http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt0sbl_repentance-by-richard-owen-roberts_lifestyle
Ireland will not force churches to wed gays
Berean Research reports:
Ireland on May 22 became the first country to hold a public vote amending its constitution to allow gay marriage, but the change will not force houses of worship to perform the unions.
Instead, gay couples will be able to enter in “civil marriage,” a separate institution from but affording all the legal benefits of “religious marriage,” according to the Yes Equality civil group that spearheaded the drive for the constitutional change.
ERLC to address culture at SBC meeting
According to Baptist Press:
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission will cosponsor a conversation on church and culture, launch a new equipping initiative for ministry to gays and lesbians, and relaunch a magazine during its participation at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting June 16-17 in Columbus, Ohio.
The ERLC will partner with 9Marks church health ministry for “Connecting Church and Culture” on the eve of the SBC meeting. Russell Moore, the ERLC’s president, and Mark Dever, president of 9Marks and senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., will discuss cultural engagement by the church and answer questions from the audience. The event will be at 9 p.m. June 15.
What is the source of true joy?
21 “ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? ’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from ME, you who practice lawlessness. ’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:21-27 NASB
One of my first posts, What is Joy?, which I wrote on January 10, 2006, has a read rate of 5 per day. This is obviously because it is returned in search engines to people seeking some truth about Biblical Joy, which is a constant theme throughout God’s Word. This tells us that most Christians are seeking joy and are, perhaps, perplexed because their circumstances are anything but joyful. Our Lord gave us the example through the way He walked throughout His earthly ministry in which we are given what true joy is and how we must live in order to obtain it. The following passage is right in the middle of that part of John’s Gospel dealing with the Samaritan woman at the well.
“Charlie Charlie” Ouija Board-Like Challenge Has Youth Trying to Summon A Demon
We’re posting this Christian News Network piece to alert parents that their child may be attempting to summon a demon. Doing that sort of thing “just for fun” is dangerous for both children and adults. In the Bible, God makes it clear that Christians are not to attempt to contact the spirit world.
We must also point out that some of the weird and scary experiences kids who have played “Charlie Charlie” claim they’ve had does not line up with the Bible’s teaching on demons.
A new challenge being shared on Twitter has youth across the nation and around the world engaging in an Ouija board-like ritual in an attempt to summon a demon.
According to reports, the “Charlie Charlie” challenge involves a Mexican occultist ritual of writing “yes” and “no” on a sheet of paper and crossing two pencils. The ritual is stated to be a type of “rite” for Mexican children.
“Charlie, Charlie, are you there?” those sitting around the paper chant, and then wait to see if the pencils move to point to either yes or no. If yes, those involved ask the demon questions to see how he will answer.
Apostate Churches Promoting Sin
From Berean Research:
Bill Muehlenberg has spent thirty years of his life writing books on the culture war. He’s one of the few Christians who actually understand what radical homosexual activists have in mind. “And it sure ain’t pretty.” Their final goal,” he says, “is to totally silence the churches – the true churches that is. They have no problems at all with the lukewarm and compromised churches – indeed, they love them, and are fully using them to achieve all their goals.” So my brethren, don’t say you weren’t warned.
I know I should no longer be surprised about these sorts of things happening, but it still leaves my head and spirit reeling: I will write about something so utterly clear in Scripture that no biblical Christian could differ, yet that happens anyway.
I will get bus-loads’ full of so-called Christian pastors, leaders and others absolutely foaming at the mouth at me and what I write. Instead of agreeing with God about clearly defined sin, they will blast me for daring to affirm biblical truth and morality.
Catholics Organize to Promote Pope’s Climate Change Message
Associated Press reports:
There will be prayer vigils and pilgrimages, policy briefings and seminars, and sermons in parishes from the U.S. to the Philippines.
When Pope Francis releases his much-anticipated teaching document on the environment and climate change in the coming weeks, a network of Roman Catholics will be ready. These environmental advocates – who work with bishops, religious orders, Catholic universities and lay movements – have been preparing for months to help maximize the effect of the statement, hoping for a transformative impact in the fight against global warming.
Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses
38 So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.” 40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. Acts 5:38-41 NASB
A good friend informed me of an incident in his life in which he had suffered some extreme personal costliness by standing firm and not giving in to the lies about God and our faith. I could tell he was in a great deal of anxiety and pain. He was also perplexed about many things. I asked God what I should do. Should I try to comfort him? Should I try to encourage him? How was I to do either? All through this there was a nagging voice attempting to blame me and what I teach here as being the cause of my friend’s pain. This voice also attempted to warn me not to try to encourage him with the passage from Acts 5 (above) that was being laid on my heart as I prayed because then that would open me up to criticism.
The Emergent Church Cult Of Postmodern Liberal Theology
Before he went to be with the Lord, our brother Ken Silva went to great lengths to warn the flock of the impending danger of what he referred to as the “cult of postmodern liberal theology.” Sadly, his warning was largely ignored by Christian leaders who thought Ken was just a clanging symbol. Well he wasn’t. And neither was the founder of the Christian Research Institute, Dr. Walter Martin, who took a lot of heat for shouting from the rooftops that “historic, orthodox Christianity” was being invaded by liberals and cultists.
With that in mind, we’re linking to a piece over at Apprising Ministries Ken put together back in 2011 that includes strong words from Dr. Martin:
Apprising Ministries brings to your attention the following hard-hitting and prophetic words, circa 1986, from “the father of modern cult apologetics” Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989). No matter what you may think of some things he taught, it is simply beyond question that, in his day, Dr. Martin was a foremost defender of what he so often called “the historic, orthodox Christian faith.”
Theological poison is, right now, seeping into the veins of the mainstream evangelical camp the upgraded sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church with its postmodern Progressive Christian theology—a Liberalism 2.0—that they often refer to as “big tent” Emergence Christianity.
So if you want to know the Truth about its infiltration of orthodox seminaries and Bible colleges, who err in assuming many of their professors are the same, then read on. And if not; well then, you might have just qualified yourself to become a leader within evangelicalism…
“God” tells NAR “prophet” about Dominionist Seven Mountains plans
John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire alerts us to yet another false prophetess. They are literally coming out of the woodwork:
The New Apostolic Reformation is not an organization. These are networks of “apostles” and “prophets” who believe the Second Apostolic Age is here. This means the age of denominations has passed and it is these “anointed” apostles and prophets who are to govern the church.
From the NAR we have such luminaries as C. Peter Wagner, James Goll, Mike Bickle, Bill Johnson, Mark Chironna, Brian Simmons, Cindy Jacobs, and many others.
Voddie Baucham’s big move to Africa
Reformed pastor Voddie Baucham talks with World Magazine’s Warren Cole Smith about his work at home and explains his bold move to Zambia with his wife and seven of their children.
Voddie Baucham is a husband, father, pastor, author, professor, conference speaker, and church planter. He currently serves as pastor of preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas. He’s also served as an adjunct professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Houston. Whether teaching on classical apologetic issues such as the validity and historicity of the Bible or the resurrection of Christ or teaching on cultural issues, such as gender roles, marriage, and family, he says his goal is to help people understand the significance of thinking and living biblically in every area of life. We had this conversation at an event hosted by Alliance Defending Freedom.
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves
21 “ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? ’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from ME, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23 NASB
The best test of everything is not how it appears here and now. Unlike those preachers who draw throngs of people to hear their, “Have your best life now!” sermons, those with real godly wisdom know that the best tests of everything is how it will appear in the moment of death, in the morning of resurrection, and at the day of judgment. Thankfully, the Word of God does give us the truth about these things. Let’s take a long slow look at Matthew 7:21-23 where our Lord lays it out very clearly about people who will find that what they believed to be true about their eternal state is nothing more than the product of self-deception.
Americans Greatly Overestimate Percent Gay, Lesbian in U.S.
Church daycare must pay lesbians a huge fine after couple violates employees’ moral clause
Berean Research reports:
A church daycare must pay a lesbian couple more than $28,000 after the women violated an employee agreement to live in celibacy as long as they taught at the Christian educational facility. As part of the settlement, the church must also meet with homosexual activists.
When Jaclyn Pfeiffer and her partner Kelly Bardier went to work as preschool teachers at Aloma United Methodist Church’s daycare, each of them signed the employee agreement that, as single women, they would live in celibacy.
