Rapture Force

Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet

2007-09-25T23:08:00.001-05:00

When the Holy Spirit weaves a specific subject into different areas of your life that normally would not touch each other you can probably know that He is trying to get a point across. One such occurrence has happened to me recently.

Do you ever get the idea that people are not listening to you? At least those who are within your circle of influence ...?

When I began this blog a year ago I felt that the Holy Spirit wanted me to speak out against contemplative spirituality.

In the last 12 or so months, I have tried to do just that. But even more than that ... the dangers associated with and the reason why contemplative spirituality exists seem to have come full circle for me and hopefully for you.

I have learned that people indeed are looking but they also try to create an atmosphere for God that has absolutely nothing to do with God and even sometimes is an abomination to God. They have "relied" on what those "learned" people around them have told them and have forgotten that the instruction manual exists right in front of them. I am talking about the inspired Word of God.

Back in February of this year, I embarked on what I would call an audacious task for me. While I have read and studied different parts of Scripture at different times in my life, I had never (up until that point) read the Bible cover to cover. I began with Genesis and I will finish with Revelation.

No, I did not want to take "forever" to do this, so my deadline became December 31st of this year. As of this point I have completed reading Genesis through Ezekiel. There may be some of you saying out there ... "Yea ... So What ... ?"

That is a valid question ... There has been a very valuable lesson I have learned through this task and one which I don't believe I could have realized without reading the Bible in this order or fashion. The Lesson is this ... There is absolutely NOTHING that God has left out of His Word and I am talking practical application.

What is awe inspiring to me is that this book was written beginning more than 3000 years ago and was completed more than 1900 years ago and it is still relevant to our lives today in the year 2007.

So back to what prompted this article ... Within the last month or so, my pastor gave a sermon on the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3:12-27) - Please be sure to read it for yourself, for space sake I will not reprint it here. In a nutshell, the lesson learned was that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to the 90 foot statue and God Himself delivered them from the effects of the Fiery Furnace.

My pastor made a few points in his sermon at the heart of which was we have a choice to make ... To obey God or man.

Romans 12:2 (KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The world's methodology pressures us to conform to the world's standards but when we read and study Scripture consistently, a different standard develops, one in which we seek to do that which is pleasing to God and according to His will. What comes natural out of the process is obeying God.

Typically on Monday's another Prophecy website puts out a 30-40 page pdf document appropriately named "The Insider Report" ...

The weekly Insider Report is made available to individuals who subscribe to it. Recently one of it's regular featured author's wrote an article which he titled ... "Walking by Faith, Flying by Instruments" ...

The premise of the article can be summed up from one simple sentence in the article ... "The weather was abominable and we were virtually flying on instruments from take-off" ... With little thought hopefully you can determine that where the article went was that life can and will be abominable but the instrument we fly by is the Word of God, the Bible.

The last such occurrence that made me stand up and take notice was in a class that I am taking. The subject which we were talking about was "What is more important to God than His name?"

The bottom line of the discussion was that God's Word is more important. It is only through the study of Scripture that we can know who God is and what His plan for our life is. Hopefully you can see the common thread through each of these occurrences is the Word of God.

If you doubt what I say, consider what God inspired John the apostle to write in the Gospel according to John ...

John 1:1 (KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 (KJV) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

It is through God's Word that Jesus is revealed for Who He is, What He did and Who He will be in the age to come. Truthfully, Scripture comes alive in the Person of Christ Jesus who has and will again dwell among us.

A couple of things in the news recently really bothered me ... I believe that at the heart of these two stories is what a lack of knowledge and failure to study certain parts or all of the Word of God can lead to.

One news story shows us that men who have chosen to embrace man's wisdom and chose to disregard pertinent parts of the Bible have failed to discern the Truth of God's Word entirely. In my humble opinion, people who choose to do this are at a huge disadvantage and also erroneous when making such claims as they did in this following story and the letter they wrote to President Bush.

The first article I am speaking of, was written about a group of so called evangelical Christian leaders who wrote a letter to President Bush telling him that the majority of Christians support a two state solution in the middle east for the Palestinian People and the Hebrew People.

To read the article from the New York Times and also the Letter click on the embedded links.

Had these supposed leaders read the book of Ezekiel in chapters 37 and 38, they would know that God promised to bring Israel back into the land which He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that after such event (which is to occur in the latter times) an everlasting covenant will be made and God will set His sanctuary among His chosen people Israel forevermore. And likewise these leaders would know that Bible believing and Bible teaching Christians do NOT support a two state solution within the area designated as Israel.

Ezekiel 37:21-22 (KJV) "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:"

Ezekiel 37:25-26 (KJV) "And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore."

Ezekiel 38:8 (KJV) "After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them."

The other item in the news recently was regarding a book about Mother Teresa ... The title of the book said to be co-authored by Mother Teresa is called ... "Mother Teresa - Come Be My Light" ... The book hit shelves earlier this month and Time magazine did a cover story about the writings of Mother Teresa contained in the book.

While the likes of Time magazine and the L.A. Times sought sensationalistic headlines, I believe beyond the news story itself we see a life that while given to tremendous work for others, still lacked a true spiritual calling that comes when one knows Jesus Christ as the Light of their own world. This same life exemplified sadly what I believe is a misguided soul at best, because she knew not the joy that comes with saving others from eternal darkness and separation from Christ.

I don't know if Mother Teresa read the Bible or not but quite simply if she had perhaps she would have seen for herself the reason for the darkness in her soul. She would have also seen men like Job, who lost everything and still praised God, or Paul and Silas, who while locked in a prison cell witnessed to other prisoners and a guard about Jesus. What she would have seen that while these men were challenged they still had light NOT darkness and joy NOT emptiness in their lives. They never doubted for a minute that the Saviour of their heart and the Redeemer of their soul was right there with them.

Consider some of these quotes from the book that I found in various articles on the web ... "I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul." ... "Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear." ... "I spoke as if my very heart was in love with God — tender, personal love," she remarks to an adviser. "If you were [there], you would have said, 'What hypocrisy.'" ... “In my soul I feel just that terrible pain of loss — of God not wanting me — of God not being God — of God not really existing,”

I know that there are people who will disagree with me. Do I doubt that Mother Teresa was doing a good thing? No I don't, but my heart is sad because in my mind from the Scriptures I have read and studied, the darkness she says she experienced can only point to one thing amidst the things she did for the poorest of poor in Calcutta ...

Mother Teresa was missing the joy a heart experiences when we give selflessly as a servant of Christ Jesus AFTER we have accepted Him as our LORD and Saviour. Yes of course this saddens me, but when it comes right down to it, in everything they do the RCC promotes salvation based upon works.

I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church and up until the very early part of the year 2001, I participated in all the "sacraments" and attended church regularly. My husband and I were married in the RCC and our first child was baptized in the RCC.

