Idolatry

It's pretty easy to spot idolatry today. Our flesh is drawn to worship, whether it is a rock star, a movie star, or an amulet that you believe will bring you some kind of luck, we all have that desire to look to something to worship, to adore, to be uplifted by....but when it comes to idolizing a pastor or Bible teacher, such idolatry is much harder to spot. I'll confess that I am in that same boat. My desire is to find "that pastor" or "that teacher" that will bring the truth so sweetly and wonderfully that I won't need to go anywhere else for clear teaching.I can just go to Pastor Knowsperfectdoctrine for correct teaching every time. Is there such a pastor?

There's a pastor I really enjoy listening to that is almost that for me. This pastor has just the right balance; giving lots of scripture verses to just the right amount of doctrinally sound exposition, and he is humble, and gracious, and refreshing (not boring) with anecdotal stories at just the right places in his sermon to keep your interest in what he is talking about. Then he stated something that caught my ear. He said "I hate it when some pastors give their opinions while giving a sermon. I NEVER give my opinion, and you will be hard-pressed to know my opinion on most anything because I never give it." REALLY?? Actually I was listening to lots of his opinion up to that point in his sermon on what the passages he was reading in the Bible meant to him. Never mind that I do agree with most of his stated opinions, but they were still opinions. Everything that was said by him that came after the Bible readings were his stated opinions. I still enjoy his sermons, don't get me wrong, I just wanted to make the point that it would be wrong of me to simply believe every word this man (he is a human being after all) says simply because I agree with it and want to believe it.

It is so easy to point out the  bad teachings out there, and the ones giving the bad teachings. Every day I see pastors like John MacArthur pointing to the Benny Hinns and T.D. Jakes and Rick Joyners, and shout "False!! False!!" and yet there is a falseness in themselves that they need to be sensitive to and be kept humble by the truth of it, and also beware that the disciples that they have made are not following after themselves  but only following after Jesus.

A recent situation with a fellow blogger made me extremely sensitive to the reality of such idolatry. How easy it is for her to point to someone like Beth Moore (I can't stand Beth Moore either btw) and the following someone like Beth has, and whose following won't tolerate anyone pointing out Beth's errors to them...and yet people like this blogger hold in too high respect some of her own favorite teachers and preachers that are also human beings who can be prone to error.

Something Jacob Prasch has said (and I do not agree with him on everything either) about the coming antichrist;  the number one objective will be to deceive Christians. The devil doesn't need to fool nonChristians, he's already got them. His hatred is against the Church and against the Jews, God's elect. Pastor Prasch made an observation that I thought an important one. He stated that the book/letter of 1 John points out that the antichrists in the world come from amongst us. He also shared from scripture that Judas Iscariot, who is a type of antichrist, was so close to Jesus, so religious and pious, so "correct" in his beliefs that he even had all the other apostles bamboozled. Judas wasn't a "name it and claim it" type of imposter who was so way out there in left field in his crazy religion that most anyone with a half a brain would be able to see his falseness. No, instead  Judas was an angel (messenger) of darkness disguised as an angel (messenger) of light. He had his stuff seemingly together. The only one who wasn't fooled was Jesus.

In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus' first admonition is to "take heed that no man deceive you", and the ones that are most crafty at deceiving are those who seem to have the most correct doctrine, selling lots of books and tapes, able to point out the many deceivers OUT THERE, while they themselves are so crafty at deception that perhaps they even deceive themselves with their self-righteousness.

Let us TAKE HEED that we worship only Jesus, not a man, not even a very "good" pastor. When someone said to Jesus "Good Rabbi...." Jesus answered "Why do you call me good? Only God is good." He didn't say to the man "Don't call me good" but rather He asked him "why do you call ME good?". Our mindset needs to be to look to God alone, not a man, as Jesus also warned us. Beware because the days of deception are growing worse and worse, and angels (messengers) of darkness know how to disguise themselves as angels (messengers) of light, and are VERY convincing, and only by  the Holy Spirit can we discern the difference. Be on your guard and be clothed with the armour that is of God (Ephesians chapter 6).

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Avoid Such People

2Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

For people will be
lovers of self,
lovers of money,
proud,
arrogant,
abusive,
disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful,
unholy,
heartless,
unappeasable,
slanderous,
without self-control,
brutal,
not loving good,
treacherous,
reckless,
swollen with conceit,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

having the appearance of godliness,
                                                  but denying its power.