But when Pfeiffer told the staff that they were in a lesbian relationship, the director of the daycare spoke them about the church’s employee behavioral policy. “The two teachers were counseled about their relationship as a violation of local church policy and out of concern for their spiritual well-being,” church officials explained.
Gay Ireland hails “a new Republic” as same-sex marriage approved
Reuters reports:
Gay couples flocked to central Dublin to celebrate a “historic watershed” on Saturday as a large majority in the traditionally Catholic country voted to allow same-sex marriage, the culmination of a four-decade struggle for gay rights.
Waving rainbow flags, embracing and crying, two thousand people gathered to watch the official results in the courtyard of Dublin Castle after voters, young and old, accounted for one of the highest turnouts in a referendum for decades.
“The amount of people who came out to vote is just such an emotional thing for us,” said Fred Schelbaum, 48, standing with his civil partner Feargal Scott, 43, who he said he intended to marry.
Appeals Court Rules New York May Ban “Choose Life” License Plates for Fear of Road Rage
Christian News Network reports:
A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has a right to decline to make “Choose Life” specialty plates if the commissioner deems the message as being “patently offensive.”
The Children First Foundation, which raises funds to support adoption and safe havens for babies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and D.C., had first petitioned the DMV for the plates in 2002. However, the request was rejected as the DMV stated that it had a “policy not to promote or display politically sensitive messages” on license plates.
Trail Life USA reacts to Boy Scout president on gay leaders
According to Christian Examiner, the Scouts reaffirms its own commitment to “timeless Christian values”:
Responding to an announcement yesterday that Boy Scouts of America legal position on banning gay Scout leaders has weakened and is “unsustainable,” Trail Life USA board chairman John Stemberger today reaffirmed its own commitment to “timeless Christian values.”
BSA President Robert Gates made the remarks to leaders in the group’s annual meeting yesterday, indicating the organization “cannot ignore growing internal challenges” and even “open defiance” to its membership policy.
“We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. The status quo in our movement’s membership standards cannot be sustained,” Gates, who previously served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Secretary of Defense said.
Ireland’s Gay Marriage Referendum a Sign of Roman Catholic Decline
Berean Research reports:
In Ireland,” says a character in a 1904 George Bernard Shaw play, “the people is the Church, and the Church is the people.”
But not so much anymore.
On Friday (May 22), voters in this once deeply Roman Catholic country will decide whether the country’s constitution should be amended to allow for gay marriage. If the amendment passes, Ireland will become the first country to legalize same-sex civil marriage by popular vote.
VP Biden equates religious belief on sin of homosexuality to ‘violence with impunity’
Christian Examiner reports:
Vice President Joe Biden has issued a statement likening “religious condemnation” of the sin of homosexuality to “violence with impunity,” among other things.
In the statement, issued from the White House on the “International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia,” celebrated widely in Europe and South America on May 17, Biden said the lesbian, gay and transgender (LGBT) community had displayed great bravery in the push for equal rights.
“In the last decade, thanks to the astounding bravery of the LGBT community and those who have championed their cause, the United States has made remarkable progress toward the ultimate goal of equality in law and in life. Our progress remains incomplete, but the momentum has shifted in the right direction.”
I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints
3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 1:3-4 NASB
Carefully read the passage above my brethren. The writer of the Epistle of Jude is the brother of James, the well-known leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21;18; Galatians 2:9) and, therefore, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. In v3 we read that Jude had intended to write a letter on salvation as the common blessing enjoyed by all true believers. This intent was probably to emphasize unity and fellowship among believers as he reminded them that God is no respecter of persons, however, his plans were changed. He doesn’t say why he “found it necessary” to write something else, but what we have in this letter is actually a call to battle for the truth in light of the appearance and infiltration into the Church of apostate teachers.
Study of attitudes to same-sex marriage retracted over “fake data”
According to The Guardian:
The senior author of a study claiming to find that a brief, face-to-face conversation with a gay political canvasser had the ability to soften the opinions of those opposed to same-sex marriage has retracted its findings, claiming there were errors in his co-author’s work.
