coffeetrader-news&views

The Gentiles Lording It Over

2012-01-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

Wade Burleson has hit the nail squarely on the head with this post:

our-problem-is-authoritarianism-and-not legalism

Facebook

2011-11-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

The Forgotten Man

2011-10-21T22:54:00.003-05:00

As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine what C shall do for X, or in the better case, what A, B and C shall do for X....

What I want to do is to look up C. I want to show you what manner of man he is. I call him the Forgotten Man. Perhaps the appellation is not strictly correct. He is the man who is never thought of....

He works, he votes, generally he prays....but he always pays....

--William Graham Sumner

Yale University, 1883

Toxicity

2011-10-14T22:52:00.002-05:00

When concern over abusive and unbiblical church leaders at least equals concern over gossip, it will be progress. One of the reasons abusive leaders are able to continue on so long is that they suppress the cries of the injured and shove the victims out into the night as quickly as possible. Pietists are trained to look the other way for the sake of the “cause of Christ” when in fact, Christ’s cause is very much with the wronged, the abused and the injured. The cause of Christ is not keeping big names from being tarnished, it is found in truth. ~Ingrid Schlueter

HT: http://www.ingridschlueter.com/shows

1 Timothy 5 – “Older Women” or “Elderesses”?

2011-08-28T10:30:00.001-05:00

My good blogging friend, Junkster, sent me this study after he was inspired by a comment of Dr. James Willingham's in this SBCVoices post, to take a deeper look at 1 Timothy 5. He gave me persmission to post it here:

In an interlinear translation of 1 Timothy 5:1-2, we have these interesting verses:

5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
(Presbuterw mh epiplhchv, alla parakalei wv patera, newterouv wv adelfouv,)

5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
(presbuterav wv mhterav, newterav wv adelfav en pash agneia.)

The context of 1 Tim 5:1-22 is a set of instructions for relating to various people in the church -- elder males, younger males, elder females, younger females, elder widows, younger widows, all summarized in the instruction in 5:21 to "observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality." Thus the passage is providing instructions for fair treatment of all in the body, whether old, young, male, or female, while recognizing and acting according to the unique needs and circumstances of each. We may do different things with or toward different people, but we are not to elevate some over others just because of their gender and/or age.

Verses 1 & 2 give the instruction to entreat (rather than rebuke) various people. Verse one deals with entreating "elders" (presbutero, the singular masculine form of presbuteros, which we are to entreat "as a father") and then younger men ("as brothers"); verse two gives the same instruction for "elder women" (presbuteras, the plural feminine form of presbuteros, whom we are to entreat "as mothers"), and then younger [women] ("as sisters").

Given the parallel construction of these two verses, the appropriate translation should be consistent. One could either translate presbutero as "elder men" (referring not to the concept of a specific church function, but just to "old dudes") and presbuteras as "elder women" (referring to "old ladies"). Alternatively, one could translate the former as "male elders" (referring to the church function) and the latter as "female elders".

Well, now, that changes things a bit, huh?

The question of which way the words should be translated, either "old men” and “old women", or "male elders” and “female elders", cannot be discerned from those two verses alone. But the rest of the passage gives insight into the appropriate translation -- in instructions regarding "widows" (chera) in verses 3-16, and in further instructions regarding elders in verses 17-22.

The instructions regarding "widows" in verses 3-16 indicate some sort of formal recognition by the church of specific individuals that fall into that category. Reference is made to "the list" ("the number" in KJV), which is katalego, referring specifically to some sort of registry used to keep track of people (also used of enlisted soldiers elsewhere). In this passage, the list is to be used to keep track of who should and should not receive direct support from the contributions made to the church. Thus Paul uses "widows" to refer to individuals who have a specific designation within the church, including what functions those persons are to perform in the church (prayer, good deeds, service to others, etc.).

In verses 17-22, Paul comes back to elders, first giving instructions to provide "double honor" to those who "direct the affairs of the church" ("rule well" in the KJV, a poor translation) and then giving instructions on how to deal with an accusation against an elder -- not to be done except "before two or three witnesses". (The KJV translation, which, by the way, is a better translation in this case than the NIV, which says "brought by two or three witnesses." Translated correctly, the instruction is, if you are going to listen to someone making an accusation against an elder, there need to be others present to hear the accusation, not that the accusation has to come from more than one person. Big difference.) Also, verse 22 refers to the “laying on of hands”, the normal way of indicating that someone is being prayed over to be set apart for a specific task or function in the church.

So we see that both "widows" and "elders", in context, are specific designations, filling specific functions in the body. The overall context of the passage is dealing with relating to those who have those specific, designated functions in the church.

Thus, we can conclude that "elder' in verse one is not referring just to a man of advanced age, but to the concept of one who fills the church function of elder. And, if we use sound principles of translation, the correct translation in 5:2 should then be "elderesses" or "female elders".

One of the things we can see from this is that the KJV translators (and most since) had a vested interest in maintaining the hierarchical status quo, and they allowed their own cultural biases and assumptions to influence their translations.

There's no good reason to translate presbuteras in 5:2 as "elder women" unless you are trying to avoid the conclusion that the Bible indicates that both men and women can be elders.

Mark Driscoll: I See Things

2011-08-15T16:25:00.000-05:00

Video Transcript:

Some people actually see things. This may be gift of discernment. On occasion, I see things. I see things. Uh, like I was meeting with one person and they—they didn't know this, but they were abused when they were a child. And I said, "When you were a child you were abused. This person did this to you, physically touched you this way."

He said, "How do you know?"

I said, "I don't know. It's like I got a TV right here. I'm seeing it."

He said, "No that never happened."

I said, "Go ask him. Go ask him if they actually did what I think they did and I see that they did."

They went and asked this person, "When I was a little kid did you do this?"

And the person said, "Yyyyeah, but you were only like a year or two old. How do you remember that?"

He said, "Well, pastor Mark told me."

I'm not a guru. I'm not a freak. I don't talk about this. If I did talk about it everybody'd want to meet with me and I'd end up like one of those guys on TV. But some of you have this visual ability to see things.

Um, uh, there was one women I dealt with. She never told her husband that she had committed adultery on him early in the relationship. I said, "You know—" (she's sitting there with her husband). I said, "You know I think the root of all this—I think Satan has a foothold in your life because you've never told your husband about that really tall blonde guy that you met at the bar. And then you went back to the hotel. And you laid on your back. And you undressed yourself. And he climbed on top of you. And you had sex with him. And snuggled up with him for a while. And deep down in your heart, even though you had just met him, you desired him because secretly he is the fantasy body type." I said, "You remember that place it was that cheap hotel with that certain-colored bedspread. You did it—you had sex with the light on because you weren't ashamed and you wanted him to see you. And you wanted to see him."

She was just looking at me like—

I said,"You know, it was about ten years ago.

"I see everything."

She says—she looks at her husband. He says, "Is that true?"

She says, "Yeah."

"He was 6'2", blonde hair, blue eyes?"

"Yeah."

Some of you when you're counseling you will see things. I mean you will, you will literally gift of discernment see things. I can't explain it. It doesn't happen all the time.

Sometimes your counselee, they will see things. Ye—eh—there's pa— I found this with people—ok, now let me—I'm gonna ask the demon questions. You tell me what they say."

"They don't say anything."

I say, "What do you hear?"

And they say, "Nothing." They say, "But I'm seeing stuff."

"Oh, oh, well tell me. What's that?"

"I'm seeing—you know when I was little my grandpa molested me. I didn't know that."

I said, "Well, let's not assume it's true. Go ask your grandfather."

Grandpa says, "Yyyeah, when you were little I molested you." Grandpa was assuming they'd be too young to remember. So he'd only molest grand kids up to a certain age. But they saw it.

It's the supernatural. It's, it's, it's the whole other realm. It's like the Matrix. You can take the blue pill, you take the red pill. You go into this whole other world. And, and, and that's the way it works.

So I say—tell me everything you hear, tell me everything you see. And sometimes I see things too. I see things too. I've seen women raped. I've seen children molested. I've seen people abused. I've seen people beaten. I've seen horrible things done. Horrible things done. I've seen children dedicated in occultic groups and demons come upon them as an infant by invitation. And I wasn't present for any of it, but I've seen it visibly.

Upon occasion when I get up to preach I'll see—just like a screen in front of me—I'll see somebody get raped or abused and then I'll track 'em down and say, "Look I had this vision. Let me tell you about it." All true. One I had—I was sitting in my office at the old, uh, Earl Building. This gal walks by. Nice gal, member of the church. This is when the church was small. And it's just like a TV was there and I saw the night before her husband threw her up against the wall, had her by the throat, was physically violent with her.

And she said, "That's it, I'm telling the pastors."

And he said, "If you do I'll kill you." He was a very physically abusive man.

She was walking by and I just saw it. It was like a TV. And I said, "Hey, come here for a second." I said, "Last night did your husband throw you up against the wall and have you by the throat, physically assault you and tell you if you told anyone he would kill you?"

And she just starts bawling. She says, "How did you know?"

I said, "Jesus told me."

I call the guy on the phone: "Hey, I need you to come to the office." Didn't give him any clue.

He comes in and I said, "Dude, what'd you do to your wife last night? Why'd you do this? Why'd you throw her up against the wall?"

And he gets very angry. They're sitting on the couch and he says, "Why did you tell him?"

I said, "She didn't. Jesus did. Jesus did."

. . . And there are some people that have real gift of discernment, and I'm not saying I'm a hundred percent always right with it, but some of you are going to have gift of discernment, and you need to—you need to learn to grow in the use of that gift. And sometimes people will hear things. Sometimes people will see things.

CJ Mahaney and SGM: The Systematic Approach to Sin Sniffing

2011-07-10T11:37:00.007-05:00

(Note: I had to edit out some of the information due to counsel that warned me these guys don't play around and are starting to throw out charges of "slander". Even though what I wrote is cooberated elsewhere, I don't need the hassle. So, I simply edited out a specific sin/crime that is part of this whole saga of PDI/SGM)

http://www.scribd.com/sgmwikileaks (pack a lunch before reading)
http://sgmsurvivors.com/
http://sgmrefuge.com/
http://www.sojournsg.com/

Check out the links above for everything you need to know about SGM and C.J. Mahaney.

Now, before reading this post, take the red pill. If you are reluctant, all I can advise is to definitely take the red pill before reading the sgmwikileaks documents. You will thank me...someday.

Blue pills are still being administered all over Christendom as they have been for years to prop up evil systems. You will hear the ominous threats of "gossip" from religous leaders and their sycophants if you dare read the documents above. But don't feel guilty. Read them. Truth is important. Truth is not gossip.

Of course, some of us have long known there were serious systemic problems with CJ Mahaney and SGM. All one has to do is google (always do this before joining any movement or even your local church) and one finds, sgmsurvivors, sgmrefuge, my sojournwithsgm, etc, a veritable litany of what is wrong with SGM and a trail miles long littered with it's victims.

Just a few hours of reading the docs and you can pretty much tell it is a cult or cultish at the very least. But wait, how can it be a cult or cultish if Mohler, Dever, Duncan, Piper, etc, all vouch for SGM's leading "Apostle" C.J. Mahaney? The answer is that you have been taking blue pills for way too long so you missed the reality that Christendom has become a huge business full of power, fame,greed and lots of "merchandising" of the Gospel with conferences and "you blurb my book and I will blurb yours" going on. With power and celebrity being the main focus. None of this can go on for so long without followers giving their money and adoring the celebrities...even obeying them.