One of the things that prompted us to leave the RCC was a void and I would even say a "spiritual darkness" that existed in my heart and my husband's; The only way I can describe it is that there was a yearning for the Word of God. We wanted to learn more and know more Scripture and it was not being provided for us in the RCC. We have never looked back from having left the RCC in spite of the fact that both sides of our families still remain in the RCC.

Having been outside of the RCC for more than 6 1/2 years now, I can say that when I read the Time magazine article my first thoughts were whether or not Mother Teresa knew Jesus as her LORD and Saviour. Truthfully, I make that statement as an honest objective observer.

Scripture quite clearly tells us that our lives "in Christ" will not be easy and there will be sacrifices ... Perhaps this is best exemplified in the conversion and subsequent life of Paul who eventually was martyred for his faith and belief in Jesus Christ and the spreading of the Gospel to the Gentiles ... Paul, who to begin with persecuted and murdered the first Christians and then was dramatically converted on the road to Damascus, had periods of time where things were not easy for him, but he found joy in his work for the Saviour.

Romans 5:11 (KJV) "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

2 Corinthians 7:4 (KJV) "Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation."

You may be asking, Where is she going with this? My point is quite simply this ... Our joy is complete just as the joy of God is complete when we receive Jesus Christ as our LORD and Saviour and desire His will more than our own. As such no matter how much we go through, there is joy not darkness in our hearts.

In the RCC we gave and gave and gave in our own ways. I taught Religious Education classes for over 5 years; I helped within the parish that my husband and I were married in ... Not just teaching Religious Education, but also coordinating the ministers of communion (with my husband and father-in-law) and working with my husband in starting and setting up for a new Sunday evening service; we also served in many different ministries within our RCC parish, right up until the weekend when we decided to leave the RCC.

But as I mentioned before the works were never enough and my husband and I still felt a void in our hearts.

That void was not filled until Jesus became my LORD and Saviour. The Holy Spirit used the fact that I (as well as my husband) were not receiving the complete truth of Scripture to place a yearning in our hearts for the Word of God. The rest as they say is history, we have not looked back and while there have been challenges within our life, our peace and joy have been made complete in Jesus our Saviour.

Please know that what I am about to say is not intended in any way to suggest our struggles are any different than anyone else's struggles or tribulations. I only offer them as example nothing more. In these years since leaving the RCC we have gone through a period of unemployment for my husband, a difficult pregnancy that resulted in pre-term labor and the premature delivery of our second child. There was also an injury at my husband's work that left us financially challenged and him home on a reduced worker's compensation pay for more than a month.

When it comes right down to it God has always provided and no matter what the challenge has been we have always been able to look back and see God's presence in our life and period's of joy to help us through the circumstances of life.

When one looks at the writings of Mother Teresa objectively, I believe that while we perhaps can see reason for her being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize albeit a secular award ... A darkness that she felt emerges and it leaves one to wonder.

Everything I see in Scripture associates Jesus with Light and not with darkness, which is precisely why I am concerned. Sin and father of sin (Satan), is associated with darkness. Do I believe that Mother Teresa is in Heaven? I honestly don't know ... What I do believe is that if she realized and said as much, that she was still a sinner in need of a Saviour and accepted Jesus as the One who died for her sins on the cross in Calvary than yes she is in Heaven. But if she died believing her good works would earn her the right to eternity in Heaven than she is lost. Only God knows where her soul resides at this moment.

I will leave you with some Scriptures regarding the Light of our LORD Jesus Christ ... By the way, the title of this article is also a Scripture quote ... Psalms 119:105 (KJV) "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Psalms 27:1 (KJV) "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalms 36:9 (KJV) "For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light."

Psalms 43:3 (KJV) "O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles."

Psalms 97:11 (KJV) "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."

Psalms 112:4 (KJV) "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."

John 8:12 (KJV) "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

John 12:46 (KJV) "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."

Amidst the desire of our redeemed heart to be used by God comes a hope and trust no matter what the trial or tribulation is that makes our joy complete in Him.

Jehovah - Raah "The LORD my Shepherd"

This One Hits the Nail on the Head

2007-06-29T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

The article which is linked at the end of this introduction is an absolute must read please be sure to check out the original article ...

Are your priests or pastors preaching the Gospel on Sunday? ... My pastor preaches this on Sunday's, in fact he preaches it every Sunday. The Gospel is clear. In fact my pastor has said the reason Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are referred to as "The Gospel of ..." is because they all contain the events surrounding the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, His burial and His resurrection. Everything centers around those facts of the Gospel.

Without knowing that we all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God and that we need Jesus to forgive us, we would end up in the eternal fires. As a Christian who feel's my assignment is to spread the Gospel and do my part of the Great Commission, if I do not tell someone that they cannot earn their way to Heaven, or that they need Jesus, because He is the Only Way, Truth and Life, or that Jesus as God became Man to die on the Cross for my sins and all the sins of mankind ...

How are they going to know?

Literally millions of people are sitting in the pews of today's seeker sensitive churches but they do not have to worry that someone is going to point the finger at them and say your a sinner, but at what cost are they thankful. What is left? When we compromise the Gospel by not telling the whole Truth souls are lost ... I may offend you with telling you the whole Truth, but I am willing to risk that at the expense of sharing with you what you need to know to spend eternity in Heaven.

Each and every one of you are so important to me, if you don't know Jesus and have not trusted in Him to forgive your sins, you are lost and on a path that lead's to destruction. How about those of you who have been saved, will you tell someone the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth? ...

That Jesus said,

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." (John 14:6 KJV) ...

That Jesus said,

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17 KJV)

Please don't disregard this ... It is the difference between life and death ... I realize that the following article is addressed to Southern Baptist Pastors, but we know there are other churches out there, which are not Southern Baptist that have the seeker sensitive philosophy ...

The last church I personally attended was one such church, which was the reason my family and I left it.

KIRK CAMERON WARNS SOUTHERN BAPTIST PASTORS OF THE SEEKER SENSITIVE PHILOSOPHY

Why do I use the King James Bible?

2007-06-29T10:45:00.000-05:00

Some might wonder, why do I use the King James Bible only? ... Just a bit of history, that I found interesting, and just learned recently (I really did not value history as much in high school, as I do now as an adult). The translation of the King James Version of the Bible was authorized by King James in 1611. It is this same King James for whom the first settlement in the United States, Jamestown, Virginia was named 400 years ago.

The KJV is a bible based upon a formal literal equivalence translation from the original language it was written in, it seeks to render a word-for-word translation ... the other versions out there are either paraphrased from the original and often involve the greatest degree of subjective interpretation (allowing for the highest degree of human error) and yet there are also other versions that while they are not paraphrases they take into account the dynamics of what is said also allowing for varying degrees of subjective interpretation. For this reason, I will always use the King James version text when posting Scripture in an article I write, and likewise when something other than the KJV has been used in other article postings, I will be sure to add the same Scripture as it is said in the King James.

That said, I hope each of you reading this post will understand my heart on this ... The Holy Spirit is given as a deposit to those of us who believe in, have accepted and trusted in Jesus Christ for our salvation ...

