Perversion, Pride, Gardening and other odds and ends

First words in the Bible that spoke out to me

loud and clear

when I was first saved in 1988

 

When I was first born of the Spirit of God, I came out of all kinds of deep darkness, witchcraft, perversions, and horrible things too horrible to go into detail. Suffice it to say God was very merciful and the fact that I am saved is a miracle beyond any "rational explanations".

It is so sad for me to see the idiotic things that are going on that are even worse and out in the open much moreso than in the 1980's when I was first saved. For people to be prideful about sin is sad, not funny. I grieve over it. Pride is the sin that got the devil cast out of heaven, and homosexual acts are called an abomination in the Bible. How could anyone think the combination of pride (I personally believe this is at the top of the list of worst sins) and an abominable act directly in God's face is something "good"? I pray for loved ones that are supportive or caught up in all of this mess, saying that it is loving....it is anything but loving, it truly grieves my spirit.

There are stages in which a sin takes a deeper and deeper hold of an individual.

 First, it is "naughty" with a smile and a wink, and still with feelings of "I know I shouldn't be doing this but I like it so much" together with the possible embarrassment if caught in the act, or unmasked or "outed".

Next the person gets a little bolder, takes it to a few close friends to gain their "moral support" (funny term to use for immoral behaviour, but yeah, oh well). The person caught in this sin trap is still unsure about it so he or she needs to get lots of encouragement to keep going in their sin and not allow their conscience to bother them about it.

As the person gets bolder, now he or she can even lash out at those who would say anything regarding sin being sin in regards to perverse sexual acts. Now it is "good" to turn the tables on those who speak up about the current moral decline, and to even attack them physically. They do not realize the demonic element to what is giving them their "courRAGE" with emphasis on RAGE.

Psalm 2:1-3 

 Why do the heathen rage, 

and the people imagine a vain thing?   

The kings of the earth set themselves,

 and the rulers take counsel together, 

against the LORD, 

and against his anointed, 

saying, 

 Let us break their bands asunder,

 and cast away their cords from us. 

Praying for those caught in sin, even those who are deeply caught, even as I was, and also as the Apostle Paul was. God is a God that can save even to the uttermost....but there is a point of no return, we do not know where that point is, but the Lord does, so let's not mess around with all kinds of false things thinking we have lots of time to turn away from them, ask the Lord now to heal you and strengthen you to the proper ways, His true ways, and battle against the demons that want to take you to hell with them. God will supply you the weapons for your battles....the main one is patience to wait on the Lord to fight and to give victory in that final battle that is to come, the one He can prepare you for now if you do not delay in responding to His tugging at your heart. It does not require a special invocation or prayer with certain words or a particular kind of water baptism to make that miracle happen in your life. It only requires a sincere heartfelt yearning for His saving grace, His redeeming power, His intervention, and that true sincerity is also a gift from Him, but ask Him and seek Him for these things, and He will provide everything that is needed.

Ok, now that I got that bit off my chest, lol, 

I have been extremely busy with gardening. The lawn cutting, the weed pulling, the compost making, the bug trapping....sheesh!!! But I must admit, I love the fruit of my labors.

 Calaliliy...

 seen from the other side...the bugs got to it! Ugh!

 
My favorite calalily is the purple one...so far
the bugs haven't attacked it yet




Ok, well, I have to get back to weeding
and bug trapping, so much to do, so little time!

About That John MacArthur

A few days ago I mentioned John MacArthur:

"1.  John MacArthur said you can repent after taking the mark of the beast if you mistakenly take it during the great tribulation. (I disagree with him)
2. He said he couldn't recall ever repenting or being born of the Spirit, that he had always believed in God even as a small child. (God only knows if he is saved, some think this means he isn't born of the Spirit... as for me, I don't know so I'm leaving that one with Jesus)
3. When he talked about his great family heritage, and about his great grandfather being a pastor in Prince Edward Island, Canada, he failed to mention that his great grandfather was also a grand master in a Masonic lodge and held the 33rd degree. (If you are going to talk about great family heritage would it be good to mention the failings as well?... when talking about my grandmother I doubt I'd drag out her skeletons in the closet, but does that prove a lack of being born again? I personally don't think so)"

 http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.ca/2016/02/spotting-counterfeit-part-3.html


Here is a clip of John MacArthur saying you can be forgiven of taking the mark:

 

Anyway, I just could not leave it there especially with regards to the MOB issue. It is such an important issue because the Bible tells us that all who take the mark...well, here's what the Bible tells us:

Revelation 14:9-12  
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,   The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:   And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.   Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 


That is not what John MacArthur stated in answering his church member. As a pastor, he should know better than to falsely add to what the word of God actually says. The Bible does not anywhere say that you can take the mark of the beast and later repent of having taken it and avoid the punishment that all who take the mark will receive. The angel warns everyone with a loud voice. The warning goes out, so those who take the mark do so knowingly, there is no excuse. They will worship the beast and his image AND take the mark of the beast. There is a finality to this, a full renunciation of following Jesus to worship this beast and his image and then take the mark to be able to eat, drink and be merry in a world where those who do not take the mark are getting beheaded:

Revelation 20:4  
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 


I have listened to many of John MacArthur teachings and agree with him at least 90% of the time (and for me that's quite a high percentage), and it's true that you should not throw out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to the minor things we can disagree on. Even the Apostle Paul knew that his spiritual children were wise to check what he said with what the scriptures actually say. He commended the Bereans for checking their Bibles  (Acts 17:11-- the Bereans only had the Old Testament the NT came later) to double check to make sure what was said lined up with what was in their own Bibles.  

