Pulpit & Pen has the story:
Focus on Family, the media organization founded by James Dobson, has produced a booklet entitled The Abortion Pill. Although the date on that pamphlet is from 2014, social media has been abuzz with revelations from that pamphlet, which heretofore have gone unnoticed (or so it seems) by most. In no uncertain terms, the Focus on the Family literature gives advice on how to use the abortion pill safely.
19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, 20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” Acts 5:19-20 NASB
It seems that Christian suffering is a very big topic right now. In some cases “teachers” will use Job chapters 1 & 2 in an attempt make their points. However, the more I listen to men teach on the topic of “Christian suffering” the more I have become convinced that the majority of the teachings on this are actually attempts to manipulate people in one form or another using fear or guilt strategies to try to get people to part with either their service or money or both. If one studies these teachings from a Biblical perspective things get confusing. Why? Not everyone can teach from the same passages from Sacred Scripture and teach such different things. What is going on? The best answer I can give to that is that most of these false teachers are guilty of teaching the evils of out-of-control subjectivism being elevated to the level of truth rather than simply teaching what God’s Word says. My brethren, instead of looking for the truth in that morass of man-centered subjectivism, as believers we should be going to the throne of grace and God’s Word for the truth. When we look for it anywhere else we will never find it.
Christian News Network reports:
Two women in Georgia have launched a life-saving ministry that they call “The Hope Box” after being inspired by the documentary “The Drop Box,” which featured a South Korean pastor who rescues abandoned orphans through a drop-off at his home.
“Being that we are the number one state in America for sex-trafficking, there’s a rise in women becoming pregnant through this and not knowing what to do with their babies,” Tiffany Turolla, co-founder of The Hope Box told WXIA-TV.
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Matthew 7:15-18 NASB
Those with any discernment are aware of the rising escalation of growing apostasy all around us. Some of you have lamented that it seems that there is no one who can be trusted anymore. I hear you! It has become apparent that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to trust the fruit of those who minister for money or whose livelihood depended upon popularity. This is really nothing new. Our Lord, in His Sermon on the Mount, told us to beware of false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. He told us how to recognize them. How? It is by their fruits. This has not changed. Therefore, when I sit at the feet of a teacher or preacher of God’s Word I look for this within what is taught and within how he lives and with whom he associates and how he conducts himself in this life. Those who are not really God’s man will be revealed in this because of their inconsistencies in godliness and their consistencies in worldliness because, “we will recognize them by their fruits.”
Christian News Network reports:
The police officer who was killed during a shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood Friday was a pro-life co-pastor at an evangelical church, reports state. Garrett Swasey, 44 and a married father of two, has served for seven years at Hope Chapel in Colorado Springs. He spent six of those years on the police force of the University of Colorado.
42 Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘ The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes ’? 43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” Matthew 21:42-44 NASB
The message to the Christian throughout the New Testament is to deny self, to view with contempt the temporal or world system, to understand that love of the temporal and genuine discipleship are mutually exclusive because it is from the former which all genuine believers are being delivered. This deliverance is progressive mortification of all carnal affections and impediments. This must be so in order for the Christian to attain more speedily the heavenly Kingdom of Christ. It is to Christ’s Kingdom that all believers are called by the grace of God and it is revealed to them in His Son. All believers have received this by faith, possessed it by hope, and have therein confirmed it by Holiness of life.
The work of the ministry is to build up the body of Christ. It is the business of the ministers to build up the Church, not to build up themselves! Alas! they have far too often built up themselves, and we read of princes of the Church living in positions of great wealth and pomp. What an utter travesty that is of Paul’s teaching! Let us note also that ministers are called to build up; not to please and to entertain. The way in which they are to do this is summed up perfectly in that most lyrical passage in Acts 20. The Apostle Paul was bidding farewell to the elders of the church at Ephesus, at the seaside, and this is what he said: “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (v.32). ~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Christian Unity: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1-16,” pg.202
France 24 reports:
France’s leading Muslim body called Tuesday for imams to require a permit to preach in a bid to root out extremists, and for a new religious body to fight back against jihadist propaganda.