2 Corinthians 1:19-22 (KJV) "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."

It is the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us from the moment that we accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and LORD.

1 Corinthians 3:16 (KJV) "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

When Paul wrote this first of two letters to the Christians in Corinth, the church of Corinth was struggling to say the least. They had problems with fornication (1 Corinthians 5:1-6), were associating with people who claimed to be Christian but were not as evidenced by the fruit they bore (1 Corinthians 5:9-11). Paul had to remind them that the Holy Spirit was dwelling within them.

By now you are probably asking where is she going with this ... Man's knowledge and interpretation as seen predominantly in other versions of the Bible, is foolishness. God made clear how He would respond to this ...

1 Corinthians 1:19-20 (KJV) "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

We can trust that the Holy Spirit, who lives unencumbered within a Christian who honestly desires to live in a manner pleasing to our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ, will guide our reading and studying of Scripture to the practical application of our lives without having to rely on subjective opinions of man who has sought to interpret meaning based upon human understanding and worldly wisdom, and personal desire.

This is why I use the King James Bible!!!

What do Oprah, Hollywood, and Two New Bibles have in common?

2007-03-19T23:05:00.000-05:00

They are all being used by Satan to deceive millions. Nothing new for this blog, right? So what exactly am I referring to here? I will explain. First, there has been much talk lately about a DVD launch based upon a book by Rhonda Byrne called "The Secret". Oprah has both endorsed and promoted the DVD on her talk show as a means to achieving your goals and aspirations. Likewise, Ellen Degeneres and Larry King too have promoted this DVD. Now being a woman, I can suggest with relative certainty that, don't we all just love a secret? Well, in this case NOT!!! By now all of you know how I feel about new age mystic contemplative emerging church spirituality thing and you probably wonder why am I bothering to devote additional article space to this subject. Well, the obvious answer is that the Bible says we are to expose false teaching. That said, the not so obvious answer is ...! Keep reading to find out ...!

A short while ago, I sent out an email to a few dozen recipients concerning Oprah's endorsement and promotion of "The Secret"; When I sent out the email, I had one particular person in mind ... this lady is into new age mysticism especially through what she terms "Christian Reiki". That said, it was her reply to me, that prompted me to write this blog article which has been in the pipeline for a short while now. Through the daily comings and goings and correspondence with people, I have come to understand over the last several months, that many unrealizing people continue to be deceived because they have chosen to trust their priest or pastor or someone else. Instead of trusting God's Word, they have trusted man and his commentary. Sometimes I just do not understand why people fall for this mystical stuff. Now follow me here a minute ... I will be 40 years old at the end of next month ... I remember as a young girl, being told don't just do whatever because everyone else is doing it. Life as a young girl was simple, certainly not what it is like as an adult, but yet we were warned don't do it just because everyone else is doing it ... Jesus gives us the same warning in His own terminology ...

Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV)
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The more people doing the same thing, the wider the gate and broader the way; oh boy many are being led to destruction!!! Perhaps, this is best exemplified in the email reply I received ... "Thanks Denise, This is the "Hottest" subject out there TODAY! I appreciate you!" ... I emailed back asking for clarification (on what the hottest subject out there is), and never received a reply. This lady, quite easily could have been referring to a number of subjects. 1) Oprah herself (of which I know that she is an avid fan and regular viewer of her weekday talk show); 2) the achieving your goals and aspirations idea behind the DVD; 3) or something entirely different. Either way, I never received a reply to my question. That said, in terms of her "I appreciate you!" statement, I have a feeling that her definition and my definition of "appreciate" are not the same. You can read about Oprah and The Secret, here.

Second, it is no secret that Hollywood has been introducing such paranormal type television programs as "Medium", "Ghost Whisperer", "That's So Raven", and many others for some time now; this includes a new show which premiered last week called "Raines" about a guy that sees and talks to dead murder victims. And as if that is not enough, Oscar winning director James Cameron of "Titanic" fame claims to have found the remains of Jesus and his family. Well, to put it plainly and as a fellow Christian brother suggested recently, I don't know who or what Jesus you found James but it is not MY JESUS because HE IS ALIVE. Click here, to read Brett's article Jesus WHO?

Quite obviously, this supposed documentary of the remains of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and their supposed son "Judah" is meant to offer proof that there was no Resurrection. Honestly, didn't these guys know that "The DaVinci Code" is fiction? Part of the show, as I understand it (I did not waste anytime watching it myself), focused in on the probabilities that this had to be the tomb of Jesus Christ because this combination of names within the same family is very rare.

Personally, I believe there is a 100% probability that Dan Brown, James Cameron and Tom Hanks have the same agenda. Likewise I also believe there is 0% probability that Jesus Christ was buried in that tomb. Even the man who originally found the tomb back in the 1980's says that it is in no way connected to Jesus Christ. And like I said Jesus Christ Is Alive, so there is no way His remains were found in any tomb anywhere. But as usual Hollywood will pick up whatever piece of trash that it can and run with it because by and large, Hollywood is filled with a bunch of hypocrites. That said, even the Discovery Channel has since pulled back from it's original zeal exhibited when it first began to promote the program.

Finally within the last month or so, two new "Bibles" have been introduced to the world. The first, we learned about a short while ago - Tim Fleming is offering a free download of a bible for the Homosexual Community, which supposedly includes a new book (based upon a prophecy given in the year 2000) called "God's New Law" ... Hmmm ... A Bible for Homosexual's? ... As you might guess, according to the homosexual bible, sodomy is no longer a sin and neither is fornication. Apparently, a homosexual is offered salvation based upon the mental anguish they have suffered ... Give me a break, is this Fleming guy for real?

I have but one comment to this guy ... if you want to convince yourself and the homosexual community that their sacrifices for mental anguish is the reason they are being offered salvation, than go right ahead, but I hope you have also invested in a fire proof suit for where you are going ... the offer of salvation has nothing to do with anything anyone (heterosexual or homosexual) has sacrificed. The offer of salvation has everything to do with One Man's (Jesus Christ's) sacrifice on the Cross and His Resurrection. To even suggest that the mental anguish of one homosexual or an entire planet of homosexual's even comes close to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is blasphemy at the very least. Without question, this is just a different way of suggesting that a person (homosexual or otherwise) can earn their way to Heaven.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Incidentally, homosexuality (or sodomy) is an abomination to God and rewriting the bible will not change that.

1 Timothy 1:9-10 (KJV)

9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

The second new bible that has been introduced is claiming that Jesus was born of a gorilla, not a virgin. Here's a hypothesis ... If James Cameron checks that tomb again maybe he will find gorilla bones too, so that everyone can be on the same page. Hey why not ... as the saying goes isn't truth stranger than fiction? People all over the world would rather believe a famous Hollywood director and actor and some New Age faith guru woman who has designed a book for all types of religions ...

