Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Ronnie Floyd, and Mark Batterson Promote Pagan Witchcraft Circle-Making

photo source

Jeff Maples at Pulpit and Pen blog reports of celebrity teachers like Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Mark Batterson, SBC president Ronnie Floyd are promoting the pagan practice of circle-making:

One of the most basic devices used in ancient pagan spirituality is the “circle of protection.” You find it everywhere from the Eastern mystery religions to modern witchcraft. The circle of protection was commonly used in old Gypsy magic, as it was thought to create an impenetrable barrier of protection around those in which it was created.

Shaheen Miro writes in an article titled The Gypsy’s Tricks for Spiritual Cleansing and Protection: Circle of Protection,

Creating a circular boundary is an ancient form of spiritual protection. The space within the circle becomes consecrated ground. The circle itself becomes a barrier keeping all unwelcomed things at bay.

The use of this protective circle and other forms of witchcraft have been an integral part of Gypsy spiritual life and culture since the earliest foundations. It’s quite common for cultural traditions to be carried over from generation to generation, even when other religions, including Christianity, become an accepted or even prominent expression of spirituality. One famous Gypsy from the late 19th century and early 20th century, named Rodney “Gipsy” Smith, is widely regarded as a great Christian evangelist and revivalist from England. The practice of integrating the Gypsy witchcraft circle of protection into Christianity is widely attributed to Smith. When asked of Smith how to start a revival, he replied:

Find a piece of chalk, and find an empty room. Go into that room and shut the door. Draw a circle on the floor with that chalk, kneel down in that circle, and ask God to start revival right there.

Of course, this practice of circle-making can be found nowhere in Scripture. This is purely a pagan practice that Mr. Smith adapted from his cultural upbringing to fit with his newly found Christianity. So does this practice of circle-making by Mr. Smith really have anything to do with the ancient Pagan circles of the Gypsies?

Sadly this witchcraft circle-making heresy has crept its way into orthodox evangelical circles....

End quote.

Go here for the whole article.

The Global Flood

photo source

ICR’s founder compiled a list of reasons why the Genesis Flood was universal (“The Universality of the Deluge”).* Here is a short commentary he penned as an introduction to this comprehensive study guide:

Central to the question of the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis is the question whether the Noahic Flood was global or only regional. A worldwide flood would have cataclysmically changed the entire surface of the globe, including any fossil-bearing sedimentary rocks that may have been formed prior to that time. Consequently, the earth’s present fossiliferous sediments must date largely from the time of their deposition in the waters of the great flood.

On the other hand, the modern evolutionary system of earth history denies any such global cataclysm and is based on the assumption of uniformitarianism. The sedimentary rocks and their fossil contents have been interpreted as evidence of a vast series of evolutionary ages extending over billions of years of time, deposited slowly and generally uniformly over the earth as living organisms gradually evolved into higher and higher forms during those ages.

The “day-age theory” is the attempt by Bible expositors to accommodate these evolutionary ages within the framework of the six days of creation. The “gap theory” is the attempt by other expositors to accommodate them outside the framework of the six days of creation. Both such theories, if consistent, are associated with the “local flood theory,” since a universal flood would have destroyed the sedimentary framework of the geological ages. That is, a universal flood precludes the historicity of the geological ages, and vice versa.

If the Genesis flood actually was worldwide, then the strained exegesis associated with the day-age and gap theories becomes unnecessary and harmful. In the tabulation below, therefore, are listed [ninety-five] reasons why the flood should be accepted as a true global cataclysm.

Here Are 95 Reasons Why the Genesis Flood Was Global...

End quote.

Go here for the list and the entire article.

God's Word

"Gods Word is to be received with childlike simplicity and not quibbled over: received as a whole, and not merely those parts which appeal to us or accord with our views."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Life of Arthur W. Pink"

Whosoever Will: GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND THE HUMAN WILL

photo & excerpt source

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND THE HUMAN WILL
A.W. Pink

“It is GOD which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” [Phil 2:13].

Concerning the nature and the power of fallen man’s will, the greatest confusion prevails today, and the most erroneous views are held, even by many of God’s children. The popular idea now prevailing, and which is taught from the great majority of pulpits, is that man has a “free will”, and that salvation comes to the sinner through his WILL cooperating with the Holy Spirit. To deny the “free will” of man, i.e. his power to choose that which is good, his native ability to accept Christ, is to bring one into disfavour at once, even before most of those who profess to be orthodox.

And yet Scripture emphatically says, “IT IS NOT of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” Rom. 9:16. Which shall we believe: God, or the preachers?

But some one may reply, Did not Joshua say to Israel, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve”? Yes, he did; but why not complete his sentence? — “WHETHER the gods that your fathers served which were on the other side of the flood, OR the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell” Joshua 24:15! But why attempt to pit scripture AGAINST scripture? The Word of God never contradicts itself, and the Word expressly declares, “There is NONE THAT SEEKETH after God” Rom. 3:11. Did not Christ say to the men of his day, “Ye WILL NOT come to me, that ye might have life” John 5:40? Yes, but some DID come to him, some DID receive him. True and who were they? John 1:12,13 tells us: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name: WHICH WERE BORN, not of blood, NOR OF THE WILL of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but OF GOD”!

But does not Scripture say, “Whosoever will may come”? It does, but does this signify that everybody has the will to come? What of those who WILL NOT come? “Whosoever will may come” no more implies that fallen man has the power (in himself) to come, than “Stretch forth thine hand” implied that the man with the withered arm had ability (in himself) to comply. In and of himself the natural man has power to reject Christ; but in and of himself he has not the power to receive Christ.

And why? Because he has a mind that is “enmity against him” Rom. 8:7; because he has a heart that hates him John 15:18. Man chooses that which is according to his nature, and therefore before he will ever choose or prefer that which is divine and spiritual, a new nature must be imparted to him; in other words, he MUST be born again!

So, does it lie within the power of the sinner’s will to yield himself up to God? Let us attempt an answer by asking several others: Can water (of itself) rise above its own level? Can a clean thing come out of an unclean? Can the will reverse the whole tendency and strain of human nature? Can that which is under the dominion of sin originate that which is pure and holy? Manifestly not!

If ever the will of a fallen and depraved creature is to move God-wards, a Divine power must be brought to bear upon it which will overcome the influences of sin that pull in a counter direction. This is only another way of saying, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me, DRAW HIM” John 6:44. In other words, God’s people must be MADE WILLING in the day of his power Psa. 110:3.

As said Mr. Darby, “If Christ came to save that which is LOST, free will has no place. Not that God prevents men from receiving Christ — far from it. But even when God uses all possible inducements, all that is capable of exerting influence in the heart of man, it only serves to show that man will have none of it, that so corrupt is his heart, and so decided his will not to submit to God (however much it may be the devil who encourages him to sin) that nothing can induce him to receive the Lord, and to give up sin. If by the words, ‘freedom of man’, they mean that no one forces him to reject the Lord, this liberty fully exists. But if it is said that, on account of the dominion of sin, of which he is the slave, and that voluntarily, he cannot escape from his condition, and make choice of the good — even while acknowledging it to be good, and approving of it — THEN HE HAS NO LIBERTY WHATEVER (capitals ours). He is not subject to the law, neither indeed can be; hence, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Now in conclusion let us anticipate and dispose of the usual and inevitable objection — WHY PREACH THE GOSPEL IF MAN IS POWERLESS TO RESPOND? Why bid the sinner come to Christ if sin has so enslaved him that he has no power in himself to come? Reply: — We do not preach the Gospel BECAUSE WE believe that men are free moral agents, and therefore capable of receiving Christ, but we preach it BECAUSE WE ARE COMMANDED TO DO SO Mark 16:15; and though to them that perish it is FOOLISHNESS, yet, “unto us which are saved it is THE POWER OF GOD” 1 Cor. 1:18. “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). The sinner is dead in trespasses and sins Eph 2:1, and a dead man is utterly incapable of willing anything, hence it is that “they that are in the flesh (the unregenerate) cannot please God” Rom. 8:8.

To fleshly wisdom it appears the height of folly to preach the Gospel to those that are DEAD, and therefore BEYOND the reach of doing anything themselves. Yes, but God’s ways are different from ours. It pleases God “by the FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING to save them that believe” 1 Cor. 1:21. Man may deem it folly to prophesy to “DEAD BONES” and to say unto them, “O, ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” Ezek. 37:4. Ah! but then it is the word OF THE LORD, and the words he speaks “they are spirit, AND THEY ARE LIFE” John 6:63. Wise men standing by the grave of Lazarus night pronounce it an evidence of insanity when the Lord addressed a DEAD man with the words, “Lazarus, Come forth.” Ah! but he who thus spake was and is himself the Resurrection and the Life, and at HIS word even the dead live!

We go forth to preach the Gospel, then, not because we believe that sinners have within themselves the power to receive the Saviour it proclaims, but because the Gospel itself IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO salvation to everyone that believeth, and because we know that “as many as were ordained to eternal life” Acts 13:48, SHALL believe John 6:37 10:16 — note the shall’s!) in God’s appointed time, for it is written, “Thy people SHALL be willing in the day of THY power” (Psa. 110:3)"

~ Arthur Pink

God Never Needs Us To Glorify Himself

"God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His own mere good pleasure; for He "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11). God is no gainer even from our worship. He was in no need of that external glory of His grace which arises from His redeemed, for He is glorious enough in Himself without that. What was it moved Him to predestinate His elect to the praise of the glory of His grace? It was, as Ephesians 1:5 tells us, according to the good pleasure of His will."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Solitariness of God"

This is so true and destroys John Piper's

false claim of "God is MOST glorified when YOU are satisfied in Him" tagline.

The Atheist

                                                                 photo source

Priscilla Shirer: is your church studying one of her studies this Fall?

Bud Ahlheim at Pulpit and Pen reminds us:

This is a reminder about the danger of Shirer. It does not take much discernment to recognize her as a false teacher with toxic teaching. If Christ’s presentation of the antithetical “two paths” is correct (Matthew 7:13) – and, OF COURSE, it is – Shirer’s anti-orthodox, anti-Biblical teaching falls on that undesirable, though emotionally appealing, wide path. She promotes a contemplative, emotions-based, mystical form of faith that is completely foreign to “the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”  (Jude 3)

If you are in a church that will, this fall, promote Shirer’s curricula for women’s “Bible” studies, know this: it is evidence that the pastor and leadership of that church do not practice Biblically-commanded discernment. (1 John 4:1,Philippians 1:9-10, Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, Romans 12:2, Romans 16:17-18)  They are not “contending” for the “sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3) of the faith.

(Indeed, ask yourself the question, what wolves – if any – is my pastor warning me against?  It’s a critical part of his role as a shepherd, but one that is virtually absent in the modern evangelical church.  Most prefer, it seems, to keep you engaged with popular falseness, rather than edified and challenged by clear Scriptural truth.)

You can find more on Shirer HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, andHERE.  For more Pulpit & Pen posts on Shirer, go HERE.

End quote.

The rest of the article is here.

Standards for Rulers

People generally detest dishonesty, liars, cheaters, and immorality in their leaders, even in this Post-Modern day and age. The fact is, people generally want rulers with higher standards and God demands it. To say “we’re not voting for a pastor” is a cop-out for a high standard and is to accept a lower standard than what God demands. In fact, God will give a people the leader they demand and if that is a bad one, it merely reflects the heart of the people.

The case of Saul makes the point: the Israelites rejected God’s decision of having judges rule them because the judges became unrighteous and the people wanted to be like the rest of the world with a king. God therefore handed them a king who would be wicked, like them:

1Sa 8:4  Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah;

1Sa 8:5  and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."

1Sa 8:6  But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

1Sa 8:7  The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

The warning by God about the abuse and mistreatment Saul (who by the way would enact socialism--take from property owners and give to others; and a bit of Communism: determine the professions of the people) would enact over the people wasn’t enough to steer them back to God’s way:

1Sa 8:18  "Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day."

Here is what God says regarding rulers:

False speech of a ruler is unfitting: Prov 17:7

All kings should fear God: Ps. 75:11-12

It is an abomination for rulers to do evil: Pro. 16:12

It is by righteousness that their throne is established: Prov 16:12

Kings and rulers of the world counsel and plan together against God and will be punished: Ps. 2:1-2 (see Rev. 11:18, Rev. 6:15-16)

Mouths of rulers shouldn’t give unfair judgments: Prov. 16:10

Loyalty and fairness: Prov. 20:28; 29:14

Youth is not desirable in a king: Eccl. 10:10

Being an old but foolish king that no longer takes warnings is not good: Ecc. 4:13

God hates the arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech of all (which includes rulers): Pro. 8:13

It is not for kings to drink wine or rulers to desire beer—otherwise they forget what was decreed and pervert justice for all the oppressed: Prov. 31:4-5

Rulers are to judge righteously and defend the cause of the oppressed and need, and speak up for those without a voice: Prov. 31:8-9

All rulers are to praise the name of Yahweh : Ps. 148:11

Rulers are not to be a terror for good conduct, but bad: Rom. 13:3

Rulers are God’s instrument to be avenger and bring wrath upon wrong doers: Rom. 13:4

It is by God’s wisdom that kings reign and rulers enact just laws: Prov 8:15-16

Women rulers are a curse: Is. 3:12

So, in a nutshell, honesty, fairness, righteousness, justice, loyalty, fearing God and His name, not a youth, not a woman, terror for bad conduct not good, no drinking wine or beer are required. When Evangelicals say "we're not voting for a pastor" when justifying electing a "lesser evil", they need to consider if these requirements are similar to those for being a pastor (minus the government ability to reward good behavior/punish bad behavior--and take in taxes).

The Conversion of Sinners Should Not Be Our All-Consuming End

"Once a man makes the conversion of sinners his prime design and all-consuming end and NOT THE GLORY OF GOD, he is exceedingly apt to adopt a wrong course. Instead of striving to preach the Truth in all its purity, he will tone it down so as to make it more palatable to the unregenerate. Impelled by a single force, moving in one fixed direction, his object is to make conversion easy; and therefore, favorite passages (like John 3:16) are dwelt upon incessantly, while others are ignored or pared away. It inevitably reacts upon his own theology; and various verses in the Word are shunned, if not repudiated. What place will he give in his thoughts to such declarations as, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" (Jer. 13:23); "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw Him" (John 6:44); "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:14)?

He will be sorely tempted to modify the truth of God's sovereign election, of Christ's particular redemption, of the imperative necessity for the super-natural operations of the Holy Spirit."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Wrong Emphasis!"

Greg Laurie Teaches False Doctrines At Latest Harvest Crusade

"Listen to this. Jesus Christ spoke more about Hell than all the other preachers of the Bible put together," Laurie said. "He knows of its reality. Know this: the last thing God wants is for anyone to go to Hell."

"Newsflash! God doesn't send people to Hell. You send yourself there," Laurie explained. "Hell is not made for people. Hell, according to Jesus, was made for the Devil and his angels. Listen, friend, if you end up in Hell one day, you will have to practically climb over Jesus to get there."

~Greg Laurie as reported by the "Christian" Post

Except that 1) no one has to practically climb over Jesus to go to Hell. Apparently this is a Jesus that isn't big enough to be a block between man and Hell for most people, and 2) God is the Righteous Judge of all souls and He absolutely sends people to Hell:

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Rev 20:15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Mat 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Mat 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

Scripture doesn't say that Hell wasn't meant to have people in there. What it says is that the rebellious beings--human and angelic--all earn the same punishment.

CP also reported that "According to Harvest Crusades, over 3,960 people in attendance at Angel Stadium decided to proclaim or recommit their lives for Christ following Laurie's address."

Furthermore, It also reported that on Friday night 37,000 people were at the crusade, with more watching online. This means over 37,000 + people heard false teaching (and yes, he led them in the mythical "Sinner's Prayer") and will likely repeat the false doctrines.

This is ironic considering he also said this recently:

He explained that the Bible shows "in the last days, there would be false teachers. And, it also says that in the End Times ... there would be an apostasy. When someone gets up and says that the Bible is not the Word of God, I really don't care what their point is. That, to me, is apostasy."

~ Greg Laurie as reported by the "Christian" Post. Thou art the man, Laurie.

Grace

"Grace is never exercised at the expense of righteousness. Grace upholds rather than ignores our responsibilities toward God and toward our neighbor. The grace of God that bringeth salvation, teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus 2:12)."

~ Arthur Pink, “Gleanings in Genesis”

Andy Stanley Says Christianity Doesn't Hang By The Thread of the Bible

More demonic attacking of Scripture, this time by Andy Stanley, as Bud Ahlheim from Pulpit And Pen reports:

You don’t need to “repent and believe” to be “a part” of Andy’s church. There’s no need to be born again, or even profess to be. As with last week’s message, Stanley reaffirms that you don’t even need the Bible.

“Christianity does not exist because of the Bible. It is the other way around. The reason there is the Bible is because of Christianity. And this is one of the concepts that so many people outside our network of churches have a hard time understanding.”  Andy Stanley

Pointing to the audience before him, Stanley says, “I think that you get it.” Why do people in Andy Stanley’s church understand his denial of Scripture as a valid presuppositional apologetic intended to bring back to church membership people who left church because they were obviously not Christian to begin with?

“Because you’re above average intelligence if you attend one our churches, okay? You get this.”  Andy Stanley

His straight-faced delivery of this line, gathering some chuckles from the crowd, yet reflects Stanley’s response to the critics who have challenged his denial of Scripture. He and his Northpoint crowd know something others don’t. “But at some point,” he says, “we need to grow up and see this the way it actually is. And the great news is that Christianity does not hang by the thread of the Bible.”

~End quote. Pulpit And Pen blog

Wrong, Stanley!

1Pe 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, 25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you. (Peter is quoting Is. 40:6-8).

Mat 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Stanley's in "good" company though:

Michael  Patton of Credo House and author ofThe Theology Program (is your church using this program?):

Quote:

I believe that the Scriptures could contain error and the Christian faith remain essentially in tact. Why? BecauseChristianity is not built upon the inerrancy of Scripture, but the historical Advent of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Christ because man, lived a perfect life, died an atoning death, and rose on the third day not because the Scriptures inerrantly say that these events occurred, but because they did in fact occur. The truth is in the objectivity of the event, not the accuracy of the record of the event. 

Let me take this one more step further. The fact is that we don’t even need the Scriptures in order for Christianity to be true.Remember, the Christian worldview is Christocentric (centered around the Advent of Christ), not bibliocentric (centered around the Bible). 

Not only is it true that Christianity is not dependent upon inerrancy, inspiration, and recording of the events, but it is also not reliant upon our knowledge of the events.

~ "The Inerrancy and Sole Authority of Scripture Attacked by Peter Enns (former Westminster Theological Seminary Professor), Greg Koukl (Stand To Reason), and Michael Patton (The Theology Program)"

As to Stanley's flattery of the intelligence of his audience:

Rom 16:17  Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

Rom 16:18  For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. 

How They Sneak In Among Us

Wicked men will always raise up dissension by way of error and self-exaltation through the back door, while claiming, at the front door, that they and their systems are the remedy.

~Biblical Christ Research Institute

If It's Not In Scripture, Reject It

If anything should occur in your own mind in vision which is not already revealed in the Book of God, put it away, it is an idle fancy.

~Spurgeon

Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

2Co 10:5  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and

take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Col 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col 2:4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

1Co 1:19  For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." 

1Co 1:20  Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 

1Co 1:21  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 

Living Between Two Worlds

"There are some who have been brought up under the protection and sanctifying influence of a godly home. Later, they go out into the world, and are apt to be dazzled by its glittering tinsel and carried away by its apparent happiness. Their foolish hearts hanker after its attractions and pleasures. They are invited to participate, and are sneered at if they hesitate. And only too often, because they have not grace in their hearts, nor strength of mind to withstand the temptations, they are drawn aside, heeding the counsel of the ungodly and standing in the way of sinners. True, they cannot altogether forget their early training, and at times an uneasy conscience will move them to read a chapter out of the Bible and to say their prayers; and so they halt between two alternatives and vainly attempt to serve two masters. They will not cleave to God alone, relinquish all for Him and follow Him with undivided hearts. They are halters, borderers, who love and follow the world, and yet retain something of the form of godliness....If the Lord be God, follow Him as He bids, and trust Him for all needed grace."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Life of Elijah"

1Ki 18:21  Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word. 