Avoid such people.


Recently I saw a clever quote on Facebook meant to encourage those who have been rejected by someone. It stated that these persons who would leave you were just garbage anyway and they helped you by taking the garbage (themselves) out. The above list reminds me of the "garbage" that we don't need in our lives and are better without. Doesn't it read like a list of things you see and hear about on the evening news every night? 

The one that seems the most innocuous and may actually be the most deadly is the "having a form of godliness but denying His power". It's so easy to think that a "religious person" is a good person. There are many (I believe) that are so religious, so seemingly good, and proper, and like an angel of light....but there's an important piece of the puzzle that is missing! The goodness is of themselves and not of the Lord. They will soak in your compliments and praise, forgetting that it is God who made them and if there are gifts of the Spirit, they are His gifts and He gets the glory, honor and praise, we are simply His servants, and perhaps if we are very blessed: His friends.

How many deceivers are out there, wolves pretending to be sheep, doing a pretty convincing job of it too... however they will be outed, and if they are very blessed, they will receive the gift of true repentance and God's grace...but until then, we should avoid them, pray for them but do not join them thereby giving the impression that you agree with such things.

Here's a better way, rather than surrounding yourself with false friends:

 1Pe 3:4-4 (KJV)
 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.  For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands...

this was taken by me on one of our road trips
so serene :)

 

Magic Powers

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Before I was saved I semi-believed in the possibility of having or acquiring magic powers. When I “evolved” through my various religious beliefs (Seventh-day Adventism, Mormonism, New age Movement) that idea gained strength and to my way of thinking back then, was much more than just a possibility.

 Many of today’s Christian congregations seem to have gone through a similar path of “evolution”. It isn’t just the “name it and claim it” people anymore (remember how “we who knew better” used to snicker at their absurdities?) but it is entering into many denominations and spreading like a bad case of the flu, so that even people who seemed to have a firm grip on the truth are being led away into this parallel Christianity which is a cheap imitation of the real thing; a false religion.

I’ve touched on the topic of the falling away previously, but I haven’t really explored it from the angle of us having the power to transform ourselves from one thing to another.

Every new year we all make new year’s resolutions and quickly discover just how much power we do not possess over ourselves. So what about having the power to become saved, and thereby also the power to become unsaved? Do any of us possess such power? This reminds me of Simon the magician:

Act 8:9  But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

Act 8:10  They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great."

Act 8:11  And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Act 8:13  Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Act 8:14  Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,

Act 8:15  who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

Act 8:16  for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Act 8:17  Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Act 8:18  Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,

Act 8:19  saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

Act 8:20  But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

Act 8:21  You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

Act 8:22  Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

Act 8:23  For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity."

Act 8:24  And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

With Simon it is said “he believed” but we know that there is more to being saved than simply believing. The Holy Spirit must enter into the heart of the believer and it is God, not ourselves, who changes us into His new creation from the inside out. It is much like the pattern He has shown us in nature by the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. He made it so, not the caterpillar, although it is the caterpillar that makes the chrysalis in which this transformation occurs. So is that power in the caterpillar or in the Creator who made it so?

The book of Job has many such questions to help us understand just how puny our powers really are.

Job 38:31  "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?

Job 38:32  Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,

 or can you guide the Bear with its children?

Job 38:33  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?

 Can you establish their rule on the earth?

Job 38:34  "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you?

Job 38:35  Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'?

Job 38:36  Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?

Job 38:37  Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

Job 38:38  when the dust runs into a mass and the clods stick fast together?

Job 38:39  "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions?”

Job 38:40  when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket?

Job 38:41  Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?

These are good questions to ask myself next time I think I have power to save myself or others, or cause myself to lose my salvation somehow. Should this make me angry at God because He has reserved the power for Himself alone; to give or not give as He chooses? Or should that knowledge humble me (as it did Simon the magician)  before Him, knowing that His power is also merciful and can save me from the destiny of annihilation that I deserve?

There's a huge difference between having a religion and having a transformed life in Christ.  When I was SDA, Mormon, etc, I could come and go from one religion to the next as I pleased. When God changed me He closed a door behind me. Praise the Lord for He is all powerful and all merciful and gracious and He alone is Holy and can make holy through His power alone.

Not Everyone Who Says "Lord, Lord"...