Ok Let's talk about this second new bible a bit; not only does this woman rewrite the bible claiming that this is a "Bible for skeptics, seekers and people of different faiths ..." she adds new parables to the gospel's including one so-called ... Parable of the Gorilla ... A Bible for Skeptic's? ... Oh come on! Really? ... but that is not all of course, God's Creation of the Earth, was not spoken into existence as the Genesis account details ... According to the author this "postmodern" Bible bases it's views on Darwin's theory of evolution. Can you imagine, a big bang gave rise to the parable of the gorilla? Well that is exactly what this bible for skeptic's wants for you to believe.

Hebrews 13:8-9 (KJV)
(8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (9) Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

That said, I guess you all are wondering what this has to do with end times prophecy. It is an honest question. I am concerned for the many people who find themselves willing to believe whatever is out there. I was once in that group of people, I trusted man's knowledge and man's views and interpretations, rather than in God's word. Perhaps why I am so concerned about this now is because there is a calm. But a storm is coming. I don't say this because I necessarily have any feeling as such, but it would seem since the things which took place that I am chronicling in this article that there has been a proverbial slow down. That said, we see the signs and we know with some certainty because we have and continue to study the Scriptures that there is a storm coming.

Time in the relative sense is short ... it is Nearing the Midnight hour ... if your house is not in order it is way past time ... in but a moment your eternal destiny can change ... when we see a storm coming, we run for cover. The only cover we can have, the only shelter from this storm, is Jesus Christ. He can and will protect you from the coming storm if you will only trust in Him. The is no preparation that is involved, you cannot do anything in order to achieve salvation. To begin with you have to admit that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour.

Scripture says no one is righteous, no not one (Romans 3:23) ... "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." ... We cannot earn our way to Heaven or eternal life without Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our sins ... 1 John 2:2 says "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." ... 1 John 4:10 says "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." ...

Believe in Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done (John 3:16-17) ... (16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (17) "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Pray to Jesus, ask Him into your life, ask Him to forgive your sins, ask Him to be in control of your life, He knows what is best for you. Ask Him to keep you from the storm which is on the horizon. This world and this life is not all there is. Heaven is not a guarantee, you must trust in Jesus to receive the gift of eternal life.

1 John 1:9 (KJV)
9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

We stand as watchman upon the wall, warning of that which could comes in a very short while, remaining steadfast and true. As my pastor said a short while ago in conversation, "I am watching and waiting for the Rapture". Nothing remains that must be fulfilled.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 (KJV)
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

1 Thessalonians 5:6-10 (KJV)
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

Jehovah Shalom - The LORD our Peace

Jesus WHO?

2007-03-01T18:21:00.000-06:00

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged and as it would turn out today's entry is not even my own. Brett Foster is a friend whom I have known for a few years now. In actuality, he is the one who began the original website that has now grown into several sister sites. He has shared this story dozens of times and so I know he will not mind me sharing it with you now. Originally, he designed a website to be a place for people (within the town he lives in and serves as a town councilman) to receive information and voice opinions. What Brett soon found out was that God had a different plan in mind for the website. As a result Prophecy Central was born some 4 years ago. Brett is a strong hearted Christian, who serves our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ everyday. I know after you read his article, that you too will see that he takes Scripture and Truth as seriously as I do. As he demonstrated more than 4 years ago and even through this article today, Brett's main focus is to serve Jesus Christ. We hope you enjoy the article ...

Jesus WHO?
by Brett Foster

Wow! Somebody finally found Jesus…well it’s about time! According to Titanic director and apparent “buffoon” (my word…God would say “fool”) James Cameron, he’s found Jesus and his whole happy family, and he can prove it.

Hey James, did you ask God for a DNA sample? What the heck, we’ll just take your word for it, since you are a highly acclaimed Hollywood director. We all know if a Hollywood elite says it, or an ex vice-president, it must be true. Thanks for the Internet Al. Don’t get me started on the global warming nonsense.

I’m about as interested in seeing this “made up” story, as watching another news clip about Anna Nicole…what’s her name?

I don’t write many articles, but I haven’t felt this agitated since a black-robed tyrant stopped a mother from feeding and caring for her handicapped child, Terry Schiavo. We watched, as Terry died a slow and painful death. But don’t get me started on that one either.

That said, I have some bad news for Mr. Cameron; Jesus is alive! That’s right, he plays for the Oakland A’s…Jesus (De la Cruz) Colome. I read it online (thanks Al)…it must be true.

I wonder how many people named Jesus were alive 2000 years ago? Well, my Bible tells me that “He is Risen”…Jesus the CHRIST that is. So if the bones in that tomb belong to a guy named Jesus…cool, it’s just not MY JESUS.

Yes, you’re detecting a little sarcasm, but it’s necessary to demonstrate the absurdity of Mr. Cameron’s claim. What next James? Are you going to start performing great signs and miracles…fire from Heaven perhaps? Rev 13:13

Sorry James, we walk by “Faith”, not by sight, 2 Cor 5:7 . So, show and say what you must. We will be here to expose your foolishness until “in the blink of an eye”, your most outspoken Christian critics go “poof”, and then you have to decide whether or not you will have that little microchip placed in your right hand. Rev 13:16

Luke 21:35
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

As Christians we will have many more battles to fight, but this is one we must fight. It’s time for us “fundamental” Christians, to wake up the “nominal” Christians, and get them in on this fight.

The Lord will not pull us out, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, until every soul that the He has called, has come to the foot of the Cross. We know that these are the “last days”, and that this is the “generation that shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled”. So, as we watch the skies for His return, we must continue to put on our armour, Ephesians 6:12-14 , and get back into the fight. This means YOU!

2 Timothy 2:3 (King James Version)
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

We must continue to “fight the good fight of faith”, because the real Jesus is coming very soon…JESUS THE CHRIST that is!!! He has given us specific instructions and warnings to prepare us for the times we live in now.

There are hundreds of scripture verses I could cite here, but 2 Tim 4:1-5 really says it the best. It is a charge to YOU as a Christian brother or sister.

2 Timothy 4
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

In Christ’s Love and Service,

Brett Foster
http://www.prophecy-central.net/
http://www.raptureforce.com/
bfoster@brettfoster.net

Follow the Lamb

2006-12-31T23:50:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone and a blessed New Year to you all; I love when the calendar rolls around to January 1st because inherently it becomes the first day for a year of new beginnings. Within the last 24 to 48 hours there have been a number of comments which were added to the article which I titled “Opening and Closing Doors” and honestly I have been going back and forth between whether to write a new article or just post a comment to what you have been saying and asking. Well I am going to do both, but with one twist to the article you are reading here now.

I am going to take a little bit of artistic license here and suggest that most people (myself included) need to hear something repeated about 5-7 times before it is commited to their memory. By the time this article posts 2006 in the central standard timezone will just about gone and 2007 will be almost here. A new beginning. My pastor this morning challenged us to “follow the Lamb” evenmoreso in ’07 than we did ’06. So the theme of this article, which ties in with the comment I left to the last article is … Will you defend Jesus Christ and His Word (or) someone else? Will you “follow the Lamb” (or) someone else?