A few things struck me in the documents:

A long time leader in SGM (Brent) kept meticulous notes and documentation for over 13 years. He claims to be the unofficial historian of SGM.

This document guy is one of "them". Many of us are thankful he kept the documentation for so long but to be honest, he is one of them. He did not keep them to "out" SGM so much as to keep a list of sins to be confronted and timelines of how they were not confessed...or not confessed properly. He is like a relentless, annoying Nathan who is just as guilty as David but cannot see it.

He thought this was normal. SGM thinks this is normal. The entire leadership of SGM thinks this is normal. People who attend SGM churches think this is normal. This.... "sin sniffing".

Now, you may be thinking...wow! Sins such as embezzelment or adultery....no, my friend, it is much worse. The sins documented are things like pride, lack of being accountable, not having the proper reaction to a rebuke, etc....... ad nauseum.

Now, I had heard the term "sin sniffing" from former SGMers but I never really understood the depth of the terminology UNTIL I read the docs. It is unbelievable. These "men" have way too much time on their hands, way too much money and way too big of egos. They need to be rebuked. Just kidding. It is way too far far gone for that. That would be simply playing their game. Run away from them.

I am not so sure what is worse, the "sin sniffing" or the method of confrontation for the sin of having a "look of pride".

Every single confrontation is preceeded by a lot of cheesy "Christianese" such as, " I love you, you are a brother in Christ" and ends with praises to God. The Dale Carnegie approach to sin sniffing? Do they not see how fake it all sounds while they rip each other to shreds or ignore the glaring REAL sin that is never to be named? No, it is all vague and broad.

This is the system that CJ built. Our Lord is mentioned A LOT but no where in sight.

My first thoughts upon reading this were, 'This is what highly paid ministers in the top rungs of a large "family of churches" do with their time'? I am not joking when I say they sounded like Junior High girls trying to analyze each other and nit picking every action, every word. I had flashbacks!

And this went on for years....because it is the FOUNDATION of SGM. It was built on this sort of sin sniffing and it is universal in their "family of churches" . It was as if the Resurrection never happened for them. They did not get the indwelling Holy Spirit because they are stuck on a "pre Cross" religion.... living under a sort of "Christian" Oral Law they created and fine tuned just for their movement.

Now, as I am reading the docs, I am fully aware of how victims of sexual molestation were treated at SGM by their "pastor college" trained pastors...or are they apostles (little" a" because Mahaney is the big "A")? I was already aware of the trail of wounded from PDI (People of Destiny) to SGM before I read the docs.

Rabbit trail alert: Does anyone else find the name "People of Destiny" like a neon sign warning "cult ahead"? Good move changing the name, CJ. It gave you some breathing time before the cult methods were outed. I cannot picture Al Mohler partnering with an "Apostle" from the "People of Destiny", can you?

So, reading the docs,one stumbles upon "CJ the blackmailer".

But even before we get to the blackmail we see that CJ is quite good at what he does. Whenever he is confronted, he is very nice about it while he cleverly twists it around to make the other person confronting him the "real sinner". Very clever. Machiavelli would be proud. Too bad email was invented. If it had not been, this would be a simple matter of he said/he said and CJ would win by default as an "Apostle", big A.

Back to blackmail. Well, CJ was not demanding money so I am not sure blackmail is the right word. Perhaps "pastoral confidence hostage" is better. And this happened with his former partner and "brother in Christ", Larry Tomczak, in the PDI days. Well, actually he is using Larry's teenage son (at the time) as the hostage, to blackmail Larry.

CJ used a private pastoral confession as leverage to keep his former partner (Larry Tomzak) quiet about PDI/SGM going Calvinist. It is not easy to take Charismatics to Calvinism when you have promoted "prophecy mic's" and are speaking in tongues. Even being a "big A" Apostle does not quite fit with "going Calvinist". (They prefer the more acceptable term, "Reformed")

Here is the back story if you are too lazy or busy to slog through the 600 pages of documentation.

Larry's teenage son had some (edited out) sin in his life. And it was serious. It is not quite clear if it was ___ (edited out) or not but that seems to be the case since there was a victim. If it was, CJ should have called the authorities and at least acknowledged the victim. But we know SGM does not "do" victims who have suffered any molestation from their own. In fact, victims of sexual molestation are in sin for not giving instant forgiveness... as we know from Noel's story of her 3 year old being molested by another SGM'er. (google sgmsurvivors-noel's story and it is not the only sexual victim story from SGM and how it was handled)

Anywho, so CJ hears Larry's teenage son's confession and promises pastoral confidentiality. I am not clear on the details of what happened with the victim but CJ seems to have wrapped it all up nicely for Larry and his son and made the problem "go away".

Then CJ wants to make changes in the movement that Larry does not agree with.
So, CJ simply alludes (CJ never comes right out and says what he really means)
he will make the (edited out) sin stuff about Larry's son known if he does not go along or keep his mouth shut about them. Let us just say that Larry, his wife and some others in leadership think it was blackmail.

Larry and CJ split, PDI becomes the more acceptable name of SGM and PRESTO! a new brand of Reformers appear as Calvinists waving their hands in song and praying in tongues. Frozen Chosen? I think not. And like magic, we have a charistmatic wing of Calvinism in the New Reformed Movement that is sweeping our land.

CJ climbs his way up the Reformed elite ladder...acceptance by the big cheeses....Piper, Mohler, Dever, T4G, etc....becomes a player with book deals (one on Humility, no less!) and lots of speaking gigs. He is accepted into the Reformed elite, making big money and is quite popular. (They even had the grace to ignore his constant "giggling")

All the while, he has Brent (the author of the docs and unoffical SGM historian) dogging him...sin sniffing him. Email after email..... for years and years. Meeting after meeting with the "A" team. (If you can believe it...they have an A team. Let me guess...Apostle team?)

After all, this is the "shepherding" system CJ created. It had everything but the state magistrates Calvin had at his disposal. But who needs magistrates when you have apostles, care team leaders and brainwashed sycophants running all over SGM churches sin sniffing people? The Soviets could not have devised a better system of control. One blog commenter said the docs reminded him of reading the tactics of the Chinese under Mao, during the cultural revolution, where forced confession and re-education were everyday happenings.

But there was one tiny problem. CJ was not supposed to be a recipient of his own system.

This sin sniffing was only for everyone else. He is a big A Apostle, remember? Doesn't Brent realize this? No. Brent did not get that memo. In fact, Brent did not think the "unwritten" rules applied to him. He did not take into consideration that CJ is the brand. He IS SGM. He has the ear of Mohler, Dever, Piper, etc.

Big mistake, because they tried to fire Brent (forced resignation just like they do in the corporate world.) And remember, Brent is one of them. He has left a trail of wounded in his long career with PDI/SGM.

There is more but I will cut to the chase because the timeline becomes very interesting. And this is just in the last few weeks. SGM has been busy...I am sure their PR people and lawyers have earned their keep these few weeks. (Ken Sande, we see you in the shadows, buddy)

SGM announces,in house,that....SURPRISE!...after all these years....Larry is coming in for a man hug with CJ. Reconcilation and forgiveness all around after all these years. Larry will be coming to attend an SGM conference for pastors. Seems Larry did not just go quietly into that good night all those years before....there was a split. You mean the humble big A apostle had some baggage from way back? Not to worry, man hug announced and scheduled.

But we did not know the docs had been circulating around SGM tight circles for several months, now did we? Brings new light to the annoucement of the sudden Larry man hug after all these years.

Then shortly after THAT surprise announcment, CJ announces he is stepping down for a while to contemplate his sin and be accountable to Mark Dever (of T4G fame but not of SGM). Now, we find out that CJ knew the docs had been circulated to a "wider audience" by Brent right before CJ made his "stepping down for a while to contemplate my sin" announcement. Timing is everything, isn't it? Did you know you could time "humility"? You can. CJ proves it.

But, be rest assured, he is not stepping down "for a while" for any sexual or moral sins. Of course, to name the horrible sin that caused him to step down 'for a while'
would be wrong...yikes...more sin..because we know only they have the authority to define for us, what is sin.

No, we must leave people wondering because then we can nail them for the "sin of wondering" what the horrible sin was that caused this great man of God, Big A Apostle, to have to leave his dynasty for awhile and be accountable to another Reformed big cheese. We must trust our leaders. We must "trust positive intentions".

Quick, grab a blue pill before you wake up to reality!

Now, around the blogosphere in the zany world that is Christendom, he is being lauded as the most "humble-humble" pastor in all America" and anyone who reads the docs is only a gossip. Before, he was only "humble". Now, all of this proves he is: Double knot humble.

You cannot make this stuff up.

To paraphrase one blogger in a comment: I expect to see Mahaney to now miraculously discover GRACE. He will claim he has left out the GRACE in SGM. He will write a book about it and be more popular than ever. The celebrities will rally around him, (because they blurbed his books and had him speaking on their stages before he was double knot humble) bring him in to speak (for a fee, of course) on their conference stages. They will be "covered" in doing so by not only Larry, who came in for a man hug, but by Mark Dever's good housekeeping seal of approval for sin contrition. He will be a huge humble hero at T4G in Louisville. He might just steal the show. Giggles all around.

These guys are good at reinventing themselves and redefining sin.

See, sin pays well in American Christianity if you are a celebrity Christian. So, sin more because GRACE abounds. But NEVER be foolish enough to confess or acknowledge the REAL sin. Be vague about it. No specifics allowed. Have a "broad sin heading" You can even claim "acceptable" sins like "pride" and "arrogance".

The Holy Spirit always convicts us of "vague sin". Right?

Then, if anyone inquires, since you are a leader and your income derives from their support, you can use your title and position to say, "that is gossip" and you are in sin for wondering what my sin really is, specifically. Nevermind that I instituted the sin sniffing system for you to live by. I am exempt. I am a big A.

So, there you have it. Thousands of people have supported this system and found it credible...even after reading the New Testament and the part about the Resurrection.

But, I just had to to save the best for last. Because this is America and we have our own brand of Christianity. You see, Larry's son, (edited out) the teen raised in the legalistic sin sniffing shepherding system, is now running for poltical office!

Is that perfect or what?

Better get your script for blue pills filled soon.

Missing in Action: The Holy Spirit

2011-04-30T11:54:00.000-05:00

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14

OK, so the title is a play on words. The Holy Spirit is not "missing" but He certainly is not very active these days in what we call the church here in the West. And it is our own fault.

It took me a while to put my finger on it but after ten years of slogging through the "Christian" meta on the spiritual abuse problems in the church and listening to scores of celebrity pastors, I have come to the conclusion it is the lack of the Holy Spirit dwelling in hearts. The Holy Spirit is "missing in action".

I don't know about you but as a kid, I can remember the Holy Spirit being mentioned all the time in a believers life. As I grew older, I heard less and less about Him and more about leaders. This could be because the teaching on the Holy Priesthood is just about nil unless they have redefined it as some of the Christian celebrities have tried to do. So what we end up with are people following Christian leaders thinking this is the way of Christ. I am of Piper, I am of Mohler, I am of Rick Warren. This problem is as old as the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1: 10-17) but has become worse with the cult of personality combined with technology that produces instant celebrities.