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.(KJV)


These are hard words. Does a "Loving God" reject those who come before Him and say: "Lord, Lord"? Apparently He will and He does, if you believe what Jesus says, and if you don't believe it and yet say you are saved, you are exactly the one He is talking about here, who is only speaking empty words, and pretends to love Him and believe Him, and yet loves himself and the things of this world more than His words, His love, His price at His terms. Those are the ones who say they love Him and yet Jesus can see into their hearts, He knows the truth, and if they confess the truth of their error, and truly submit to the truth of the fact that no one comes to the Father unless they have left all (their love of the things of this world that they loved more than God) to follow Jesus, then Jesus gives us a hundred fold of what we thought we had to give up.

But there are many who hang on to this world, who want to straddle the fence, and love this world and Jesus equally. Jesus said it cannot be done. He said "You cannot serve God and Mammon".

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luk 16:14  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
Luk 16:15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (KJV)

When Jesus taught the multitudes, many followed Him to get stuff, to get a healing, to get food, and Jesus understood that, and He provided, but when He confronted them about the truth of the selfishness of their seeking, many stopped following Him:

 Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (KJV)

Their hearts were not changed, they didn't actually see the true miracle of who Jesus was and is, but only wanted to satisfy their belly and their curiosity, and their flesh. Jesus then tells them about Himself being the bread of Life, (this passage is completely misunderstood by Roman Catholics, sorry), and then the Bible tells us:

Joh 6:61  When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 6:64  But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
(KJV)

Sobering words, it is a gift, and to say "That isn't loving" doesn't understand true love. He gives abundantly, but many reject it, and then blame Him for their rejection of Him. It is a gift, who throws a gift back at the giver and says "This isn't the kind of gift I wanted! This isn't the way I wanted it to be!"?

 His gift is given to all, but not all want it, in fact no one wants it, at first, because it is contrary to our flesh. But God will draw His own to Himself, and they won't be able to boast that they did anything, even the choosing of Him is done by Him, so we have nothing to boast before Him. He chooses the lowest, the beggars, also there are the Josephs of Arimethea (which aren't low beggars, but respected people in the community, but their heart is lowly and truly humble)...He sees our hearts, He knows who are His because He created us, He breathed life into us.

The ones who do boast:

Mat 7:22...."Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? "
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I struggled with this one because I knew that I could do nothing to attain it. I felt it was horrible that I was on the outside unable to come in of my own self, that it was only by God's invitation. I begged the Lord to save me. Even my begging seemed to go nowhere, and I knew that my heart was bad through and through, and that God could not listen to someone as selfish and evil as I, and I like the Caananite woman begged for crumbs from the master's table  (Matthew 15:22-28) or like the woman with the issue of blood who only sought to touch the hem of His garment (Matthew 9:20-22) and was persistent in my looking and seeking for that opening, that day that He would hear me, not because I was good or anything, but seeking His mercy (Luke 18:2-9)...

And yet, if I am sent to hell and it's fires and torments to be there for eternity, I would only be getting what I deserve. If I do find myself there it is just. What is unjust is His mercy. It is true what His enemies say "It is UNFAIR that some don't go to hell and many do"...however it is the upside-down of the fleshy reasoning. It isn't unfair that anyone goes to hell at all, we all deserve no more than hell. The unfair part is that any escape it at all, and that is GRACE.

Ray Comfort on Sabbath Keeping

Is Saturday Sabbath an Obligation?

No, for at least three reasons.

Firstly, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ nowhere in the NT is the early church recorded as affirming the Saturday Sabbath. Quite contrary the early followers of Christ are recorded as gathering on the first day of the week "Sunday."

Secondly, only 9 of the "10 Commandments" are repeated in Scripture after Christ's finished work on cross in Whom we have the ultimate rest, restoration and liberation from sin! Can you take a guess which one is not repeated? Jesus Christ did not do away with the 4th Commandment, rather He is the fulfillment and One we have eternal rest in!

Thirdly, If you only hang onto one of these reasons let it be this one here! Again, if you are ever challenged to "given an answer" remember the following!  Two places in Scripture Paul clearly spelled out that we are not to let anyone judge us regarding Sabbath keeping and let every man be fully convinced in his own mind as to whether we esteem one day above another or all the same (Col. 2:16; Rom. 14:5).

You better memorize those two Scriptures! You will be confronted with this in street evangelism, you will call upon these Scriptures, and you will be happy that you learned them!