Wow, all I can say is, you all are a really determined people. Ok, fair enough, I guess I have to answer. I deleted the Rob Bell comment from yesterday (December 30th) because Rob Bell is a false teacher who promotes, endorses and practices new age eastern religious-type methodologies.

For the record, the comment which was left said and I quote to the best of my knowledge … "Rob Bell is a good teacher and defender of the faith" … My answer to that is Rob Bell is a teacher of everything but sound Biblical teachings; every one of his teachings goes against the Word of God; the only faith that Rob Bell defends is one based upon new age religion which has absolutely nothing to do with the Word of God or true Biblical Christianity. Rob Bell, as a so called pastor to seekers of Jesus Christ, should know (if he has studied the Word of God) that a Christian should not have anything to do with any of these type practices.

I need to make an addendum to the previous paragraph, so I am applying this edit just before 9 a.m. CST on Monday, January 1st, 2007. I was incorrect with the quote I provided as the comment which I deleted - I found it in a place that I had forgotten about - the comment from an anonymous source was "rob bell rules and is a good teacher and deliverer of the faith". To an extent, I am thankful that I found the comment because it details the exact point which I am trying to make in this article ... Last time I checked Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and Jesus Christ rules; Jesus Christ is the only deliverer of my Christian faith. Jesus Christ delivered you and me and every person past, present and future from certain death as the punishment for our sins.

If any of you believe that Rob Bell is a deliverer of the faith than you have been at the very least deceived and at worst been taught by a false teacher teaching a false doctrine which has eternal consequences. Jesus Christ walked this earth more than 2000 years ago to pay the price for the sins of the world past, present and future. The Bible is clear the price for our sins is death and not one person past, present or future is without sin. Jesus Christ is the Sacrificial Lamb of God ... without blemish, undefiled, perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus Christ delivered us from certain death by accepting death on the Cross.

Romans 5:19-21 (KJV) -

19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (KJV) -

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That said,when I read the comment, my initial thought was to write another article for my blog. However, rather than starting a debate which would detract from what I believe God is trying to accomplish through this blog, I deleted the comment instead. I am not seeking to inflate or build my own ego through the comments which I have left on this blog. Anyone who knows me, knows that my motivation for this blog has been to help other people see that they are being deceived.

Rob Bell is a false teacher; he uses methodologies and practices to further enhance a religious experience which allows for Satan and his minions to bring about changes within a person. This is done through types of practices such as nooma breathing (a mantra type breath prayer which can evolve into TM), contemplative prayer which has at it's core very basic levels of transcendental meditation (TM) which involves various altered states of consciousness. Have any of you ever heard of spirit guides? Well Brian Flynn was a spirit medium who dabbled in all the different new age type stuff that Rob Bell does and has been transformed by Jesus Christ and abandoned the new age and become a true believer in Jesus Christ. His website tells about his personal experience … http://www.onetruthministries.com/

Beyond that, the Word of God condemns these types of practices. When Saul used a spirit medium to conjure up Samuel in the OT God had Saul and his sons killed in battle the next day and Israel was handed over to the Philistines as a result of the battle. See - 1 Samuel 28:3, 7-20 (KJV) - and 1 Samuel 31: 1-6 (KJV). Here are several NT references as well ...

Ephesians 5:9-17 (KJV) -

9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Galatians 5:18-21 (KJV)-

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:8 (KJV)-

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Regarding comments on gossip and people bashing ... each of the experiences which I have wrote about here I have directly experienced myself and as such I am relating my experiences so that perhaps someone else can relate to what I have written here. Honestly, as far as people bashing goes, I have not named names with the exception of high profile people such Rob Bell, and other emerging church type people. The reason their names have been given is because literally millions of people are being deceived by a few. The people that are listening to Rob Bell and others don't even know that what they are getting in terms of a faith is wrong. Instead of getting solid Biblical truth and teachings they are getting caught up in meditative nooma type breathing and mystical experiences and entering into altered states of consciousness.

All of you are quick to defend Rob Bell and what he does; are all of you willing to defend Jesus Christ and what He did? Jesus Christ was ridiculed, criticized, betrayed and crucified for what He said and did. Even though He knew from the beginning of time, that He would be born just so that He could be crucified not for anything He did but to pay the price for what you and I and all people past, present and future did, He still came as God in human form to be the sacrifice for our sins. What He endured for me and every person past, present and future gives me strength to endure. Jesus Christ is my Saviour and my Lord and my strength when I am weak, my comfort when I am sad, my joy when I am weary. Jesus Christ has given me hope for yesterday, today and tomorrow because I know that I will spend eternity with Him.

Yes, Jesus Christ is Lord Most High. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jehovah Elohim. Do you know Him as the One who died for your sins?

As this new year 2007 unfolds I want to ask myself and I hope that you will ask yourself too … Will you defend Jesus Christ and His Word (or) someone else? and Will you “follow the Lamb” (or) someone else? … I know what my answer is – do you know what your answer is?

Opening and Closing Doors

2006-11-09T13:47:00.000-06:00

This article is about opening and closing doors. The purpose – What to do about the church who opens it’s doors to false teaching and closes it’s doors to the Truth of the Word of God. While there are many questions one could ask on this subject, I intend to answer just a few in this article today. I have to admit that I have been sitting on this article since the beginning of the month. That said, I don’t know the exact reason why I felt that I had to write it, but I think it is meant to accomplish three things … 1) to encourage you to be faithful to the Word of God, because the time is near when Jesus will rapture His Church; 2) to prove that God through His Holy Spirit and His Word can use you right where you are, to reveal Himself through His Word and bring Praise and Glory to His Name; 3) to let you know that you are not alone (no matter what anyone says) in your concerns.

Purpose driven emerging churches are closing their doors to the true message of Scripture. They have done so by disregarding parts of Scriptures, that they have deemed irrelevant to this time we live in. They have also done so by not studying or giving sermons on the prophetic Scripture’s and as such ultimately disregarding the more 25% of Scripture that is prophecy in substance. That said, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families and those that God has put in our paths. It is the time to dig in deep into the Word of God. Paul’s word’s of warning and yet encouragement to the believers at Ephesus may have been written almost 2000 years ago, but they are incredibly relevant to us as Christians who are called to defend the Truth and the Word of God …

Ephesians 6:13-18 (KJV) -

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Sadly, churches across the USA have closed their doors to the Truth of Scripture and have in turn, opened wide the doors to the wisdom of man. They have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is given to the believer to reveal, remind and renew the heart of the believer to all that Scripture has promised and revealed.

John 14:26 (KJV) –
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 (KJV) –
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:7-13 (KJV) –
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

Hopefully, as we move forward, the primary question I will answer is - What is a person to do when faced with false teaching? That said, I am sure that some other questions will come to mind and hopefully those will be answered too. Examples could include the following – “I am just one person, how can I make a difference?” or “Why reveal our concerns?” or “Why does it matter?”. I hope to answer each and every question that I have mentioned here in the context of this article. Before I continue let me just say this, while I in no way pretend to have all the answers, my sole purpose here today is to let you know your not alone and to give you encouragement, to the same extent that I received while I was battling it out in the trenches.

