I needed this this morning, and I woke up singing it! I hope it blesses you guys too. Especially the pupster! We need a vacation kid!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Ring the dinner bell!
Broccoli mac'n Cheese
serves 6
21/3 cups uncooked whole wheat penne pasta (8oz)
1 small red bell pepper coarsely chopped (about a cup)
1 bag (24oz) Green Giant frozen broccoli & three cheese sauce
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I boil mine)
1/4 cup fat free (skim) milk
1/8 teas. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs (if not use plain and 1/2 teas.Italian seasoning)
3 Tbls.shredded Parmesan cheese ( get the good kind it makes a difference)
1 Tbls. olive oil
1.heat oven to 375*F. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta as directed on package except omit salt and add bell pepper last 3 minutes of cook time. Drain and return to saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, cook broccoli & cheese sauce as directed on bag. Stir cooked broccoli mixture,chicken,milk and ground red pepper into pasta. Pour into baking dish.
3. In small bowl stir together bread crumbs,parm.cheese and olive oil using fork sprinkle bread crumb mixture over top of the pasta mixture.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Nutritional info. calories 340(calories from fat 80), Total fat 9g(saturated fat 2 1/2g, 0 trans fat) Cholesterol 45mg, sodium 560mg, total carbs. 41 g.(dietary fiber 6 g., sugars 6 g.), protein 24 g percent daily value based on 2000 cal. a day diet.
I got this from eatbetteramerica.com
serves 6
21/3 cups uncooked whole wheat penne pasta (8oz)
1 small red bell pepper coarsely chopped (about a cup)
1 bag (24oz) Green Giant frozen broccoli & three cheese sauce
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I boil mine)
1/4 cup fat free (skim) milk
1/8 teas. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs (if not use plain and 1/2 teas.Italian seasoning)
3 Tbls.shredded Parmesan cheese ( get the good kind it makes a difference)
1 Tbls. olive oil
1.heat oven to 375*F. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta as directed on package except omit salt and add bell pepper last 3 minutes of cook time. Drain and return to saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, cook broccoli & cheese sauce as directed on bag. Stir cooked broccoli mixture,chicken,milk and ground red pepper into pasta. Pour into baking dish.
3. In small bowl stir together bread crumbs,parm.cheese and olive oil using fork sprinkle bread crumb mixture over top of the pasta mixture.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Nutritional info. calories 340(calories from fat 80), Total fat 9g(saturated fat 2 1/2g, 0 trans fat) Cholesterol 45mg, sodium 560mg, total carbs. 41 g.(dietary fiber 6 g., sugars 6 g.), protein 24 g percent daily value based on 2000 cal. a day diet.
I got this from eatbetteramerica.com
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Welcome back Scott!
Welcome back Brother, you have been missed!
Have you ever had a friend or loved one say to you, out of the blue: “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”
You may simply be quiet, deep in thought. So you answer, “No, I’m not mad. You didn’t do anything to hurt me. I’m just quiet right now.”
But they press you: “Was it something I said?”
“No, you didn’t say anything. All is right.”
Finally, to convince that person, you have to hug him: “Look, I love you—I’m not upset. But if you keep this up, you’re going to get me upset!”
Beloved, this is how we treat our heavenly Father! At the end of the day, we go to our secret closet and say: “Let’s see now, how did I grieve Jesus today? What did I do wrong —what did I forget to do? I’m such a mess, I don’t know how he can love me. Lord, forgive me one more time. Someday I’ll be so obedient, you’ll find it easy to love me.” But God is there all the time, waiting to embrace you! He wants to show you how much he loves you and he wants you to lie back and rest in his love!
When the prodigal son came home, he was welcomed back into his father’s house. He received a new robe, ate at his father’s table and had full forgiveness. The one thing this son knew was that he was secure in his father’s love! He knew his father would bear with him, work with him, love him. That’s how our heavenly Father is with us.
No matter how far we may stray from our Father, we have continued access to return. But we must believe what God’s Word says—he hath “made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
He waits with outstretched arms to embrace all who accept their access and return to his love.
Have you ever had a friend or loved one say to you, out of the blue: “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”
You may simply be quiet, deep in thought. So you answer, “No, I’m not mad. You didn’t do anything to hurt me. I’m just quiet right now.”
But they press you: “Was it something I said?”
“No, you didn’t say anything. All is right.”
Finally, to convince that person, you have to hug him: “Look, I love you—I’m not upset. But if you keep this up, you’re going to get me upset!”
Beloved, this is how we treat our heavenly Father! At the end of the day, we go to our secret closet and say: “Let’s see now, how did I grieve Jesus today? What did I do wrong —what did I forget to do? I’m such a mess, I don’t know how he can love me. Lord, forgive me one more time. Someday I’ll be so obedient, you’ll find it easy to love me.” But God is there all the time, waiting to embrace you! He wants to show you how much he loves you and he wants you to lie back and rest in his love!
When the prodigal son came home, he was welcomed back into his father’s house. He received a new robe, ate at his father’s table and had full forgiveness. The one thing this son knew was that he was secure in his father’s love! He knew his father would bear with him, work with him, love him. That’s how our heavenly Father is with us.
No matter how far we may stray from our Father, we have continued access to return. But we must believe what God’s Word says—he hath “made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
He waits with outstretched arms to embrace all who accept their access and return to his love.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
THE FELLOWSHIP OF CHRIST’S SUFFERING by Carter Conlon
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:8–11).
These verses are part of a letter the apostle Peter wrote to warn and encourage Christians of his day. History reveals they were on the brink of being persecuted and plunged into unbelievable pain and suffering. The Holy Spirit knew that Nero would ascend to the throne as the next Roman Emperor, so He anointed Peter to write this epistle to give confidence to the believers. Nero would be the catalyst for intense persecution that resulted in the death of many Christians during his reign.
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
Peter was accustomed to suffering. He had his own particular “dark night of the soul,” when he denied Christ three times and then went out and wept bitterly. Jesus had warned him of his coming denial and encouraged him. Jesus said to him, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:31–32). After the resurrection, Jesus restored Peter’s faith. This allowed him to overcome his defeat and prepared him to comfort those heading for troubled times.
SATAN AT THE LAST SUPPER
The same evening Jesus encouraged Peter, he had been sharing a meal with His disciples. He had broken the bread which signified the kind of suffering and death He would undergo.
“Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, ‘The truth is, one of you will betray me!’ The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. One of Jesus’ disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, ‘Lord, who is it?’ Jesus said, ‘It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce.’ And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him” (John 13:21–27 NLT).
Now Satan was at the Last Supper that night, circling the table like a roaring lion. It is at night when lion’s usually hunt. It is in darkness the devil as a roaring lion found somebody to devour. He overheard the discussion of Christ’s coming suffering and as he prowled, he looked for a heart he could possess. He found it in the person of Judas Iscariot. Judas was an opportunist who continually looked ahead to see how God would prosper his life. It is no surprise then that he handled the money bag, because Judas wanted to profit from this relationship with Jesus, not suffer with Him.
In that divine and intimate moment when Jesus reached over and gave Judas a piece of the bread, it was God’s love and mercy being extended to him as if to say, “I am offering you a chance to walk with me. I am going to be rejected and abused by man. I am going to Calvary. There is going to be wrath poured out in that place, and I will be seemingly triumphed over. But I am offering you an opportunity to go with me and be given for others.” Judas was not interested in this pathway. He was not interested in talk about a cross, about rejection, or about being triumphed over, even if it was only for a season.
This was the problem: Judas accepted the bread and what it ultimately represented with a deceptive heart. In doing so he opened up a way for Satan to enter into him. Satan, as a hungry lion on the hunt had been looking for a way to break the unity shared by Christ and His disciples. The unity which Psalm 133 says, commands a blessing from the head right down to the borders of the garment.
THE WEAK LINK
In Judas, Satan had found the weak link he was looking for, a hypocrite. Judas gave the appearance of following Christ, but his heart was far from Him. Many times we have seen this repeated in the professing church of Jesus Christ. People take the bread and cup of communion, but have no interest in moving with the Holy Spirit’s leading. They are there strictly for personal gain. When their selfish purposes are not fulfilled, the enemy gets a hold of them, and there is a roaring of unrest in their soul.
When Jesus looked at Judas, He spoke directly to the devil when He said, “That thou doest, do quickly” (John 13:27). Judas rose from the table and went into pitch blackness with the same unrest in his spirit, to demand money in exchange for betraying Jesus. He leaves the house of truth for the house of the Pharisees, the temple of hypocrites. What a sad contrast!
The Pharisees, who claimed to know God, were well-read in the Old Testament and frequented the temple. Yet, when God appeared in their midst as a man and challenged them to change their direction, these same leaders constantly questioned Him. I can imagine Judas walking into their midst and saying, “Give me money. God wants me to be wealthy. In fact, that is the reason I came to God in the first place.”
SATAN AT THE CROSS
“They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion” (Psalm 22:13). These Pharisees were the same religious leaders who stood at the cross roaring at Christ, mocking Him and saying, “He saved others, but He has no power to save Himself.” They belligerently called to Him to come down from the cross if He was the Christ, promising to follow Him. They were glorying in the death of Christ because they would now be able to put Him out of their consciousness once and for all. Now they would be free to go back to their dead religion.
In reality, Jesus was surrounded by Satan himself. Satan had stalked and beguiled the multitude and infused his darkened thinking into their hearts. Like the Pharisees, Satan gloated and declared that the victory had been won; the prey was in his teeth. But the devil did not realize that death would not triumph.
“The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him” (Psalm 12:3–5).
A GREATER LION
Mark 15:37–39 says of Jesus on the cross, “[He] cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain [two] from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.” Like a strong male lion emerging from the tall grass, Jesus cried out with a powerful roar as if saying to Satan and his minions, “You thought you had finished me, but you do not realize you are dealing with the Lion of the tribe of Judah! You thought you had me in the grip of your jaws and that your voice was the loudest. You forgot I am God and I will always have the last word.” At that very moment, the earth shook, the rocks split, and the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Even the centurion standing watch over the crucifixion, who had seen a lot of people die, exclaimed, “truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
Jesus roared out against sin, death, and hell and devoured it. He rose from the grave and gave the spoils of victory unto man. “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Ephesians 4:8). Jesus gives those who receive Him a spirit of power, a new heart and a sound mind. He gave you and me an assured future and a Word that can triumph over any power of evil.
THROWN DOWN THE LION
This triumph can be seen in the Old Testament when a lion came against David as a young boy while he was tending his father’s sheep. David said, “I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him” (1 Samuel 17:35). Remember, he was only a boy in his teens who found himself in a vulnerable position with a roaring lion standing right in front of him. The word smote means to throw down. It is amazing how God supernaturally gave David power to take hold of the lion, throw it down and kill it. You may be a young person but if the Spirit of God is with you, He will give you power to look the devil in the eye and defeat him. You may have asked yourself, “How will I stand in this generation?” You will stand in the same way everybody has stood in the past, in the power and might of God. He will give you His Holy Spirit and you will be able to stand against your enemies. God will give you the power to overcome the roar of the devil’s accusatory and condemning voice. Hallelujah!