We cannot mature as believers without the indwelling Holy Spirit leading us in all things. We are listening to human teachers telling us how to live, what to give, where to give and interpreting scripture for us. We forget that Paul commended the Bereans for checking out everything he taught to make sure it was true. And worse of all, we cannot mature in the Faith unless the Holy Spirit is convicting us of our sins, daily.

The Holy Spirit is replaced by husbands in a wife's life with complimentarian doctrine and their aberrant teaching on what "head/kephale" means. We have pastors and elders replacing the Holy Spirit in a believers life with hierarchical teaching in the church that convinces people that leaders have more "anointing" than others. This is simply not what the Word teaches. There are only functions in the Body and elders would be the more spiritually mature and they would be pointing you to Christ as the authority and praying for you to grow in Holiness past them! Scripture describes them as "among" us. Not "over" us. And "pastor" is a function in the Body and only mentioned once. If you are a parent, you are "pastoring".

Unfortuantly, church tradition adopted the Roman/Greek structure of hierarchy even though Jesus Christ warned His disciples against this very thing when it comes to the Body of Christ:

42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10 (Also found in Matthew and Luke)

The rise of spiritual abuse and the corruption of the institutional church is the historical result of people not understanding the function of the Holy Spirit in their earthly walk.

The institutional church is not teaching it. One reason might be that if people are being led by the Holy Spirit instead of leaders, then human power and position is lost. You cannot direct people or even lead them when the Holy Spirit is alive and guiding someone.

But without the indwelling Holy Spirit, how can one be convicted of sin?

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1 John 3

By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 1 John 4

Paul warned us about feasting on milk instead of meat. Without the Holy Spirit guiding us in all things, we cannot grow in Holiness and we end up following the traditions of men.

Please spend some time studying the function of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life. There is way too much to write about it in one blog post but my prayer is that all believers who have confessed Christ as their Savior will pray for the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide them in all things and give them the pure wisdom from above.

Remember what Jesus prayed for before the Crucifixion in John 17. He was praying for our "spiritual" unity. Not just a relational unity as so many churches promote. A "spiritual unity" because we now have the indwelling Spirit of Truth.

David Wilkerson, RIP

2011-04-29T14:10:00.002-05:00

The People Formally Known As The Congregation

2011-04-16T19:44:00.003-05:00

This is an old post by the ever articulate

Bill Kinnon over at http://http//www.kinnon.tv/

but it is certainly timeless in content.

http://www.kinnon.tv/2007/03/the_people_form.html

Count the Costs

2011-04-10T09:37:00.005-05:00

"Where the world despises other members of the Christian family, Christians will love and serve them. If the world does violence to them, Christians will help them and provide them relief. Where the world subjects them to dishonor and insult, Christians will sacrifice their own honor in exchange for their disgrace. Where the world seeks gain, Christians will renounce it; where it exploits, they will let go; where it oppresses, they will stoop down and lift up the oppressed. Where the world denies justice, Christians will practice compassion; where it hides behind lies, they will speak out for those who cannot speak, and testify for the truth. For the sake of brothers or sisters—be they Jew or Greek, slave or free, strong or weak, of noble or common birth—Christians will renounce all community with the world, for they serve the community of the body of Jesus Christ. Being a part of this community, Christians cannot remain hidden from the world. They have been called out of the world and follow Christ".

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Discipleship" 1937

(Later published as The Cost of Discipleship)

Biblical Womanhood Roles

2011-01-08T18:26:00.003-05:00

Specific "Roles" for Women found in the Bible:

1. Driving a tent peg into a man's head

2. Hiding Spies

3. Cleaning out the pantry to feed the king and his men because your husband is a jerk who insulted him and is going to get the entire family killed

4. Sitting under a palm tree and making judgments for an entire nation

5. Demanding your personal maid sleep with your husband when you cannot bear a child

Add your own specific "biblical womanhood" role in the comment section

The Silence of Friends

2010-11-26T13:12:00.003-05:00

“It’s not the words of our enemies that we remember most; it’s the silence of our friends.”

Complimentarian Genetics 101

2010-09-20T15:45:00.002-05:00

Based on 1 Timothy 2:9-15 and what we know from biology, the following is Complementarian Genetics 101:

The “x chromosome” carries the “deception gene.”

The “y chromosome,” however, carries the “anti-deception gene.”

So if a person has two x chromosomes, and is therefore a female, they are by nature and physiology “[completely] deceivable” (εξαπαταω).

However, if a person has one x chromosome and one y chromosome, and is therefore a male, they have a genetic defense against being completely deceived.

It is for this reason that only those with both an x and a y chromosome are to be entrusted with positions of authority in the church, and only they can teach both men and women.

And I would ask: If this is not Complementarian Genetics, why isn’t it?

HT: Eric W at http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2010/09/13/a-question-for-the-gospel-coalition/

Can we Clone this Guy?

2010-09-13T14:49:00.001-05:00

Finally, A Governor that talks to us like we are adults!

The Final Inspection

2010-06-13T12:11:00.004-05:00

Final Inspection
By Paula Fether

http://www.fether.net/

Many “pastors” today like to use their being “under-shepherds” as a weapon of mastery over other believers. But when the Chief Shepherd appears (1 Peter 5:1-4), what will he find? Let’s take a walk with Jesus as He inspects the work of those who were entrusted with caring for His sheep, as He might on Judgment Day.

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Jesus comes to the first shepherd, who snaps to attention and proudly proclaims that the sheep are all safe and secure, spotless and accounted for. But instead of a pen there is something like a boxcar for a train. Jesus opens the door, and sure enough all the sheep are there– in cages, stacked row upon row. The sheep certainly are safe and spotless, but they’re also staring blankly ahead without any concept of life outside the boxcar. They’ve never walked, much less run. They don’t know how to eat except from the trays placed in their cages and filled with whatever the shepherd doles out to them. They don’t make a sound nor interact with each other at all. And they are thin and weak.

Jesus stands there aghast at the sight, barely able to conceal His great pity for the sheep– and His great rage at this so-called shepherd. “My dear, deluded child,” He finally whispers through clenched teeth, “What have you done to my sheep? Where is the green pasture I promised them? Where are the quiet waters? Why has the flock not increased? And what is this slop you’ve been feeding them? They are wasting away on their feet! I died for them, and for you, but you have treated them worse than pets, worse than the wolves that run freely. I’m sorry but you have brought this on yourself: you will spend eternity confined to your room, dining on the slop you fed my sheep.”

Sadly He moves on to the second shepherd. This one is sitting on a throne, which is being carried by several large, fat sheep. Behind them is a long line of smaller sheep, each branded with the shepherd’s mark and carrying a banner with his name and insignia. Some are pulling a large cart filled with fine clothing, and behind them are the shivering sheep who were fleeced to make them. “I did what You said,” the shepherd announces from his throne, not even bothering to rise. “I took them to the river, I let them graze in the pasture, and I gathered many sheep who were wandering around without a shepherd.”

“Get down from there!” Jesus growls. “Who do you think you are? Whose sheep are these, and why are they branded with a mark that I don’t recognize? Were the added sheep really wandering, or did you lure or steal them from other pens, which I’ve heard reports of? And this clothing– all the garments look like they were stitched by monkeys! Only the finest linen is allowed in My kingdom, and you know that. And what do you mean by shearing My sheep and leaving them shivering, while you live in luxury? Alright then, your royal highness: you will spend eternity wearing these rags you weaved and waiting hand and foot on the very sheep you fleeced.”

Finally Jesus comes to the last shepherd. There is a modest flock grazing peacefully, some playing together, others drinking from the stream. The shepherd is in the middle of the flock, sitting on the ground to tend to a lamb that had been injured. Jesus asks, “What happened to this one?” The shepherd replies, “I found it coming from the direction of another pen. It was limping and starving, missing some fleece and showing signs of having been beaten. I had to teach it how to graze and drink from the stream, and it took quite a while for it to relax around the other sheep. But I will care for it until it is healthy. I really hope I haven’t neglected the other sheep while I care for this one. Please forgive me if I have!”

Jesus, with tears in His eyes, gently responds, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You remembered Whose sheep these are, you cared for the abused, and you did not fail to protect them from wolves– even those that claimed to be fellow shepherds. I will reward you with all that the others grasped for on their own: luxury, honor, respect, comfort, and much more.”

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There is still a short time left for any of you shepherds out there who aren’t like the third one to get your act together. Remember Who other believers belong to, and treat them like the children of the King they are. Stop robbing them, beating them, confining them, and blaming them! Love does none of those things. Consider them as better than yourselves and not slaves to do your bidding. Treat them as you have been demanding they treat you. Heal the wounds you yourself have inflicted and feed them only the best theological meat. Be motivated by the fact that you will be judged more strictly (James 3:1) and held to account (Heb. 13:17). If you think yourself to be an “under-rower” (Gk. doulos), then what are you doing at the helm?

Are you in Zion or Babylon?

2010-06-12T22:33:00.003-05:00

My friend, Tom, sent me this email today:

The book is "The Harlot Church System", by Charles Elliott Newbold, Jr.

In the first chapter, he attempts to explain the difference between being a people genuinely devoted to God and being dedicated to preserving and promoting the institutional church system. He figuratively refers to the former as "Zion" and to the latter as "Babylon". Below is the quote. It reminds me of things we have talked about before.

Zion refers to the true body of Christ, the bride, the ekklesia; Babylon refers to the false church system of men's traditions and religions. (Ekklesia is the Greek word in the New Testament which has been mis-translated "church" in most English versions, but it literally means "called-out-ones".)

Zion is a people--the people of God; Babylon is a Thing--church institutions and systems.

Zion is a living organism; Babylon is characterized by organizations, institutions, and systems.

Zion consists of people who have been born into it; Babylon consists of people who have joined it or been voted into it.

Zion is a people who are called by the name of Jesus; Babylon is a people who are called by many different names that represent divisions within this Babylonian church system: Baptist, Catholic, Charismatic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and all the rest.

Zion is Jesus-centered; Babylon is self-centered.

Zion is living by the Spirit; Babylon is living after the flesh.

Zion is heavenly; Babylon is earthly.

Zion is grace; Babylon is law.

Zion is life; Babylon is death.

Zion is being; Babylon is doing.

Zion is rest; Babylon is works.

Zion is light; Babylon is darkness.

Zion is humility; Babylon is full of pride, arrogance, and haughtiness.

Zion is liberty in Christ; Babylon is bondage to the flesh.

Zion is the Kingdom of God; Babylon is the kingdoms of men.

Zion has Jesus Christ as her head; Babylon has elected or appointed men as their heads.

Zion is a Spirit-led people; Babylon is led by rules and regulations of man's own making.

Zion is Spirit-sensitive; Babylon is man-pleasing.

Zion is obedience to the Holy Spirit; Babylon is busy church work.

Zion accomplishes things in Holy Spirit power (Zech. 4:6); Babylon tries to accomplish things in self-strength.

Zion has its authority in the Word of God; Babylon places its authority in man-made doctrines.

Zion is one body in Christ Jesus as Lord; Babylon is sectarian and divisive, consisting of many divisions of people.

Zion worships in spirit and in truth; Babylon programs praise.