For purposes of laying a foundation, let me begin by saying, my family and I recently left a church, which we called home for over 2 ½ years, because of the false teaching that it was allowing to come right through its front doors. The parameters by which I conducted myself in admonishing and bringing forth my concerns were really quite simple. The dialogue which began all of this involved a Beth Moore bible study being offered at the church and her association with and practice of New Age Mysticism type methodologies including contemplative prayer and mantra-type repetition, and basic eastern culture type meditation. Initially, I honestly do not believe that I intended to affect a change in anyone except myself. That said, it was only a short time later, after having become aware of Ms. Moore’s questionable practices, that I withdrew from the bible study. Subsequently, I had also passed on the information that I had about Ms. Moore to the church leadership. Following the church’s reply (that it would continue to offer Beth Moore bible studies), I followed up with my own email reply, that was never responded to. That said, it was only when my subsequent reply was left unanswered and the false teachings of another person were introduced that I moved forward to affect a reply to the concerns which I had.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to a Sunday in early October, in which a sermon was being given by the associate teaching pastor of the church. During the sermon a lot of red warning flags flashed by, the least of which included this associate quoting from a book by Rob Bell, a man who has been directly linked with New Age Myticism and the Purpose Driven Emerging Church movement. My first attempt at revealing my concerns (following the sermon) was via email – not necessarily for avoidance reasons but more specifically because this was the recipient’s communication preference. The reply I received was essentially a no reply that just asked me questions – that said, I did answer the questions but this time, there was no reply at all.

My next step was to try and engage a dialogue with this person on his blog. I admit I did this because I felt these were concerns that needed to be addressed, but I also was concerned for the people who continue to sit under this man’s teaching; those who may not know the difference between what they are being taught … even the people who sit there week after week, wanting to be fed the Word of God and instead getting garbage from man’s wisdom instead of from God through His Word. So I went to his blog and posted a relevant question and some additional information about Rob Bell. After a short while, several other like minded Christians (who had the same concerns that I did) joined the dialogue; Consequently, this person (while initially inviting the comments of the others and even engaging in dialogue himself), decided after a few days and 20+ comments that he should delete the entire article and all of our comments along with it. That said, it was about this same time that those of us who had posted comments decided to let this one go; we had decided that we had done our due diligence and contended for the faith more than adequately. The final piece to this experience came in a letter which my husband and I received from the elders of this church. They said and I quote “we have determined that the teaching being presented … is Biblical. We understand that you may disagree with our conclusions …”

With this in mind, I will move on and consider the questions which are mentioned above. Hopefully, from the previous paragraph you can see how God slowly opened my eyes to what was going on and I admit the transformation that has taken place has been incredible. Through the Holy Spirit, He has equipped me (and continues to do so even now) in every way to endure the race and even in challenging my former church. I offer this information not to boast, but to detail the answer to the “how can I make a difference” question – the simple answer is you cannot make a difference by yourself or through your own means, it has to come from the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:28 (KJV) –
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Colossians 1:10-11 (KJV) –
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV) –
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

The point of these passages is even more simple - God equips the servant He calls to His specific purpose. It is as simple as that. Sometimes we don’t always know what the outcome will be; we just have to trust and believe that God is in control. And, it is precisely for this reason, why we should reveal our concerns - out of trust and belief that God is in control. He knows what He is doing.

Ephesians 5:6-11 (KJV) –
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

We reveal our concerns because as Christians we have a responsibility to expose false teaching – the greek word “elegcho” is translated to english as “reprove” which means to admonish, tell a fault, rebuke – but with goodness, righteousness and truth (be sure what your motivation is in exposing false teaching). At this point, hopefully I have given you the answers to the how’s and why’s, but there is still one part left, What is a person to do when faced with false teaching? – this will be the final section.

Titus 3:8 -11 (KJV) –
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

There are two very relevant points to make from this Scripture – 1) we must be careful to maintain good works – this includes overemphasizing a point to trying to spend too much time convincing someone of something that they will never even consider; and 2) we are to make two attempts to correct the heresy of another. I am going to pause for a moment and make a suggestion - in this day and age of grace we are experiencing prior to the rapture of the church and subsequent tribulation, we must be willing to stand for Truth. The truth which I speak of is of course, the Truth of the Gospel. Jesus Christ died on the Cross for each and every sinner of this world from the beginning of time until the end of time. He paid the price for my sins and your sins and all sins; we only have to agree and accept His free gift to share in eternal life with Him forevermore. I want to consider one other passage that gives us a picture of how we should proceed.

Matthew 10:12-15 (KJV) –
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

This last part will be brief. I have a question to ask you? Have you ever walked around barefoot or with socks only at home and something all stickly or dusty gets on them but you don’t realize it until you have walked around a little while and you can feel the tiny particles brushing on your feet or something sticky slowing you down. Your response to sticky or annoying particles on your feet, is similar to the response you take to close the door on a church that offers false teaching … you brush off the particles of contact with the leadership and you move on, not letting the garbage slow you down anymore. Once that has been done. Pray for God to give you insight of where He would want to worship and praise Him.

Shalom!!!