Again, in the book of Judges, we read as Samson went down to the Philistine camp, a young lion burst out of its hiding place with a roar and attacked him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson and he tore the lion apart as if it were a small goat. Days later, he passed by the carcass of the lion and saw that bees had made a hive with honey in the comb. He took the honey and fed his family with it. In the same way, you do not have to worry about the future. The very thing you think is going to destroy you will actually give you life as you turn and go God’s way.
You have the same Holy Spirit David and Samson had. You have the power to lay hold of the enemy, and not be in terror or panic because of him.
STAND AS PILLARS
For those of you who have walked with the Lord a long time, you may still face some of your greatest battles. When Daniel was an older man, he was betrayed and thrown into the lions’ den. He came out alive, untouched and unharmed by the lions. You too will have the same victory in your trials. When the king lamented and called out to Daniel in the morning, Daniel answered, “God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths.” There comes a point when, like Daniel, you have been through enough to know not to listen to the roar of the enemy. God has your heart and you can trust His Word.
I want to encourage you to hold firm to your position in Christ. Don’t let fear get hold of you and become a source of discouragement to those who are watching your life. Stand as pillars; do not be given to intimidation from Satan, a defeated lion. Keep your confidence in God, and let your quietness and strength be a testimony to others.
LOOK THE LION IN THE FACE
I quoted the apostle Peter in the beginning of this message where he said to be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. In other words, he walks about looking to infuse his thinking into the heart of an unsuspecting person, the way he did with Judas. You have a chance to be the church in your generation. You have an opportunity to stand in the power of God, look the lion in the face, and say, “In spite of your roaring, I have authority over you in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Today, you need to say, “God, fill me with the Holy Spirit. I want power to go with you even into the place of the suffering. I want your power to reach the poor, and the power to give myself for the lost.” If this is your heart’s desire, you will have your prayer answered, and God will be able to reveal Himself through you to a needy and dying world.In Psalm 56:2–3, David says, “Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” In verse 6, it says, “They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.” This is exactly how a lion hunts. But what set David apart from other men is he knew where his help came from. In verse 9, David said, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” This is the same God who through His Son, Jesus Christ, said on the cross: “It is finished,” and He literally meant the battle was over. You and I are not on the losing side, we are on the victory side. You will not be triumphed over. Walk with God, and you will see a supernatural provision in the coming days. Your security is not in your 401K, but in John 3:16.
Carter Conlon
©2008 Times Square Church
These verses are part of a letter the apostle Peter wrote to warn and encourage Christians of his day. History reveals they were on the brink of being persecuted and plunged into unbelievable pain and suffering. The Holy Spirit knew that Nero would ascend to the throne as the next Roman Emperor, so He anointed Peter to write this epistle to give confidence to the believers. Nero would be the catalyst for intense persecution that resulted in the death of many Christians during his reign.
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
Peter was accustomed to suffering. He had his own particular “dark night of the soul,” when he denied Christ three times and then went out and wept bitterly. Jesus had warned him of his coming denial and encouraged him. Jesus said to him, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:31–32). After the resurrection, Jesus restored Peter’s faith. This allowed him to overcome his defeat and prepared him to comfort those heading for troubled times.
SATAN AT THE LAST SUPPER
The same evening Jesus encouraged Peter, he had been sharing a meal with His disciples. He had broken the bread which signified the kind of suffering and death He would undergo.
“Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and he exclaimed, ‘The truth is, one of you will betray me!’ The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. One of Jesus’ disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who would do this terrible thing. Leaning toward Jesus, he asked, ‘Lord, who is it?’ Jesus said, ‘It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce.’ And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him” (John 13:21–27 NLT).
Now Satan was at the Last Supper that night, circling the table like a roaring lion. It is at night when lion’s usually hunt. It is in darkness the devil as a roaring lion found somebody to devour. He overheard the discussion of Christ’s coming suffering and as he prowled, he looked for a heart he could possess. He found it in the person of Judas Iscariot. Judas was an opportunist who continually looked ahead to see how God would prosper his life. It is no surprise then that he handled the money bag, because Judas wanted to profit from this relationship with Jesus, not suffer with Him.
In that divine and intimate moment when Jesus reached over and gave Judas a piece of the bread, it was God’s love and mercy being extended to him as if to say, “I am offering you a chance to walk with me. I am going to be rejected and abused by man. I am going to Calvary. There is going to be wrath poured out in that place, and I will be seemingly triumphed over. But I am offering you an opportunity to go with me and be given for others.” Judas was not interested in this pathway. He was not interested in talk about a cross, about rejection, or about being triumphed over, even if it was only for a season.
This was the problem: Judas accepted the bread and what it ultimately represented with a deceptive heart. In doing so he opened up a way for Satan to enter into him. Satan, as a hungry lion on the hunt had been looking for a way to break the unity shared by Christ and His disciples. The unity which Psalm 133 says, commands a blessing from the head right down to the borders of the garment.
THE WEAK LINK
In Judas, Satan had found the weak link he was looking for, a hypocrite. Judas gave the appearance of following Christ, but his heart was far from Him. Many times we have seen this repeated in the professing church of Jesus Christ. People take the bread and cup of communion, but have no interest in moving with the Holy Spirit’s leading. They are there strictly for personal gain. When their selfish purposes are not fulfilled, the enemy gets a hold of them, and there is a roaring of unrest in their soul.
When Jesus looked at Judas, He spoke directly to the devil when He said, “That thou doest, do quickly” (John 13:27). Judas rose from the table and went into pitch blackness with the same unrest in his spirit, to demand money in exchange for betraying Jesus. He leaves the house of truth for the house of the Pharisees, the temple of hypocrites. What a sad contrast!
The Pharisees, who claimed to know God, were well-read in the Old Testament and frequented the temple. Yet, when God appeared in their midst as a man and challenged them to change their direction, these same leaders constantly questioned Him. I can imagine Judas walking into their midst and saying, “Give me money. God wants me to be wealthy. In fact, that is the reason I came to God in the first place.”
SATAN AT THE CROSS
“They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion” (Psalm 22:13). These Pharisees were the same religious leaders who stood at the cross roaring at Christ, mocking Him and saying, “He saved others, but He has no power to save Himself.” They belligerently called to Him to come down from the cross if He was the Christ, promising to follow Him. They were glorying in the death of Christ because they would now be able to put Him out of their consciousness once and for all. Now they would be free to go back to their dead religion.
In reality, Jesus was surrounded by Satan himself. Satan had stalked and beguiled the multitude and infused his darkened thinking into their hearts. Like the Pharisees, Satan gloated and declared that the victory had been won; the prey was in his teeth. But the devil did not realize that death would not triumph.
“The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him” (Psalm 12:3–5).
A GREATER LION
Mark 15:37–39 says of Jesus on the cross, “[He] cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain [two] from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.” Like a strong male lion emerging from the tall grass, Jesus cried out with a powerful roar as if saying to Satan and his minions, “You thought you had finished me, but you do not realize you are dealing with the Lion of the tribe of Judah! You thought you had me in the grip of your jaws and that your voice was the loudest. You forgot I am God and I will always have the last word.” At that very moment, the earth shook, the rocks split, and the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Even the centurion standing watch over the crucifixion, who had seen a lot of people die, exclaimed, “truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
Jesus roared out against sin, death, and hell and devoured it. He rose from the grave and gave the spoils of victory unto man. “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Ephesians 4:8). Jesus gives those who receive Him a spirit of power, a new heart and a sound mind. He gave you and me an assured future and a Word that can triumph over any power of evil.
THROWN DOWN THE LION
This triumph can be seen in the Old Testament when a lion came against David as a young boy while he was tending his father’s sheep. David said, “I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him” (1 Samuel 17:35). Remember, he was only a boy in his teens who found himself in a vulnerable position with a roaring lion standing right in front of him. The word smote means to throw down. It is amazing how God supernaturally gave David power to take hold of the lion, throw it down and kill it. You may be a young person but if the Spirit of God is with you, He will give you power to look the devil in the eye and defeat him. You may have asked yourself, “How will I stand in this generation?” You will stand in the same way everybody has stood in the past, in the power and might of God. He will give you His Holy Spirit and you will be able to stand against your enemies. God will give you the power to overcome the roar of the devil’s accusatory and condemning voice. Hallelujah!
Again, in the book of Judges, we read as Samson went down to the Philistine camp, a young lion burst out of its hiding place with a roar and attacked him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson and he tore the lion apart as if it were a small goat. Days later, he passed by the carcass of the lion and saw that bees had made a hive with honey in the comb. He took the honey and fed his family with it. In the same way, you do not have to worry about the future. The very thing you think is going to destroy you will actually give you life as you turn and go God’s way.
You have the same Holy Spirit David and Samson had. You have the power to lay hold of the enemy, and not be in terror or panic because of him.
STAND AS PILLARS
For those of you who have walked with the Lord a long time, you may still face some of your greatest battles. When Daniel was an older man, he was betrayed and thrown into the lions’ den. He came out alive, untouched and unharmed by the lions. You too will have the same victory in your trials. When the king lamented and called out to Daniel in the morning, Daniel answered, “God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths.” There comes a point when, like Daniel, you have been through enough to know not to listen to the roar of the enemy. God has your heart and you can trust His Word.
I want to encourage you to hold firm to your position in Christ. Don’t let fear get hold of you and become a source of discouragement to those who are watching your life. Stand as pillars; do not be given to intimidation from Satan, a defeated lion. Keep your confidence in God, and let your quietness and strength be a testimony to others.
LOOK THE LION IN THE FACE
I quoted the apostle Peter in the beginning of this message where he said to be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. In other words, he walks about looking to infuse his thinking into the heart of an unsuspecting person, the way he did with Judas. You have a chance to be the church in your generation. You have an opportunity to stand in the power of God, look the lion in the face, and say, “In spite of your roaring, I have authority over you in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Today, you need to say, “God, fill me with the Holy Spirit. I want power to go with you even into the place of the suffering. I want your power to reach the poor, and the power to give myself for the lost.” If this is your heart’s desire, you will have your prayer answered, and God will be able to reveal Himself through you to a needy and dying world.In Psalm 56:2–3, David says, “Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” In verse 6, it says, “They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.” This is exactly how a lion hunts. But what set David apart from other men is he knew where his help came from. In verse 9, David said, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” This is the same God who through His Son, Jesus Christ, said on the cross: “It is finished,” and He literally meant the battle was over. You and I are not on the losing side, we are on the victory side. You will not be triumphed over. Walk with God, and you will see a supernatural provision in the coming days. Your security is not in your 401K, but in John 3:16.
Carter Conlon
©2008 Times Square Church
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Deception: Appearing to be on God's Side
Category: * Signs of the Times
Source: Ray Yungen
In the days prior to Jesus Christ's return, [f]amiliar spirits (fallen angels) will not just mislead a few individuals; they will deceive the whole world into embracing a new system. Satan (whose name means adversary) will be the power behind the "coming one"-the great Antichrist. The origin of the Antichrist-s religious system is clearly revealed by the apostle John in Revelation 17:5:
"And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth."