Christian Zionism

Please prayerfully consider the sobering words in this video, it's an hour long, and it can be listened to while doing other things because it is an audio with pictures, if you can at least listen to what is said, it is well worth your consideration. There are many tricks up the devil's sleeve, and who does he want to misdirect most if not the church? If he can get church attenders to do things "in Jesus name" that are completely against the golden rule of "Love God above all and your neighbor as yourself" and to "Pray for Israel" and "Pray for your enemies" by thinking it is perfectly Christian to bomb our perceived enemies and support policies which state such, are we not making the truth of God evil spoken of?

The Roots of Christian Zionism: How Scofield Sowed Seeds of Apostasy from WHTT on Vimeo.

Back to School

I started my history of western civilization class this week. My instructor, for one of our assignments, gave us this:

http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm

We are to write our thoughts about Gilgamesh, an ancient ruler who ruled ancient Mesopotamia. But who was Gilgamesh? Is it possible that he was Nimrod? Are there any clues? Most Biblical scholars believe that Gilgamesh was indeed who most of us now know as Nimrod. Here's why (really cool Bible encyclopedia website):


http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/nimrod.html

******************************Edit to add  links***********************

This first link has information about the ancient dead language they call Akkadian, which is what the Epic of Gilgamesh was translated from:

http://epos.wordpress.com/epic-poetry-lessons/lesson-3-literary-introduction-to-gilgamesh/

And this second link has 11 parts of the 12 of the Epic of Gilgamesh as it was translated into English:

http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/gilgamesh.htm

and another online encyclopedia that has more info on Gilgamesh and ancient times:

http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/192/

********************************End of edit****************************

Reform Theology

I enjoy Jim McClarty's views on "Calvinism", because he always goes to the Bible for the answers, not to his emotional whims and fantasies.

In this series Jim addresses the conclusions that Dave Hunt gives to his audiences...one of the conclusions Mr Hunt draws is that "Calvinists" are going to hell:

The Gospel

2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power

 This is one of those "trouble passages" for a TULIP Calvinist like me, and one that Arminians love to "use against me". With the word "obey" right there "in my face", how can I say that being saved does not involve something that I do and keep on doing to keep myself there? Hmmm....?

"Obey not THE GOSPEL"....

What is the gospel? What is the "good news" and how do we "obey" it?

From what Jesus has taught me in His word, THE GOSPEL is the good news that He paid the price for my sin, and I am to trust in Him and His finished work. I am supposed to REST IN JESUS, but without His help in this, it is something I cannot do...and I confess that I cannot do it, and REST in the fact that Jesus can, and does, and already did everything to secure that for me, and that is GOOD NEWS (gospel) indeed!

EDITED TO ADD

Gregg at Gospel Driven Disciples has the word GOSPEL for his A to Z challenge word for today. He has some excellent info on that excellent word here

Religion or Relationship?

It's been on my mind alot lately, the difference between these two. Many people see no difference at all, and view being "religious" being the same thing as being "saved". And many people believe all that is required is to just simply "be good". Really? And what does being "good" really involve? That is so vague because "good" is a word that means something different to each of us individually.

Jesus said: "none is good, save one, that is, God. " (Luke 18:19)

Do we accept what Jesus says on that topic of "good"ness? Even though I know Jesus speaks the Truth, I still swerve in and out of what I think about the word "good" . I want to be "good". I try to be "good". Am I "good"? I want to think that I am, but the truth is Jesus says I'm not. The only "good" in me is any goodness He has put there.

So what about religion...is religion "good". Many would say "Not just ANY religion, but MY religion is good."

Really? Why is YOUR religion "good"?

The New Testament says this about religion:

Jam 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Jam 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
1.To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 
and
2. to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The first part of James recommendation is easy enough to do...and yet how many of us do that every day....or even once a week? The second part of that is, well, it's impossible I reckon...without constant washing in Christ's blood (which was shed once for all sin). I know I continually get dirty, so based on MY WORKS, I am doomed.

But, you might say, if it's CHRISTIAN it must be "good" ...right? Well, if you think that going to church saves you, maybe your church is not as "good" as you think!  No church is able to save you, only Jesus can do that...and if your church has you thinking that by attending there you are guaranteed salvation through your working it out with them....think again.

So then where do you think all the religious rules on how to become "good" came from? If they didn't come from God, I'll let you figure out where they DID come from.