Sacrificing Biblical Truth

2006-10-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

As you all know, lately I have been writing about the aspects of the New Age Movement which is inflitrating not only our Christian Churches but our individual lives. I have also made the assertion, that this is a major aspect of the end times apostasy which was prophesied almost 2000 years ago. Now recently I have had quite a few conversations with people who are in the Body of Christ and yes you guessed it, some of the previous articles on this blog have been the subject. Sunday, at our church I listened intently to a sermon which was delivered by one of our teaching ministers. The subject of the sermon was having faith amidst doubt. In reply to an email which the teaching minister put out, he asked fellow members of our congregation and friends of his to write back about some of the questions that they struggle with in their faith walk with Jesus Christ. One said that they struggle with fear over something awful happening in their life and that they would one day have to answer the question … why do bad things happen to good people? Another said they struggle with creation and wonder if God could have really created the earth. And a more “seasoned” person suggested sure I have struggled with different questions in my faith but I have learned that sometimes we just don’t have the answers and we just have to trust God. This “seasoned” person provided the reference (Deuteronomy 29:29) quoting from the KJV here is the verse … 29”The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” So yes, it is ok to not have all the answers and we won’t this side of eternity. That said, I recently was speaking to someone who shared with me a verse that he constantly needed reminding of when he was saved over 20 years ago. He needed to remember this particular verse in order to help him understand why (when preaching about the gospel) others would not listen … the verse follows - (I Corinthians 1:18 KJV) 18”For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” As I listened to the sermon this last Sunday, my thoughts went to a different part of the verse. Do you see it? … The preaching of the cross is the power of God. It was this Scripture that prompted a question … In accepting the doubt of another are we willing to go beyond and suggest that ultimately, that doubt must be diminished? Having now had time to think about this more, I believe that the question I should have asked was slightly different … In temporarily accepting the doubt or questions of another are we willing to go beyond their questions or doubts and suggest that ultimately, that doubt must be eliminated? It is my contention that a church that does not preach a watered down Gospel will temporarily accept a person’s questions and doubts but will encourage that their doubt be eliminated, especially if their faith is to progress. The message of the Cross brings us to say yes or no to God. Those who reject Christ and salvation through only Him, will perish, sentenced to eternity in hell apart from God. But to those who accept Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation through faith in Him, oh the joy of spending eternity in constant companionship with Christ our Lord. Yes, there are things which will not be understood or revealed, but the Cross and its centrality to the message of Salvation is not one of them(you will see what I mean later on in this article). It is interesting that when Deuteronomy 29:29 was quoted in the sermon at our church it was only a half quote … “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.” The later half of the Deuteronomy 29:29 (but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.) is important because it tells us that we have a responsibility to pass on that which is revealed to us (us being every person in the Body of Christ) to our children. People, if we are not preaching Christ died on the Cross for our sin, what can we pass on to our children. The greatest gift we can share with our children is Salvation through Jesus Christ alone, but if we have not heard about sin and the need for salvation what happens to the greatest gift we can share?
Now for a couple of minutes I am going to backtrack a little. When Sunday’s sermon was opened it was suggested that the church’s goal was to create a come-as-you-are culture and we had to have a dialogue with people who have serious doubts and questions. When I first heard this, I thought to myself, that is a seeker sensitive goal. Now in considering this, some would say that (1) this is ok because after all, we were all seekers at one time, even if we were raised in a Christian Bible teaching and believing household we did have to seek out Jesus Christ and the answers to our doubts or questions for ourselves. I would agree with statement to a point (more on that shortly); (2) another may ask what does it mean to be seeker sensitive?… the answer to #1 is found within the definition for #2; in being sensitive to the seeker, whereby providing understanding to their questions and doubts, are we forgetting that the same person must first come to know and believe that they are a sinner in need of a Saviour? I believe that Scripture is clear on this also, if we are so sensitive that we are unwilling to help the person come face to face with their sin than we have succeeded in diminishing the saving power and grace that God through the Holy Spirit gives to a new believer who has been saved by having put all their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their redemption. Consider, (Ephesians 1: 11-14, KJV) 11”In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” I don’t think it can be said any more simply, in order for us to trust in Christ we have to hear and believe the word of truth and the truth is that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins by His death on the cross and that is the good news of our salvation. When we trust in the Saving Grace of the Cross and Him who died on that Cross we are assured of our salvation and of our gift, eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ forever. That said we have identified an important point, to believe that the price for our sin has been paid, we must believe that we have sin in our life. This is probably the single most important aspect that the emergent church is missing. By not talking about sin, this watered-down gospel negates everything Christ did on the Cross. Sin is at the heart of Christ’s sacrifice. (Romans 3:23-25 KJV) 23”For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” Without seeing the sin, the seeker does not see the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. (Romans 6:20-23 KJV) 20”For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In wrapping up this article, I want to consider one last point. I titled this article Sacrificing Biblical Truth because I feel that the emerging church movement, as a part of the great end times apostasy, is stealing the most joyous Christian hope we have this side of eternity; it is sacrificing the Truth, in order to make people feel comfortable, but yet in dispensing these creature comforts, it robs us of the joy in knowing that we have been freed from our sin. It is in being freed from the bondage of sin that our hope finds reason (1) the imminent return of Jesus Christ calling us home to the place He has been preparing for us (who have put their faith and trust in Him) and (2) the power of God that is found in the preaching of the Cross. (John 14:1-3 KJV) 1”Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”Shalom

The Dangers of Contemplative Prayer

2006-09-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

In the time since my last article, I have begun to look at things in a different light. With that in mind (and a suggestion from a friend that I not rely on the research of others over the exact witness of someone directly affected in a specific situation), I am going to move forward with my own personal experience. I need to begin with an explanation. When I said that I was “just chronicling my first experiences with [the New Age Movement]”, in my last article, I was wrong (without necessarily realizing it). Please let me explain. I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic church. At a relatively young age I was “indoctrinated” in the traditions of Catholicism. This probably will not be too surprising to you when I tell you that I went to two different Catholic grade schools and a Catholic high school. As a young woman in my late teens and early 20’s I tried different churches including an Assembly of God Church, a Covenant Church and probably one or two others that I cannot remember right now. Eventually, I settled back in to the Catholic Church in my mid 20’s. I did everything I knew (at the time) to grow my faith in God and Jesus Christ. This included prayer to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in the form of the Rosary and Meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary, which not only focused on aspects of Christ but also of Mary. When Pope John Paul II came out with the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” I studied a good majority of it. It was in the early 90’s that I “consecrated myself” to the “Divine Mercy” and I studied about Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest held prisoner at Auschwitz, who willingly and voluntarily gave his life instead of a man (who had a family) and had been picked to die at the Nazi Concentration Camp in Poland. Now that was my background and some may ask why does this matter now? During those years in the early 90’s, praying the rosary involved what I would term a mantra type repetition of the Our Father, the “Hail Mary”, and other “rosary” prayers. I saw in some cases, where the meditation on the mysteries could cause one to achieve an altered state of mind and bring about a verbal prophesy of sorts. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying that I was the one who was prophesying, but I can say that I was acutely aware of an excitement or heightened energy level (not necessarily good or bad) that was present. I would also characterize the meditative type prayer as contemplative in nature. The person I refer to was a particular friend (I met her about 15 years ago and she described herself as a Roman Catholic Christian) who would often receive some sort of message (which she would immediately verbalize) during the “praying” of the rosary and after she would often explain the particulars of how she “received” this message. It is said hindsight is 20/20. Well, now I can see how so much of this friend’s mentoring was based upon unbiblical pagan ritual and tradition. She kind of took me under her wing during a very impressionable time of my life and I was influenced, because I did not know any better. That said, it was many years later (after having gotten married and had the first of my two children) that I (along with my husband) began searching again for meaning in my life because nothing I was doing could fill the void in my heart and soul. I do believe in some sense I was born again during that time but I was also lost in the pagan rituals, and my walk with Jesus Christ wasn’t going anywhere (hence the void); I was yearning for the Word of God in a way that I never had before. I didn’t even know what I call my personal key passage #2 (#1 being John 3:16-17) regarding salvation,(23) “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God, (24) being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24). Nor did I know what I refer to as my personal key passage #3, (8) “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). All this said, in my earnest efforts to perform works all those years, not only did I not deepen my faith in Christ, but I also unknowingly dabbled in practices of the New Age movement. I am writing this for a number of reasons … 1) It is easy to get caught up in these tools of the occult without even knowing it is happening; 2) Satan uses these Eastern methods and pagan rituals to distract many away from God and Jesus Christ through subtle manipulation; 3) Jesus Himself warned in the Gospel according to Mark “For false Christ’s and false prophet’s shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” (Mark 13:22); 4) I have really truly and honestly come to the conclusion that many of our “Christian Leaders” such as Beth Moore and Rick Warren, and others really do not understand that in so endorsing contemplative prayer as a feel good way of getting in touch with Christ and their feelings, they are causing others to be seduced into pagan practices, and whereby indirectly promoting an alternate view of Christianity’s monotheistic foundation in the One and Only True God, Jehovah. I am not here to determine or judge their motives (even if it is clear their intention is to win people over to faith in Jesus Christ), but I will say this, Scripture is clear and the outcome does not justify the means. There are impressionable seekers out there who could be led down the wrong path and find themselves lost without even realizing it. “(21) Prove all things, hold fast to the good. (22) Abstain from every appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) God warned the Israelites not to have anything to do with pagan practices. “(28) Be careful to hear all these words which I command you, so that it may go well with you and with your sons after you forever, when you do the good and right in the sight of Jehovah your God. (29) When Jehovah your God shall cut off the nations before you, where you go to possess them, and you take their place and dwell in their land, (30) take heed to yourself that you do not become snared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not ask about their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods, that I too may do likewise? (31) You shall not do so to Jehovah your God. For every abomination to Jehovah, which He hates, they have done to their gods; even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods. (32) All the things I command you, be careful to do it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:28-32) The rich history of the OT has provided substantial proof of what happened when Israel did not follow God’s commands. Instead of taking weeks or months to reach the Promised Land, Israel wandered in the Sinai for 40 years after having engaged in pagan worship (i.e. the golden calf, etc.). When Israel participated in practices of idolatry and did not keep their end of God’s covenant with their forefathers, God allowed for Israel to be held captive in Babylon. Oh when will we learn and at whose expense. Thank God that He is still in control and moves around our missteps.