Another word for Babylon in the Old Testament was Chaldea. The Chaldeans were renowned for their use of metaphysical arts. They began the first mystery schools. Daniel 4:7 says: "Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in." This Mystery Babylon, then, would be the original source or mother of what is now New Age metaphysics.
Thus, when the apostle John identifies the Antichrist's spiritual format, he is making reference to the city and the people that first spawned occultism in ancient times. All of the other mystery schools flowed out of Babylon, teaching essentially the same thing--the higher self. John saw it as one unbroken line throughout history culminating in the Antichrist's rule with hundreds of millions being given over to familiar spirits. Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, gave us an account of this activity as the first century believers were daily confronting spirits not of God:
But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. (Acts 8:9-11)
Simon was a man whose activities appeared good; otherwise the people would not have declared, "this man is the great power of God." But the truth of the matter is, he wasn't of God--he just appeared to be. Fortunately for Simon, he repented from his Chaldean practice, and he and his household were saved.
Simon's conversion (like all conversions) was a huge threat to the mystical agenda. Hence, it is easy to see why the coming of the Gospel to the town of Ephesus was a great hindrance to the practice of occultism. Once the people understood they had been deceived by what appeared to be spiritual truth, they repented and liberated themselves of all their collections of mystical recipes. The following describes this dramatic event:
"And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed." (Acts 19:18-20)
The magical or metaphysical arts flew out their door when the Gospel of Christ came in. The two were not only incompatible but totally opposite. Further, what the new believers burned equaled the wages of 150 men for one year. The Ephesian believers gave up their wealth and mystical formulas for the truth found only in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the opposite is happening in the world today!
There is another account in Scripture that highlights what I am trying to say. It is found in Acts 16:16-19:
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
Such events in Scripture illustrate several things critical to understanding the nature and aim of familiar spirits:
# The spirit was the source of her power, not some latent faculty inherent in her human makeup. When it left, her ability left with it.
# The spirit was accurate to a high degree. Otherwise she would not have brought her masters "much gain."
# Deception often occurs when there is 99 percent truth and just 1 percent falsehood. It only takes a little leaven or white lie to leaven or taint the greater lump, which is truth.
# Paul and the spirit were not on the same side; all was not one here. This is quite evident due to the fact that he cast it out of her. Most important of all, the spirit tried to identify or associate itself with God by open acknowledgment. It was crafty when it followed Paul and Silas, for it was proclaiming the truth: "These men show us the way of salvation." This reveals that Mystery Babylon and its spirit guide legions will try to appear as being on God's side. Today, many of these types of occurrences are already happening in the name of Christianity.
For information on mysticism and contemplative spirituality in relation to biblical prophecy and the last days, read A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen, 2nd edition.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Junk Theology: How Goddesses and Witchcraft are Invading the Church
Linda Harvey
"The God of the Bible locked in mortal combat for the souls of men with the goddess of revived paganism---...Few in the church and the popular culture realize the enormity of the revolution going on around us." 1
Peter Jones, Ph.D., Spirit Wars
It's an ordinary Sunday, nothing to distinguish it from any other. You and your family walk into your chosen place of worship-- perhaps an Episcopal church, or a United Methodist, or a Presbyterian, or Lutheran, or Roman Catholic. You sit in your usual pew, you glance around-- and you notice something different. At first the changes are hard to identify. Then it hits you.
There are no crosses. None.
Instead, at the place of honor on the altar, is perhaps a tree, or a circle representing the earth and nature. Or, perhaps a statue, ethereal and abstract, of an unclothed woman, surely reaching to the sky, surely spiritual in pose, meant to represent a cosmic dream, a unifying principle.
In other words, a goddess. An idol.
What would be the response of most members of these churches? Would they feel vaguely uncomfortable, and leave? Or feel vaguely uncomfortable, but stay? How would you react? Would you accommodate this new expression of spirituality as being a natural outgrowth of a continuing quest for knowledge of the unknown? Or would you, knowing what is really going on here, take your family, rise and walk away from a place where Christ no longer is worshipped?
"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction."
(2 Peter 2:1 NKJV)
Among the false teaching predicted in Scripture is perhaps the single unifying heresy of our age -- a pagan return to earth-centered religion, embodied in a "feminine expression" of deity. Goddess worship, even in its ultimate form--witchcraft--is now being openly,even proudly practiced in mainstream Christian denominations, in defiance of the foundations of the faith.
Could the scenario above become reality? We believe it can and will, unless informed, courageous, convicted Christians stand against the introduction of doctrinal error into mainline congregations. Will such brave stands be made?
The cause for alarm is the massive nature of the assault, which doesn't end at the church door. The ultimate philosophy behind the global agendas of feminism, homosexuality, environmentalism, abortion rights, multiculturalism, and anti-"fundamentalism" has its roots, knowingly or not, in the new paganism. The political agendas reinforce the religious bias and vice versa. Concerned Christians need to understand what is happening to the culture as a whole. When even prominent members of the media are practicing witchcraft, it's time to worry. More on this later.
An important book explaining the feminist spirituality movement and its ancient roots is Spirit Wars: Pagan Revival in Christian America by Peter Jones, Ph.D.(Main Entry Editions). Jones is a Harvard and Princeton trained professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California, and has written and lectured extensively on the spiritual basis of the current chaos in American and global culture.
Spirit Wars identifies a revived interest in Gnosticism, the pseudo-Christian teaching of the first and second centuries after Christ, as the foundation of current feminist rejection of traditional Christianity. At the root of this rejection is the same old rebellion as that of the Garden--merely embellished in the pompous rhetoric of radical feminist theological scholarship as well as in pop feminist teaching and literature.
The primary source of this rebellion is inside, not outside the Christian church. But because we are a culture that has been dominated by Judeo-Christian thought, the emergence of this as the predominant version of "Christianity" is also transforming the whole Western worldview into one that is pagan in orientation. Jones summarizes the conflict eloquently: "...Two religious faiths, and only two, battle for the spirit and the mind of the modern world...The present contest is between two powerful spiritualities: Christian theism/ God the Father, and pagan monism/ the Mother goddess." 2
The False Christ of the Religious Left
"The earth is a woman, and she rises. We all live in her," chants a group of Catholic women who met several years back for a WomenChurch conference in Boston.3
A tenured professor of theology at Boston College, a self-declared lesbian witch, stands up at a major Bible conference in 1992 and says,"What's all this biblical bulls--t?" She is cheered by the crowd of seminarians, ministers, and Bible scholars.4
And the speaker at the fourth Re-Imagining Conference in Minneapolis in 1996 invited the audience of several hundred Christian women, many of them ordained ministers or active in their churches, to bite into the apples available on their tables. "Let us bite into the apple in celebration, for we, like Eve, are created to know." In a brazen mockery of the Fall, the women cooperatively devoured their fruit. The same conference featured a "goddess wall" with reproductions of 33 ancient and modern goddesses, among them Gaia, Mary (Jesus' mother),the Babylonian Ishtar, and Diana.5 Let's not forget--this was a Christian women's conference.
The superficial, compromised Christianity accommodated for decades in mainline churches is the reason such foundational error is being tolerated. "Does the average Christian know what is going on in our ostensibly civilized society?" Peter Jones asks. "Pagan ideology, sometimes of the most radical and anti-Christian nature, is taught in university departments of religion, theological seminaries, mainline church agencies, feminist networks, and wicca covens across the land. It adopts the name of Christianity, but it will render our world unrecognizable." 6
Before we delve into the ideas behind this rebellion, it is important to emphasize Jones' point: that while this might seem on the surface to be merely a Christian church issue, it is actually the engine driving a massive global transformation in thought, from Judeo-Christian democratic principles to neo-pagan, power-based postmodernism. And, far from an evolving new concept, a "bridge to the 21st century," this is a road mankind has traveled before, with disastrous results. Even the current pagan packaging has eerie similarities to ghosts of ancient civilizations.
Tolerance and peace are hardly part of the "new understandings" of our faith, but rather distortions and neuroses. When the crucifixion of Jesus is denounced as too bloody and a form of "child abuse," as did Christian feminist speakers from the podium of the goddess-exhalting Re-Imagining Conference in 1993, it's time to take a hard look at what's behind all this and where it's taking us.
The Feminist Case Against The Bible
The background for the revolution is a feminist rebellion against the so-called "patriarchy" of Genesis, subsequent biblical references to women, and the treatment of females down through church history. Are the critics totally off-base in some of their claims? No. Males have sought to twist scripture at times to suit their needs for ambition and dominance--and still do. That's human nature.What is dreadfully wrong,however, is the reasons behind the criticism, the rebellion it reveals, and where these radical religious approaches would take the church if followed.
"At the beginning of the current women's movement in religion, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, feminists pointed out how women often were completely excluded from the full practice of Judaism and Christianity," says author Rita M. Gross.7 This seems like a statement with some validity. Later in the same book Gross destroys her credibility with radical, blasphemous ideas, including explaining the virtues of witchcraft. This is typical of feminist spirituality.
Yes, there have been some abuses of patriarchy in Christianity. Are they to be attributed to the canon of Scripture or to human sin? I don't think a person who truly loves the Lord would see justification for abuse in the Bible. As one looks at where most of these feminists ultimately take the argument, there is such obvious rage behind their premises, and such extremism in the goals, that the real motivation becomes clear: payback, destruction, and empowerment no matter what the source of the power.
The feminist approach to Scripture begins with suspicion. A feminist reading of the Garden of Eden story sees not a caring parent but a jealous, possessive male deity whose objective was to place limits on humans, particularly Eve. After her disobedience (which was just a trick, anyway), this unjust God placed women in a position of subordinance that limits the expression of their gifts and puts them forever at the mercy of males.
As the narrative continues, the Hebrew patriarchs then refused to let their people worship any female deities, unlike neighboring cultures, all of whom had goddesses. These other cultures were more gentle and less warlike, the theory contends, and if worship today would retrieve those ancient matriarchal traditions and cast off oppressive and violent male religious dominance, society would evolve into a peaceful utopia where women would certainly be equal and perhaps even superior. The rigid black and white dualism of Christianity and Judaism-- good and evil, sin and redemption-- would be replaced with justice and "freedom" in a celebration of the human as being at one with all creation, as expressing only natural impulses (including sexuality in any form), and unfettered by the guilt of male-dominated belief systems.
One can recognize in this approach not only the philosophy of the religious left, but the underlying premise of all current liberal thought. This so-called human rights orientation is probably the primary source fueling the growing animosity to biblical Christianity. It is based on a shallow and self-focused reading of Scripture; false information about ancient history; a personal commitment to sensuality and self-indulgence no matter what the cost; a failure or deliberate unwillingness to differentiate between human failings and foundational biblical principles;and ignorance of or disregard for the results of paganism, which are seldom peaceful but ultimately tend toward violence.
