of videos showed Planned Parenthood officials haggling over the price of unborn baby parts, as well as appearing to discuss illegal partial-birth abortions and illegal modifications to abortion.
3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3 NASB)
From the time God saved me in 1986 until He shoved me out of our church in Olathe, KS back in 2006 when it began going Purpose Driven, I was immersed in a form of evangelicalism that can best be described as the pastors and leadership of the churches we belonged to teaching and preaching in such a way so as to make all of us uncomfortable with how much we served and how much we gave. They even twisted it in such a way to say that to mature and grow so you can hear the voice of God Christians must make themselves uncomfortable, get busy, then God will speak to them. My brethren, this is not grace, this is not Gospel, it is pure Law. Our Lord has some good news for refugees from this sort of bondage.
Warren Throckmorton of Patheos informs us that shamed former pastor Mark Driscoll is in the process of starting a new church in Phoenix, AZ. In July Driscoll confirmed his move to Phoenix but said there are “no concrete plans for ongoing local church ministry as of yet.” Five months later he is listed as a director of The Trinity Church. According to Throckmorton:
The next big thing appears to be just around the corner.
Mark Driscoll is listed as a director of recently registered The Trinity Church in Phoenix, along with Randall Taylor and Jimmy Evans. The address is the same UPS store listed as the Mark Driscoll Ministries address (the church has a different box number):
Mark Driscoll Ministries 21001 North Tatum Blvd Ste 1630-527 Phoenix, AZ 85050
From Berean Research:
For those who haven’t heard this before, Christian celeb Joyce Meyer is a false teacher. In 2011 Fran Sankey of Tower of Truth Ministries and host of Test All Things radio broadcast discussed Mrs. Meyer’s unbiblical and problematic teaching on her program. We’re posting the transcript, which is well worth the read for anyone who is in the dark about this woman. To listen to the show, scroll down to the end for the link. Sankey begins with some background on Mrs. Meyer and then fills us in on the reasons that some of her teaching is considered heretical. You don’t have to take Sankey’s word for it. Listen to the sound clips of Joyce Meyer she has provided.
According to Christian Examiner:
President Obama’s indifference to Christian persecution in the Middle East is part of a “scandal of enormous proportions,” the editorial staff of the Washington Times has written in a scathing rebuke of the administration.
“Expressions of concern by the leaders of the West are few. The fact is that Christians face more persecution, in more countries, than any other religious group,” the editorial said before launching into an attack on the president’s human rights record with respect to Christian refugees from Syria.