Genuine Christian Assurance

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1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 2 Pet. 1:1–2, NASB

God is good to those who belong to him. Within that he imparts knowledge of himself to us and that includes knowledge of our own fallenness. He uses this knowledge to make sure that those of us in Christ fully understand that we are in him despite our sinfulness and unworthiness to be so. When we walk in light of this knowledge we also, in the power of the Holy Spirit, walk in repentance according to God’s marvelous grace. We also come to know how awesome it is that we have obtained faith in righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ even though all we really deserve is God’s wrath. View article →

‘The Bible’ Exec Fired From $6M Job for ‘Sexting’ with Escort

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News

According to the Christian Post:

Executive Producer of the History Channel’s “The Bible” miniseries Scott Sassa was booted from his $6 million job by conservative heads at media giant Hearst Corporation last month after they got wind of his racy text exchange negotiating a drug-filled $1,000 sexual encounter with a teenage escort last Christmas.

Sources speaking with the Business Insider have since suggested that Sassa, 54, could also have been the victim of a “catfish” scam of Manti Te’o proportions.

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Pope Francis Reaffirms Crackdown on U.S. Nuns

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Los Angeles Times reports:

In a statement issued Monday, the Vatican said Francis had “reaffirmed” the doctrinal evaluation and criticism of U.S. nuns carried out last year by the Vatican under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The assessment accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella organization that represents most U.S. female Catholic orders, of promoting “radical feminism” and of ignoring the Vatican’s hard line on same-sex marriage and abortion.

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Exploiting Tragedy to Attack Critics

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

David Cousar is concerned about the way in which popular Bible teacher and author Beth Moore has used the tragic death of Rick Warren’s son to attack Warren’s theological critics, or, as Moore calls them, “bullies in the body of Christ.” Cousar begins:

I had promised myself not to write anything critical of Rick Warren in the wake of his son’s tragic and untimely death. My heart goes out to him and his family during this incredibly sad time.

So, what could possibly prompt me to write anything about him in less than a week after his horrific personal tragedy? It was his weekly email newsletter that he sends out to Pastors.com members. In it was featured an article by Beth Moore titled “Beth Moore: Sadness and Madness”.

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FCC May Drop Ban on TV Nudity, Expletives

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Baptist Press reports:

Nudity and expletives normally reserved for cable television would be allowed on broadcast TV under a proposal from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

In an announcement that received little attention but could have a major impact on America’s families, the FCC April 1 announced it is considering changes to the current broadcast indecency policies that would permit “isolated expletives” and isolated “non-sexual nudity” on broadcast TV, something that currently could draw a fine.

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At Evangelical Colleges, a Shifting Attitude Toward Gay Students

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CNN Belief Blog reports:

Combing through prayer requests in a Wheaton College chapel in 2010, then-junior Benjamin Matthews decided to do something “absurdly unsafe.”

He posted a letter on a public forum bulletin board near students’ post office boxes. In the letter, he came out as gay and encouraged fellow gay Christian students – some of whom had anonymously expressed suicidal plans in a pile of the prayer requests – to contact him if they needed help.

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Networks Cover Rutgers Scandal, Ignore Gosnell Abortion Horrors

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LifeNews points out that the media has refused to cover the trial of West Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who may have murdered over 100 babies outside the womb by plunging scissors into their spinal cords. Instead, news outlets have chosen to report on “shocking videos” that show Rutgers’ head basketball coach bullying his team. According to LifeNews:

Last week, Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell and 20 other leaders of the conservative movement publicly demanded the networks end their blackout of the Gosnell trial. They haven’t.

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What Southern Baptists Can Expect From Russell Moore and the ERLC

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion

In this piece, Southern Baptist pastor Randy White lays out what he believes Southern Baptists can expect from the recent appointment of Dr. Russell D. Moore, who will replace the controversial Richard Land as the President of Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. “Whether or not you are Southern Baptists,” says White, “Moore will have huge influence on the Christian worldview and expression of Christianity for many years to come. It is not hard to discern where Moore will lead, what he will emphasize, and what his values are, and this Southern Baptist is concerned.” View article →

Jim Wallis Now Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News ∙ ,

After stating in 2008, “I don’t think the sacrament of marriage should be changed. Some people say that Jesus didn’t talk about homosexuality, and that’s technically true. But marriage is all through the Bible, and it’s not gender-neutral,” far-left leader and CEO of Sojourners Jim Wallis’ position on marriage has evolved. Contrary to what the Bible teaches, Wallis now holds the view that marriage should include same-sex couples for the reason that we are losing marriage in our society. View article →

Your Bible, Now Made in China

Posted by ∙ ∙ In News

WORLD Magazine reports that China, the world’s largest producer of manufactured goods and textiles, now has become the largest producer of Bibles as well. According to WORLD, “In 2012, the country’s sole Bible printer, Amity Printing, produced 12 million Bibles and New Testaments.”