Feminists develop these twisted premises in an avalanche of popular and scholarly books with titles like She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse; Goddesses in Everywoman; The Gospel According to Mary: A New Testament for Women; When God Was A Woman; Sexism and God-Talk; and The Rebirth of the Goddess. It is the unfortunate or uninformed person who is seduced into adopting what amounts to blasphemous beliefs, based on the pseudo-theology presented in such pages.
And the mass marketing of these ideas to women through popular media is omnipresent. The popularity of the book The Da Vinci Code attests to the willingness of the public to absorb silly notions like Jesus having married Mary Magdalene and fathering a child.8 An article featuring "The 25 Most Influential Working Mothers" appeared in an issue of Working Mother magazine recently. One of the honorees was Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Princeton University. "Pagels is a towering force in the theological community and a beacon for women seeking a voice in the Church," declared the article. "By exploring the suppression of women by early Church leaders, Pagels has raised the Christian community's consciousness about sexism in organized religion."9
Pagels is the author of such books as The Gnostic Gospels and The Origin of Satan and is responsible for much of the modern acceptance of Gnosticism as a valid Christian view. No other woman representing the field of religion was mentioned in the article, once again demonstrating the exalted position the pagan viewpoint holds among our cultural communicators, and no conservative in any field was included among the twenty-five. Among other honorees were, predictably, Hillary Clinton and Rosie O'Donnell.
Fearless and Godless
One of the most striking features of radical feminist Christianity is its outright repudiation of even the possibility of truth in the original biblical account. This is postmodernism at its finest, which simply makes up truth with no basis other than, "Because I want it this way." For example, Rita M. Gross' Feminism and Religion proceeds from the usual feminist theological assumption that God as presented in the Bible simply does not exist, and that "imposing" Him on the Jewish/Christian world was the triumph of a cruel patriarchy, not the work of an Almighty deity. Males in the non-Western world are much nicer, according to Gross. "Western monotheism is unique in its fear and denial of images of female divinity." 10 (Emphasis added).
Fear is a key concept in the feminist spin on Judeo-Christian religion. Western men are supposedly afraid of the unfettered sexual expression of women (particularly lesbianism) so they have to contain femininity within certain boundaries, and they invented a male god to do so. It is no coincidence that many if not most of these feminist theologians are also lesbians. Not unlike other homosexual writings, there is an assumption that fear of something harmless (which homosexuality is presumed to be),rather than avoidance of something destructive, is at the base of biblical proscriptions against sexual perversion.
But it is not only women who are receptive to the reemergence of matriarchy/ pagan images in Christianity. More and more liberal men are arguing in defense of this same view. In a book called Fire in the Belly, author Sam Keen says, "Feminists who argue that goddess-worship historically preceded the notion of God as father are certainly correct."11 Good and evil were not at the heart of the struggle in the Garden; it was matriarchy vs. patriarchy, he maintains. And the loss was freedom of sexual expression. The male-dominated God replaced sex with violence.12
Rebellion and Witchcraft
The amount and nature of the open rebellion against doctrine is being downplayed, even hidden, by the leaders of national congregations. The Re-Imagining Conferences have attracted many women and some men in church leadership but have been publicized little except among conservatives within church circles.
There has been acknowledgement among mainline Protestant denominations that the participation in conferences like Re-Imagining has affected donations-- negatively. And there is an emerging countermovement to stand against radical feminism and other postmodern debates within the church. An organization called the Association for Church Renewal was formed with James Heidinger of Good News as president. Diane Knippers of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and Todd Whetzel of Episcopalians United are vice-chairs.13
Probably the most disturbing element is the emergence of the actual practice of witchcraft within the church.The unwary Christian woman today may be seduced into goddess worship as an interesting and attractive alternative to tradition. But she may quickly find herself involved in the outright practice of witchcraft without knowing it, because witchcraft is basically the ritual aspect of nature/goddess worship. Casting a circle, the drawing down of power, the importance of not breaking the circle--these are witchcraft rites designed to call on the demonic. They are usually not identified thus, because Satan's existence is largely discounted by liberal theologians--another reason why there is no fear of dabbling in the unknown.
And witchcraft is beginning to be accepted rather casually in religious, even Christian circles. Certainly the media has little problem with it. Margot Adler, the New York Bureau chief for National Public Radio, and who is a frequent commentator on their shows like "All Things Considered," is a practicing witch. No, we are not kidding.Adler is the author of Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-worshipers and Other Pagans in America Today (Beacon Press,1986), a very popular feminist book describing ritual and goddess worship--positively.
"Witchcraft is the wave of the future," states Peter Jones firmly in Spirit Wars. He notes that at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, witches were given official status.14 In Salem, Massachusetts, the local ecumenical group includes representatives of Protestant churches, Catholicism, a Jewish rabbi, and the high priest of the Rosarian Order of Wicca.15
If We Do Nothing
If you as a Christian aren't totally sure about this issue--why this feminist spirituality movement is deeply rebellious and ultimately destructive to the church -- then a reading of Spirit Warsor one of Jones'other books is a must.(See his group's web site at www.cwipp.org) All of the mainline denominations have conservative groups concerned about these issues. Get in touch with the group within your denomination and find out how you can become informed about their views and perhaps involved.
What happens if we do nothing? The face of the confessing Christian church is on a course of self-destruction unless we are willing to confront the change agents. Of course, the authentic church is in no danger of disappearing--that victory was won at the cross. But do we want to be marginalized to the point where genuine faith must go underground? One expert in the field of false faith believes that, not only could the form of the church change, but so could America.
Talk with fellow Christians, especially those who are undecided on this issue. We must stay informed about current issues, and remain strong in the faith. For real conviction, the best defense is Bible study and discussion groups combined with prayer.
Just to clarify, that's prayer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit--only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1. Peter Jones, Spirit Wars: Pagan Revival in Christian America, 1997, Main Entry Editions,PO.Box 952, Siloam Springs, AR 72761, p. 251.
2. Ibid, preface, page xii.
3. "The Enemy Within," Kathleen Howley, Catholic World Report,June 1996, p. 57.
4. Spirit Wars, p. 183.
5. "Re-Imagining Revisited," by Diane Knippers, Good News, January/February 1997, p. 28.
6. Spirit Wars, p. 35.
7. Feminism & Religion, Rita M. Gross, Beacon Press, Boston, 1996, p.40.
8. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown,Bantam Dell Publishing Group, 2003.
9. "The 25 Most Influential Working Mothers," Michaele Weissman, Working Mother, February 1997, p. 24.
10. Feminism & Religion, p.169.
11. As cited in The Goddess Revival, Aida Besancon Spencer et. al, Baker Books,1995, p. 45.
12. Ibid, p. 46.
13. Good News, January/February 1997, p.8.
14. Spirit Wars, p. 147-148.
15. Spirit Wars, p. 148.
-----------------------------------
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
John 17:3 NKJV
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 NKJV
"For day after day they seek me out; They seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God."
Isaiah 58:2 NIV
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To contact Mission America, send E-mail to webmaster@missionamerica.com
"The God of the Bible locked in mortal combat for the souls of men with the goddess of revived paganism---...Few in the church and the popular culture realize the enormity of the revolution going on around us." 1
Peter Jones, Ph.D., Spirit Wars
It's an ordinary Sunday, nothing to distinguish it from any other. You and your family walk into your chosen place of worship-- perhaps an Episcopal church, or a United Methodist, or a Presbyterian, or Lutheran, or Roman Catholic. You sit in your usual pew, you glance around-- and you notice something different. At first the changes are hard to identify. Then it hits you.
There are no crosses. None.
Instead, at the place of honor on the altar, is perhaps a tree, or a circle representing the earth and nature. Or, perhaps a statue, ethereal and abstract, of an unclothed woman, surely reaching to the sky, surely spiritual in pose, meant to represent a cosmic dream, a unifying principle.
In other words, a goddess. An idol.
What would be the response of most members of these churches? Would they feel vaguely uncomfortable, and leave? Or feel vaguely uncomfortable, but stay? How would you react? Would you accommodate this new expression of spirituality as being a natural outgrowth of a continuing quest for knowledge of the unknown? Or would you, knowing what is really going on here, take your family, rise and walk away from a place where Christ no longer is worshipped?
"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction."
(2 Peter 2:1 NKJV)
Among the false teaching predicted in Scripture is perhaps the single unifying heresy of our age -- a pagan return to earth-centered religion, embodied in a "feminine expression" of deity. Goddess worship, even in its ultimate form--witchcraft--is now being openly,even proudly practiced in mainstream Christian denominations, in defiance of the foundations of the faith.
Could the scenario above become reality? We believe it can and will, unless informed, courageous, convicted Christians stand against the introduction of doctrinal error into mainline congregations. Will such brave stands be made?
The cause for alarm is the massive nature of the assault, which doesn't end at the church door. The ultimate philosophy behind the global agendas of feminism, homosexuality, environmentalism, abortion rights, multiculturalism, and anti-"fundamentalism" has its roots, knowingly or not, in the new paganism. The political agendas reinforce the religious bias and vice versa. Concerned Christians need to understand what is happening to the culture as a whole. When even prominent members of the media are practicing witchcraft, it's time to worry. More on this later.
An important book explaining the feminist spirituality movement and its ancient roots is Spirit Wars: Pagan Revival in Christian America by Peter Jones, Ph.D.(Main Entry Editions). Jones is a Harvard and Princeton trained professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary in Escondido, California, and has written and lectured extensively on the spiritual basis of the current chaos in American and global culture.
Spirit Wars identifies a revived interest in Gnosticism, the pseudo-Christian teaching of the first and second centuries after Christ, as the foundation of current feminist rejection of traditional Christianity. At the root of this rejection is the same old rebellion as that of the Garden--merely embellished in the pompous rhetoric of radical feminist theological scholarship as well as in pop feminist teaching and literature.
The primary source of this rebellion is inside, not outside the Christian church. But because we are a culture that has been dominated by Judeo-Christian thought, the emergence of this as the predominant version of "Christianity" is also transforming the whole Western worldview into one that is pagan in orientation. Jones summarizes the conflict eloquently: "...Two religious faiths, and only two, battle for the spirit and the mind of the modern world...The present contest is between two powerful spiritualities: Christian theism/ God the Father, and pagan monism/ the Mother goddess." 2
The False Christ of the Religious Left
"The earth is a woman, and she rises. We all live in her," chants a group of Catholic women who met several years back for a WomenChurch conference in Boston.3
A tenured professor of theology at Boston College, a self-declared lesbian witch, stands up at a major Bible conference in 1992 and says,"What's all this biblical bulls--t?" She is cheered by the crowd of seminarians, ministers, and Bible scholars.4
And the speaker at the fourth Re-Imagining Conference in Minneapolis in 1996 invited the audience of several hundred Christian women, many of them ordained ministers or active in their churches, to bite into the apples available on their tables. "Let us bite into the apple in celebration, for we, like Eve, are created to know." In a brazen mockery of the Fall, the women cooperatively devoured their fruit. The same conference featured a "goddess wall" with reproductions of 33 ancient and modern goddesses, among them Gaia, Mary (Jesus' mother),the Babylonian Ishtar, and Diana.5 Let's not forget--this was a Christian women's conference.