I understand why Pastor MacArthur believes the way he does about the mark because this is how he makes it fit his pre-trib philosophy, but pre-trib is a minor issue and not one over which I would part company with him. However the mark of the beast comment  does change it up for me quite a bit. One who speaks in the Spirit and authority of Christ (as a pastor over his flock, which when you count all who listen to him online, is quite a substantial number of people) should tread very lightly and carefully and prayerfully about a thing that will send many to hell.

About the 33rd degree mason great grandfather, masonry is satanic through and through.  Bragging about a satan worshiper when boasting about spiritual heritage is so strange...I mean, I just cannot picture the Apostle Paul doing so unless he was doing it to show how miraculous it is that he could be saved coming from such satanic roots...so I tried to find out more about it and while I was looking I  found out that Grace Community Church is connected to the Church Growth Movement, and has a Dr. Mohler was a keynote speaker at a GCC general conference. Check this out:

 I had discovered that Dr. Mohler was a Founding Fellow of the “think tank” of a UN-NGO. I had discovered that a UN-NGO is a non-governmental organization that is listed with the UN and that serves the UN and its one-world agenda.
The link:  http://johnmacarthurexposed.blogspot.ca/

Follow the link above to read about  the strange reactions from GCC when it responded to questions about Dr. Mohler's affiliations with GCC and with the UN.

Although I find these things about John MacArthur very disconcerting, for me it is still about reading the Bible on my own, trusting Jesus, being taught by the Holy Spirit, and only agreeing with people like John MacArthur as far as they stay true to what the Bible clearly says. 

However, yes, MacArthur blew it big time when advising someone that taking the MOB is something that can be repented of (when the Bible does not say such a thing), then boasting of family who clearly was a prominent figure in a satanic organization, and having connections with the United Nations and the Global Church Movement. All of these things are not good, not good at all. It makes me extremely sad to know this about him and his ministry because I truly believed he was doing so much good for the kingdom of Jesus...and I still believe there are many who are true that are part of his congregation, but I hope they will stop following a man and only stay true to what the Bible says....and when they start chipping people, I hope MacArthur's people do not take the mark.

It is possible that MacArthur has already sold out to the beast system and when it comes to the time when they begin chipping people he might be a voice to "his people" saying "It's ok, this isn't it because we are still here, the rapture hasn't happened yet so this can't be it. I'll show you, I'll be first in line to take it." God knows.

Can I change anyone's mind if they truly believe MacArthur can do no wrong? Probably not, and that isn't something I should strive for anyway. I just need to keep my eyes on the Lord, test all things by the Word of God, and scatter bread upon the water, and who knows if anything will come of it? If any of this helps someone, praise the Lord for then He has done it, He gets all the glory. 

Job 28:28 
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

The Rest of the Facts Regarding Government Surveillance

Really good video which explains the history of government intrusion into private affairs and the need of personal protection rights as provided in the U.S. Constitution...and the truth about what really goes on while you weren't looking. Anyway, Stefan Molyneux is a secularist, so his conclusions about all of this is different from my own, however the historical facts regarding all of this is good to know.

This video is slightly dated, 2013 and focuses on what was going on with "whistleblower/leaker" Edward Snowden, however the facts are still relevant to what is happening today. I might add that I do not see this, or anything else that the government does wrong, as a reason to plot a mass revolution. I just see this as a thing we need to keep in mind when we want to believe that the government has our best interests in mind. It doesn't. Therefore wanting to put our faith in government... that of our U.S. government, or any other world government, is never wise. I am thankful I have a much better place to put my trust.

Watch Therefore

This week some strange events have been taking place on the west coast that have resulted in Los Angeles International Airport diverting it's flight paths. Please I hope you realize that it is no small thing for an airport to have to alter it's operations this way, so we should pay attention to this "small matter".

I'll link to an ABC news article which mentions this odd occurrence:

http://abc7.com/news/secret-military-operations-to-divert-lax-planes-for-a-week/1072890/

Whether this leads to all out war with the Asia and Russia is up to the Lord, certainly, however it needs to be said that we must keep on the watch, be diligent to watch and pray as Jesus cautions us to do.