Zion preaches Christ and Him crucified; Babylon proclaims denominations, doctrines, heritage, traditions, creeds, personal views and opinions.

Zion is the priesthood of all believers; Babylon is the clergy system. The clergy are those who want to make a difference between themselves and others.

Zion answers to God as the highest authority; Babylon answers to men and their institutions as the authority.

Zion calls forth revelation; Babylon depends upon imagination.

Zion conforms people into the image of Jesus; Babylon conforms people into its own image.

Zion decreases that Christ may increase; Babylon increases itself in power, position, riches, and domination.

Zion counts the cost; Babylon counts the money.

Zion lays down its life; Babylon preserves and protects itself.

Zion waits upon God to raise up what God wants in His timing; Babylon schemes, organizes, and promotes to execute its own plan in its own way and time.

Zion seeks the Lord with a whole heart to be possessed by Him; Babylon goes after things and people to possess them.

Zion is the city of God; Babylon seeks to build a city, a tower, and a name for itself. Gen. 11:4.

Zion longs to be gathered into Jesus; Babylon passionately seeks to gather people unto itself.

Pastor?

2010-04-30T23:21:00.003-05:00

From: http://www.paganchristianity.org/zensresponds1.htm

If I may, I’d like to quote Frank (Viola) in a recent interview he did with George Barna. The whole interview is worth hearing as they discuss the book and their views on the modern pastorate. In it, he issues this challenge to his listeners:

Pick up your NT and look for this man. Show me a man in the NT who preaches to the same congregation week after week, month after month, year after year. Show me a man in the NT who is called the head of the church. Show me a man in the NT that makes the decisions for a local church. Show me a man in the NT that represents the church in the world, that blesses civic events, that marries the living and buries the dead. And if you can find that man in the NT who fits all of those descriptions, then George Barna will give you $500,000.

Run for Your Life

2010-04-24T17:32:00.000-05:00

TO DESIRING GOD 2010 RICK WARREN JOHN PIPER ATTENDEES
Uploaded by MRWBBIII. - More video blogs and vloggers.

The Event of a Tyrannized Life

2010-03-29T20:42:00.001-05:00

The hardest part of talking about any experience of social or spiritual oppression is it is an EVENT that takes place around some of the most personal stuff. By EVENT I mean a longstanding progression of interaction. There is never a single moment, one deciding action where the victim can point and say: “Yup, right there. That is the bad thing I’m talking about.”

And very often, the victim does not know how much they are being taken advantage of. Or even more insidious: they are told the exploitation is God-intended and God-inspired.

The abuse and tyranny occur largely in private about things most folk would like to keep private. To get the conflict, you need the details—often embarrassing details. While most people find the details of their life interesting, everybody else finds them tedious or scandalous. So, how do you tell a story that has lots of UGLY, lots of NECESSARY, but oh so boring details?

The answer is, like you tell all stories that need to be told so that justice and righteousness can prevail. This is a must. It is a dirty, painful path to walk, but it must come forth so that you can be vindicated and that others can gain perspective and empowerment from your experience. There are many just like yourself who are desperately hoping someone out there is like them; that they are not crazy.

Help them by telling your story. When you get to THE END, I am confident that you will be better for it.

From: http://spiritualtyranny.com/the-event-of-an-sgm-life/

I Never Knew You

2010-03-25T20:53:00.000-05:00

The Ultimatum

2010-03-14T13:35:00.002-05:00

"We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum".

-AW Tozer

Sin

2010-01-17T11:59:00.005-05:00

It occurred to me recently that we do not really want to be saved from our sin. We want to be saved from the PENALTY of sin.

Being saved from our sin would require a spiritual transformation that is obvious. It would involve the disturbing process of sanctification where God disciplines those who are His. And this sanctification, the growing in Holiness, can look like death to the worldly. It rarely looks like success to the world. It looks more like loserville. Like a person who is living out the Beatitudes?

They Turned the World Upside Down

2009-12-28T16:10:00.001-05:00

Why We Have Pygmies in the Pews

2009-12-28T16:06:00.001-05:00

Leonard Ravenhill: Preach Holiness

2009-12-28T16:00:00.000-05:00

2009-12-20T18:15:00.001-05:00

Sounds Like Too Many Churches Today

2009-11-12T21:55:00.001-05:00

“I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living."

Amos 5: 21-24 (NLT)

Our Lord in Parables

2009-11-01T15:41:00.002-05:00

How do I receive Jesus?

by Don Johnson

How do I receive Jesus? Sometimes, I receive Jesus like a woman! What? Sputter, gasp! Jesus is obviously a man in the gospel accounts. How could I be so blatantly wrong? I can sometimes receive Jesus as a woman because Jesus himself teaches me this. Consider the following verses from Luke's gospel.

TNIV Luke 15:8-10 [Jesus speaking:] "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

This is the middle parable of three parables by Jesus describing what the Kingdom of God is like. The first is often called the parable of the lost sheep. This one, the parable of the lost coin and the last, is sometimes called the parable of the lost son or the prodigal son. These parables are connected not only by all being about the Kingdom of God and not only by being stated adjacent in Luke's gospel, but also by a descending order going from 1 lost sheep of 100, to 1 lost coin of 10, to 1 lost son of 2.

One of the many insights of these parables is that Jesus is referring to God (and therefore also to himself) successively as a good shepherd, as a diligent women, and as a loving father. We are very familiar with the first and last images, but perhaps not so familiar with the middle one of a diligent woman. Notice that Jesus did not need to use the example of the diligent woman, he could have just as easily used an example of a diligent man, but he deliberately chose to map himself to a faithful women rejoicing when she finds a lost coin. Will you join me in claiming for yourself ALL the ways to receive Jesus that are found in the Bible?

I thank Kenneth Bailey for teaching me the insights in this meditation.

What Do Women Want?

2009-10-24T16:55:00.002-05:00

“‘What,’ men have asked distractedly from the beginning of time, ‘what on earth do women want?’ I do not know that women, as women, want anything in particular, but as human beings they want, my good men, exactly what you want yourselves: interesting occupation, reasonable freedom for their pleasures, and a sufficient emotional outlet. What form the occupation, the pleasures and the emotion may take, depends entirely upon the individual.”

Sayers, Dorothy, Are Women Human? Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1971, p. 44

You Shall not Tempt the Lord your God

2009-10-16T08:39:00.003-05:00

“I am overcome with joy because of your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to my enemy but have set me in a safe place” (Psalm 31:7-8, NLT).

When I answered the telephone, I found myself listening to a weeping woman. Between sobs she explained that every three weeks or so her abusive husband strangles her into unconsciousness. Though a professing Christian, he suffocates her with pillows, locks her in closets, and leaves her in terror for her life. She has turned for help to several pastors who call the couple into their office for joint counseling. I explained that couples’ counseling is inadvisable in situations of abuse, and she acknowledged that things were always worse at home after a counseling session.

She has come to realize the danger of her situation and was prepared to leave until a Christian friend told her that she must not break the covenant that she made at the marriage altar and must believe that God would work a miracle of transformation in her husband. I pointed out that her husband was the one who had broken the covenant promise to love and cherish her. A covenant is a solemn agreement between two parties, both of whom must abide by their promises. If one party refuses to honor the agreement, the covenant becomes null and void.

But this victim, who desired above all things to do God’s will, had been told that she must give the Lord enough time to change her abuser, even if that meant remaining in a life-threatening situation. I asked if she remembered the temptation of Jesus when Satan took him to the top of the pinnacle in the temple. Cleverly selecting a Bible verse, the devil urged Christ to throw himself down so that angels would bear him up and keep him from danger. But Jesus staunchly refused to risk his life in the expectation that God would perform a supernatural act. He responded “It is written ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’.” It was not a question of who could quote the best Bible verse but who could honor God and respect the laws of the natural universe.

Jesus refused to defy the force of gravity and put God on the spot for a dramatic intervention. We should not expect God to provide protection when we have taken unreasonable risks that could have been avoided. Certainly the advice provided by well-meaning Christians did not consider this victim’s safety a paramount issue. More than that, it did not consider the welfare of the abusive husband. His dangerous conduct may well have been intended to intimidate his spouse rather than to cause her actual harm, but how very easily his conduct might have escalated one step further into a terrible crime! The conduct is already very wicked and totally inconsistent with God’s purposes for a Christian family.

Separation would provide an environment that would be safer for both victim and perpetrator. A time apart would enable each partner to address some of the other issues that must be faced. The Bible tells us to flee temptation rather than continuing to dwell where we are most likely to fall into sin. We pray “deliver us from evil” but we also need to remove ourselves from situations or circumstances that can lead us into grievous sin and harm.

Indeed, David praised God for having restrained him from acting on his murderous intentions (1 Sam. 25:26, 32-34, 39) and prayed “Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins” (Ps. 19:13; see also 51; 119:29; 120:2; 139:12-14; 141:3-4). Four times the Lord exhorted his followers to pray that they would not fall into temptation, (Matt. 2:41; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:40, 46), and he himself prayed that his own would be kept from evil (John 17:15).

God is able to keep us from falling (2 Thess. 3:3; Jude 24), but let us not tempt the Lord our God, nor place others where temptation may assail them. Rather let us look for his place of safety and peace.

Catherine Kroeger

HT: http://blog.cbeinternational.org/

This week’s column is written by Catherine Clark Kroeger (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) who is adjunct associate professor of classical and ministry studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She is an author, president emerita of Christians for Biblical Equality, and president of Peace and Safety in the Christian Home (PASCH).

Whom Does Satan Fear?

2009-10-08T11:28:00.001-05:00

“The best way to keep the enemy out is
to keep Christ in. The sheep need not be
terrified by the wolf; they have but to
stay close to the shepherd. It is not the
praying sheep Satan fears but the
presence of the shepherd.”

(A.W. Tozer, Born after Midnight)

The Spinternet?

2009-09-26T15:21:00.003-05:00

Very thought provoking message about the internet and liberty

If This Does Not Scare You, Nothing Will

2009-09-19T19:28:00.003-05:00

Note:The questioner is a democrat. Rep Alan Grayson. Watch the whole thing. No one is tracking the trillions already spent.

Grayson questions the Fed: The Fed's balance sheet has expanded by $1.2 trillion since September 1. Where did the money go? Kohn wouldn't say.

Grayson questions the CEO of Citigroup about his 'insurance' policy from our government for 7 billion that covers Citigroup for 200 billion.

My personal favorite: Let's just change the math to make it fit. Ever notice in the answers how many words are used to say nothing

The 4-block World

2009-09-18T23:39:00.000-05:00

Love this site: http://www.4-blockworld.com/

They Had Never Known a Man Like Jesus

2009-09-13T18:50:00.003-05:00

"The many women who appear in the gospels had never known a man like Jesus—there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The ladies, God bless them!’; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything ‘funny’ about women’s nature.”

Dorothy Sayers

Women in Ministry Blog Conference

2009-09-07T21:04:00.002-05:00

http://www.achurchinryde.com/blog/

The "News"

2009-09-05T10:21:00.001-05:00

The Authoritarian Disaster

2009-08-24T08:09:00.002-05:00

Authoritarianism in the church is one of the most serious problems that Christian churches face today. Authoritarian regimes and political machines within Christian churches are not only totally unbiblical, but they empower men to take a church anywhere they wish, bypassing the normal checks and balances found in the Bible. A church that has given control to a single man (often called a Senior Pastor) or to a small group of men (often called a board of elders) is helplessly tossed about in very dangerous waves.