The superficial, compromised Christianity accommodated for decades in mainline churches is the reason such foundational error is being tolerated. "Does the average Christian know what is going on in our ostensibly civilized society?" Peter Jones asks. "Pagan ideology, sometimes of the most radical and anti-Christian nature, is taught in university departments of religion, theological seminaries, mainline church agencies, feminist networks, and wicca covens across the land. It adopts the name of Christianity, but it will render our world unrecognizable." 6
Before we delve into the ideas behind this rebellion, it is important to emphasize Jones' point: that while this might seem on the surface to be merely a Christian church issue, it is actually the engine driving a massive global transformation in thought, from Judeo-Christian democratic principles to neo-pagan, power-based postmodernism. And, far from an evolving new concept, a "bridge to the 21st century," this is a road mankind has traveled before, with disastrous results. Even the current pagan packaging has eerie similarities to ghosts of ancient civilizations.
Tolerance and peace are hardly part of the "new understandings" of our faith, but rather distortions and neuroses. When the crucifixion of Jesus is denounced as too bloody and a form of "child abuse," as did Christian feminist speakers from the podium of the goddess-exhalting Re-Imagining Conference in 1993, it's time to take a hard look at what's behind all this and where it's taking us.
The Feminist Case Against The Bible
The background for the revolution is a feminist rebellion against the so-called "patriarchy" of Genesis, subsequent biblical references to women, and the treatment of females down through church history. Are the critics totally off-base in some of their claims? No. Males have sought to twist scripture at times to suit their needs for ambition and dominance--and still do. That's human nature.What is dreadfully wrong,however, is the reasons behind the criticism, the rebellion it reveals, and where these radical religious approaches would take the church if followed.
"At the beginning of the current women's movement in religion, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, feminists pointed out how women often were completely excluded from the full practice of Judaism and Christianity," says author Rita M. Gross.7 This seems like a statement with some validity. Later in the same book Gross destroys her credibility with radical, blasphemous ideas, including explaining the virtues of witchcraft. This is typical of feminist spirituality.
Yes, there have been some abuses of patriarchy in Christianity. Are they to be attributed to the canon of Scripture or to human sin? I don't think a person who truly loves the Lord would see justification for abuse in the Bible. As one looks at where most of these feminists ultimately take the argument, there is such obvious rage behind their premises, and such extremism in the goals, that the real motivation becomes clear: payback, destruction, and empowerment no matter what the source of the power.
The feminist approach to Scripture begins with suspicion. A feminist reading of the Garden of Eden story sees not a caring parent but a jealous, possessive male deity whose objective was to place limits on humans, particularly Eve. After her disobedience (which was just a trick, anyway), this unjust God placed women in a position of subordinance that limits the expression of their gifts and puts them forever at the mercy of males.
As the narrative continues, the Hebrew patriarchs then refused to let their people worship any female deities, unlike neighboring cultures, all of whom had goddesses. These other cultures were more gentle and less warlike, the theory contends, and if worship today would retrieve those ancient matriarchal traditions and cast off oppressive and violent male religious dominance, society would evolve into a peaceful utopia where women would certainly be equal and perhaps even superior. The rigid black and white dualism of Christianity and Judaism-- good and evil, sin and redemption-- would be replaced with justice and "freedom" in a celebration of the human as being at one with all creation, as expressing only natural impulses (including sexuality in any form), and unfettered by the guilt of male-dominated belief systems.
One can recognize in this approach not only the philosophy of the religious left, but the underlying premise of all current liberal thought. This so-called human rights orientation is probably the primary source fueling the growing animosity to biblical Christianity. It is based on a shallow and self-focused reading of Scripture; false information about ancient history; a personal commitment to sensuality and self-indulgence no matter what the cost; a failure or deliberate unwillingness to differentiate between human failings and foundational biblical principles;and ignorance of or disregard for the results of paganism, which are seldom peaceful but ultimately tend toward violence.
Feminists develop these twisted premises in an avalanche of popular and scholarly books with titles like She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse; Goddesses in Everywoman; The Gospel According to Mary: A New Testament for Women; When God Was A Woman; Sexism and God-Talk; and The Rebirth of the Goddess. It is the unfortunate or uninformed person who is seduced into adopting what amounts to blasphemous beliefs, based on the pseudo-theology presented in such pages.
And the mass marketing of these ideas to women through popular media is omnipresent. The popularity of the book The Da Vinci Code attests to the willingness of the public to absorb silly notions like Jesus having married Mary Magdalene and fathering a child.8 An article featuring "The 25 Most Influential Working Mothers" appeared in an issue of Working Mother magazine recently. One of the honorees was Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Princeton University. "Pagels is a towering force in the theological community and a beacon for women seeking a voice in the Church," declared the article. "By exploring the suppression of women by early Church leaders, Pagels has raised the Christian community's consciousness about sexism in organized religion."9
Pagels is the author of such books as The Gnostic Gospels and The Origin of Satan and is responsible for much of the modern acceptance of Gnosticism as a valid Christian view. No other woman representing the field of religion was mentioned in the article, once again demonstrating the exalted position the pagan viewpoint holds among our cultural communicators, and no conservative in any field was included among the twenty-five. Among other honorees were, predictably, Hillary Clinton and Rosie O'Donnell.
Fearless and Godless
One of the most striking features of radical feminist Christianity is its outright repudiation of even the possibility of truth in the original biblical account. This is postmodernism at its finest, which simply makes up truth with no basis other than, "Because I want it this way." For example, Rita M. Gross' Feminism and Religion proceeds from the usual feminist theological assumption that God as presented in the Bible simply does not exist, and that "imposing" Him on the Jewish/Christian world was the triumph of a cruel patriarchy, not the work of an Almighty deity. Males in the non-Western world are much nicer, according to Gross. "Western monotheism is unique in its fear and denial of images of female divinity." 10 (Emphasis added).
Fear is a key concept in the feminist spin on Judeo-Christian religion. Western men are supposedly afraid of the unfettered sexual expression of women (particularly lesbianism) so they have to contain femininity within certain boundaries, and they invented a male god to do so. It is no coincidence that many if not most of these feminist theologians are also lesbians. Not unlike other homosexual writings, there is an assumption that fear of something harmless (which homosexuality is presumed to be),rather than avoidance of something destructive, is at the base of biblical proscriptions against sexual perversion.
But it is not only women who are receptive to the reemergence of matriarchy/ pagan images in Christianity. More and more liberal men are arguing in defense of this same view. In a book called Fire in the Belly, author Sam Keen says, "Feminists who argue that goddess-worship historically preceded the notion of God as father are certainly correct."11 Good and evil were not at the heart of the struggle in the Garden; it was matriarchy vs. patriarchy, he maintains. And the loss was freedom of sexual expression. The male-dominated God replaced sex with violence.12
Rebellion and Witchcraft
The amount and nature of the open rebellion against doctrine is being downplayed, even hidden, by the leaders of national congregations. The Re-Imagining Conferences have attracted many women and some men in church leadership but have been publicized little except among conservatives within church circles.
There has been acknowledgement among mainline Protestant denominations that the participation in conferences like Re-Imagining has affected donations-- negatively. And there is an emerging countermovement to stand against radical feminism and other postmodern debates within the church. An organization called the Association for Church Renewal was formed with James Heidinger of Good News as president. Diane Knippers of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and Todd Whetzel of Episcopalians United are vice-chairs.13
Probably the most disturbing element is the emergence of the actual practice of witchcraft within the church.The unwary Christian woman today may be seduced into goddess worship as an interesting and attractive alternative to tradition. But she may quickly find herself involved in the outright practice of witchcraft without knowing it, because witchcraft is basically the ritual aspect of nature/goddess worship. Casting a circle, the drawing down of power, the importance of not breaking the circle--these are witchcraft rites designed to call on the demonic. They are usually not identified thus, because Satan's existence is largely discounted by liberal theologians--another reason why there is no fear of dabbling in the unknown.
And witchcraft is beginning to be accepted rather casually in religious, even Christian circles. Certainly the media has little problem with it. Margot Adler, the New York Bureau chief for National Public Radio, and who is a frequent commentator on their shows like "All Things Considered," is a practicing witch. No, we are not kidding.Adler is the author of Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-worshipers and Other Pagans in America Today (Beacon Press,1986), a very popular feminist book describing ritual and goddess worship--positively.
"Witchcraft is the wave of the future," states Peter Jones firmly in Spirit Wars. He notes that at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, witches were given official status.14 In Salem, Massachusetts, the local ecumenical group includes representatives of Protestant churches, Catholicism, a Jewish rabbi, and the high priest of the Rosarian Order of Wicca.15
If We Do Nothing
If you as a Christian aren't totally sure about this issue--why this feminist spirituality movement is deeply rebellious and ultimately destructive to the church -- then a reading of Spirit Warsor one of Jones'other books is a must.(See his group's web site at www.cwipp.org) All of the mainline denominations have conservative groups concerned about these issues. Get in touch with the group within your denomination and find out how you can become informed about their views and perhaps involved.
What happens if we do nothing? The face of the confessing Christian church is on a course of self-destruction unless we are willing to confront the change agents. Of course, the authentic church is in no danger of disappearing--that victory was won at the cross. But do we want to be marginalized to the point where genuine faith must go underground? One expert in the field of false faith believes that, not only could the form of the church change, but so could America.
Talk with fellow Christians, especially those who are undecided on this issue. We must stay informed about current issues, and remain strong in the faith. For real conviction, the best defense is Bible study and discussion groups combined with prayer.
Just to clarify, that's prayer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit--only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1. Peter Jones, Spirit Wars: Pagan Revival in Christian America, 1997, Main Entry Editions,PO.Box 952, Siloam Springs, AR 72761, p. 251.
2. Ibid, preface, page xii.
3. "The Enemy Within," Kathleen Howley, Catholic World Report,June 1996, p. 57.
4. Spirit Wars, p. 183.
5. "Re-Imagining Revisited," by Diane Knippers, Good News, January/February 1997, p. 28.
6. Spirit Wars, p. 35.
7. Feminism & Religion, Rita M. Gross, Beacon Press, Boston, 1996, p.40.
8. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown,Bantam Dell Publishing Group, 2003.
9. "The 25 Most Influential Working Mothers," Michaele Weissman, Working Mother, February 1997, p. 24.
10. Feminism & Religion, p.169.
11. As cited in The Goddess Revival, Aida Besancon Spencer et. al, Baker Books,1995, p. 45.
12. Ibid, p. 46.
13. Good News, January/February 1997, p.8.
14. Spirit Wars, p. 147-148.
15. Spirit Wars, p. 148.
-----------------------------------
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
John 17:3 NKJV
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 NKJV
"For day after day they seek me out; They seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God."