Anouar Kbibech, president of the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM), said the country’s imams should be given a certificate — “like a driving licence” — that ensured they promoted a “tolerant and open Islam”.
The CFCM said it would hand out the permits by testing theological knowledge and adherence to French principles, and make them sign an “imams’ charter” in which they agreed to “respect the laws of the Republic”.
The Telegraph reports:
Could taking LSD at work make your more productive?
It seems unlikely, but that’s apparently what some Silicon Valley professionals have been doing – and reporting great results.
According to Rolling Stone, a growing number of people are experimenting with “microdoses” of psychedelics to help them work.
A microdose of LSD is around 10-15 micrograms, approximately a tenth of a “normal” dose.
According to The Guardian:
High-strength cannabis may damage nerve fibres that handle the flow of messages across the two halves of the brain, scientists claim. Brain scans of people who regularly smoked strong skunk-like cannabis revealed subtle differences in the white matter that connects the left and right hemispheres and carries signals from one side of the brain to the other.
According to The Guardian Brian Houston, who was national president of the Assemblies of God in Australia at the time, neglected to inform authorities that his father was a child sexual abuser, even though he knew about it:
Brian Houston, the founder of the Hillsong Church, failed to alert the police about allegations his father had sexually assaulted children, and had a conflict of interest when he assumed responsibility for dealing with the accusations, a royal commission has found.
In October 2014 the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse examined the responses of the Assemblies of God in Australia (now Australian Christian Churches) to allegations against three men, including Frank Houston, a preacher who helped build the Pentecostal movement in Australia and who died in 2004.
Frank Houston had abused up to nine boys in Australia and New Zealand, and in its final report on the case released on Monday, the commission found multiple failings within the church executive – at the time led by Frank Houston’s son Brian – in responding.
GreenvilleOnline reports:
The revelation that First Baptist Greenville would marry same-sex couples sparked renouncements and rejoice over the summer — left wing, right wing, casual non-believers, an issue wrapped in tradition and the ripe moment of a cause.
The dust had just begun to settle here in the cradle of conservative Baptist theology, but now another longtime Baptist church on the outskirts of downtown Greenville has aroused interest — and fueled new rounds of praise and condemnation.
Today, Augusta Heights Baptist Church finds itself in a similar position after its pastor officiated a same-sex marriage outside the church.
The blessing of the bond of two gay men has brought with it ultimatums from the Baptist organizations it has long affiliated with.
This piece by Gaylene Goodroad is posted on Herescope. Christians who are involved in Eastern mysticism will read this, see the danger, and leave it. The Christian who chooses to participate in any sort of pagan practice is in rebellion against God.
Eastern Meditation as the Universal Cure-All
“For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with influences from the east….” (Isaiah 2:6)
BEATLEMANIA AND EASTERN MYSTICISM
When the Beatles helped to bring Transcendental Meditation (TM) into vogue in the 1960s, few could imagine then that the mystical Hindu practice would endure beyond the hippie generation and become commonplace today from the elementary school classroom to the Christian church.
What modern meditators might not know is that the “Fab Four” learned Eastern meditation from Hindu guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Upon his death in 2008, a CBS News article recapped the Maharishi’s dark contribution to the world:
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died Tuesday at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop, a spokesman said. He was thought to be 91 years old… Once dismissed as hippie mysticism, the Hindu practice of mind control known as transcendental meditation gradually gained medical respectability. He began teaching TM in 1955 and brought the technique to the United States in 1959. But the movement really took off after the Beatles attended one of his lectures in 1967. Maharishi retreated last month into silence at his home on the grounds of a former Franciscan monastery, saying he wanted to dedicate his remaining days to studying the ancient Indian texts that underpin his movement…. With the help of celebrity endorsements, Maharishi – a Hindi-language title for Great Seer – parlayed his interpretations of ancient scripture into a multi-million-dollar global empire. His roster of famous meditators ran from Mike Love of the Beach Boys to Clint Eastwood and Deepak Chopra, a new age preacher. After 50 years of teaching, Maharishi turned to larger themes, with grand designs to harness the power of group meditation to create world peace and to mobilize his devotees to banish poverty from the earth.