Suddenly churches are turned on a dime according to the whims and agendas of men. If a dictatorial pastor wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and decides to take the whole church off a cliff doctrinally, most congregations just blindly follow, thinking they are helpless to do anything about it, if they even notice or care at all. Christians have been bombarded with the lie that certain men are appointed by God to rule and reign over His people. No, the Bible forbids such things and gives us the solution.

The popular yet monumental misunderstanding of authority in the church is probably the biggest problem driving the false church system. The main problem is with the people that the Bible calls "Nicolaitans", those who Christians allow to conquer and suppress them. (From the Greek, the word "nico" means "suppression or conquering of" and "laos" is where we get the word laity which means people). In Revelation 2:6 and 2:15, Jesus said that He hates the practices and teachings of the Nicolaitans.

Not surprisingly, most Nicolaitans refuse to acknowledge and admit that they are Nicolaitans. They make the false claim that no one can really know what a Nicolaitan is or is not. Most just quote a popular fairytale that the word means a follower of the mythical heretic Niclaus. Not so. The truth is we know quite clearly exactly what the word means and exactly who these people are. Plus, it doesn't make any sense that Jesus would mention something that He hates and then never let us know what exactly that He was talking about.

Today there is no shortage of those who want a counterfeit Saul to be king over them and there is no shortage of Nicolaitans who want to be that king in the place of Christ. (By the way, the definition of antichrist is one who opposes Christ and/or stands in His place). At least God told Samuel to appoint Saul as king. Even though God was displeased with the fact that Israel wanted a man as king instead of Him, he still authorized Saul’s appointment. Today’s multitude of counterfeit “Sauls” have no such authorization from God. They are self-appointed and people powered. Here’s why we know that they are counterfeit leaders (they may be real Christians but they are false pastors):

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matt 28:18).
Jesus alone is the Head of the church (John 5:26-27, Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:18).
God does not permit Christians to have controlling authority over other Christians in the church (see Matt 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45, Luke 22:24-27, 1Pet 5:3, Matt 23:8-12, etc.).
We do not have multiple special high priests over us. There is only One High Priest, Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 3:1, 4:14).
We have One Master Christ and we are all brothers (see Matt 23: 8-12).
You cannot obey two masters; you will love the one and hate the other (Matt 6:24, Luke 6:13). You simply cannot obey Jesus as master and a pastor as master at the same time.

There is a big difference between genuine behind-the-scenes loving elders who stand firmly for sound doctrine and admonish the Body of Christ to obey the Bible compared to a Nicolaitan one-man show who teaches his own agenda and draws men away to himself through manmade teachings and traditions. While the Bible makes it clear that we are supposed to submit to governmental authorities such as to the police and obey the laws of our land (pay taxes, obey traffic laws, live peacealby, etc.), we are also commanded to not set up authoritarian systems or regimes within Christian churches.

For there to be any hope for any church to navigate through the ever worsening apostasy that is upon us, now more than ever, Jesus alone must be recognized as the One solely in charge and His Word the Bible must reign supreme. That is how it was always supposed to be, at all points in church history, but that is not how it has been, and that is certainly not how it is today.

From: http://www.truthguard.com/

What is Your Church Teaching about Sin?

2009-08-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

Our Message is an Ultimatum

2009-08-12T22:05:00.003-05:00

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

A. W. Tozer

From: Man the Dwelling Place of God

A Warning from the Past

2009-08-06T17:33:00.001-05:00

Matthew 18

2009-08-04T13:09:00.003-05:00

Aren't you glad Luther did not follow Matthew 18 as it is taught today?

Exposing Silly Myths in the Pulpits

2009-07-31T15:37:00.002-05:00

This is a good example of contrasting preaching on godliness and the shallow "how to" teaching found in most churches. Posting this does not mean I agree with everything Chandler teaches but at least he exegetes scripture and we can be Bereans easier than with the shallow topical Christless preaching found in many churches today.

How to Repent

2009-07-19T01:39:00.000-05:00

He is Mighty to Save

2009-07-19T01:27:00.001-05:00

He's Barack Obama

2009-07-10T20:50:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The MeWorld of Facebook

2009-07-08T15:41:00.002-05:00

Hi, this is Me.

You need to know everything about Me. Here are hundreds of photos of Me. I am cool, cute, in the know, have photogenic friends, and those who aren't make Me look better. I can strike a pose, even hundreds of them: Me on display for you.

You need to know all My likes and dislikes, too: My favorite TV shows, movies, video games, foods, celebrities, clothes, tweets, and more. My trivia is your treasure--because it's Mine.

It's MeWorld: just Me for everyone out there, because you need to know Me. I need more friends on Facebook, more twitter partners, more posts on My blog, more cell calls, more links to Me, more emails to Me, more YouTube videos featuring Me.
You need to know everything about Me.

Don't you? Hello...

HT: http://theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/

Ode to the Mega Church Pastor

2009-06-27T12:41:00.001-05:00

10 Indictments Against the Modern Church

2009-06-18T22:52:00.001-05:00

American Enterprise?

2009-06-11T20:55:00.005-05:00

Christianity began in Jerusalem as a relationship; moved into Greece where it became a philosophy; moved into Rome where it became a government institution; then onto Europe where it became a culture; and then to America, where it has become an enterprise.

-Unknown

Pravda: American Capitalism Gone with a Wimper

2009-05-30T19:18:00.003-05:00

Unbelievable. This is an editorial in Pravda. And he 'gets it'.

American capitalism gone with a whimper
27.04.2009
Source: Pravda.Ru

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.
So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin
© 1999-2009. «PRAVDA.Ru». When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.

Repentance

2009-05-27T09:48:00.000-05:00

HT: http://hebrews1019-20.blogspot.com/

Happy Late Mother's Day

2009-05-11T11:04:00.001-05:00

Behold He Comes

2009-04-26T21:22:00.008-05:00

You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the rising costs of gasoline, electricity and now even water has increased by 30% over last year.

Suddenly, a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don't know, but you want to know.. So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren't the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open, and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the clouds And what they see, and what you see, has never before been seen.

As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None.

From every hue ever seen and a million more never seen. Riding on the flow is an endless fleet of angels.. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky.

North. South. East. West.

Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison, and over the sound of the trumpets, you can hear the cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy.. The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded elders and a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship.

Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns and there He is.. Jesus Christ. Lord of Hosts.

Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud.

He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by His declaration:

I am the Alpha and the Omega.

The angels bow their heads... The elders remove their crowns. And before you is a Figure so consuming that you know, instantly you know: Nothing else matters... Forget stock markets, rising costs and school reports. Sales meetings and football games.. Nothing is newsworthy.. All that mattered, matters no more.. For Christ has come.

And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19)

The Ugly Secret

2009-04-26T13:47:00.005-05:00

Recently Chuck Colson gave a commentary on Breakpoint: The Ugly Secret. The ugly secret is finally starting to be acknowledged as the serious crisis it really is in our churches. The example Colson uses is of a deacon and Sunday school teacher who killed his wife. The pastor knew about the abuse, giving her the ‘biblical’ admonition to go home and submit more because he is your ‘spiritual head’.

There is so much wrong here that I hardly know where to begin. Colson calls the pastor’s admonition, ‘misinterpreting scripture’. But note further down in the article, he quotes author Denise George as saying this about ‘Christian’ abusers:

Tragically, however, George notes, some of these men justify their violence “by citing biblical passages.”

Yes, they are citing passages taught to them over the course of many years about their ‘headship’, which is taught as authority even ‘spiritual’ authority over their wives as if Jesus Christ was not her only High Priest or the Temple Veil was not torn in two for her. Many pastors will defend this saying that they are teaching men to ‘love’ their wives as their spiritual head, not abuse them. But there is a problem with this because we all define love and sacrifice in different ways.

This is not just misinterpreting scripture. It is leaving out ‘the full counsel of God’.

Pastors and teachers have to take responsibility for what they are teaching, because our churches are chocked full of the unregenerate. Often, they are in leadership positions.
What is missing from the message being taught to men and women?

It is simple. Ephesians 5:21 is missing.

Ephesians 5:21. The verse that translators have tried to hide with paragraph breaks and pastors have ignored for centuries. The verse that is almost always left out when teaching on Ephesians 5:22.

In the original Greek, the word 'submit' is in verse 21. Translators added it to verse 22. Why is that significant? Because the entire submit/sacrifice message flows from verse 21. ALL believers submitting one to another.

Verse 21 does NOT omit believing husbands. There is no asterisk exempting husbands because they are the spiritual 'head'. In fact, in order for husbands to live out the admonition in Ephesians 5, they have to submit to their wives, too.

Another aspect that is hardly ever taught to men and women on this passage is that for wives to submit was a STEP UP for them in that day and time when the Household codes demanded they ‘obey’ their husbands. Paul purposely does not tell them to obey their husbands. How could he? He just told all believers to submit to one another. Besides, obeying your husband can get you killed. Ask Sapphira about that.

Another aspect of this teaching that is seriously flawed is expecting a believing wife to lay down her life for her ‘professing Christian’ husband. It is one thing to lay down your life for an unbeliever to see the power of God or to proclaim the Name of Christ. But why do so many expect the wife of a professing believer to continue to take beatings? In some cases leading to their deaths?

Let’s use another example to see if this sounds right: What if a man went to his church and was abused by the pastor, his perceived authority. He is told by others to submit to the abuse because the pastor is his spiritual authority and he must submit to him. It does not fit, does it? Makes no sense. We would think the pastor had a serious problem that must be dealt with immediately.

My question is: Why does this same scenario seem different when it is between a husband and wife who both profess Christ as their Savior? What is it about marriage that makes us reluctant to say: A ‘Christian’ husband would not continue to do this.

There is a good reason it is perceived as being different: What we are teaching folks in the pews about women, their ‘roles’ and standing in Christendom. That is the big difference.

Until the Body of Christ teaches in context and totality, mutual submission and all the ‘one another’s’ that apply to every single adult Christian in the Body, we will continue to see the ugly secret. But, by the time we see it, in many cases, it will be too late.

The Ugly Secret is not just abuse by the hand of a professing Christian husband but what he has been taught about his wife, and women in general, from the pulpit is not the full counsel of God.

The meaning of 'head' (Kephale): I Believe in Male Headship

Grace That Runs Well

2009-04-24T19:15:00.001-05:00

From Sandlin Says

"For the grace of God... [teaches] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." Like a car battery, grace has a negative and positive side. It will not run on just one effectively.

The old-school grace preachers majored, for the most part, on the negative. But the new-school emphasizes, almost entirely, the positive. The former ends up with a grace-less grace; and the latter sadly ends with a grace that's disgraceful. Grace is limitless when it comes to what a person has done, but it has its limits as to what a person can do.

Grace never condemns, neither does it condone, it simply caresses.

Ephesians 5

2009-04-06T16:31:00.002-05:00

May God richly bless this dear brother whose name we do not know.