The New Age Threat to Christianity

2006-09-15T23:11:00.000-05:00

Do you ever get the feeling that God is trying to tell you something? In the last 3 1/2 months I have come in contact with different aspects of the new age movement and it's attempt to enter mainstream life and more importantly the Christian church. Now, I can tell you that this movement has been going on for years even decades (since it’s resurgence), but I am just chronicling my first experiences with it. I must admit that when I was first exposed to this I knew there was something wrong.I'll begin with what happened a few months back. A friend of mine has a weekly meeting for her unit of self-employed business owners. This particular week she was going to be inviting a lady in to her meeting which would talk about vision and goal setting. Now, to most of us it would sound pretty harmless, right? But the warning bells went off as soon as my friend spoke one catch phrase ... "channeling positive energy" ... I knew right then and there this was not a good thing. I later found out that this special guest speaker was practicing something called Christian Reiki. Now, when I first heard about this, my thoughts went to a man named Saul from the OT of the Bible. Saul was the first king of Israel and during the time of transition from Saul's reign to King David's reign (yes the same "David" who defeated the giant Goliath with a sling shot), Saul went to see a spirit medium in the town of Endor. Saul asked her to conjure up the spirit of Samuel, the priest and prophet who had already died; Samuel spoke of God's unhappiness with Saul and Saul's lack of faithfulness and obedience to God and perhaps more importantly Samuel prophesied that Israel would be handed over to the Philistines and that Saul and his sons would die the very next day. Sure enough it happened exactly as Samuel said it would. All of this is documented in 1 Samuel Chapters 28-31. God had commanded Israel that they were not to practice sorcery or to conjure up spirits (see Leviticus 19:26) and this was the latest in a long list of Saul's disobedience to God. Before you suggest that perhaps this is not enough documentation there is also Scripture in the NT. The passage speaks about the acts of one who is caught in a life of sin; the areas of sinfulness include but are not limited to idolatry and sorcery; the Scripture concludes that these are ones who will not inherit the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:21). Channeling and conjuring up ties in with idolatry and sorcery. Continuing on to how the new age movement is threatening Christianity ... there are a lot of things of "eastern" origin that people are attempting to "christianize". These are nothing more than pagan practices and include such things as reiki, yoga and mysticism. Reiki speaks of a "life force energy" that can accomplish inner peace, health and happiness. By "christianizing" this Christian Reiki labels the life force as the Holy Spirit. Incidentally, the life force changes with each different type of religion (i.e. buddha is the life force in buddhism, allah the life force in islam, etc.). Last time I checked one of the ten commandments was "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). I mean hello, you know you cannot put buddha, allah, or any other god ahead of the One and Only True God. It is down right wrong. The Triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ... God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, does not have equal footing with any other god. El Shaddai, God Almighty, we shall have no other gods besides Him and no matter what anyone says Allah is not El Shaddai. That said, eastern pagan tradition through the new age movement has entered Christianity under the guise of contemplative prayer and transcendental meditation. The most basic forms of transcendental meditation involve communing with spirit guides and I am not talking about the Holy Spirit here. God's Word is not a philosophy that needs help to get through to the person reading it by utilizing contemplative prayer with "mantra" type repetition. God's Word speaks for itself. I love 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work."Now it was not until recently that I have learned of another perhaps more significant intrusion into the Christian church. Beth Moore is a very popular evangelical Christian Bible Study teacher. While she does not come right out and admit it, she is very much a supporter of contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer is a trend which has deep roots in eastern religion including Zen Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. But what you won't hear, until it is perhaps too late is that contemplative prayer has transcendental meditation at it's core. Some could say perhaps that it was Sir Thomas Merton who was responsible for contemplative prayer's modern resurgence back into Christianity. He was influenced by zen buddhism and the current Dalai Lama of the mid 20th century. One of the aspects of TM and contemplative prayer that Beth Moore utilizes is mantra-type repetitive prayer. Ms. Moore also teaches in her study Believing God, that God reveals Himself in mystical experiences. Ms. Moore teaches a prosperity gospel that talks about overcoming sin by exercising faith, not through the repentance that God calls each of us to. Our faith is our saving grace, by which we rest in Christ alone for our salvation and in His act upon the Cross. Scripture is clear on this point too. Ephesians 2: 8-9 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."One last final remark about Ms. Moore ... The "Be Still" DVD produced by Fox Home Entertainment delves into the mystical practice of contemplative prayer. Ms. Moore has indirectly endorsed, participated in and "found no problem with its expression of Truth".Now some of you may be asking what does this have to do with the rapture. Scripture is clear that in the last days before the revealing of the "lawless one" (a.k.a. the Antichrist) that there will be a major falling away or apostasy ... the new age mysticism that is coming into our Christian churches is part of that apostasy. Apostasy is the departing from and forsaking of the Truth. Isn't it interesting that Beth Moore and her Living Truth Ministries has "found no problem with [the Be Still DVD's] expression of Truth (no bother that part of that expression includes transcendental meditation which at the basic level involves communing with spirit guides)? 2 Thessalonians 2:3 brings this point home .... "Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition"