Darrin Patrick

John MacArthur recently took Emergent Darrin Patrick to task for statements made in his book. People are getting upset about this but MacArthur is right. Here's a summary of the issue.

"Here’s the essence of John’s concern, not just with that paragraph, but with the whole book: It’s unwise for Darrin Patrick to encourage young church planters to develop their own theological beliefs. It’s especially unwise when it’s coupled with promoting radical individualism in the ministry." ~ full article here.

Let's take a closer look at Darrin Patrick:

His close connection with Mark Driscoll's Acts 29:

"Patrick serves as lead pastor of The Journey in Saint Louis, Missouri, which he founded in 2002. Darrin also serves on the board of directors of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network as Vice President and is a regular contributor at the Resurgence. His passion is to help the church understand and live the gospel in the world. Today, The Journey runs eight services across four campuses and continues to aggressively plant new campuses and churches in the Saint Louis region and beyond."

Patrick has taught at Driscoll's reTrain in 2010

He taught at Rick Warren's Saddleback 12Cities12 Conversations in 2010 (hosted by Ecummenical Lausanne Congress).

Patrick was a panelist at the ecumenical gathering of Lausanne Congress back in March 2010.

Speaker at Emergent Exponential 10: alongside: Ed Stetzer, Ken Blanchard (New Age/Contemplative promoter), Alan Hirsch, Darrin Patrick, Francis Chan, Shane Claiborne, Matt Chandler. This conference includes women "pastors" and head over various church ministries. Also speaking: Tim Stevens, head Goat-Herder at X-rated Granger Community "Church".

Patrick was speaker at Emergent innovation3.

Let's look at Patrick's church, The Journey:

Emergentspeak all over the place. For example, the grammatically incorrect "God is eternal community. " More to follow.... But you can see how that is an odd way of describing God. Its Post-Modern (POMO) verbage.

On missions:

Quote:

Evangelism, or mission, is not just another program that the church carries out. It is not some peripheral activity. The church is mission. Yes, the church gathers as people being called out (ekklesia) of the world. But the church is at the same time being sent out (apostolos) into the world. The church certainly must be called out from the world, but it also must certainly go back into the world. We are to be holy, set apart and different in our character than those who do not know God. But, we should also refuse to believe the lies the “churched” culture tells us: avoid hanging out with the people in the world because you will be corrupted. We also need to reject the lie that we have to create our own Christian sub-culture and insulate ourselves from the big, bad world. Mission demands that we follow Jesus, friend of sinners, by being immersed in relationships with those far from God, and thus, bring light to lost people in dark cultures. We are called out, but we are sent. It is only in the context of being sent do the metaphors “salt of the earth,” “city on a hill,” and “light of the world” make sense in describing the church. We are to be people who have been encountered by God through the gospel, and then we are to enter the world with the gospel.

Mission is intrinsically connected to community...

Living the gospel, ie – being on mission, can take many forms: explaining the gospel to a friend or stranger, carrying out acts of compassion, or by being faithful to sacrificially love those in your church. The challenge is for all of us to stay in “mission-mode” and not to default to “maintenance-mode.” When it comes to being missional, it is easy for Christians and local churches to be content in our bible studies, worship services and small groups and to forget the world. We do not drift toward mission, we drift away from it. It is not easy to be missional, it is hard work, it takes intentionality. It is much less stressful to hang out with people who look the same, smell the same and believe the same things we do. It is uncomfortable and challenging to intentionally spend time with people who hold differing world-views. But we must push through this discomfort because we are the church. We are the church, the called-out ones. We are the church, the sent-out ones. We are the church, on mission for the sake of the world.

End quote.

The Journey has a Board of Directors. For one that claims to be the pattern from a man who writes and speaks about church planting, this is UNbiblical:

Quote:

Board of Directors "This team ensures The Journey operates in accordance to the law while implementing best practices, policies and procedures regarding business, finances and facilities for a church of our size/complexity."

Executive Elders "This team leads The Journey by setting the overall vision and strategy, overseeing the health and development of the entire church."

Oddly, Darrin Patrick isn't listed under any church. I'm not sure if he just floats around, however he's continually listed as an elder there, on the board there, as senior pastor as well as founder of Journey.

Remember Patrick's church is the fruition of his church planting theology and practice....

Beer and Theology: as reported by " 'Christianity' Today" back in July 2007:

Church planters who receive money from the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) must now teach alcohol abstinence. The policy change was sparked by the Journey, a growing interdenominational church that borrowed $200,000 from the MBC to renovate a church two years ago. One of the Journey's outreach groups meets in a St. Louis microbrewery.

"Theology at the Bottleworks was started to reach people who are actively opposed to Christianity, by discussing contemporary cultural issues in a neutral environment," explained Darrin Patrick, founding pastor of the Journey, which attracts about 1,500 people weekly to three sites. Those who attend Theology at the Bottleworks grab a beer and discuss political or spiritual topics, such as the role of women in society, the legal system, or animal rights.

End quote.

And so they continue on their church blog of upcoming events:

Upcoming Events

Theology at the Bottleworks: Have a good conversation on important issues with people both inside AND outside of Christianity at this lively monthly discussion. Our topic is "Should Animals Have Rights?"Wednesday, January 19, 7-9 PM at Schlafly Bottleworks.
If you need additional assistance in getting involved at The Journey Tower Grove please contact our Campus Administrator, Rachel Moskal and she will be glad to help.

Bottleworks is a brewery in St. Louis.

This violates many verses on promotion of drinking and being sober-minded. It also violates the Bible on commands to be salt and light--different and distinct from the world, not like the world. This is so fundamentally opposed to sound doctrine and practice, its incredible anyone has to even discuss it. Yet this is what its like to be a "church planter". Paul never did this. He was the last one to be pragmatic. Consider who hangs out in bars. Is using that which perpetuates drunkenness to promote that which is spiritual, even considered in Scripture? No! How about as a "church"- to promote this--they aren't considering the brother who may either have drunkenness in his past and so is very cautious to be in a bar, but to have that thought put out there--promoted, isn't helping him grow in Christ. The MATURE believer would know this from Scripture.

To drink and talk about theology (notice, not doctrine), is justification for wallowing in worldliness. How can one "show" (as they claim that's what this is about, "living the gospel") the striking and polar differences between Light and Dark, between Death and Life, as well as the call to the Lordship of the Lord which IS part of the Gospel, if they are hanging out in bars drinking?

1Pe 4:3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
1Pe 4:4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
1Pe 4:5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
1Pe 4:6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
1Pe 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

1Ti 3:2 Therefore an overseer MUST BEabove reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

1Co 15:31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1Co 15:32 If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.
1Co 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."
1Co 15:34 Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

Gal 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Rom 14:15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

Rom 14:19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Rom 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
Rom 14:22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.

1Th 5:3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
1Th 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;
1Th 5:5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
1Th 5:6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
1Th 5:7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.
1Th 5:8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
2Ti 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
2Ti 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Scott Brown Liberal: ain't no surprise

In the catagory of DUH:

This was clear when he won his election. Yes, the darling hope of the GOP for MA. Yeah, how's that working out for ya?

Washington Times exerpts:

BOSTON Scott Brown ran for the Senate vowing to rein in government spending and cut the federal budget deficit. A year later, he is open to increasing the national debt limit so the government can both spend and borrow more.