Church Tales

2009-04-01T22:58:00.002-05:00

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy street. Suddenly, just in front of him, the light turned yellow. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the redlight by accelerating through the intersection.The tailgating woman was furious and repeatedly honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get throughthe intersection, while also, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked upinto the face of a very stern looking police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, 'I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in frontof you and cussing a blue streak at him. 'I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' window sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Meto Sunday-School' bumper sticker and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk; naturally... I assumed you had stolen the car.'

Calvinism is Not the Issue

2009-03-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

What Are We Missing?

2009-03-23T19:03:00.005-05:00

I shamelessly pilfered the idea for this post from Kris over at http://www.sgmsurvivors.com/ because she makes such a good point with this video. One of her commenter's added this which I edited to fit a broader audience of Christians:

It’s astonishing how easily we can allow things that are dangerous to sneak right into the middle of our religious lives. The church keeps you busy with all kinds of activities that trains you to keep your eye on the players in white so that you never see the beast in the middle of everything. If you notice the bear, you are to blame for not seeing things correctly! Keep your eye on the ball, please. It’s gossip to mention the bear!

The Coming Evangelical Collapse

2009-03-10T21:27:00.005-05:00

Michael Spencer, http://www.internetmonk.com/, writes an interesting commentary that was published in the Christian Science Monitor called "The Coming Evangelical Collapse". He makes some very valid observations. Here is an excerpt:

" We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of
theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming
generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and
unprepared for culture-wide pressures. "

But here is the excerpt that really caught my eye because it is something I have come to believe and agree with quite deeply:

Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with
political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake.
Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public
leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children,
and bad for society.

The evangelical investment in moral, social, and political issues has
depleted our resources and exposed our weaknesses. Being against gay marriage
and being rhetorically pro-life will not make up for the fact that massive
majorities of Evangelicals can't articulate the Gospel with any coherence. We
fell for the trap of believing in a cause more than a faith.

Yes, that is it exactly! We believed more in a cause than the Gospel.

The Saint Must Walk Alone

2009-02-21T23:48:00.001-05:00

In the morning of the world (or should we say, in that strange darkness that came soon after the dawn of man's creation), that pious soul, Enoch, walked with God and was not, for God took him; and while it is not stated in so many words, a fair inference is that Enoch walked a path quite apart from his contemporaries.

Another lonely man was Noah who, of all the antediluvians, found grace in the sight of God; and every shred of evidence points to the aloneness of his life even while surrounded by his people.

Again, Abraham had Sarah and Lot, as well as many servants and herdsmen, but who can read his story and the apostolic comment upon it without sensing instantly that he was a man "whose soul was alike a star and dwelt apart"? As far as we know not one word did God ever speak to him in the company of men. Face down he communed with his God, and the innate dignity of the man forbade that he assume this posture in the presence of others. How sweet and solemn was the scene that night of the sacrifice when he saw the lamps of fire moving between the pieces of offering. There, alone with a horror of great darkness upon him, he heard the voice of God and knew that he was a man marked for divine favor.

Moses also was a man apart. While yet attached to the court of Pharaoh he took long walks alone, and during one of these walks while far removed from the crowds he saw an Egyptian and a Hebrew fighting and came to the rescue of his countryman. After the resultant break with Egypt he dwelt in almost complete seclusion in the desert. There, while he watched his sheep alone, the wonder of the burning bush appeared to him, and later on the peak of Sinai he crouched alone to gaze in fascinated awe at the Presence, partly hidden, partly disclosed, within the cloud and fire.

The prophets of pre-Christian times differed widely from each other, but one mark they bore in common was their enforced loneliness. They loved their people and gloried in the religion of the fathers, but their loyalty to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their zeal for the welfare of the nation of Israel drove them away from the crowd and into long periods of heaviness. "I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children," cried one and unwittingly spoke for all the rest.

Most revealing of all is the sight of that One of whom Moses and all the prophets did write, treading His lonely way to the cross. His deep loneliness was unrelieved by the presence of the multitudes.

He died alone in the darkness hidden from the sight of mortal man and no one saw Him when He arose triumphant and walked out of the tomb, though many saw Him afterward and bore witness to what they saw. There are some things too sacred for any eye but God's to look upon. The curiosity, the clamor, the well-meant but blundering effort to help can only hinder the waiting soul and make unlikely if not impossible the communication of the secret message of God to the worshiping heart.

Sometimes we react by a kind of religious reflex and repeat dutifully the proper words and phrases even though they fail to express our real feelings and lack the authenticity of personal experience. Right now is such a time. A certain conventional loyalty may lead some who hear this unfamiliar truth expressed for the first time to say brightly, "Oh, I am never lonely. Christ said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you,' and `Lo, I am with you alway.' How can I be lonely when Jesus is with me?"

Now I do not want to reflect on the sincerity of any Christian soul, but this stock testimony is too neat to be real. It is obviously what the speaker thinks should be true rather than what he has proved to be true by the test of experience. This cheerful denial of loneliness proves only that the speaker has never walked with God without the support and encouragement afforded him by society. The sense of companionship which he mistakenly attributes to the presence of Christ may and probably does arise from the presence of friendly people. Always remember: you cannot carry a cross in company. Though a man were surrounded by a vast crowd, his cross is his alone and his carrying of it marks him as a man apart. Society has turned against him; otherwise he would have no cross. No one is a friend to the man with a cross. "They all forsook Him, and fled."

The pain of loneliness arises from the constitution of our nature. God made us for each other. The desire for human companionship is completely natural and right. 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 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. A certain amount of social fellowship will of course be his as he mingles with religious persons in the regular activities of the church, but true spiritual fellowship will be hard to find. But he should not expect things to be otherwise. After all he is a stranger and a pilgrim, and the journey he takes is not on his feet but in his heart. He walks with God in the garden of his own soul - and who but God can walk there with him? He is of another spirit from the multitudes that tread the courts of the Lord's house. He has seen that of which they have only heard, and he walks among them somewhat as Zacharias walked after his return from the altar when the people whispered, "He has seen a vision."

The truly spiritual man is indeed something of an oddity. He lives not for himself but to promote the interests of Another. He seeks to persuade people to give all to his Lord and asks no portion or share for himself. He delights not to be honored but to see his Savior glorified in the eyes of men. His joy is to see his Lord promoted and himself neglected. 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 overserious, 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. "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else. He learns in inner solitude what he could not have learned in the crowd - that Christ is All in All, that He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, that in Him we have and possess life's summum bonum.

Two things remain to be said. One, that the lonely man of whom we speak is not a haughty man, nor is he the holier-than-thou, austere saint so bitterly satirized in popular literature. He is likely to feel that he is the least of all men and is sure to blame himself for his very loneliness. He wants to share his feelings with others and to open his heart to some like-minded soul who will understand him, but the spiritual climate around him does not encourage it, so he remains silent and tells his griefs to God alone.

The second thing is that the lonely saint is not the withdrawn man who hardens himself against human suffering and spends his days contemplating the heavens. Just the opposite is true. His loneliness makes him sympathetic to the approach of the brokenhearted and the fallen and the sin-bruised. Because he is detached from the world, he is all the more able to help it. Meister Eckhart taught his followers that if they should find themselves in prayer and happen to remember that a poor widow needed food, they should break off the prayer instantly and go care for the widow. "God will not suffer you to lose anything by it," he told them. "You can take up again in prayer where you left off and the Lord will make it up to you." This is typical of the great mystics and masters of the interior life from Paul to the present day.

The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in the world. In their effort to achieve restful "adjustment" to unregenerate society they have lost their pilgrim character and become an essential part of the very moral order against which they are sent to protest. The world recognizes them and accepts them for what they are. And this is the saddest thing that can be said about them. They are not lonely, but neither are they saints.

A.W. Tozer

Milton Friedman on Greed

2009-02-15T18:48:00.001-05:00

Interesting clip from 1979. You won't hear this in school these days.

Compromise is a Curse

2009-02-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

“In the Kingdom of God compromising is pretty deadly business. And as long as the Church goes out to the world and follows the world’s ways the Church says ‘Compromise where you can, Compromise anywhere and just take in anybody. COMPROMISE IS A CURSE!...The Church in the days of her power never got along with the world, and the world never got along with the Church.”

-A.W. Tozer

The Gift that Nobody Wants

2009-02-06T21:30:00.001-05:00

Totalitarian Niceness

2009-01-25T14:08:00.006-05:00

My friend, Cindy, wrote an excellent blog post on Generation Gaps and the Moral Imperatives of Totalitarian Niceness.

Here is an excerpt:

In a recent Mars Hill Audio Journal, Ken Myers noted in an interview that author Tim Clydesdale describes what Myers called the foremost moral priority of “totalitarian niceness” among American teens in his book called “First Year Out: Understanding American Teens After High School.” Most all other learning has been “distilled down into” a message that conveys that we should “be nice to other people,” whether it is a moral issue or not. Teachers couch all information in terms of a “niceness” message. Clydesdale observes that young people become anxious about, distracted by, and overly preoccupied with how others perceive them, owing both to the spirit of the age as well as factors like immediate communication technology. He also notes that young people view all authority with great suspicion, and the young person’s moral priorities maintain that they are the arbiter of what is right and permissible.

He described that young people prefer a God that is more like a “golden retriever,” a warm, cuddly companion that offers comfort as opposed to a God who serves as a standard of truth. I wonder if this “totalitarian niceness” and the “golden retriever” concept of God emerges as a coping mechanism to protect against the tender ego that is so fragile because postmodernism makes truth so intensely personal?"

The entire post is worth reading but the last question above really struck me as significant. It is one I had not thought of before. I am starting to see why there is such anger out there about objective truth. If the postmodernist interprets scripture from their own brand of 'permissible and moving' truth then any objective truth standard would be personal and insulting to them.

Greak Awakening or Persecution?

2009-01-16T11:42:00.001-05:00

Beware what we attribute to God's Blessing. How many would think of persecution as God's Blessing for His people?

An Abundance of Cheap Grace Today

2008-12-29T19:09:00.007-05:00

Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace as a bargain basement goods, cut rate forgiveness, cut rate comfort, cut rate sacrament; grace as the churches in exhaustible pantry from which it is doled out by careless hands without hesitation or limit. It is grace without a price, without costs. It is said that the essence of grace is that the bill for it is paid in advance for all time. Everything can be had for free, courtesy of that paid bill. The price paid is infinitely great and therefore the possibilities of taking advantage of and wasting grace are also infinitely great. What would grace be, if it were not cheap grace?

Cheap grace means grace as doctrine, as principle, as system. It means forgiveness of sins as a general truth; it means God’s love as merely a Christian ideal of God. Those who affirm it have already had their sins forgiven. The church that teaches this doctrine of grace thereby confers such grace upon itself. The world finds in this church a cheap cover up for its sins, for which it shows no remorse and from which it has even less desire to be set free. Cheap grace is, thus, denial of God’s living Word, denial of the incarnation and of the world of God. Cheap grace means justification of sin but not of the sinner. Because grace alone does everything, everything can stay in its old ways. “Our Actions is in vain”. The world remains world and we remain sinners ‘even in the best of lives”. Thus, the Christian should live the same way the world does. IN all things the Christian should go along with the world and not venture to live a different life under grace from that under sin! The Christian better not rage against grace or defile that glorious cheap grace by proclaiming anew a servitude to the letter of the bible in an attempt to live an obedient life under the commandments of Jesus Christ! The world is justified by grace, therefore---because this grace is so serious! Because this irreplaceable grace should not be opposed---the Christian should live just like the rest of the world. Of course, a Christian would like to do something exceptional! Undoubtedly it must be the most difficult enunciation not to do and to live like the world. But the Christian has to do it, has to practice such self denial so there that is no difference between Christian life and worldly life. The Christian has to let grace truly be grace enough so that the world does not lose faith in cheap grace, ...

The Christian need not follow Christ since the Christian is comforted by cheap grace! That is cheap grace as justification of sin but not justification of the contrite sinner who turns away from sin and repents. It is not forgiveness of sin which separates those who sinned from sin. Cheap grace is that grace which we bestow on ourselves.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship: Costly Grace

As I was re-reading these words of Bonhoeffer, I was thinking of how we have continued to make cheap the Grace of our Lord...His precious blood... in how we overlook sin and and even excuse continual sin in the Body of Christ. We have learned little from the examples of history. I am not speaking politically but generally in how we view Grace in most churches today.

Just attend any mainstream church today and mention the devastation of sin and wait for the response. You are likely to hear about forgiveness first. How we are to just blanket forgive and forget all sin. Rarely will folks have a discussion on the consequences of continual, unrepentant sin of those who profess Christ. How can we discuss that when we are all sinners, ourselves?

I once had a woman in my Sunday school class tell me we should not make a pedophile sit on the back row and treat him badly if he showed up at church. We should forgive him, she declared. She never once mentioned repentance or even consequences for this heinous act. I had to wonder if she would invite him to babysit her kids. She actually thought her view of 'grace' and forgiveness was loving and Christlike. Could we at least inquire if there has been real repentance?

My question is this: Do we not care if people burn in hell? Maybe we have ceased to believe that folks who profess Christ as Savior and who deliberately and willfully sin, may not be saved at all (Hebrews 10: 26-31). Maybe we think they are just having a lifetime of bad hair days? Maybe we do not understand sanctification and that unless we grow in Holiness, we will not see God.

If we truly love people, why do we continually work to send them to hell by excusing willful and deliberate sin and applying cheap grace where a call to repentance is in order?

Today as I was reading scripture, I ran across this verse which I have read a zillion times but paid little attention to:

14Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. (2 Timothy 4)

Why didn't Paul write that Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm but I forgive him anyway? And Timothy, if you happen to see him, don't say anything about it, just welcome him with open arms.

Worse still, would Timothy have responded: "Well Al has always been nice to me. I mean he has faults and we all sin. After all, sinners sin." Or perhaps he could have told Paul he was gossiping about Al. After all, Timothy was not there and did not have a first hand witness to events.

Strange how we respond to such warnings exactly like that!

We know that Timothy would have heeded Paul's counsel on this piece of information. We do not know if Alexander was a false convert in the Body or an informer. Somehow, he was in a position to do something evil to Paul. The only information Paul gives is that Alexander resisted 'our words' and did great harm. Paul thought it was necessary to warn Timothy in a letter. Why? To protect the Body of Christ.

What did Paul do? He warned others about this person who did evil to one of Christ's followers . Then, he left the vengeance to God.

What can we learn from this?

Testimony

2008-12-23T22:59:00.003-05:00

2008-12-23T18:26:00.001-05:00

Poznan Cathedral Boys Choir, Polen - Hallelujah, by Händel.

Christmas at Arlington

2008-12-14T16:30:00.001-05:00

Readers may be interested to know that these wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. Of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one of the poorest parts of the state.

Here Are No Fair False Promises

2008-12-12T21:04:00.003-05:00

Martin Lloyd Jones

Here are no fair false promises,

But the sharp comfort that doth spring from truth...

"[The Christian life] always involves suffering, and ... when it is truly lived, it always involves persecution. . . 'so persecuted they the prophets which were before you'. They have always done that, the world has always persecuted the man who follows God. You see it perfectly in the case of our Lord Himself. He was rejected by the world. He was hated by men and women because He was what He was. 'Yea', says Paul 'and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.' But who likes being persecuted? We do not like to be criticized or to be dealt with harshly. We really do like all people to speak well of us, and it is very galling to us to know that we are being hated and criticized; but Christ has warned us that we will be, if we come into this narrow way. It is strait and difficult; and as we enter, therefore, we must be ready for suffering and persecution.

You must be ready to be misunderstood, you must be ready, perhaps, even to be misunderstood by your nearest and dearest. Christ has told us that He came 'not to send peace, but a sword', a sword that may divide mother from daughter, or father from son, and those of your own household may be your greatest enemies. Why? Because you have been set apart ... and have entered by this strait gate that does not admit us by families, but one by one. It is very hard, it is very difficult. But the Lord Jesus Christ is honest with us; and if we see nothing else God grant that we may see the honesty and the truthfulness of this gospel which tells us at the very outset that ... you can only come one by one, for it is a strait and narrow gate. "

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, ii, p. 226

The Trinity Eternity Past to Eternity Future

2008-12-05T15:45:00.001-05:00

I highly recommend this DVD set. It is chocked full of excellent teaching that Glorifies our Holy and Sovereign God.

My friend, Cheryl Schatz of MM Outreach, has an apologetics ministry to the Jehovah's Witnesses and recognized the subtle false teaching on the eternal Deity of Jesus Christ coming from some mainstream evangelical leaders.

That State of the Church?

2008-11-26T12:14:00.001-05:00

This is worth listening to until the end.

The Heresy of Mind Control---Recognizing Con Artists in Leadership

2008-11-14T23:40:00.001-05:00

A free e-book by Steven Martin, The Heresy of Mind Control, is available at http://recognizeheresy.com/default.aspx

FROM THE INTRODUCTION: Suppose you move to a different area, and are keeping your eyes open for a good group to belong to (a social club, a church, a synagogue, or service organization). You visit one such group where the people are very friendly, loving, and give you individual attention. The group has a variety of programs: a rehabilitation program for drug addicts, services and nursing homes for the elderly, help for the poor, and free clinics. The leader inspires the disillusioned, the disenchanted, and those who have been rejected elsewhere. He is well-known and respected in the area, and the mayor gave him a position as Director of the City Housing Authority. Would you join this group? Suppose you spend four years in college and nearly two years in graduate school to prepare for a career in Christian music. Then the ministers of your home church tell you that you are not needed in their music program. Shortly afterward, you find a new group that welcomes you with open arms. They really care for people. The leader of this group has fascinating Bible studies. You and everyone else are able to sit and listen to him for several hours at a time. Would you stay in this group?

If you answered "yes" to the first situation, you joined the church led by Jim Jones who led over 900 of his followers into a mass suicide murder. If you liked the second group, you became a follower of David Koresh who led over 80 of his followers to die in a blaze of fire. A wolf in sheep's clothing is a short and simple description of a cult leader – as these men were. Are there any warning signs that a group and its leader are dangerous? That’s largely what this book is about.

They Die for the "Church"--We Talk about Having Sex

2008-11-14T17:20:00.002-05:00

Lust Vegas Week 2 Promo from Fellowship Church on Vimeo.

India – More than 70,000 Christians displaced in Orissa
UPDATE: The Voice of the Martyrs contacts working to assist believers affected by attacks in Orissa state report that more than 70,000 Christians have been displaced and forced to live in refugee camps.

"At the Peyton Sahi relief camp which houses 35 families and 130 distraught tribals, Chabila Naik, a man who ran an orphanage for 50 children in Sarangada spent three days in the forest after their houses and churches were razed [with fire]. He has not been reunited with the children," VOM sources said.

Stories coming from persecuted believers in Orissa are heartbreaking. Christians spent days hiding in the forest following the attacks that erupted on August 24, after the murder of a prominent Hindu leader by Maoist extremists. “One family which did not want to be named said they had to leave their elderly mother in the jungles while the others walked through rain and darkness for 60 hours to get out of Kandhmal,” VOM sources added.

"We had no choice; I could either save my wife and two kids, or stay with her and ask for death for all of us. But, I am sure God has saved her, though I have no idea where she is," the man told VOM sources with tears in his eyes.

VOM is assisting displaced believers in Orissa and other areas in India where persecution has spread. Pray for believers who face these intense hardships and have in some cases lost contact with family members. Ask God to protect them and provide for their needs. Pray their testimonies will draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Him.

http://www.persecution.com/

They Died for the Church---We Sign Commitment Cards and Manifestos

2008-11-05T14:07:00.002-05:00

Here are some interesting and well thought out excerpts from Pastor Kevin Johnson at Prophezei about the True Woman '08 conference.

"The legitimate role of women in church and society is often something sneered at by men who seem envious of the legitimate role God has given them in being who they are. That’s one reason why I vigorously oppose the True Woman Manifesto (which you can actually read here). Pastorally, it’s dangerous to give men and pastors in the Christian community one more plank to abuse women with by providing them with a signed copy of a manifesto that could easily be interpreted and used in ways it was perhaps not originally intended. Additionally, it’s irresponsible to think that the whole of Christian womanhood is aptly summed up by this manifesto or that it ought to be used as a guide in understanding what role women ought to play in the life of the church, their families, and in society. Whatever happened to the Bible? Why do we need cue cards for everything?"

And this...

"Beyond all this, however, is the idea prevalent in conservative Christian circles that problems of our day can somehow be solved by signing a commitment card or having one more Christian conference about it. I wonder what the early Church and her martyrs would have thought about our busybody approach to the Kingdom of God. "

Why do we need so many conferences, books, man made manifestos and commitment cards? Could it be because we are not immersed in the Word and being taught by the ONE TRUE TEACHER? It is much easier to follow man made manifestos, rules, roles and formulas than it is to abide in Christ minute by minute and be guided by the Holy Spirit. Jiang Zongxiu did not need a True Woman Manifesto to serve her Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ.

When 34-year old Jiang Zongxiu went to her neighboring market last June in Guizhou Province, China. Along with her mother-in-law, Jiang went through the marketplace, taking opportunities to hand out Bibles and Christian literature and telling people about Jesus. Only this day they had an encounter with the Chinese police.

The two Christian women were handcuffed together and brought to the police station. They were interrogated throughout the evening of the 17th. The next morning they were sentenced by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to 15 days incarceration for "suspected spreading of rumor and disturbing the social order."
Jiang and her mother-in-law knew the risk of spreading Christian literature in communist China. Both had been active in their church for more than 10 years and dared to go forth. Even when they were arrested, interrogated and sentenced to serve 15 days, they were willing to accept the consequences of their actions - all from a government that claims to have "freedom of religion."

But it was not enough for the PSB to arrest and beat these two Christian women for the crime of passing our Christian literature. In the afternoon of June 18th, Mrs. Jiang Zongziu was pronounced dead by the PSB office of Tongzi County. They claimed she died of "natural causes." The fact is she was beaten to death.
The Voice of the Martyrs has received video testimony from the surviving family, photos of Jiang's body showing her bruised body, and a copy of the actual arrest document. All of this had to be smuggled out of China as the authorities continue to attempt to hide their systematic persecution of Christians. An international campaign is now under way on behalf of the surviving family.

Much of the world would like you to believe Christians are no longer persecuted. Sister Jiang's family would disagree.

Every Tribe and Nation Shall Praise His Name

2008-11-02T13:17:00.001-05:00

Ten Indictments {A Historical 21st Century Message} (Paul Washer) [High-Quality Version]

2008-10-29T13:14:00.001-05:00

Leaving "Church"

2008-10-20T09:24:00.001-05:00

Women in Ministry Silenced or Set Free? introduction

2008-10-18T17:10:00.001-05:00

This is the introduction to a DVD series by my friend, Cheryl Schatz, who has studied the 'woman's roles in the church' issue in depth.

I highly recommend this DVD but I warn you, get out your bibles and notebook when you view it because Cheryl goes into depth with scripture in context.

I agree with Cheryl that this issue should not divide the Body of Christ.

Cheryl, her husband and another couple have a Christian ministry to the cults such as Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons. She became interested in the topic of women in ministry when she was told by a man that she should not teach JW men scripture when witnessing.

Women in Ministry DVD Series

Cheryl's Blog

Campaign 2008

2008-10-12T14:10:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Are You Judging My Judging

2008-10-11T18:56:00.001-05:00

Stealing Elections

2008-10-06T14:01:00.001-05:00

WHY YOU WON’T SEE THIS PHOTO AT CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, TIME, NEWSWEEK, THE NEW YORK TIMES, OR MOST ANY MAJOR MEDIA:

“Off the record, every suspicion you have about [mainstream media] MSM being in the tank for O is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working.” ~ from an email by a media insider, published by Glenn Reynolds

That photo shows one bin full of “ACORN DUPLICATES.” Voter registration duplicates. A few hundred of them. Those don’t “just happen.” Those happen with a systematic campaign of duplication, conducted by ACORN and PROJECT VOTE, which was Obama’s baby in Chicago in 1992 and launched his Illinois State Senate run.

Barak Obama's former employer, ACORN, is quite adept at helping to steal elections. Acorn Voter Fraud has been traced back over several election cycles for those who care to dig a bit. Here is a video by the Obama campaign video bragging about Project Vote.

According to the Chicago Reader

In 1992 Obama took time off to direct Project Vote, the most successful grass-roots voter-registration campaign in recent city history. Credited with helping elect Carol Moseley-Braun to the U.S. Senate, the registration drive, aimed primarily at African-Americans, added an estimated 125,000 voters to the voter rolls--even more than were registered during Harold Washington's mayoral campaigns. "It's a power thing," said the brochures and radio commercials.

But what is even worse during this election cycle is the mad dash to streamline the process to register convicted felons to vote. This article: Push to register felons to vote will aid Obama outlines how Democrat governers and activists are hoping to add thousands of convicted felons who will most likely vote for Obama. Here is an excerpt about my own state and Virginia:

“Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear streamlined the process in March, and has since restored the rights of more than 740 released convicts. Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine promised to fast-track applications for voter restoration that his office received by Aug. 1, adding three people to his staff to process applications before Monday's registration deadline.”

Stealing elections has become a national organized strategy for the Democratic party. See, we cannot trust people who want to vote to seek out registration. There has to be cheating, persuading and even paying for votes...which they call 'walking around money'.

Acorn duplicates story courtesy of http://throughtheveil.wordpress.com/

When a Church becomes a Mosque

2008-10-05T16:05:00.000-05:00

This former Methodist church in Utica, NY is now a mosque.

Shocking Video Unearthed Democrats in their own words Covering up the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Cri

2008-10-04T15:21:00.001-05:00

These are hearings from C-Span in 2004. Seems we could have avoided this crisis had we not listened to Democrats and had the votes. Watch the whole thing and see the democrats saying there is NO problem with either Fannie or Freddie. Check out the bonuses that leading Democrat operatives appointed to Fannie and Freddie walked away with when it was sinking. Franklin Raines is now an advisor to Obama after walking away with millions. Obama was a huge supporter of Freddie and Fannie in the Congressional Black Caucus and was singled out by the interim CEO as a big supporter.

Obama has recieved the second largest contribution from Freddie and Fannie behind Chris Dodd.

And we trust this guy to fix our economic crisis?

Are You Being Starved at Church?

2008-10-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

Chris Rosebrough’s over at extreme theology put together some some visual postcards to ask the question: Are you being fed the deep truths of scripture at your church?

John Piper, Paul Tripp, Mark Driscoll and Potty Mouths

2008-09-27T14:42:00.001-05:00

This is a promotional video for the Desiring God conference where Mark Driscoll, the reformed vulgarian preacher, will also be speaking about 'words'.

Pulpit Magazine has an excellent article about this. The comments are interesting, too.

Did you know that NOT using bad language could be sacrificing your right to be a redemptive good in someone’s life? I never knew that cussing could edify someone.

But that is what Paul Tripp is teaching here. He has to ignore a lot of scripture to come up with that one.

Letter to Paul

2008-09-17T20:37:00.002-05:00

Paul the Apostle
c\o Aquila the Tentmaker
Corinth, Greece

Dear Paul:

We recently received a copy of your letter to the Galatians. The committee has directed me to inform you of a number of things, which deeply concern us. First, we find your language to be somewhat intemperate. In your letter, after a brief greeting to the Galatians, you immediately attack your opponents by claiming they "want to pervert the gospel of Christ." You then say that such men should be regarded as "accursed"; and, in another place, you make reference to "false brethren." Wouldn’t it be more charitable to give them the benefit of the doubt—at least until the General Assembly has investigated and adjudicated the matter?

To make the situation worse, you later say, "I could wish those who trouble you would 'emasculate themselves'!" Is such a statement really fitting for a Christian minister? The remark seems quite harsh and unloving.

Paul, we really feel the need to caution you about the tone of your epistles. You come across in an abrasive manner to many people. In some of your letters you’ve even mentioned names; and this practice has, no doubt, upset the friends of Hymenaeus, Alexander, and others. After all, many persons were first introduced to the Christian faith under the ministries of these men.

Although some of our missionaries have manifest regrettable shortcomings, nevertheless, it can only stir up bad feelings when you speak of these men in a derogatory manner. In other words, Paul, I believe you should strive for a more moderate posture in your ministry. Shouldn’t you try to win those who are in error by displaying a sweeter spirit? By now, you've probably alienated the Judaizers to the point that they will no longer listen to you.

By your outspokenness, you have also diminished your opportunities for future influence throughout the church as a whole. Rather, if you had worked more quietly, you might have been asked to serve on a presbytery committee appointed to study the issue. You could then have contributed your insights by helping to draft a good committee paper on the theological position of the Judaizers, without having to drag personalities into the dispute.

Besides, Paul, we need to maintain unity among those who profess a belief in Christ. The Judaizers at least stand with us as we confront the surrounding paganism and humanism, which prevail within the culture of the contemporary Roman Empire. The Judaizers are our allies in our struggles. We cannot afford to allow differences over doctrinal minutiae to obscure this important fact.

I also must mention that questions have been raised about the contents of your letter, as well as your style. The committee questions the propriety of the doctrinaire structure of your letter. Is it wise to plague young Christians, like the Galatians, with such heavy theological issues?

For example, in a couple of places, you allude to the doctrine of election. You also enter into a lengthy discussion of the law. Perhaps you could have proved your case in some other ways, without mentioning these complex and controverted points of Christianity. Your letter is so doctrinaire, it will probably serve only to polarize the differing factions within the churches. Again, we need to stress unity, instead of broaching issues, which will accent divisions among us.

In one place, you wrote, "Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing." Paul, you have a tendency to describe things strictly in black and white terms, as if there are no gray areas. You need to temper your expressions, lest you become too exclusive. Otherwise, your outlook will drive away many people, and make visitors feel unwelcome. Church growth is not promoted by taking such a hard line and remaining inflexible.

Remember, Paul, there is no such thing as a perfect church. We have to tolerate many imperfections in the church, since we cannot expect to have everything at once. If you will simply think back over your own experience, you will recall how you formerly harassed the church in your times of ignorance. By reflecting on your own past, you might acquire a more sympathetic attitude toward the Judaizers. Be patient, and give them some time to come around to a better understanding. In the meantime, rejoice that we all share a common profession of faith in Christ, since we have all been baptized in his name.

Sincerely,

Sol Nicely,
Coordinator, Committee on Church Growth
Mega Seeker Ministerial Association

(Ok, I made up this last part)

Commerc-ianity

2008-09-12T01:07:00.001-05:00

CBMW and Voddie

2008-09-09T16:34:00.003-05:00

What to do with Voddie Baucham, the hottest evangelical speaker on the conference circuit, who teaches another 'woman' gospel from CBMW.

According to Voddie, a woman as VP is a 'judgement' on America. He even uses a horrible translation of Isaiah 3:12 to make his point. Check the Septuagint for the correct translation of this passage.

Rudy Sums it up

2008-09-04T10:51:00.003-05:00

Rudy sums up Obama's Campaign:

"Change is not a destination and hope is not a strategy"

Magdalena: Released from Shame

2008-08-31T18:33:00.003-05:00

Magdalena: Released from Shame

The Holiness of God - Part 1

2008-08-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Sadducee School

2008-08-17T23:19:00.000-05:00

‘I consider the most dangerous champion of the Sadducee school is not the man who tells you openly that he wants you….to become a free-thinker and a skeptic. It is the man who begins with quietly insinuating doubts…..whether we ought to be so positive in saying ‘This is the truth, and that falsehood,’ doubts whether we ought to think men wrong who differ from us on religious opinions, since they may after all be as much right as we are….It is the man who always begins talking in a vague way about God being a God of love,and hints that we ought to believe perhaps that all men, whatever doctrine they profess will be saved.’

J.C. Ryle

Examine Yourself

2008-08-15T22:48:00.001-05:00

Revival Hymn

2008-08-15T22:41:00.003-05:00

A powerful 35 minutes of old evangelists preaching on the Holy Spirit and true Revival. Worth every minute!

HT: http://throughtheveil.wordpress.com/

Jib Jab Jibbity Jab

2008-08-13T10:00:00.001-05:00

Jib Jab Jibbity Jab

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"I Am Your Father"

2008-08-12T21:05:00.003-05:00

Click on the title to read the full story

Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.

Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Now, here's the reality: after I studied Christianity — which I had a big misunderstanding about, because I studied about Christianity from Islam, which is, there is nothing true about Christianity when you study it from Islam, and that was the only source.

When I studied the Bible carefully verse by verse, I made sure that that was the book of God, the word of God for sure, so I started to see things in a different way, which was difficult for me, to say Islam is wrong.

Islam is my father. I grew up for (one) father — 22 years for that father — and another father came to me and told me, 'I'm sorry, I'm your father.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about? Like, I have my own father, and it's Islam!' And the father of Christianity told me, 'No, I'm your father. I was in jail, and this (Islam) is not your father.'

So basically this is what happened. It's not easy to believe this (Islam) is not your father anymore. So I had to study Islam again from a different point of view to figure out all the mistakes, the huge mistakes and its effects, not only on Muslims — (of) which I hated the values ... I didn't like all those traditions that make people's lives more difficult — but its effects also on humanity. On humanity! People killing each other (in) the name of God.

So definitely I started to figure out the problem is Islam, not the Muslims and those people — I can't hate them because God loved them from the beginning. And God doesn't create junk. God created good people that he loved, but they're sick, they have the wrong idea. I don't hate those people anymore but I feel very sorry for them and the only way for them to be changed (is) by knowing the word of God and the real way to him.