The study, which was published in Science in December and was widely covered in the media, found support for same-sex marriage climbed among voters who had a single conversation with a gay or lesbian canvasser. In addition, the authors found that the changed views not only lasted for at least a year, but also positively influenced the opinions of other members of the household.
The optimistic slant on human nature provided by the research evaporated this week, however, when Professor Donald Green retracted the paper.
MOVIEGUIDE Props Up Profane Preacher
Marsha West
The late Ken Silva, Christian apologist and owner of Apprising Ministries, once called Judah Smith a “charismatic quasi-prosperity preacher.” If you’re unfamiliar with the Word of Faith/prosperity gospel (name-it-and-claim-it), it is outright heresy. Some readers will likely disagree with me on this and may even think I’m being too harsh. So I urge you to do as the Bereans did by going to the Word of God to see if what I say is true. (1 John 4:1)
A few years ago when Pastor Smith was first becoming a rising star, Ken Silva produced a short video showing him addressing a crowd of 60,000 young people under the age of twenty-five at the 2013 Passion Conference. While the founder of Passion, Louis Giglio, looked on, Smith paraded around the stage abusing the Lord’s Name. Yes, a “pastor” chose to use OMG five times. (See the video below) Perhaps he did it for shock value. Or maybe he uses the Lord’s Name in vain all the time and didn’t realize he was saying what he said. Regardless, when it comes to the clergy, neither of these reasons holds water.
Smith certainly knows the Bible warns about the power of words. He’s also aware that the Christian’s role is to glorify God. I mean, that’s what the Passion Conference is all about. According to its website, “Passion exists to glorify God by uniting students in worship, prayer and justice for spiritual awakening in this generation.”
Did Smith think that using the Lord’s Name in this way would glorify God? Probably not. I rather suspect he’s aware that Christians have a responsibility to watch how we speak. One can only conclude that he doesn’t think Exodus 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…” applies to him.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg Officiates Same-Sex “Wedding” as Supreme Court Deliberates National Case
Christian News Network reports:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiated a same-sex “wedding” last weekend as the nation’s high court deliberates a monumental case that will decide states’ rights regarding the definition of marriage.
Ginsburg wore her traditional black robe and lace collar as she presided over the ceremony of Michael Kahn and Charles Mitchem. According to reports, Ginsburg put an emphasis on the word “Constitution” as she declared that she was uniting them under the “powers vested in her by the Constitution of the United States.”
Assemblies of God exposed to New Apostolic Reformation through Empowered21
According to John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire, the apostate New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement has infiltrated the Assemblies of God (AG), a Pentecostal Christian denomination. Lanagan fills us in on the E21 event that is currently going on in Jerusalem. NAR “prophetess” Cindy Jacobs “was not only a featured speaker … at the Amman, Jordan event, but is the co-chair of the Jerusalem2015 Prophecy and The End Times Ministry Track.”
A few comments, observations, and a question or two for Assemblies of God General Superintendent George Wood and his E21 co-chair, Billy Wilson of Oral Roberts University:
Sit under the teaching, gifting, and anointing of the world’s top Spirit-empowered pastors, leaders, and teachers. –E21 promotional for Jerusalem 2015 event [1]
In the past few years we have seen a dilution of biblical doctrine occurring throughout the Body of Christ. Now, it seems anything called “Jesus”—The Shack and Jesus Calling come to mind—is welcomed without question by huge numbers of Christians.
Is the same thing happening in terms of the Holy Spirit? Are increasing numbers in the visible church beginning to place less emphasis on doctrine in order to facilitate Spirit-empowered unity?
This brings us to the Empowered21 organization:
Our Lord’s example of being angry but not sinning
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. 13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” John 2:12-16 NASB
Some today have made a caricature of our Lord Jesus Christ. This man-made image is far from the truth we see in Sacred Scripture. There have been some who have even portrayed the Bible as revealing two separate “Gods,” the mean, angry God of the Old Testament, and the kind, gentle Jesus of the New Testament. The former is an image contrived by those who resent God’s commands for holiness and righteousness while the latter is vastly incomplete and derived by those who are either ignorant of what the New Testament teaches about our Lord or they are deliberately ignoring what it says.