The clash between his campaign rhetoric and voting record underscores the theme of the Republican's first year replacing a liberal icon, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

To the frequent surprise of Democrats, and often the chagrin of conservatives and tea party activists, Mr. Brown has largely kept his pledge to be a bipartisan legislator. He has voted bills up or down on the merits, if not with one eye on his 2012 re-election campaign.

Last month, he voted for President Obama's tax compromise, even though its tax-cut extension and unemployment benefits will add nearly $1 trillion to the deficit. And he could vote soon to raise the debt ceiling from $14.3 trillion.

End quote.

The Apocrypha Is Not Part of Scripture Nor Has Truth To Be Studied Or Used In Studying Truth

Quote:

Now there were many attempts made by Satan to infiltrate the Old Testament Canon with uninspired books. At least 14 of them have been accumulated and together they are called the Apocrypha. You find them in a Roman Catholic Bible. They are not a part of our Bible. They are not inspired books. They are books: 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the rest of Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (not to be confused with Ecclesiastes), Baruch, the Song of the Three Holy Children, the History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasses, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. All spurious. We call them Pseudepigrapha--false writing. They were clearly fakes. How do we know they were fakes? They were written long after the canon was completed and they lacked the prophetic quality and authorship to stamp them as inspired Scripture. None of their writers claimed divine inspiration and some openly disclaimed it. And Apocrypha books contained errors of facts, errors of ethics, errors of doctrine. For example, some of the Apocrypha books advocate suicide. Some of them advocate assassination and some of them teach praying for dead people. Therein lies one of the reasons you find them in a Catholic Bible. The Old Testament Canon was unquestioned; it is still unquestioned because it is so evident what was inspired.


End quote. Source

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.'"

Psa 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Pro 30:5 Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Is. 8: 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Piper Endorses Chesterton's Orthodoxy (Roman Catholicism)

Piper celebrates Roman Catholic philosopher G.K. Chesterton.

Quote:

May 29 is G. K. Chesterton’s 134th birthday. He was a British journalist and brilliant writer. Nobody exploits the power of paradox like Chesterton.

I celebrate his birthday by recommending his book Orthodoxy.

The title gives no clue as to what you will find inside. It had a huge influence on me forty years ago in ways that would have exasperated Chesterton. He did all he could to keep me from becoming a Calvinist, and instead made me a romantic one—a happy one.

If I thought his broadsides against predestination really hit home and undid true biblical doctrine, I would keep my mouth shut or change my worldview. But his celebration of poetry and paradox undermines his own abomination of the greatest truth-and-mystery-lovers around today, the happyCalvinists.

Nothing in this Calvinism-abominating book came close to keeping me from embracing the glorious sovereignty of God. On the contrary, the poetic brightness of the book, along with the works of C. S. Lewis, awakened in me an exuberance about the strangeness of all things—which in the end made me able to embrace the imponderable paradoxes of God’s decisive control of all things and the total justice of his holding us accountable.

One of the reasons that Calvinism is stirring today is that it takes both truth and mystery seriously. It’s a singing, poetry-writing, run-through-the-fields Calvinism.

End quote.

Truth in everything, even a false church (the RCC), false teacher (Chesterton, and Lewis). Piper wants people to find truth in the lies. No wonder today he tweeted a quote from Chesterton, and so far was retweeted 100 times.

The RCC has a false gospel and a false Jesus. How dare a pastor, much less a Christian, sing the applause of anti-Christs and then say we must embrace some sort of mystery????

Piper Applauds Roman Catholic Philosopher Chesterton

Piper's tweet: "A man can no more posses a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon." (Chesterton) Chesterton was a Roman Catholic philosopher. Why would a "Reformer" find truth in him? B/c "Truth in everything" is the mentality. Dangerous: Retweeted by 100+ people

Birthright Citizenship -- A Fundamental Misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment

14th Ammendment and other cases clarify that illegal aliens and their spouses and children are not "birthright citizenship".

Excerpts:

This amendment’s language was derived from the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which provided that “[a]ll persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power” would be considered citizens. Sen. Lyman Trumbull, a key figure in the adoption of the 14th Amendment, said that “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. included not owing allegiance to any other country.

In the famous Slaughter-House cases of 1872, the Supreme Court stated that this qualifying phrase was intended to exclude “children of ministers, consuls, and citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.” This was confirmed in 1884 in another case, Elk vs. Wilkins, when citizenship was denied to an American Indian because he “owed immediate allegiance to” his tribe and not the United States.

American Indians and their children did not become citizens until Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. There would have been no need to pass such legislation if the 14th Amendment extended citizenship to every person born in America, no matter what the circumstances of their birth, and no matter who their parents are.

Even in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, the 1898 case most often cited by “birthright” supporters due to its overbroad language, the Court only held that a child born of lawful, permanent residents was a U.S. citizen. That is a far cry from saying that a child born of individuals who are here illegally must be considered a U.S. citizen.

End quote. Go to the full article by By Hans A. von Spakovsky ( a Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former Justice Department official). Its brief but good.

"Christian" Kids Humanistic In Thinking Due To Public School Indoctrination

Study Shows Public Schools Indoctrinate Even Christian Kids

This isn't a surprise for some of us, but should be a dire warning to all parents who subject their kids to the growing influence of demonic wisdom of the world in our society.

"Undoing Dewey -- that's the goal of the program, according to Smithwick. He refers to the secular humanist principles of John Dewey (1859-1952), the philosopher and education reformer whose principles have shaped public education in America. Dewey promoted a philosophy of education with the premise that learning by doing (experimentalism) should form the basis of education, and any idea or concept is validated by its practicality (pragmatism)."

This is more evidence of the world's influence over "Christians" and the pulpits. Pragmatism has taken over most churches today, which necessarily denies biblical doctrine as absolute. A low view of Scripture leads or reveals rebellion against God.

The first battle on earth against God via attacking His Word was in the Garden of Eden when the Serpent attacked,"Has God said?" Remember what Eve did in the Garden--she gazed upon the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and considered it to be GOOD, when God said it would only bring DEATH.

Scripture teaches infallably how to deal with all things pertaining to life and godliness. HIS wisdom is first pure, the world's wisdom is demonic and produces rotten fruit, which is why God told Adam and Eve not to eat from that tree of knowledge. Today, "Christians" continue to want that knowledge when God has already given us all we need to know on how to live life that glorifies Him. But like Eve, "Christians" think there's something more, better, something God isn't telling us or something God left out. So they seek that which is NOT GOOD FOR THE SOUL but rather, BRINGS DEATH (of course since the Fall, all are born dead in their sins and tresspasses). The fruit bears death, rebellion, dissension, and is demonic, James says.


Jas 3:11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
Jas 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
Jas 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

It matters what you hear and read and what you subject yourself and your children to.

1Co 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

Besides being subjected to the world's view of life and thinking in the classroom by the teachers and textbooks, children are also being influenced by their classmates at school. This compounds the problem. How many biblically-thinking Christians are in public schools? How strong is their influence? How bold are they? No, they are being drowned out by the masses of God-hating souls who are growing up with a hardened heart like what Romans 1 describes.

There might be a few Christians in the public schools, but they have no say over content and behavior of the entire school. Their influence is not strong, not necessarily by their fault, but because the world will not and cannot hear them. As Christians, its not our job to change society anyway, right? The world will always hate Christ and therefore hate His childeren. And as the days grow darker, it will get worse, not better.