To Come To Christ

"To come to Christ for life, is for the sinner to abandon his own righteousness and be ready to be made the righteousness of God in Christ; it is to disown his own wisdom and be guided by His; it is to repudiate his own will and be ruled by His; it is to unreservedly receive the Lord Jesus as his Saviour and Lord, as his All in all."

~ Arthur Pink "The Sovereignty of God"

The Minimum Christian

The minimum Christian is not clear on a number of points. He cannot see the harm in this, or that, or the other popular amusement. There is nothing in the Bible against it. He knows several excellent persons who do so--at least, so he says. Why should not he? He stands so close to the dividing-line between the people of God and the people of the world--that it is hard to say on which side of it he is actually to be found.

Ah, my brother, are you making this attempt? Beware, lest you find at last that in trying to get to Heaven with a little religion--you miss it altogether; lest without gaining the whole world--you lose your own soul. True godliness demands self-denial and cross-bearing--and if you have none of these, you are making a false profession!

~Spurgeon

Rev 3:15  'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 

Rev 3:16  'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 

1Ki 18:21  Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word. 

The LDS Church Supports Muslim Immigration

I post this because of the LDS's liberal agenda which spawns from it's cult history. Their story was that they were endlessly persecuted and forced to wander and ended up in Salt Lake City. The truth is that they are a cult and their beliefs were (and are) outlandish, including polygamy.*

"Mormons worship the US Constitution and its guarantee of religious liberty. Radical Islam is the number one enemy of religious liberty in the world today. " - Tom Tancredo on Breitbart

This is a good point, as well:

 It is an open secret in Washington, D.C. that the Mormon church supports open borders and lax enforcement of immigration laws. Many Mormon politicians have been supporting amnesty and open borders for decades. 

The media is suddenly full of stories on Trump’s “Mormon problem.” According to the mainstream media, Trump’s call for “extreme vetting” of Muslim immigrants in his foreign policy speech kicked open a hornets’ nest of Mormon concerns about “religious tolerance.”
ISIS leaders must be rolling in the mosque’s aisles in uncontrolled laughter over the Mormon concern over Muslim immigration, considering that religious liberty is the first casualty wherever radical Islam and Sharia are enforced.
Under Sharia law enforced by orthodox Muslims wherever they have the power to do so, religious liberty is defined as giving Christians and Jews and other “infidels” a choice: either convert to Islam, pay the “Jizya” tax, or die. That is religious liberty under Islam, and it bears no resemblance to the religious liberty guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Trump is advocating a new policy of vigorous, effective screening of Muslim refugees and immigrants to identify likely Islamist terrorists and bar their admission to our country. So, how did a ban on admission of likely terrorists become a war on religious liberty? Once you find a good answer to that question, my friends, you will have discovered the answer to the riddle of political correctness run amok.

The truth is that not only does the Constitution NOT prohibit immigration restrictions on persons holding beliefs hostile to public safety and national security, there are several US Supreme Court decisions upholding Congress’s and the President’s powers to put the nation’s safety and security ahead of any alleged universal right of foreign nationals to enter the United States. 

                      ~Tom Tancredo at Breitbart

* Brigham Young ordered the massacre of 150 non-Mormon immigrants. This became known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. Young ordered Bishop John D. Lee in 1877 to murder a wagon train of helpless immigrants.- Wikipedia (also reported elsewhere)

Liberal Salon: GOP should dump God in order to be relevant

Breitbart reports:

Salon Magazine has accused the Republican Party of being out of touch with “post-Christian America,” warning the GOP that if it doesn’t renege on its alliance with Christianity, it will soon become irrelevant.

Ted Cruz’s failure to get the GOP nomination, Matthew Sheffield proclaims in Salon, “is a perfect window into trends that will set the pace of American politics for decades to come: Americans are moving away from Christianity, including people most likely to vote Republican.” 

And while Sheffield rightly notes that atheists overwhelmingly vote Democrat, he comes up with the unlikely conclusion that Republicans should slough off their historical friendliness with religion in order to keep up with social trends. In other words, Republicans should repeat the Democrats’ mistakes of alienating the pro-life community, religious believers, and traditional families in the hopes of pandering to the relatively small group of religiously unaffiliated.

While observing that “the religiously unaffiliated appear to have a real preference for Democrats,” Sheffield insists that Republicans could cut into the Democrats’ voter base if they would just abandon the illusion that Americans still care about God.