Most are aware, however, of China’s longtime persecution of professing Christians. This article indicates that a closer inspection of the country’s increased availability of the sacred text reveals that China’s government “continues to control how many Bibles are printed and who can get them.” View article →

Is Homosexuality a Sin?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching ∙

You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. Lev. 18:22, NASB

One of the early leaders of the Bolsheviks who led the Russian Revolution at the beginning of the 20th Century was Leon Trotsky. After the death of its main leader Lenin, Trotsky came into conflict with the Bolsheviks who supported Stalin. He had to leave the country. He wrote articles in hiding that attacked the policies of the Stalinists. One of the “strategies” of Trotsky that was rejected by the Stalinist was “Continual Revolution.” He was a true Communist. According to Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Communism is the goal, but in order to reach it Capitalism must be replaced with Socialism and eventually done away with completely in order to bring in a pure Communistic state. Trotsky was a true believer, while Stalin was more pragmatic. What has this to do with homosexuality? The ‘Gay Rights’ movement is constructed according to the principles of Leon Trotsky’s ‘Continual Revolution.’ Its true believers will never stop until they achieve their goal of complete societal acceptance of homosexuality as a protected minority with all the same legal rights as non-homosexuals, but with the added protection from the federal and state governments to ensure it. View article →

UN Report Classifies Lack Of Access to Abortion as ‘Torture’

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Policymic reports on the absurd notion that lack of access to abortion is considered torture by the United Nations:

United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, came out with his yearly report on torture last month. This year’s report “focuses on certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Among other things, Méndez specifically cites lack of access to abortion.

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Public School Boots Cub Scouts

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Todd Starnes, host of FOX News and Commentary, reports:

A federal civil rights complaint has been filed against the Salt Lake City School Board after a principal booted a Cub Scout pack from an elementary school.

About 30 eight to 11 year-olds were told they could no longer meet at Mountain View Elementary School because the Boy Scout’s ban on gay members in leaders conflicted with the school district’s anti-bias policy.

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Hobby Lobby Granted Full Rehearing of Obamacare Abortion Pill Mandate Challenge

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From Christian News Network:

The popular craft chain Hobby Lobby has been granted a full rehearing of its case challenging Obamacare’s abortion pill mandate.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Friday that Hobby Lobby’s appeal will go before the entire court as per the company’s request. Cases are customarily held before a panel of three judges, except in what are called en banc hearings.

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The Effects of Denying the Resurrection

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Rom. 13:8–14, NASB

The Doctrine of the Resurrection is a target of our enemy. He does not want God’s people to understand it or to have hope in it. I have received some very strange comments on the posts on the Resurrection lately. I have not posted them because the challenge from them was couched in arguments that were either pure humanism or from a spiritual slant that was entirely pagan. Tragically, a few were from professing Christians whose concept of the Resurrection read more like a fairy tale or a horror story than what we find in the Bible. In this post we will look at the effects of denying the Resurrection. View article →

The True Meaning of the Day in which Chocolate Was Invented

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙ ,

In our increasingly secular nation, a growing number of Americans are clueless as to the real reason for the Easter holiday. Case in point: This year’s White House Easter Egg Roll has as its theme “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!” In the United Kingdom somewhere around 80 per cent of children do not even know the true meaning of Easter. In this piece Marsha West reveals the far-left’s plot to secularize the Christian faith and then she lays out the true meaning of Easter. View article →

Destructive Heresies and Doctrines

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But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.2 Pet. 2:1, NASB

False professors and false prophets have one thing in common. They are convinced that the ‘religious paradigm’ they love, cherish, follow, and proclaim is true. Of course, they come to this conclusion through what some of them refer to as their ‘thinkology.’ In other words, what makes it true in their hearts is their own acceptance of it. The deciding or defining standard, which is used by these people, is their own value system. They oppose clear Biblical truth because “they just don’t believe it” while they embrace humanistic forms of Christianity simply because their ‘thinkology ‘ gives them a green light. View article →