I speak as one who has observed the change in my particular city which used to be conservative, but now is getting very liberal. On top of that the state of California is getting worse as it dictates wicked values in the classrooms and textbooks and eliminates sound thinking (no more use of "mom and dad" or "mother and father"--by law the teachers and textbooks can ONLY USE a non-gender word like "parent" or "guardian"). The Lord confirms constantly that His way of leading us OUT of the state school system was the righteous way.

Consider that besides the indoctrination of the government school system of unbelief and post-modern thinking in everything over your children, this is also happening in the local churches on a large scale (as well as conferences, seminars, and seminaries).

Summary of Piper Endorsing Rick Warren Before And After His Teaching at DGC

Piper defends why he invited Warren to teach at DGC: Here Warren tells Piper what he knows Piper needs to hear in order to keep the speaking engagement. What Piper says Warren told him is actually untrue (I have evidence to the contrary for many of the claims made in this video: ).

Mike Ratliff correctly identifies Warren as a heretic who taught pelagianism at DGC.


Q&A from DGC after Warren taught: :

Quote:

1. Can you give us your initial reflections on the message we just heard from Rick Warren?

Burk Parsons: I saw a man with character and with simple, childlike dependence on Christ.

John Piper: "An unbelievable communicator with incredible application. Be encouraged and relax with who you are, and give it all to Jesus while learning all you can from Rick."

8. What would you say to our "non-thinkers" who are here tonight? Surely the conference isn’t made up completely of those who consider themselves "thinkers," right?Piper: There are people in here who love to think and there are others who don’t like to think. This conference is a pain in the rear end to them. They’re just here to see Warren and Piper fight. Here’s how I would say the question: What do you have to say to people who don’t want to think?

End quote.

After the whole conference in "'Christianity'Today" interview:

Quote:

You invited Rick Warren; would you say he exemplifies "thinking"?

No, I don't think he exactly exemplifies what I'm after. But he is biblical. He quoted 50 Scriptures from memory. Unbelievable, his mind is Vesuvius. So I asked him what impact reading Jonathan Edwards had on him. What these authors like Karl Barth and Edwards do for him is give him a surge of theological energy that then comes through his wiring. What I wanted to do with Rick is force him to talk about thinking so pragmatists out there can say, "A lot of thinking goes into what he does."

You received some negative feedback for inviting him.

It was real risky. I don't even know if I did the right thing. If somebody said, "Are you sure you should have invited him?" "No." I think the first thing I'd say—maybe the only thing—is I think he's been slandered. I think we probably need to work harder at getting him right.

End quote.

Third Day To Participate In Papal Rally in April

Third Day to entertain and promote Roman Catholicism by performing at a papal youth rally. Time to dump the group if you are a fan.


Quote:

Nashville, Tenn.) March 31, 2008 – When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the United States in April, he will visit several cities including New York City and Washington, D.C. He is scheduled to attend open-air masses, deliver an address to the United Nations and visit to the World Trade Center site.

One of the key stops will be an April 19 visit to St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY, where he will preside over a youth rally; encouraging youth to seek vocations within the church.
Third Day, GRAMMY winning and multi-million selling rock band, was asked to perform at the youth rally by St. Joseph’s Seminary. “It’s not every day that you’re invited to perform for a crowd being presided over by Pope Benedict XVI,” shares lead vocalist, Mac Powell. “This is a great honor for us.” ~Source

End quote.

RCC has slaughtered myriads of Christians for centuries and denies the only Gospel and only Savior and Master that can save: by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. Third Day is promoting the apostate church that adds:

Mary to Jesus
Works to grace
Purgatory to the Cross of Christ
Pope to the authority of Scripture

It blaphemes Christ Jesus each time it slaps Jesus' name onto the Eucharist and the Mass.

This is exactly why it MATTERS who you listen to and what music you subject yourself and your children to!

Half-Hearted In Seeking Christ?

"What is the reason that people are so half-hearted in seeking Christ? Why are they so soon deterred and discouraged in drawing near to God? The answer is short and simple. They do not feel sufficiently their own sins." ~ J.C. Ryle

The object of God's tender, perfect and ceaseless care!

James Smith, "Divine Care!" 1865

"Casting all your care upon Him--for He cares for you!" 1 Peter 5:7

Our cares must be cast upon our God, or they will prove a burden too heavy for us--they will depress, bewilder, and make us wretched!

WHO is it that cares for us?

It is the Lord Almighty--the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy!
It is He whom the angels obey, the seraphim adore, and all creation glorifies!
It is the Lord--who is so great, that we have no adequate conception of His greatness!
It is He who is so good--that it is impossible fully to set forth His goodness!
It is He who is so glorious--that no sinner can see His face and live!
It is He who created all things with His Word!It is He who governs all things by His wisdom!
It is He who upholds all things by His power!
It is He whose resources are infinite!It is He whose compassion is exquisite!
It is He whose patience is without limit!

But though He is so exalted, so happy, and so unspeakably great--He cares for you!

He cares for you--as base as you are.
He cares for you--as sinful as you are.
He cares for you--as depressed and discouraged as you are.
HE cares for YOU!

May I pass through the present world under the impression, "I am the object of God's tender, perfect and ceaseless care!"

Vaccines Connected To Austism Found To Be A Fraudulant Study

"The British Medical Journal on Wednesday accused a disgraced British doctor of committing an "elaborate fraud" by faking data in his studies linking vaccines with autism....The journal's editors said it was not possible that Wakefield made a mistake and that he must have faked the data. They supported their position with a series of articles by a journalist who used medical records and interviews to show that Wakefield falsified data." ~Reuters


Becareful with studies you hear about. How a study is done (or faked), by whom, if everything is revealed (who's funding the research), and HOW ITS REPORTED can help you decide if what is being alleged is true or not. Remember, there's no such thing as an UNBIASED study, even the questions are slanted to get a result. This is true about the supposed, but totally unproven "report" of a "gay gene". NPR reporters didn't know to read the research and therefore wrongly reported about the existance of a "gay gene". Go here for the important article "Gay Gene?" by Dr. Jeffrey Satinover. Here are other articles also.

The World's Wisdom Is Not Good Food For The Soul Of The Christian

Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her

Going to anywhere but Scripture for wisdom is folly. This was Eve's problem. She sat there and pondered how "good" the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would be (good according to whom? Satan, not God), even though God PROHIBITED it as a SOURCE FOR FOOD. Why do people continue in her sin?

2Co 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.


Jas 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

Gil Rugh states:

Friendship with the world:

James shows the seriousness of these believers' selfish, pleasure-oriented lives by identifying them as adulteresses. With their Jewish background they would have quickly understood the significance of what James was writing.

do you not know - The problem is not a lack of knowledge but a failure to live according to the knowledge they have.

friendship with the world - They have entered into a relationship with the world that makes them unfaithful to God.

friendship (philos) - This is the word for "love," and means beloved, dear, loving, kindly disposed, devoted, and then is used for friend. These believers have developed a relationship of love and affection with the world.

world (kosnos) - "World" stands for the world-system in its alienation and hostility to God (cf. 1 John 2:15-17; 5:19).

hostility (echthra) - This person has set himself in opposition to God (cf. Rom. 8:5-8 [esp. v. 7]).
The person who chooses to enter into a relationship of love and affection with the world makes himself an enemy of God.

The context makes clear what is involved in worldliness or being a friend of the world. The basic issue is a life that centers on self. A selfish determination to satisfy my desires and cravings, to have things my way, identifies me as a friend of the world.

We should note that this involves a deliberate choice (wishes to be) to become involved with the world. A person decides that, rather than submit himself to God and His Word, he is going to do what he wants; he is going to have it his way.

In the next two verses James demonstrates the validity of what he has just said.

4:5- James now challenges his readers concerning their attitude toward the Scriptures.
to no purpose (kenos) - Do the Scriptures mean what they say, or are they empty and hollow?

The Danger of Conferences: Passion 2011 Is An Example

**Update at the bottom of the page**

I think part of the issue is that everyone's busying going to all these conferences which elevate pastors to celebrity status, and pastors are busy speaking at these conferences which can bloat their ego (Piper, Chan, as examples, but not the only ones). Conferences also tend to usurp the authority, giving, and fellowship that is to be found in the local church, but without any accountability.
The Passion conference is a good example of what I mean. The Passion Conference had billing of celebrity teachers/pastors/singers. Chan, who speaks at countless Emergent conferences and has a very man-centered "gospel" video, was one of them. That would be the man who got bored being a pastor and wanted to do something else ("restless" was his word). He has no problem trapsing around the world feeding other shepherd's sheep, but he does have a problem tending to his own (John Piper was also there--and we all know the problems of late with him).

Secondly, the Passion Conference has women teaching men spiritual things, which is a violation of Scripture, and this is exactly the problem. Beth Moore, a proponent of Contemplative Spirituality and a horrific Bible teacher, was one of teachers at the conference. She was teaching men and women. Conferences get away with violating Scripture because they are outside the local church and therefore people justify what's going on. Conferences are actually a very popular way to introduce others to error that they then bring back to their churches. That's why I said they usurp the authority of the local church --there is no accountability. Besides, these things are expensive.

Hillsong UNITED provided some of the music at this conference. Joel Houston, leader of Hillsong UNITED is in leadership at his parent's church, Hillsong Church. Joel's mother, Bobbie, and Joel's sister Laura, are both co-pastors at that church. http://brianandbobbie.com/about-us

Found this article on Hillsong's pastor Brian Houston, father of Hillsong UNITED's frontman, Joel. Aparently Hillsong embraces Ted Bently and the Lakeland Revival heresy. They also other bad teachers at their own Hillsong conferences like Priscilla Shirer, Nicky Gumble (Alpha Course) and John Maxwell.

***UPDATE***

This year's Passion Conference 2013 according to Apprising Ministries and Do Not Be Surprised:

"Passion targets the younger generation with such high-profile names as Beth Moore, John Piper, Francis Chan, rapper Lecrae and this year, pastor Judah Smith of The City Church in Seattle and popular Christian band, Jesus Culture....

Judah Smith has been profiled briefly here before when, in May of this year, Smith invited Word Faith teacher Brian Houston of Hillsong Church (who, incidentally, just preached weekend services at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church) to preach at The City Church. Oddly enough, New Calvinist pastor Mark Driscoll was excited about the invitation, even encouraging his Twitter followers to attend. 

Judah Smith co-pastors his church with his wife, Chelsea, making the Reformed Driscoll’s endorsement even more perplexing. The presence of a pastrix at The City Church ought not surprise, though, when it is considered that this church was founded by Judah’s parents, pastor Wendell and pastrix Gini Smith....

 End quote.

This conference continues to demonstrate why these speakers are to be rejected. They deny clear Scripture prohibiting false doctrine, false teachers, and women teaching men.

Kay Arthur: study material for a pastor

I've heard a report that a pastor uses Kay Arthur's Bible study material for his sermons. This is wrong on so many levels. But this shows, however, another reason why these high profile/celebrity women teachers end up violating Scripture--- not just because they are actively teaching both men and women in their conferences/seminars, and on radio and tv, but because men use them to learn and teach churches, which Scripture prohibits. In other words, Kay Arthur is having authority over men because of her "ministry"; not that she can control who uses her matieral--but she does appeal to the masses, not specificuall women but men and women, as Beth Moore does, unlike the lesser known Martha Peace for instance who specifically keeps to teaching women.

1Tim. 2: 11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women  will be saved  through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Adrian Warnock

Rom 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; AVOID THEM.

2Jn 1:9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,

Reformer (or I thought he was--maybe he's no longer Reformed---neither his website nor his church's website offer a statement of faith and doctrine) blogger , speaker, and church leader (his church promotes the Alpha Course--a highly UNbiblical Charismatic program),Adrian Warnock is a good example of how so many believe "truth in everything".

Warnock says:

Quote:

In some circles it is fashionable to knock N.T. Wright. I do have some significant concerns about his views on justification. But as this clip will show you, even if he is indeed wrong about the cross, he sure is “wright” about the resurrection!

I found his “big green book” incredibly helpful as I wrote my own. I would commend it to anyone. The only possible draw back is that it is very long. But the investment of time to read it is worthwhile for sure. Wright defends the historicity of the resurrection in such a way that if unbelief was merely a rational problem, everyone would be convinced.

End quote.

Say what? And that's worth promoting as true? Sorry, but if someone is wrong on the Gospel, then it doesn't matter what they think about the resurrection. Wright is a heretic, holding to a false gospel by Warnock's own admission. Wright denies Justification by faith alone and adheres to the "New Perspective On Paul". So who cares if he has a false gospel, to Adrian, truth in everything is the mentality, and so heretics and false churches and false gospels still have truth and therefore worth using and promoting. And now Warnock has a book out on the resurrection of Jesus--influenced by the lost Anglican priest.

Gal. 1: 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

1Ti 6:3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

I suggest reading A.W. Pink's article, from which I quote and link to here.

It is often a long time before God's children are able to account for this. They blame themselves; they are exceedingly loath to say, "This message is not of God." They are afraid to act in the spiritual, as they do in the natural, and condemn and discard that which is worthless.

Those who are partakers of this Divine power (and they are few in number) can never be satisfied with a powerless ministry, either oral or written. "Those who live according to the flesh—have their minds set on what the flesh desires," (Romans 8:5). They are charmed with oratorical eloquence, catchy sayings, witty allusions, and amusing illustrations. On just such "husks", do the religious "swine" feed!

But the penitent prodigal can find no nutriment therein! Men "of the world"—and they may be graduates from some "Bible Institute" or possessors of a diploma from some Bible Seminary, now styling themselves "preachers of the Gospel"—will speak of the things of the world and "the world hears them" (1 John 4:5). But those who are seeking to "work out their own salvation with fear and trembling" obtain no help therefrom, yes, they perceive clearly that such sermons and periodicals are "broken cisterns, which can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13).

"Take heed what you hear" and read! More than forty years ago the saintly Adolph Saphir wrote, "I think the fewer books we read—the better. It is like times of cholera, when we should only drink filtered water." What would he say if he were on earth today and glanced over the deadly poison sent forth by the heterodox, and the lifeless rubbish put out by the orthodox? Christian reader, if you value the health of your soul, cease hearing and quit reading all that is lifeless, unctionless, powerless, no matter what prominent or popular name be attached thereto. Life is too short to waste valuable time on that which does not profit. Ninety-nine out of every hundred of the religious books, booklets, and magazines now being published, are not worth the paper on which they are printed!

To turn away from the lifeless preachers and publishers of the day—may involve a real cross. Your motives will be misconstrued, your words perverted, and your actions misinterpreted. The sharp arrows of false report will be directed against you. You will be called proud and self-righteous, because you refuse to fellowship empty professors. You will be termed censorious and bitter—if you condemn in plain speech—the subtle delusions of Satan. You will be dubbed narrow-minded and uncharitable, because you refuse to join in singing the praises of the "great" and "popular" men of the day. More and more, you will be made to painfully realize—that the path which leads unto eternal life is "narrow" and that FEW there are who find it. May the Lord be pleased to grant unto each of us—the hearing ear and obedient heart! "Take heed what you hear" and read!

End quote.

Scot McKnight At Rick Warren's Church

Latest from Lighthouse Trails Research on Warren's Apologetic Weekend which offered Greg Koukl, Scot McKnight, and Philip Yancy. Here's the part on McKnight:

Quote:

In McKnight’s books Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us (with an endorsement by Brian McLaren on the front cover and McLaren references within) and in his book A Community Called Atonement, McKnight doesn’t necessarily reject penal substitutionary atonement (as does McLaren) but says there are many ways of viewing atonement, likening it to golf clubs–using different ones for different purposes (Prologue). Worth noting, McKnight’s Atonement book was published by the emerging publishing partnership of Abingdon Press and Emergent Village. McKnight is seen by the emerging church as someone who represents it. And McKnight’s website and his books confirm this with numerous favorable references on these issues. In his book Jesus Creed, he recommends a variety of books by contemplative advocates including Gary Thomas’ book, Sacred Pathways, where he instructs readers to repeat a word for twenty minutes (which is mantric like meditation) and several other authors of whom we have already mentioned in this article. One of the books McKnight recommends is Eternal Wisdom from the Desert: Writings from the Desert Fathers. St. Anthony is one of the desert fathers featured in that book. Contemplative teacher, Willigis Jager disclosed the following:

Christian literature makes reference to many episodes that parallel the
experiences of those going a yogic way. Saint Anthony, one of the first desert
mystics, frequently encountered strange and sometimes terrifying psychophysical
forces while at prayer. (Jager, Contemplation: A Christian Path, p. 72)

What is being described here is the Kundalini experience that can happen during mantric-like episodes. While McKnight does not come right out in his books and recommend practicing this, he recommends those who do. What we consider McKnight to be is a “bridger,” someone who claims orthodoxy but is actually being used as a bridge between orthodoxy and a dangerous mystical practice.

End quote.

LHRT noted in 2007:

"In emerging church leader, Scot McKnight's book, "The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus", McKnight says that Protestant Christians are the only Christians who do not honor Mary. He recommends that Protestant churches all practice an "Honor Mary Day" (p. 144), saying she "leads us to a Jesus who brings redemption ... To listen to Mary is to hear the message of Jesus' death and resurrection as a mega-event whereby God established a new kind of power, a new kind of family, and a new kind of kingdom" (p. 145).
McKnight describes this great event as a time when the world will come together and worship Mary."

This is the same group that JP Moreland and Koukl have been involved with (yes, its a small world). Patton, head of Credo and host of "Converse With Scholars" who is a neo-Calvinist, has promoted a lot of liberalism, Emergent church junk, Eastern Orthodoxy, and denies the inerrancy of Scripture and doubts the Six Literal Days of Creation as Genesis teaches.

List of past guests on CWS here.

Consistency of life must be followed by consistency of speech

From John MacArthur's Commentary:


Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. (Colossians 4:6)

Consistency of life must be followed by consistency of speech. Paul is not speaking here of preaching the gospel, but general conversation. Believers’ speech must always be with grace, as was Christ’s (Luke 4:22). There is no place for those things that characterize the unredeemed mouth. Whether undergoing persecution, stress, difficulty, or injustice, whether with your spouse, children, believers, or unbelievers—in all circumstances believers are to make gracious speech a habit. To speak with grace means to say what is spiritual, wholesome, fitting, kind, sensitive, purposeful, complementary, gentle, truthful, loving, and thoughtful. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

The speech of the new man must also be seasoned… with salt. It is not only to be gracious, but also to have an effect. Salt can sting when rubbed into a wound (cf. Prov. 27:6). It also prevents corruption. Believers’ speech should act as a purifying influence, rescuing conversation from the filth that so often engulfs it. Salt also adds flavor, and the speech of the new man should add charm and wit to conversation.

Believers must also know how to respond to each person. They must know how to say the right thing at the right time. In Peter’s words, they must be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15).

The speech of the new man is vitally important: “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well” (James 3:2). Unlike the ungodly, who say “Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” (Ps. 12:4), we as believers should echo the prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

End quote.

I found it interesting that salty conversation in this context is to have a godly affect, not a carnal affect...which is what Mark Driscoll and Paul Tripp, among others, have. They clearly, as have many Reformergents, either ignored or twisted this passage.

Christ Jesus Our Shield - A Word of Encouragement For The Soldier of Jesus Christ

"Surely, I am with you always — even unto the end of the world!" Matthew 28:20

Christ is ever with His people — as a shield and deliverer. Our estimation of this truth, will be proportioned to our intelligent apprehension of the number and potency of our enemies — and the costliness and preciousness of the treasure thus divinely protected.


"Surely, I am with you always — even unto the end of the world!" Matthew 28:20

Christ is with us, as our guide. How deep our need of Him as such, and how endeared does it make Him! So blind are we, so dark is our future, so perplexing is our present path — that the very next step might be a false one — taking us into a wrong direction, entailing untold anxieties and sorrows, or hurling us from a precipice into total ruin! Yes, we need just such a guide as Christ!

What Alpine traveler would attempt the ascent of a steep glacier, or cross the dangerous pass — unattended by an experienced guide — one who knew the route, whose skillful eye could detect the treacherous crevice, and whose strong arm could fence the narrow, winding way?

Our path to eternity demands just such a guide as the prophet foretold Christ would be. "I have given Him," says God, "for a Leader and Commander to the people." His own gracious words corroborate this statement when speaking of Himself as the Shepherd of His flock, who "Goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice."

Oh, what a privilege — in every path of doubt, in every circumstance of danger, where human judgment is either warped or beclouded, and your own mind hesitates and falters — to have such a wonderful Counselor, such a divine Guide as Christ at your side! As such — He is ever with you!

He will guide you . . .with His eye of providence,and with His hand of power,and with His heart of love!

He knows the way that you take — for He has ordained it.
He knows every crook in your lot — for He has appointed it.

He will . . .roll away the stone of difficulty,level mountains,fill up valleys,make the crooked path straight,and the rough place smooth; this will He do unto you, and not forsake you.

Oh, be honest and upright with Him! Go to Him first, consult Him first, acknowledge Him in all your ways — before you consult any human guide. May Christ, in all the minute details of your life, have the pre-eminence. Learn to lay your own desires and thoughts at His feet.

"He guides the humble in what is right — and teaches them His way!" Psalm 25:9.

Not our way — but "His way." We must first surrender our way and will — before He will teach us His. He guides the "humble" — the childlike, trustful, unquestioning disciple, who humbly locks his hand in Christ's and says, "Lord, lead me and guide me, not in my own way — but in Yours!"

Oh, take a firm grasp of this unfailing Guide, and you shall travel safely and surely, through all your unknown future. Be honest and sincere only to know and to walk in the Lord's way, the way in which He would have you to go; and then will He fulfill His most gracious promise, "Surely, I am with you always" — in the midst of the utmost peril and dangers!

There are assaults from which alone Christ can shield us!

Innumerable and invisible,sleepless and restless,working with an almost almighty power,everywhere with an almost omnipresent existence,ever plotting our ruin — are the spiritual enemies of our soul, and the sworn foes of our faith!

The world and its fascinations,Satan and his devices,the flesh and its tendencies,error and its disguises — are all confederate against the child of God, opposing his every advance in holiness!

But Christ is our ever-present shield, near at the moment of assault, and skillful to deflect and disarm it! "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield!" are words addressed to all who have like precious faith with him.

Listen to Paul when defending Christianity before Nero: "At my first answer no man stood with me — but all men forsook me. . . . Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me." Severed from the protection and sympathy of man — he was all the more conscious of the presence and love of God. This is the manner of the Lord with us. The stage shall be swept of the human — to give place to the Divine. When the last human prop bends, and the last spark of creature-hope expires — hail it as the harbinger of Christ's nearness, that the more signal may appear His loving deliverance, and the more complete and undivided His glory.

Oh yes! the Lord encompasses you! Encircled by danger — you are also encircled by Christ! When you embark in His cause on foreign service, enter the carriage of a railway, launch upon the treacherous sea, bend your steps of mercy to the bedside of the sick, travel the lone and dreary road — be your experience what it may, let your mind be kept in perfect peace, trusting in this truth: the ever-present protection of Jesus. The unhealthy climate shall be harmless, the sickening malaria shall be innocuous, the perilous transit shall be safe — curtained within the pavilion of your Savior's love. Swelling above the tempest, louder than the voice of many waters, or whispered in the still solitude — shall be heard the words of Jesus, ""So do not fear — for I am with you! Do not be dismayed — for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand!" Isaiah 41:10. Lord, it is enough! My heart trusts in You, and I am helped!

~ Octavius Winslow

Psychosomatic Effects of Sin and the Biblical Solution

I got this from a very solid sister in Christ, Susan Brackley.

Quote:

Evil and sin cause psychosomatic effects of inner turmoil and anxiety which affects our physical body. Not all sickness is a result of personal sin, but the bible does often recognize a common link between sin and sickness.

Proverbs 3:2 “For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.”

The ‘they’ here refers to God’s law and commandments, as we saw in the previous verse yesterday.

This fatherly figure here in Proverbs is echoing the fifth c...ommandment in Ex 20:12 ‘Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.’ In general those who heed this command of God do live longer, and have better lives. Those who rebel against parental authority, even as imperfect as parents can be, solicit God’s wrath in their lives.

Jay Adams writes, “The Bible teaches that a peace of mind which leads to longer, happier living chimes from keeping God’s commandments. A guilty conscience is a body-breaking load. A good conscience is one significant factor which leads to longevity and physical health. And so, in a measure, one’s somatic (bodily) welfare stems from the welfare of his soul. A close psychosomatic connection between one’s behavior before God and his physical condition is an established physical principle.”

Sin, can be, and often is, the root or contributing factor of some illnesses. Not all sickness is related to particular sins. Job was a godly, upright, and righteous man, yet God allowed illness in his life for His own reasons. They were not a result of Job’s sin. There are many diseases, birth defects, and physical conditions that are not a result of personal sin. It is unwise and ungodly to go around suspecting these situations as being a result of a person’s sin. God knows and He doesn’t need us passing judgment on things that we don’t know about.

Yet the bible does often recognize a common link between sin and sickness. Jesus healed a crippled man and implied that his condition had been a result of sin in his life. “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, Behold, you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” Jhn 5:14 Again, in 1Cor 11:30 speaking of people taking communion unworthily, not taking the time to examine ourselves and truly repent of our sins first … “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” (sleep = die)

We are not to judge everyone’s sicknesses as being a result of sin. We need to leave that type of judgment up to the Lord. However if we are personally involved in one’s life and see a pattern of sin and sickness we aren’t to omit the idea from perhaps being true. I have had to address this subject many times through counseling situations. We cannot judge the motives of the heart any more than we can know exactly what God is doing in another person’s life. However we are to wisely, and mercifully take what we do know and hold that out to those who need our help. It gives them hope when there are biblically sound answers to what they may be facing in life.

It is ideal that we examine our own sicknesses ourselves before God. If we know that there is un dealt with sin in our lives and we keep getting sickly; it is right that we consider chastening. Repentance doesn’t mean that our sickness will go away…but it does ensure that God’s hand of chastening will be lifted. There are times that our sickness lives on, although we have repented. We have a reaping and sowing principle that kicks in here. I have a dear friend who was a long time alcoholic, he had lived a very rough life. Frequenting the bars, fighting, motorcycle accidents, car accidents, as well as the internal ruining of his liver, lungs (smoking), and heart. He got saved later in life, and stopped his evil lifestyle, he truly repented of his sins and gave his life to Jesus…a tremendous testimony of God’s grace and transforming power! Yet, he had the repercussions of his former sins haunting him all through out his Christian life. Those old choices eventually took his life with many physical problems. He never once blamed God for his ailments. A more thankful man you’ve never seen! He is walking on streets of gold now!

Again, and I can’t stress it enough… we are not to think evil of sick people. If we don’t know of sin in their life, don’t assume it. This causes us to be guilty of evil thoughts. If we do know of a sin in someone’s life, we need to go to them, in love, to help them see and consider it. Some illnesses are Psychosomatic; of the mind. David was depressed and in sin and recorded Ps 32 to tell about it. He affirmed that in his case, happiness came through confession and forgiveness of sin. David knew that sin brought on his physical sicknesses at that time. Evil and sin cause psychosomatic effects of inner turmoil and anxiety upon the physical body. This is not a new teaching. Refer to Psalms 38 and 51 for more on this subject. Worry, fear, guilt, depression, hate, jealousy, (just to name a few examples) all originate in the mind first; then if continued, they reek havoc on the body. Hiding sin causes distress of body and soul.

If we are sick and we know that we are right before God, we know and are at peace that God has a purpose. If we are sick and we know that we have been entertaining sins and that we aren’t right before God, we can know that His hand is heavy (in love) upon us to repent. Hebrews 12

Doing right before God has all of the promises both in this life as well as the life to come! What do people want? Universally…right across the board… everyone wants the security of long, peacefully abundant life and assurance of the future. Even those who boast of ‘not needing God’ seek after this type of happiness and security themselves. They, of course, cannot find it apart from Him, but nonetheless they spend time, money and great effort trying to obtain it on their own. True lasting peace cannot be found apart from God. “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked.” Isa 57:20-21 This only comes through loving and keeping God’s Word, through a faith based relationship with Jesus. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” Pro 9:10-11

God’s people enjoy peace, “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Php 4:7 Christians have trials, we have enemies, we live in a sin cursed earth, we even fight our own sinful desires constantly…but we have answers, we have a Comforter, The Holy Spirit and amidst the storms of life we have peace. Even if our very life is taken; we enter into eternal peace in the end. ‘Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.’ Ps 119:165(Jay Adams Competent to Counsel p. 125)

End quote.

I'd just like to add, this is exactly why we shouldn't run to medication to solve a sin issue. Our Creator has told us what to do already, how to live, how to think, how to have relationships. HIS ways are perfect and bring true peace.

Psa 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple...Psa 119:11 I have stored up you...r word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Joh 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Php 4:5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; Php 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Php 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Being Told You're Too Negative

"When others say or suggest that perhaps my outlook on life or my comments and links are "too negative", I remind myself that "being positive" in their minds...is being blissfully silent and/or at peace while this nation, its' seminaries, churches and schools and the people in them are being systematically spiritually dismembered limb from limb. I won't put a happy face on carnage, I am to resist evil, not embrace it." ~ Don Mitroff

Well said!

Rick Warren To Give Away $1 Million To His Empire

Don't believe it when Rick Warren plays "average Joe" or poorboy.