“While secular people have always favored Democrats for as long as the data goes back,” Sheffield says, “the situation has actually become even worse in recent years for the GOP.” 

If the GOP would just sell its soul and dump its religious constituency, Sheffield suggests, things would go a whole lot better. This includes a full embrace of same-sex marriage and other positions at odds with Biblical morality, in the name of political expediency.

End quote.

For the liberals over at Salon to want to help the GOP win, that is suspect entirely. The DNC kicked God of their platform in the last election or two. But with that said, there is some truth in there, although not for Salon's reasons. The truth is, is that the GOP is indeed becoming more of a farce of conservative values, much less Christian ones. The candidates they offer, their pundits and their leaders are increasingly hostile to absolute truth. That the GOP is increasingly sodomy, illegal immigration, abortion, socialized medicine friendly shows this. I do believe in most ways the GOP's God-friendly platform is indeed more political than heartfelt, but the sneering of any acknowledgement of God within the GOP party is arrogant. Let's just say that Romans 1 has already happened to the DNC--at least with the GOP there's a semblance of acknowledging God exists. Some within the party haven't yet wholly been turned over to their hardened hearts and seared consciences. For how long, who knows.  Politics are indeed a spiritual issue--even a spiritual battle.  

But I'll pose a question: how many churches will go this route? Campus Crusade For Christ has already dumped "Christ", and now is just called "CRU". Churches are becoming doctrinally vague in order to embrace all sorts of people. So what we see in politics, we'll see happen in the churches, as they typically parallel the political arena.

Princeton's HuMAN Resources Department Bans "Man" From Vocabulary

The College Fix reports:

The Princeton University HR department has largely wiped the word “man” from its vocabulary.

The relatively new policy in effect at the Ivy League institution spells out the directive in a four-page memo that aims to make the department more gender inclusive.

Instead of using “man,” employees are told to use words such as human beings, individuals or people.

~The College Fix

Of course, this has been enacted in the state of California for some time now. But it goes to show two things: 1) Princeton is full of non-thinking people, who are puppets for their ridiculous man-hate, and 2) this is the goal of ancient gnostic feminism, which is really hatred toward God, His creative order, and His Word.

"There is a radical difference between desiring to be delivered from a world of disappointment and sorrow and a longing to be delivered from this body of death in order that we may be present with the Lord. The latter was the case with the Apostle when he said, “having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phi 1:23). A desire to be freed from abject poverty or a bed of languishing is only natural, but a yearning to be delivered from a world of iniquity and a body of death so that we may enjoy unclouded communion with the Beloved is truly spiritual. One of the greatest surprises of our own Christian life has been to find how very few people give evidence of the latter. The majority of professors appear to be so wedded to this scene, so in love with this life, or so fearful of the physical aspect of death, that they cling to life as tenaciously as do non-professors. Surely heaven cannot be very real to them. True, we ought to submissively wait God’s time, yet that should not preclude or override a desire to “depart, and be with Christ.”

~ Arthur Pink, "The Life of Elijah"

Desperate, dishonest, deviant: homosexual You Tuber is a faker and a liar

Popular homosexual YouTuber Calum McSwiggan reportedly faked an alleged hate crime attack on himself in West Hollywood on Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The authorities should have been there to help and protect me but instead they treated me like a second class citizen,” he claimed. “With three broken teeth and six stitches in my forehead, I’ve never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye.

Captain Holly M. Perez of the West Hollywood Police Station claims that they “were unable to substantiate the assault” and that McSwiggan “had no visible injuries” at their time of investigation. Police soon arrested McSwiggan however after he was seen by deputies vandalizing a car, and the YouTuber ended up being processed with a mugshot and given a cell for the night.

West Hollywood Police officers “then observed [McSwiggan] injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone inside the cell.” After breaking his teeth and piercing his forehead, McSwiggan was quickly sent to the local hospital.

“Mr. McSwiggan’s booking photo was taken prior to deputies seeing Mr. McSwiggan injuring himself,” reported the police station in a statement to The Advocate, confirming the captain’s claims that McSwiggan was unharmed at the time of his arrest.