Isaiah 58:2 NIV
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The High Cost of Being (and Staying) Cool -- Rick Warren in a Whirlwind
Great post from Albert Mohler
Pastor Rick Warren now stands at ground zero of a whirlwind, and he is likely to be there for some time. The announcement that President-elect Obama had chosen him to deliver the invocation at the inaugural ceremonies on January 20 came with formality but no fanfare. The first headlines speculated that Warren had become "the next Billy Graham" -- for Billy Graham has missed praying at few inaugurations in recent decades.
Within hours, however, the story had quickly changed. Rick Warren had gone from being the next Billy Graham to being the next Fred Phelps -- and in a media instant.
Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign, a group that promotes homosexual rights, sent a letter to the President-elect protesting the choice of Warren.
The letter began:
Let me get right to the point. Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. Our loss in California over the passage of Proposition 8 which stripped loving, committed same-sex couples of their given legal right to marry is the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years. And by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table.
The outrage from gay activist groups and other liberal allies reached a fever pitch within hours. Blogs and news releases referred to Rick Warren as a "homophobe" and to his choice to deliver the invocation as a "hammer blow" and assault upon the homosexual community -- a group that had enthusiastically supported the Obama candidacy.
The idea that Rick Warren would deliver the invocation at the inauguration after Obama had courted and received such support from the homosexual community was termed "abominable" and "despicable." As The Advocate reported, "Even ardent Obama supporters seem to be up in arms. Progressive radio talk-show host Stephanie Miller -- an Obama supporter from day one -- took issue with the decision, saying he could have made a better choice. She told callers this morning that in light of eight years of a Bush administration and the passing of Prop. 8, having Warren deliver the invocation felt like a big slap in the face."
Apparently stung by the criticism, the President-elect answered a reporter's question about Warren by saying:
"I think that it is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something that I have been consistent on and something that I intend to continue to be consistent on during my presidency. What I have also said is that it is important for America to come together, even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues. I would note that a couple of years ago I was invited to Rick Warren's church to speak, despite his awareness that I held views that were entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion. Nevertheless I had an opportunity to speak. And that dialogue, I think, is part of what my campaign has been all about.
"We're not going to agree on every single issue. But what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans."
Now here is an interesting point. The protest against Rick Warren is that he is an opponent of same-sex marriage. But when Candidate Obama was asked to define marriage during the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, he appeared to leave no room for same-sex marriage: "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian -- for me -- for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union." When asked follow-up questions by Warren, Obama endorsed civil unions and opposed a constitutional amendment protecting marriage as a heterosexual institution.
So, what's the difference? Well, as Obama indicated, he is "a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans." Even as he defined marriage in a way that apparently excluded same-sex marriage, he steadfastly refused to do anything to prevent same-sex marriage. Most pointedly, he opposed California's Proposition 8 whereas Warren publicly endorsed it. Before the election, the Obama campaign also provided a message from Michelle Obama expressing hope for the eventual acceptance of same-sex marriage.
In other words, the gay rights community knows that the President-elect will be a reliable friend when it comes to policy. The President-elect virtually promised to do nothing to prevent or slow down the legalization of same-sex marriage.
The outrage directed at Rick Warren must be seen in this context. It is a genuine outrage expressed by gay activists and their liberal allies. To these Obama supporters, it is unthinkable that the President-elect could have chosen Warren for such a prominent role. As one letter to the editor in Friday's edition of The New York Times expressed the sentiment, "Barack Obama’s choice of the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the presidential inauguration is as if Lyndon B. Johnson had selected a pastoral proponent of racial segregation to deliver the invocation in 1965."
Here is the deep irony -- Rick Warren has devoted enormous energy toward the goal of defusing the culture war and creating common ground. He has attracted the criticism of many conservative evangelicals who have been concerned about how these efforts have been positioned and for what often appears as comments at their expense. At times, Warren has even had to issue clarifications in order to make his generalized statements more specific. If the President-elect wanted to choose a figure recognized as an evangelical in the public eye, but sympathetic to much of his stated agenda to unite, he could scarcely have chosen a more recognizable figure than Rick Warren.
But now many of Obama's own supporters attack Rick Warren as if he is a hate-driven homophobe, which he clearly is not. All that was necessary to bring on this opposition is Warren's opposition to same-sex marriage and his support for Proposition 8. Now, he is grouped along with the most strident and careless apostles of hatred.
It doesn't take much. We would all like to be considered cool. Cultural opposition is a tough challenge and bearing public hatred is a hard burden. Being cool means being considered mainstream, acceptable, and admirable. Believing that same-sex marriage is wrong is enough to turn "uncool" in an instant, at least in many circles.
I am not throwing Rick Warren to the wolves over this. He now finds himself in a whirlwind, and he will not be the last. Pastor after pastor and church after church will face a similar challenge in short order. No matter how cool you think you are or think that others think you are, the hour is coming when the issue of homosexuality -- taken alone -- will be the defining issue in coolness. If you accept the full normalization of homosexuality, you will be cool. If you do not, you are profoundly uncool, no matter how much good work you do nor how much love and compassion you seek to express.
Liberal Protestantism came to this conclusion long ago, and those churches desperately want to be considered cool by the elites. Having abandoned biblical authority, there is nothing to prevent them moving fast into coolness. The only barriers are outposts of conservative opposition, but they will not last long.
Many in the "emerging" and "Emergent church" movements also state their intention to transcend the divisive issues like abortion and homosexuality. Some of these represent the quintessence of cool in cultural identification. But for how long? Eventually, the issue of homosexuality will require a decision. At that point, those churches will find themselves facing a forced decision. Choose ye this day: Will it be the Bible or coolness?
Rick Warren has just found himself in the midst of a whirlwind. We must pray that God will give him wisdom as he decides what to do -- and what to say -- as he stands in this whirlwind. But every evangelical Christian should watch this carefully, for the controversy over Rick Warren will not stop with the pastor from Saddleback. This whirlwind is coming for you and for your church. At some point, the cost of being "cool" will be the abandonment of biblical Christianity. We had better decide well in advance that this is a cost far too high to pay.
_______________________________
Would I deliver the invocation at the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States? Well, I have not been asked, but I can imagine that it would be difficult to turn down this invitation. After all, the inaugural ceremony is a national event, not a personal ceremony. Yet, in the end, the context of this inaugural ceremony would not allow me to accept. President-elect Obama has pledged to sign legislation including the Freedom of Choice Act, which would affect a pro-abortion revolution in this nation. He has also pledged to sign executive orders within hours of taking office that will lead directly to a vast increase in the destruction of human life. In particular, he has promised to reverse the Bush administration's policy limiting federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research. Sources inside the transition office have advised activists to expect a flurry of executive orders in the new administration's first hours and days.
Knowing the intentions of this President-elect, I could not in good conscience offer a formal prayer at his inauguration. Even in the short term, I could not live in good conscience with what will come within hours. I could not accept a public role in the event of his inauguration nor offer there a public prayer, but I will certainly be praying for this new President and for the nation under his leadership.
I was interviewed about this question by The Wall Street Journal, and the article appears in today's edition of the paper [see here]. From the article:
Some on the right were unhappy as well. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he wouldn't deliver the invocation for a president who supports abortion rights.
"It certainly doesn't help the pro-life movement to...participate in this kind of public way in the inauguration for one who holds to a very radical pro-abortion position," he said.
Late on Thursday, Rick Warren released this statement:
"I commend President-elect Obama for his courage to willingly take enormous heat from his base by inviting someone like me, with whom he doesn’t agree on every issue, to offer the Invocation at his historic Inaugural ceremony.
Hopefully individuals passionately expressing opinions from the left and the right will recognize that both of us have shown a commitment to model civility in America.
The Bible admonishes us to pray for our leaders. I am honored by this opportunity to pray God’s blessing on the office of the President and its current and future inhabitant, asking the Lord to provide wisdom to America’s leaders during this critical time in our nation’s history."
We will discuss this issue on today's edition of The Albert Mohler Program. Please call and let me know what you think.
__________________________
Photo of Rick Warren and Barack Obama at Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency courtesy of www.rickwarrennews.com.
What is a Christian?
Sunday, December 28, 2008
What is Christianity and what is a Christian. Those questions seem so easy, so time tested and so well defined two thousand years removed from the life and death of the Author and Founder of our faith. But there is much disagreement, and in fact rancor, concerning the answer to those two basic questions which should by now be settled but in reality continue to have a widening cross section of definitions. Let us examine the issues that surround what is Christianity and what is a Christian.
What is Christianity? That question must be answered fully within the context of who is Jesus of Nazareth. The exclusive source of authoritative information on this question comes only from the written Scriptures we call the “Bible”. All other supposed references are counterfeit and should not be given any weight, except those that add support to the Scriptures themselves. The postulate is this: If Jesus was God in the flesh and was sent to provide salvation for sinners, but He did not leave a clear and well articulated revelation concerning Himself and His mission, then how productive can it be to those who are in need of His redemption? The answer, of course, is that He did both – He came to die for the forgiveness of sins and offer eternal life, and He indeed left a written revelation of Who He was and what He did.
So a Christian is a sinner who has believed that Jesus was the Son of God, died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and rose from the dead. This sinner has embraced by faith Christ Himself as His only redemption and has decided to follow Him in his life. Christianity is the true collection of these believers and not the visual, organized, and labeled denominations which can contain a mixture of outward professors and true believers. Only God can accurately discern that important difference.
There is much debate on what outward manifestations, both in quality and in quantity, substantiate and give the assurance that a sinner who speaks words of faith is actually born again into Jesus Christ. There is also vigorous debate on what a person has to believe to be considered a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. These two main issues continue to divide the community of believers to varying degrees, ranging from friendly disagreement to fierce rancor and judgment.
Now many draw certain doctrinal lines in unmistakable detail while others seem to have vague and uncertain lines. There are arguments about the role of repentance, the immediacy of conversion, baptism, church membership, predestination, tongues, and a laundry list of other issues both core and subordinate. There are certain issues that most evangelical believers feel are absolute and without room for compromise which include the deity of Christ, the substitutionary core of the cross, the bodily resurrection, and even the authority of the Scriptures. And these issues define Christianity at its foundation since a person can be profoundly committed to a caricature of Christ and not the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth. Truth is important, and levels of compromise usually breed more dangerous levels of compromise which can eventually lead to complete falsehoods.
The purpose of my article will begin to unfold at this point since I will not be dealing extensively with these articles of faith but of the life which projects and obeys Christ and His Word. The general understanding of how a Christian reflects Christ, separate from verbally sharing the gospel, centers on love, forgiveness, kindness, and other similar attributes within that same interactive genre. There are many unbelievers who exhibit such generous traits among the community of humankind, so it becomes more difficult to distinguish a gracious believer from a gracious unbeliever. But is should be expected, even assumed, that a genuine follower of Jesus Christ would live a life of graciousness, love, and impartial and universal hospitality. And to be fair, all of us fall embarrassingly short of that goal but some have become blind to that goal in and of itself. And that is the centerpiece of this post.
How can we as committed Christians, dedicated to following and emulating the example of the Incarnate Master Himself, roam about the community called humanity with an arrogance and erudite dismissiveness that does not reflect the essence of Christ’s life, to say nothing of Christ’s cross? The hollowness of ungracious and disrespectful words only create the echo of an unspoken paradox that not only is incongruous to our faith, but is indeed counter- productive to Christ’s overall mission and profoundly misrepresents the Redeemer Himself.
I have disavowed the arena of politics for many reasons, however one good reason is the lack of respect and graciousness the candidates afford each other. Throughout the primaries there are lies, innuendos, malice, rancor, gossip, character assassination, personal attack adds, and many times an obvious display of distaste among the different players, only to be externally swept under the carpet after the nominee is chosen, and the viewing public is supposed to accept the mirage that they have always had a deep affection for each other. It is that kind of disingenuous metamorphosis that has led many to define politics as only a platform for self aggrandizement and permeated by manipulation without much real substance or truth.
But the body of believers known as the church should not mirror that political mess. How can we tell the world we love each other when many times discourse is filled with rancor and attacks and with an obvious lack of respect for the other? And when people read Christian blogs that contain malice, wounding sarcasm, self righteousness, and a stream of demeaning rhetoric that leaves the issue and attaches itself to a human host with the intention of draining the God given life out of them, are we not mirroring the political process and calling it “Christian”? No one who engages in such behavior can claim to be doctrinally pure or Biblically faithful since the Scriptures are replete with admonitions of humility, grace, mercy, and the cornerstone – love.
There are these days many doctrinal truths that are being questioned and even dismantled, but in the midst of all of that there are other, more unrecognizable and clandestine truths that are being abrogated and dismantled. These are the core issues of Christlikeness that extend far beyond the average systematic theology library, these are the actual issues of the very life of Jesus Christ being translated through the prism of a believers life. It is surely not enough to pass a theology test and claim that in and of itself showcases the Savior in our lives, because the dark and unregenerate world knows nothing of Biblical theology, but just as the thief on the cross recognized, the world understands love, forgiveness, and supreme humble sacrifice for others.
The church continues to fracture concerning God’s Truth, however we who hold to the core elements of that truth must not ignore other truths as a way of substantiating our faithfulness to these selected and foundational truths. Like the builder who establishes a concrete and sure foundation for his house, but then proceeds to build upon it with paper mache, so are we if we align ourselves with the foundational truths of Christ and His redemption and then present them upon a platform of smugness, personal rancor, and an ambiance of self righteousness. In many ways that suggests that God’s truth needs our help and without the addition of our oratorical malice that truth lacks the power it needs.
“Speak the truth in love” is our command, and these backyard blog brawls must be rejected even when the truth that is promulgated is pure. The finest steak covered in arsenic sauce must not be eaten and arsenic covered by steak must similarly be avoided. As a follower and representative of Jesus the Christ our mission is to both spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and live the life of Jesus Christ as well. Both are not only partners, they must be Siamese twins, each completely dependent on the other for life.
Let us be ambassadors for Jesus Christ in word and in deed, to His eternal glory.
Posted by Rick Frueh at 11:51 AM
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Request for Jr.
Hey little buddy, hope you are feeling great! Sorry this took me so long Lisa, I just read your comment on the not pink blog.
Rick Warren
Two very important articles in my humble opinion pointing out Mr. Warren's "bridge building". The second one is from lighthouse trails research.
Rick Warren's Invocation Invokes Judaism, Islam
January 20, 2009 03:40 PM ET | Dan Gilgoff | Permanent Link | Print
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
The Rev. Rick Warren's invocation might have featured the full Lord's Prayer, the prayer that best cuts across many Christian denominations, but for those listening closely, it also included clear hat-tips to Judaism and Islam. The references came right up top, six lines into Warren's invocation:
The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
The first half of that paragraph—Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One—is the Shema, the most important prayer in Judaism. Many Jews recited it on the way to their deaths during the Holocaust.
The second half of that paragraph—"You are the compassionate and merciful one"—echoes the opening of all but one chapter of the Koran. Those chapters begin Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem, which translates into, "In the name of Allah, the most compassionate, the most merciful."
"After the actual name Allah, Rahman is the one name that's unique to God," explains Jonathan Brown, assistant professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Washington. "It's this intense compassion and mercy you can't find in a human being."
That means Rick Warren's invocation was more ecumenical than many expected it to be. The interesting thing now will be to watch whether and how Warren's shout-outs are greeted in the Jewish and Muslim communities. Yet again, Warren is trying to be a bridge builder, even as the media focus on his ability to sow controversy.
Inauguration: Rick Warren Prays in Name of "Isa," Muslim False "Jesus"
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus (hay-SOOS), who taught us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. --Rick Warren, from inauguration prayer
Commentary by Daniel Cordell
Love for the Truth
Out-of-House Writer
[I]n his Presidential Inauguration prayer, Rick Warren prayed in the name of "Yeshua," "Isa" and "Jesus."
It seems, the three names Warren used were to imply the three "Abrahamic Faiths" (as they are so-called), Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
What's significant is the name "Isa" being prayed by the "evangelical" Warren. Isa is strictly Koranic and used by Arab Muslims. Even Arab Christians don't refer to Isa, but to Yesua. I've lived and studied Arabic in one of the same Muslim countries that Warren has visited, and I think he probably knows that the Arab Christian communities only refer to Jesus as "Yesua" and not "Isa" as the Muslims.
Isa was not Jewish, but Palistinian. Isa did not die on the cross but instead had someone die in his place. Isa is a Muslim prophet. Isa is only found in the Koran. The name Isa doesn't have any Biblical support or any meaning found in Biblical scholarship. Yet, Rick prayed in the name of Isa.Click here for source and links to Warren's inauguration transcript.
This article or excerpt was posted on January 21, 2009@ 5:51 pm .
From:
Rick Warren's Invocation Invokes Judaism, Islam
January 20, 2009 03:40 PM ET | Dan Gilgoff | Permanent Link | Print
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
The Rev. Rick Warren's invocation might have featured the full Lord's Prayer, the prayer that best cuts across many Christian denominations, but for those listening closely, it also included clear hat-tips to Judaism and Islam. The references came right up top, six lines into Warren's invocation:
The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
The first half of that paragraph—Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One—is the Shema, the most important prayer in Judaism. Many Jews recited it on the way to their deaths during the Holocaust.
The second half of that paragraph—"You are the compassionate and merciful one"—echoes the opening of all but one chapter of the Koran. Those chapters begin Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem, which translates into, "In the name of Allah, the most compassionate, the most merciful."
"After the actual name Allah, Rahman is the one name that's unique to God," explains Jonathan Brown, assistant professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Washington. "It's this intense compassion and mercy you can't find in a human being."
That means Rick Warren's invocation was more ecumenical than many expected it to be. The interesting thing now will be to watch whether and how Warren's shout-outs are greeted in the Jewish and Muslim communities. Yet again, Warren is trying to be a bridge builder, even as the media focus on his ability to sow controversy.
Inauguration: Rick Warren Prays in Name of "Isa," Muslim False "Jesus"
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus (hay-SOOS), who taught us to pray, Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. --Rick Warren, from inauguration prayer
Commentary by Daniel Cordell
Love for the Truth
Out-of-House Writer
[I]n his Presidential Inauguration prayer, Rick Warren prayed in the name of "Yeshua," "Isa" and "Jesus."
It seems, the three names Warren used were to imply the three "Abrahamic Faiths" (as they are so-called), Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
What's significant is the name "Isa" being prayed by the "evangelical" Warren. Isa is strictly Koranic and used by Arab Muslims. Even Arab Christians don't refer to Isa, but to Yesua. I've lived and studied Arabic in one of the same Muslim countries that Warren has visited, and I think he probably knows that the Arab Christian communities only refer to Jesus as "Yesua" and not "Isa" as the Muslims.
Isa was not Jewish, but Palistinian. Isa did not die on the cross but instead had someone die in his place. Isa is a Muslim prophet. Isa is only found in the Koran. The name Isa doesn't have any Biblical support or any meaning found in Biblical scholarship. Yet, Rick prayed in the name of Isa.Click here for source and links to Warren's inauguration transcript.
This article or excerpt was posted on January 21, 2009@ 5:51 pm .
From:
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A word from David Wilkerson
When the children of Israel were going through testing, were they really supposed to express gratitude and thanksgiving in the midst of it? When they were surrounded and in a hopeless situation, did God really expect them to have that kind of reaction?
Yes—absolutely! That was the secret to getting out of their difficulty. You see, God wants something from all of us in our times of overwhelming troubles and testings. He wants us to offer him a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the midst of it all!
I believe James had discovered this secret when he admonished, “…count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations…” (James 1:2). He was saying, “Don’t give up! Make an altar in your heart, and offer up joyous thanksgiving in the midst of your trials.”
Of course the children of Israel did offer the Lord praise and thanksgiving—but they did it on the wrong side of the Red Sea ! Yes, the people rejoiced all night—but God had no pleasure in it. Anybody can shout in gratitude after the victory comes. But the question God was putting to Israel was, “Will you praise me before I send help—while you’re still in the midst of the battle?”
I believe if Israel had rejoiced on the “trial side” of the Red Sea , they wouldn’t have had to be tested again at the waters of Marah. Had they passed the Red Sea test, the waters at Marah wouldn’t have tasted bitter, but sweet. And Israel would have seen water springing up everywhere in the desert, rather than having to go thirsty.
God help us to sing the right song on the testing side of trials. This brings the highest delight to our heavenly Father.
Are you right now going through a most difficult time? Then sing! Praise! Say to the Lord, “You can do it—you delivered me before, you can deliver me now. I rest in joy.”
Yes—absolutely! That was the secret to getting out of their difficulty. You see, God wants something from all of us in our times of overwhelming troubles and testings. He wants us to offer him a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the midst of it all!
I believe James had discovered this secret when he admonished, “…count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations…” (James 1:2). He was saying, “Don’t give up! Make an altar in your heart, and offer up joyous thanksgiving in the midst of your trials.”
Of course the children of Israel did offer the Lord praise and thanksgiving—but they did it on the wrong side of the Red Sea ! Yes, the people rejoiced all night—but God had no pleasure in it. Anybody can shout in gratitude after the victory comes. But the question God was putting to Israel was, “Will you praise me before I send help—while you’re still in the midst of the battle?”
I believe if Israel had rejoiced on the “trial side” of the Red Sea , they wouldn’t have had to be tested again at the waters of Marah. Had they passed the Red Sea test, the waters at Marah wouldn’t have tasted bitter, but sweet. And Israel would have seen water springing up everywhere in the desert, rather than having to go thirsty.
God help us to sing the right song on the testing side of trials. This brings the highest delight to our heavenly Father.
Are you right now going through a most difficult time? Then sing! Praise! Say to the Lord, “You can do it—you delivered me before, you can deliver me now. I rest in joy.”
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Prayer for President Obama
Posted: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 2:00 am ET By Albert Mohler
Our Father, Lord of all creation, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We pray today with a sense of special urgency and responsibility. We come before you to pray for our new President, Barack Obama, and for all those in this new administration who now assume roles of such high responsibility.
We know that you and you alone are sovereign; that you rule over all, and that you alone are able to keep and defend us. We know that our times are in your hands, and that "the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord" [Proverbs 21:1]. Our confidence is in you and in you alone. We come before you as a people who acknowledge our constant need for your provision, wisdom, and protection.
Father, we pray today for Barack Obama as he takes office as President of the United States. We pray that you will show the glory of your name in our times and in these days, confounding the wisdom of the wise, thwarting the plans of the arrogant, and vindicating those who do justice and practice righteousness.
Father, we pray with thanksgiving for the gift of government and the grace of civic order. Thank you for giving us rulers and for knowing our need for laws and and ordered life together. Thank you for this nation and the blessings we know as its citizens. Thank you for freedoms unprecedented in human history. We understand that these freedoms come with unprecedented opportunities.
Lord, we pray with thanksgiving for the joy and celebration reflected on millions of faces who never expected to look to the President of the United States and see a person who looks like themselves. Father, thank you for preserving this nation to the moment when an African-American citizen will take the oath of office and become our President. Thank you for the hope this has given to so many, the pride emerging in hearts that had known no such hope, and the pride that comes to a people who have experienced such pain at the hands of fellow citizens, simply because of the color of their skin. Father, we rejoice in every elderly face that reflects such long-sought satisfaction and in every young face that expresses such unrestrained joy. May this become an open door for a vision of race and human dignity that reflects your glory in our differences, and not our corruption of your gift.
Father, protect this president, we pray. We pray that you will surround this president and his family, along with all our leaders, with your protection and sustenance. May he be protected from evil acts and evil intentions, and may his family be protected from all evil and harm.
We pray that the Obama family will be drawn together as they move into the White House, and that they will know great joy in their family life. We are thankful for the example Barack and Michelle Obama have set as parents. Father, protect those precious girls in every way -- including the protection of their hearts as they see their father often criticized and as he is away from them on business of state. May their years in the White House bring them all even closer together.
Father, we pray for the safety and security of this nation, even as our new president settles into his role as Commander in Chief. We know that you and you alone can be our defense. We do not place our trust in horses or chariots, and we pray that you will give this president wisdom as he fulfills this vital responsibility.
Father, grant him wisdom in every dimension of his vast responsibility. Grant him wisdom to deal with a global financial crisis and with the swirling complex of vexing problems and challenges at home and abroad. May he inspire this nation to a higher vision for our common life together, to a higher standard of justice, righteousness, unity, and the tasks of citizenship.
Father, we pray that you will change this president's heart and mind on issues of urgent concern. We are so thankful for his gifts and talents, for his intellect and power of influence. Father, bend his heart to see the dignity and sanctity of every single human life, from the moment of conception until natural death. Father, lead him to see abortion, not as a matter of misconstrued rights, but as a murderous violation of the right to life. May he come to see every aborted life as a violation of human dignity and every abortion as an abhorrent blight upon this nation's moral witness. May he pledge himself to protect every human life at every stage of development. He has declared himself as an energetic defender of abortion rights, and we fear that his election will lead directly to the deaths of countless unborn human beings. Protect us from this unspeakable evil, we pray. Most urgently, we pray that you will bring the reign of abortion to an end, even as you are the defender of the defenseless.
Father, may this new president see that human dignity is undermined when human embryos are destroyed in the name of medical progress, and may he see marriage as an institution that is vital to the very survival of civilization. May he protect all that is right and good. Father, change his heart where it must be changed, and give him resolve where his heart is right before you.
Father, when we face hard days ahead -- when we find ourselves required by conscience to oppose this president within the bounds of our roles as citizens -- may we be granted your guidance to do so with a proper spirit, with a proper demeanor, and with persuasive arguments. May we learn anew how to confront without demonizing, and to oppose without abandoning hope.
Father, we are aware that our future is in your hands, and we are fully aware that you and you alone will judge the nations. Much responsibility is now invested in President Barack Obama, and much will be required. May we, as Christian citizens, also fulfill what you would require of us. Even as we pray for you to protect this president and change his heart, we also pray that your church will be protected and that you will conform our hearts to your perfect will.
Father, we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, the ever-reigning once and future King, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He and he alone can save, and his kingdom is forever. Above all, may your great name be praised. Amen.
_________________________
Christians are, first of all, citizens of a heavenly kingdom. The followers of Christ know no allegiance of ultimate rank to any government or earthly authority. Yet, the Bible clearly teaches that God has given us the gifts of law, government, and ruling authorities for our good. We are instructed to pray for "rulers and all who have authority" and to be faithful in praying "so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God" [1 Timothy 2:2].
As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office and become the 44th President of the United States, Christians should be thinking about how to pray for the new President. I offer this prayer as a place to start, as we observe the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States together.
Our Father, Lord of all creation, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We pray today with a sense of special urgency and responsibility. We come before you to pray for our new President, Barack Obama, and for all those in this new administration who now assume roles of such high responsibility.
We know that you and you alone are sovereign; that you rule over all, and that you alone are able to keep and defend us. We know that our times are in your hands, and that "the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord" [Proverbs 21:1]. Our confidence is in you and in you alone. We come before you as a people who acknowledge our constant need for your provision, wisdom, and protection.
Father, we pray today for Barack Obama as he takes office as President of the United States. We pray that you will show the glory of your name in our times and in these days, confounding the wisdom of the wise, thwarting the plans of the arrogant, and vindicating those who do justice and practice righteousness.
Father, we pray with thanksgiving for the gift of government and the grace of civic order. Thank you for giving us rulers and for knowing our need for laws and and ordered life together. Thank you for this nation and the blessings we know as its citizens. Thank you for freedoms unprecedented in human history. We understand that these freedoms come with unprecedented opportunities.
Lord, we pray with thanksgiving for the joy and celebration reflected on millions of faces who never expected to look to the President of the United States and see a person who looks like themselves. Father, thank you for preserving this nation to the moment when an African-American citizen will take the oath of office and become our President. Thank you for the hope this has given to so many, the pride emerging in hearts that had known no such hope, and the pride that comes to a people who have experienced such pain at the hands of fellow citizens, simply because of the color of their skin. Father, we rejoice in every elderly face that reflects such long-sought satisfaction and in every young face that expresses such unrestrained joy. May this become an open door for a vision of race and human dignity that reflects your glory in our differences, and not our corruption of your gift.
Father, protect this president, we pray. We pray that you will surround this president and his family, along with all our leaders, with your protection and sustenance. May he be protected from evil acts and evil intentions, and may his family be protected from all evil and harm.
We pray that the Obama family will be drawn together as they move into the White House, and that they will know great joy in their family life. We are thankful for the example Barack and Michelle Obama have set as parents. Father, protect those precious girls in every way -- including the protection of their hearts as they see their father often criticized and as he is away from them on business of state. May their years in the White House bring them all even closer together.
Father, we pray for the safety and security of this nation, even as our new president settles into his role as Commander in Chief. We know that you and you alone can be our defense. We do not place our trust in horses or chariots, and we pray that you will give this president wisdom as he fulfills this vital responsibility.
Father, grant him wisdom in every dimension of his vast responsibility. Grant him wisdom to deal with a global financial crisis and with the swirling complex of vexing problems and challenges at home and abroad. May he inspire this nation to a higher vision for our common life together, to a higher standard of justice, righteousness, unity, and the tasks of citizenship.
Father, we pray that you will change this president's heart and mind on issues of urgent concern. We are so thankful for his gifts and talents, for his intellect and power of influence. Father, bend his heart to see the dignity and sanctity of every single human life, from the moment of conception until natural death. Father, lead him to see abortion, not as a matter of misconstrued rights, but as a murderous violation of the right to life. May he come to see every aborted life as a violation of human dignity and every abortion as an abhorrent blight upon this nation's moral witness. May he pledge himself to protect every human life at every stage of development. He has declared himself as an energetic defender of abortion rights, and we fear that his election will lead directly to the deaths of countless unborn human beings. Protect us from this unspeakable evil, we pray. Most urgently, we pray that you will bring the reign of abortion to an end, even as you are the defender of the defenseless.
Father, may this new president see that human dignity is undermined when human embryos are destroyed in the name of medical progress, and may he see marriage as an institution that is vital to the very survival of civilization. May he protect all that is right and good. Father, change his heart where it must be changed, and give him resolve where his heart is right before you.
Father, when we face hard days ahead -- when we find ourselves required by conscience to oppose this president within the bounds of our roles as citizens -- may we be granted your guidance to do so with a proper spirit, with a proper demeanor, and with persuasive arguments. May we learn anew how to confront without demonizing, and to oppose without abandoning hope.
Father, we are aware that our future is in your hands, and we are fully aware that you and you alone will judge the nations. Much responsibility is now invested in President Barack Obama, and much will be required. May we, as Christian citizens, also fulfill what you would require of us. Even as we pray for you to protect this president and change his heart, we also pray that your church will be protected and that you will conform our hearts to your perfect will.
Father, we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, the ever-reigning once and future King, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He and he alone can save, and his kingdom is forever. Above all, may your great name be praised. Amen.
_________________________
Christians are, first of all, citizens of a heavenly kingdom. The followers of Christ know no allegiance of ultimate rank to any government or earthly authority. Yet, the Bible clearly teaches that God has given us the gifts of law, government, and ruling authorities for our good. We are instructed to pray for "rulers and all who have authority" and to be faithful in praying "so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God" [1 Timothy 2:2].
As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office and become the 44th President of the United States, Christians should be thinking about how to pray for the new President. I offer this prayer as a place to start, as we observe the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States together.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A girl's gotta vent!
Earlier today I was watching the inauguration of our Governor Joe Manchin's second term on tv. The news casters were discussing how many states have decided to forgo all the pomp and circumstance of inauguration festivities due to the economy. This led to them discussing the fact that WV has a surplus in our state budget and our inauguration festivities are costing around a million dollars. Maybe I am being silly maybe some people enjoy these balls, parades, ceremonies and parties but I feel like this could have been done simply in the capital without all the fuss and this money could have been used elsewhere.
Now this little inauguration in my state pales in comparison to the millions I believe I heard today upwards of 100's of millions of dollars for the most expensive presidential inauguration to date. Mind you while we are in the worst economic situation since the depression. Sure a portion of the inauguration is payed for by private donor's but not all of it, we get to bail out everyone from auto makers to bankers and possibly porn makers and foot the bill for the most expensive inauguration in history. While the common man cuts out necessary items from the grocery cart, decides whether to pay the electric bill or buy groceries, worries about loosing or finding a job. Our pastor said it well the other day, it used to be the American dream when really it is more like the American curse. Lord Jesus forgive them for they know not what they do and please come quickly.
Oh and P.S. What is up with the Peanut Butter? Is there nothing that we can safely eat?
Sincerely disgusted,
Lucy
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