He's revealing what some of us already knew: he's raking in the bucks. In his pride which is drapped in mock humility, Tricky reveals he's a millionaire. Please don't tell me you are surprised.

Quote:

"Every time we've done these campaigns, Pastor Rick and his wife have always led the effort by saying what they're going to commit or give," he told The Christian Post. "They're committing based out of a slogan we've been using here: Not equal gifts but equal sacrifice."

Warren and his wife, Kay, have chosen to step out in faith by committing to give $1 million a year for the next three years to Saddleback.

"[T]his is how deeply we believe in the vision of this church," the California pastor said in an email to the congregation. Notably, Warren takes no salary from the church and supports his family with 9 percent of the royalties from his books while giving away the other 91 percent. He revealed that last year his personal income from his books was $87,000.

End quote. Source.

After being told yet again about how he doesn't take a salary from his church and does "reverse tithing" (which isn't biblical, and which if he had the right motives, we'd never know about it...we aren't to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing), we are then told he's going to give $1 million over the next three years to his new Decade of Destiny program to multiply his empire. How can he afford that?

What Tricky won't equally boast about is how he can afford to give away that much cool cash if he is only making $87,000 as he claims. Here's where he likely gets his money: from his interviews, seminars, and conferences, not to mention all the money gifted to him and/or his "church", all the freebies, etc.

Folks any pastor who parades around how much he isn't making isn't humble. He's prideful.

Francis Chan

Eph 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.


***Update***

November 7,2019:

Bible teacher and best-selling author Francis Chan announced he will be moving to Asia in February to be a missionary and challenged other Christians to ask themselves if they, too, are willing to boldly follow God’s call on their life. ~Christian Post

CNN reports :

“Even in my own church I heard the words, ‘Francis Chan’ more than I heard the words, ‘Holy Spirit’,” he said.

That was a big part of the reason he walked away at the peak of his professional career.

“I think there has been too much emphasis on me. I want to be used by God, but I think we have this desire to make heroes out of people rather than following God and the Holy Spirit.”

End quote.

The Holy Spirit? The emphasis should be on Christ, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ Jesus, and Christ Jesus glorifies the Father. Chan's concern about "The Holy Spirit" being talked about seems more along the lines of a Charismatic view than a biblical view. And I'm not saying we don't talk about what the Spirit of God is doind in our lives. But to have that be the focus instead of a man, is still not the right emphasis. In addition, for most men, being a pastor is a career, not a calling. You can quit a career, you can't quit the calling God has called you to.

And if he's so done with all that, then why is he still speaking around the us? Just like Piper...quit, but not totally---give it "all" up, but not really. This is fake humility. If he wants it to not be about him, then no more interviews, no more speaking engagements, no more books, and no more DVDs (and yup that's his latest angle).

More concerns: he claims he never made more than $36,000 which I don't believe, not in Simi Valley California, and not including all his speaking engagements, the Seminary of which he is president (the dude has enough money and time to spend on a surfboard and trapse around to go surfing--or was that just another gimmick for his dvd "Just Stop and Think" that they sent out to thousands of homes in Simi Valley?). Why is he so proud of how "little" he made? Why is he letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

"Chan plans to return to the states in January. He is already scheduled to appear at the Passion Conference in Atlanta, which has drawn a crowd of more than 20,000 in the past, and do a stint in the chapel at the NBA All-Star game in February."

See? If he's trying to escape being a celebrity "Christian" then why does he continue to feed the monster?

These celebrity "pastors" whine about being a celebrity, when they are the ones that fed into the whole thing by selling books and going on national or even international speaking engagements. Part of the problem is that they aren't shepherding their own flock...they are feeding their egos by going everywhere else...seminaries (don't we have enough of these man-centered things?), youth conferences, Emergent conferences, Desiring-I-Don't-Know-What-Kind -Of-God Conferences, book writing, etc., instead of sitting still and feeding his own flock. If you don't write books and go on speaking engagements, then you won't get "famous". Yeah, you'll "just" be a pastor. That's not too exciting for some who easily get bored apparently.

Flashback to April 2010:

Quote:

Chan made clear that his decision to depart wasn't prompted by immorality, discipline or disputes within the church. Rather, he has long felt a restlessness and stirring to let go of the church he founded 16 years ago to "do something different."

"I started to just feel too much like this earth was my home in some ways – you know you just get your roots in and get comfortable. And then I started feeling this call and there's all sorts of fears," he said.

Just five years ago, Chan was struggling with whether he was willing to completely surrender himself to God. He realized he was and was willing to go anywhere for God.

At that time, his calling was with Cornerstone Church. Today, he's feeling a tug somewhere else.
The well-known preacher is still unsure of what his next adventure will be or where God is calling him to though he's feeling drawn toward Los Angeles. Part of him wants to go somewhere where he is unknown, he said. He also has a sense that he's being called to do church differently, not necessarily with formal Sunday services.

Chan will preach at Cornerstone through the end of May and participate in speaking engagements over the summer. He then plans to take his family to a third world country – possibly Thailand – where they will care for victims of the slave trade and orphans while spending time seeking the Lord.
After a few months overseas, Chan plans to launch something new at the beginning of next year. While fearful, he expressed full trust in God.

End quote.

Sorry, but God doesn't call a pastor away from a flock like this. Chan has emphasized in youth ministry for a long time, and its not of HIM when a senior pastor wants to get out of his comfort zone--he by his own admission, has gotten bored and wants to move on to do something different. Being a pastor, a TRUE pastor IS to lay down your life for Christ Jesus and HIS sheep. Chan thinks it means giving up a house (but not speaking engagements and selling DVD's). And frankly I find it dishonest for him to whine about "stop making about ME" when HE'S the one making about him: his "little" salary, his celebrity, his comfort zone, etc. Then again that's his "gospel"---man-centered, so this is the fruit.

Contrast that to the maturity we see in someone like John MacArthur or Spurgeon, Gill, etc. Here's something interesting MacArthur said:

I am committed with all my heart to the church, and not just THE church in a generic sense, but this one. The average pastor stays in a church three years in America, just long enough to accomplish nothing. It's true. Three years. But I'll tell you one thing you do accomplish, you send a message very loud and clear to your congregation that you didn't make a commitment to that church, then try to convince them that they should for a lifetime. It's a tough sell.

In the eighteenth century in America, for example, seventeen hundreds, eighteenth century, 71 percent of pastors in that century at one church their whole life...71 percent. There was one particular church that was pastored by a father, a son and a grandson for 123 years. They only knew one family...one family. There was another church I read about in the eighteenth century where the pastor died and a young pastor came and married the widow...and so they knew that family and that new man. That was pretty typical. Men spent their entire life in the same church. Four percent of pastors in the eighteenth century had three churches. One was the norm, 71 percent. You gave your life to the church and then you could tell your people to give their life to the church. Pastoring a church wasn't climbing a ladder, it wasn't sort of a road for self-promotion. It was...it was like a marriage. In fact, when a person went to candidate at a church, the minimum stay was three months. You didn't go in there and preach two sugar-stick sermons which were a lot better than you could produce every week, and wow them, you know, with your best shot. You went for three months, maybe six months, maybe even a year. And at the end of that time they determined whether you would come. And then they had what was tantamount to a wedding and you made a commitment, a vow to the church. In today's environment there are lots of divorces. It's very hard if pastors aren't committed to local congregations to expect people to be. In fact, in some cases I think pastors move faster than people do. But this is a day of non-commitment, isn't it? This is a day of "I need my needs met." "I want fulfillment...I want to be happy," etc., etc., so we bounce along thinking we can find a more favorable place. That goes all the way down through our whole culture. Everything we do is that way and the church tends to accommodate that with a very high mobility in the pastorate and a very high mobility in the people. And even more than that, the people are looking for the briefest kind of association with the church. If you can hit me with a Sunday-night service, I'll really be happy, "one hour, I'm in there and out of there and don't mess up a whole day" mentality. And this shows up in the unwillingness of people to join the church.

End quote.


Joh 10:11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
Joh 10:13 "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
Joh 10:14 "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
Joh 10:15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

Reconsidering How You See Scrooge

In Defense of Scrooge

By Michael Levin

Excerpts:

Quote:

No doubt Cratchit needs—i.e., wants—more, to support his family and care for Tiny Tim. But Scrooge did not force Cratchit to father children he is having difficulty supporting. If Cratchit had children while suspecting he would be unable to afford them, he, not Scrooge, is responsible for their plight. And if Cratchit didn't know how expensive they would be, why must Scrooge assume the burden of Cratchit's misjudgment?

...As Scrooge observes, he supports those institutions with his taxes. Already forced to help those who can't or won't help themselves, it is not unreasonable for him to balk at volunteering additional funds for their extra comfort.

...The normally taciturn Scrooge lets himself go a bit when Cratchit hints that he would like a paid Christmas holiday. "It's not fair," Scrooge objects, a charge not met by Cratchet's patently irrelevant protest that Christmas comes but once a year. Unfair it is, for Cratchit would doubtless object to a request for a day's uncompensated labor, "and yet," as Scrooge shrewdly points out, "you don't think me ill used when I pay a day's wages for no work."

...The biggest of the Big Lies about Scrooge is the pointlessness of his pursuit of money. "Wealth is of no use to him. He doesn't do any good with it," opines ruddy nephew Fred.

Wrong on both counts. Scrooge apparently lends money, and to discover the good he does one need only inquire of the borrowers. Here is a homeowner with a new roof, and there a merchant able to finance a shipment of tea, bringing profit to himself and happiness to tea drinkers, all thanks to Scrooge.

Dickens doesn't mention Scrooge's satisfied customers, but there must have been plenty of them for Scrooge to have gotten so rich.

Third, most important, and completely overlooked by Ghost and by Dickens, there are hopefuls whose own plans turn on borrowing the money returned to Scrooge from his old accounts. Scrooge can't relend what Caroline and her unnamed husband don't pay up, and he won't make a penny unless he puts the money to use after he gets it back.

The hard case, of course, is a payment due from Bob Cratchit, who needs the money for an emergency operation on Tiny Tim. (Here I depart from the text, but Dickens characters are so familiar to us they can be pressed into unfamiliar roles.) If you think it is heartless of Scrooge to demand payment, think of Sickly Sid, who needs an operation even more urgently than Tim does, and whose father is waiting to finance that operation by borrowing the money Cratchit is expected to pay up.

Is Tim's life more valuable than Sid's just because we've met him? And how do we explain to Sid's father that his son won't be able to have the operation after all, because Scrooge, as Christmas generosity, is allowing Cratchit to reschedule his debt? Scrooge does not circulate money from altruism, to be sure, but his motives, whatever they are, are congruent with the public good.

End quote.

For the entire article go here.

John Newton : Comfort For the Christian In Everything That Comes Our Way

Excerpts from Letters of John Newton

"We are disciples--Jesus is our Master. The world we live in is His school--and every person and event is under His management, designed to forward us in the great lessons which He would have us to learn--such as . . . self-denial, a distrust of creatures, and an absolute dependence upon Himself. In this view, afflictions--are mercies, losses--are gains, hindrances--are helps, and all things, even those which seem most contrary--are working together for our good."

The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink

Excerpts: (Arthur Pink, "The Sovereignty of God")

Because God is righteous--His judgments fall upon those who rebel against Him.
Because God is faithful--the solemn threatenings of His Word are fulfilled.
Because God is omnipotent--none can successfully resist Him, still less overthrow His counsel. Because God is omniscient--no problem can master Him and no difficulty baffle His wisdom.

It is just because God is who He is, and what He is--that we are now beholding on earth, the beginning of His out-poured judgments! In view of His inflexible justice and immaculate holiness--we could not expect anything other than what is now spread before our eyes!

Faith endures "as seeing Him who is invisible." (Hebrews 11:27) Faith endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heart-aches of life--by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err--and too loving to be unkind. So long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart, nor peace for the mind. But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand--then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings--whether in a hovel, a prison-dungeon, or a martyr's stake--we shall be enabled to say, "The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places!" (Psalm 16:6). But that is the language of faith--not of sight or of sense.

There's No Such Think As A Christian Drunk

I like to keep things very simple. I think Scripture does too. Its clear enough for a baby Christian to understand some things, and deep enough for a mature Christian to continue to be amazed and learn from. Here's the thing: if drunks and liars can't go to heaven, then we cannot think a Christian can be a Christian and a drunk; a Christian and a liar---even if he professes sound doctrine. Years and years of unrepentant sin proves one is lost. It really IS that simple.
1John 1:6 says that if we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness we lie and the truth is not in us.

Drunkeness is a fruit of darkness, the world, those dead and outside of Christ.

1Co 5:11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." How much more a "pastor"?

One cannot be a drunk--drinking oneself to Alcoholic Heptitis--and be a Christian, just as one cannot shoot up heroine consistantly and be a Christian. And don't forget, drunks can hide their drinking very well. Just as a false teacher can hide his false teaching or immorality really well....eventually God reveals what was done in darkness, especially done in HIS name while shepherding and teaching His sheep in His name.

If one mourns over his sin and repents, then perhaps its at that time he got saved. Time will reveal if the repentance was real because the fruit that's in keeping with repentance will be evident and be lasting.

1Co 5:11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you."

1Cor. 11:21 seems to be talking to professing Christians, but which are not, given 1) the context and 2) the rest of 1Cor. letter including the surrounding verses of that chapter and surrounding chapters. The whole letter as well as 2Cor. is a letter of rebuke and a call to examine themselves to see if they are in the faith. Many were causing division from the truth.

1Co 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Eph 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit

Rom 13:12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.


1Pe 4:3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
1Pe 4:4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;
1Pe 4:5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
1Pe 4:6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
1Pe 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

2Co 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?

**Update**

It seems some who have sought to post comments regarding this article are defenders of Alcoholics Anonymous and/or its thinking in regard to the sin of drunkeness. Because of this, here is some information to show just how UNbiblical AA is and therefore should be avoided totally. True resolution to drunkeness is going to be spiritual because God says its a spiritual issue, therefore Scripture and the Person and work of the Holy Spirit is how HE deals with this as well as other sin issues.

How Alcoholics Anonymous Doctrines Compare with Scripture: http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/aa&bib82.html

Roots of AA http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/bobs11_1.html

More info on AA and also includes “Celebrate Recovery” critique.: http://morebooksandthings.blogspot.com/search?q=AA

Psychologist father and neo-pagan mystic Carl Jung's influence on AA: http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/e-books/ECP-ebk.pdf p. 161-162, "The End of 'Christian Psychology'"

AA changed U.S. view of God, say emergents: http://mywordlikefire.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/aa-changed-u-s-view-of-god-say-emergents/

12 Steps: http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/12steps1.html & http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/12steps2.html