“I saw Cal screaming crying after the attack. He didn’t fake it,” wrote one of McSwiggan’s friends in a tweet, acknowledging that he didn’t witness the actual events.

~Breitbart

Desperate, dishonest, deviant.

Survey: excessive health problems among deviants

With nearly 69,000 participants, the survey revealed that lesbian, gay and bisexual adults "were more likely to report impaired physical and mental health, heavy alcohol consumption, and heavy cigarette use, potentially due to the stressors that (they) experience as a result of interpersonal and structural discrimination," researchers wrote online June 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

~Yahoo News

Sin has consequences. Trying to go against God's created order, suppressing the Truth with their unrighteousness (Romans 1), will have physical ramifications.  They blame those who reject their deviant behavior, for their physical problems which is irrational. The problem is enslavement to sin, and the solution is to repent of one's sins, confess one to be totally depraved with original sin, and cry out to God our Creator, for mercy and forgiveness. He is quick to forgive and save those who come to Him through Jesus Christ the resurrected Lord for salvation. Those whom HE sets free through faith in Christ Jesus alone by His blood, are made free indeed by Him.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19  because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 1:20  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 1:21  For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Rom 1:24  Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
Rom 1:25  For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
Rom 1:27  and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Rom 1:32  and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. 

Confidence In the Lord Himself

"If our confidence be fully placed in the Lord Himself, he will not fail us. He will stand by us, though no others do; He will deliver us out of the hands of those who seek our hurt; He will put to confusion those who set themselves against us; and He will honour us in the sight of those who have slandered or reproached us. Look not on the frowning faces of worldlings, O trembling believer, but fix the eye of faith upon Him who has all power in heaven and in earth. Be not discouraged because you meet with so few who are like-minded, but console yourself with the grand fact that if God be for us it matters not who is against us....Put yourself unreservedly in His hands, seek only His glory, and He will not fail you. Trust Him fully as to the outcome, and he will not put you to confusion."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Life of Elijah"

An Open Letter of Apology

An open letter from JD Hall:

There comes that moment – even for Christians steeped in conservative traditions – to recognize when the times have changed…and the times have changed. Taking a cue from other Christians who find a sense of closure in writing an open letter of apology to the gay community, I will follow suit and apologize for several things on behalf of not just myself, but my fellow Christians.

Dear Gay Community,

As a Christian who has been forced to evaluate where I stand in recent days in light of Scripture, in both tone and message, I would like to apologize for myself and other Christians…

Read it here.

Five Things That May Happen After Brexit

The UK will survive. Although British twitter seems to be lighting up with signs of panic, the UK’s self-governance stretches back centuries before the existence of many of Europe’s modern states. The notion that the country is incapable of governance without a bureaucratic superstructure from Brussels is simply silly.

~ "5 Things That Come Next After Brexit", Daily Wire

Brexit

Leaving the shackles of socialist and anti-semitism behind and on to self-rule and sovereignty once again.

 

Justice and Mercy Without True Humility

"If Christians were content with doing justly and loving mercy, but would cease walking humbly with God [Micah 6:8], they might go through the world, not only in peace, but with applause; but he that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). Such a life reproves the ungodliness of men and provokes their resentment."

~ Arthur Pink, "The Beatitudes"

The key is  humility before God. Most who claim Jesus' name have no humility before God. They have "no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:18). Therefore social justice without true humility before the Holy One of Israel who demands we be holy as He is holy, is nothing but fake humility. That is to say, it is pride. A form of godliness without His power and Spirit (2 Tim. 3:5).

Good News: abstinence among teens up 28% since 1991

And now for some good news:

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that nearly 60 percent of high school students today have never had sex – an increase of 28 percent since 1991.

In a press statement about the report, the American College of Pediatricians says the news “demonstrates clearly that Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA), or sexual abstinence, is a relevant message for youth and a goal they can achieve.”

In addition, the College says the CDC’s report also shows that Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) is “failing.”

“Teens who do choose to engage in sexual activity are using less birth control; sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise, as is adolescent depression, sometimes referred to as the emotional STI,” the College notes. “Sexual abstinence is the only behavior choice that offers adolescents 100% protection against the triple epidemic of depression, STIs and teen pregnancy due to early sexual debut.”

~Breitbart