According to Fox News:
A man who paid a surrogate to have his baby became overwhelmed when he learned she was having triplets — and demanded the woman abort one of the fetuses while threatening her with financial ruin, she claims.
“They are human beings. I bonded with these kids. This is just not right,” mom-to-be Melissa Cook told The Post on Tuesday.
Christian News Network reports:
Kent Dobson, who took over the leadership role at Mars Hill in 2012 after controversial author and speaker Rob Bell left the congregation he founded, has now also decided to step down, stating that “being a pastor is not who I am.”
“My place here has not felt right. Like I was wearing someone else’s suit that didn’t quite fit and I tried to get it tailored and maybe I had shoulder pads from the 90’s or something, I don’t know,” he told the congregation on Sunday. “It just felt like it didn’t quite fit me so well.”
Dobson said that he feels restless and uncomfortable around “too much God talk.”
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19 NASB
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 KJV
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 NASB
In King James Version of Galatians 5:20 there is the word “heresies.” The NASB translates the same word as “factions.” “Heresies” and “factions” are translating the Greek word αἱρέσεις, which is a form of the word αἵρεσις or hairesis. This word describes a condition which is only theoretical in that one can hold different views than the majority and remain in the same body but he is a heretic. Heresy is theoretical and does not become practical until the heretic tears himself away, σχίζω or schizō. Then he is schismatic and is the source of σχίσμα or schisma. In that, schismaticalness is practical heresy.
For those who are unfamiliar with Steven Furtick, he is among those the late Ken Silva dubbed: Evangelical Ecumenical Magisterium (EEM) which is comprised of megachurch pastors.
In a blog post entitled Steven Furtick and the Second Great Embarrassment, Silva quipped: “Furtick is the spiritually nefarious prophet-leader of the highly influential multi-site megachurch known as Elevation Church, who is without a doubt a leading member of this EEM along with e.g. James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll.”
So with this in mind, Pulpit & Pen has the latest on prophet-leader Steven Furtick.
Southern Baptists will not be amused at what their president is doing. Seems he is leading that denomination down a very slippery slope. The Pulpit and Pen has the report:
Last week I reported on Southern Baptist president, Ronnie Floyd, participating in the Onething Conference put on by the apostate IHOP (International House Of Prayer) Church, founded by New Apostolic Reformation “prophet” Mike Bickle. I even went out on a limb and speculated that he may be attempting to unite the Southern Baptist Convention with the organization, since he has a similar religious worldview with them. Just when I thought this rabbit hole couldn’t go any deeper, it has been brought to my attention that this event will be strongly pro-Roman Catholic.
It’s as though we Southern Baptists are in a twilight zone of sorts. Martin Luther, John Calvin–all the men who put their lives on the line, or martyred themselves to separate from Rome–these great Protestant men would be turning over in their graves. It’s bad enough that prominent SBC pastor Rick Warren, and ERLC leader Russell Moore took to the Vatican last year to participate in a largely political event backed by co-belligerence. I, along with most Protestants, strongly opposed that too, but that is small potatoes compared to this.
Most Americans are unaware that the RCC receives millions of taxpayer dollars to settle refugees in the U.S. Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy In Media has the story:
In the face of President Obama’s veto threat, members of Congress may not be able to pass legislation suspending or upgrading the program permitting refugees from Syria, the Middle East and North Africa to settle in the U.S. But the Republican Congress certainly has the power to hold hearings into the millions of taxpayer dollars being funneled through Catholic and other church groups to bring them here. Many Catholics and non-Catholics alike would like to know how “religious compassion,” using federal money, is increasing the potential terrorist threat to America.
You may recall that Pope Francis promoted the Obama administration’s pro-immigration policies during his visit to the U.S. Left unsaid was the fact that the American branch of the Roman Catholic Church is getting millions of taxpayer dollars to settle refugees. According to their financial statement for 2014, the latest year for which figures are available, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops received over $79 million in government grants to provide benefits to refugees.
Simply stated, Congress can expose how the money is being spent and cut it off.
Fox News has good news to report:
A recent suicide bombing in southern Syria shows the rivalry between Al Qaeda and ISIS is more than just a contest to see who can kill the most infidels — the groups are using classic terror techniques on each other.
The Nov. 15 bombing came at a top-level meeting of the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, a key ISIS militia known for its bloody and vicious hold over parts of the Golan Heights. Six of the group’s top men were killed, including Muhammad “Abu Ali” al-Baridi, the shadowy head of the group who went by the nickname “The Uncle.”
Al Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, quickly took credit, gloating on Twitter about the “heroic” attack.
3 ἀρκετὸς γὰρ ὁ παρεληλυθὼς χρόνος τὸ βούλημα τῶν ἐθνῶν κατειργάσθαι πεπορευμένους ἐν ἀσελγείαις, ἐπιθυμίαις, οἰνοφλυγίαις, κώμοις, πότοις καὶ ἀθεμίτοις εἰδωλολατρίαις. 4 ἐν ᾧ ξενίζονται μὴ συντρεχόντων ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν τῆς ἀσωτίας ἀνάχυσιν βλασφημοῦντες, (1 Peter 4:3-4 NA28)
3 For we have wasted enough time participating in the desires of the Gentiles, having proceeded in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties and unlawful idolatry. 4 Wherein they think it strange you are not running with them into the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. (1 Peter 4:3-4 translated from the NA28 Greek text)
The Loneliness of the Christian
“The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way.
“The man who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over-serious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens. He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.
“It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else.”
AW Tozer
I know of what Tozer was talking about. I was amazed when this happened to me at a Deacon’s meeting one Saturday morning when I wanted to share that my walk with Christ had a great deal more to do with my time in the Word, in prayer, in worship, than it did in being a Deacon or “doing church.” I did indeed long for some of those men, perhaps just a few of them, would be in that same spiritual place. However, I remember the cold stares and from that day forward, I became an outsider looking in even through I was one of the senior deacons and was a Bible teacher at that church. It was only about 6 months or so later that all that Purpose Driven stuff started. I fought it, but it became apparent that those who made the decisions there were not going to listen to anyone that did not agree with them so my wife and I left.
Christian Examiner reports:
A black conservative collegian said he has been ostracised by former friends and marginalized for not supporting activist groups on campus who have said racial bias exists at Occidential College and have demanded the resignation of the school’s president.
“They’re doing what they claim white people do to us, which is marginalize us and cast us as the bad guy,” Alton Luke II told the Los Angeles Times Friday. “You can’t have a different opinion here or you’re persecuted. But I’m standing against their tyrannical and unjustified actions.”
John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire offers many reasons Bible believing Christians should not practice contemplative prayer or have any involvement in Christian mysticism which has its roots in Roman Catholicism, as you will see.
According to International House of Prayer founder Mike Bickle, “God is calling everyone. Everyone in the Body of Christ is called to live in the contemplative lifestyle—everyone.’”
Is Bickle’s promotion of contemplative prayer a problem? Very much so.
Ray Yungen, author of A Time of Departing, warns, “Contemplative prayer is presenting a way to God identical with all the world’s mystical traditions. Christians are haplessly lulled into it by the emphasis on seeking the Kingdom of God and greater piety, yet the apostle Paul described the church’s end-times apostasy in the context of a mystical seduction. If this practice doesn’t fit that description, I don’t know what does.”