Matthew 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.(KJV)

 Matthew 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (KJV)

As my husband always reminds me: "No man knows the day nor the hour..." (Matthew 24:36) and indeed every generation since the time of Jesus thought they would see the return of Christ...and indeed every generation WILL see the returning of Jesus because those who have gone "to sleep" will not precede those who are still alive at the time of the Lord's returning:

 1Thessalonians 4:15  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (ESV)

So we all are correct in maintaining that vigilance, and would be wise to "watch and pray" that we will be strong in the Lord's strength to endure what is yet to come. I personally believe Jesus is coming within my lifetime, but whether He does or not is truly up to Him. I believe that before He comes things will have gotten so bad that MANY will have given up on His returning, and that times will get much, much darker...as the saying goes, it is always darkest just before the dawn. Mary, the sister of Lazarus thought Jesus came too late, and was sorrowful that He did not come in time to save her brother...was He really too late? It certainly appeared so, but as often is the case, what appears to be a certain thing to our human understanding often is not what really is going on. That is why we need to remain in prayer while we see things going from bad to worse, and not give in to the temptation to give up on what Jesus said to us. Remain vigilant. Keep speaking the truth in love. Watch for His appearing....and of course, always, rejoice in the salvation of our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer, our God Jesus Christ, Lord of all.

A Spiritual Revolution

In the following videos Pastor R.C. Sproul gives a very helpful outline in understanding the times we are living in.






He delineates the difference between morals and ethics, today used interchangeably, however, the two are different in an important way, and help to show what is going on in North America.


In the next video Pastor Sproul explains the difference between following Jesus and legalism. The two often get confused for each other.








So, then, in order to avoid legalism, many fall into the opposite and equally wrong problem of antinomianism. What in the world is that???? you might be asking. Well, Pastor Sproul has a very good video that explains it as well :)

Is America a Christian Nation?... Was it a Christian Nation at it's Founding?

This short (30 minute) video is the first in a series given by a much younger (than he is now) R.C. Sproul. Although this was given many years ago, it is just as relevant today if not more so than the day he gave this. That to me is a testament to the truth of the content, that it has stood the test of time. Right at the beginning he cautions his listeners to the mistaken idea that the U.S. is a Christian nation. It is a nation that has been largely influenced by people that believed in the Bible, however having a Christian influence is other than being solidly Christian through and through. I hope you take a listen as he establishes his case for why he says what he does, and gives historical evidence to support these ideas.

A Much Needed Message for Today

I also posted about this sermon on my other blog (see sidebar ----> ), I give a bit more of an introduction to this video there. Hope you take time to listen to this urgent message:


It's Evening in Sodom from Grace Chapel on Vimeo.

Who Are You Listening To?

Last month I posted (on Bible Treasures) a sermon by R.C. Sproul on the topic of King Ahab...and in that post I focused on the fact that the scriptures are so multifaceted and complex that we tend to think in either/or and see what seem to be discrepancies. But there is so much more in this sermon, he speaks of the fact that Ahab rejected the truth that God spoke through his prophets, and only listened to the false prophets that spoke what Ahab wanted to hear, tickling his ears with flattery and falseness. Then, at the end of God's patience with Ahab, he uses his false prophets to lie to Ahab in order to bring Ahab using his own lying prophets to bring him to the place where God ends Ahab's life. Interesting side point that I also mentioned in the Bible Treasures post is that Elijah had told Ahab that his blood would be licked up by dogs at the pool where Ahab had Naboth murdered. (1 King 21:19), so Ahab avoided going to that pool...he thought he could outsmart God in this. So when Ahab followed the advice of his lying prophets that told him he'd have a great victory in battle, but just in case Micaiah was correct, he decided to hedge his bet and disguise himself so the enemy army wouldn't recognize him and kill him...but a stray  arrow strikes him, kills him.
Today, again, people would rather hear only what is pleasing to their own understanding rather than listening to the word of God. Judgment is at the doorstep. How much longer will God patiently endure the evil that people are flinging in His face?

If you haven't listened to this great sermon, please take the time, and if you already have heard it, it is worth a second hearing.

A Former Messianic Jew Says....

This is very sad for me, and again it reveals a part of the falling away that is going on today, that falling away that Jesus did tell us would happen. This Jewish man says he was converted to Christianity, with Jews for Jesus and Messianic Judaism. I have heard that many of these congregations are very (as Mr. Levey says in the video) cultlike, so again of course the devil can use such things to say "this is what Christianity is, it is a cult"...and this young man now preaches to Jews to warn them about people that evangelize to Jews.

 Indeed, the devil DOES NOT want Jews to truly be born of His Spirit. Satan doesn't want anyone to come to Christ especially the Jews for whom satan has a special and particular hatred and finds all kinds of ways to lead people astray, as he did with this young man, and of course that hatred then gets blameshifted to be hatred that comes from the God of the New Testament and from Jesus. Sigh. It is satan that has sent people to hell, satan is the one that made the need for one a reality. Yes God created satan, yes satan became evil and God knew that would happen...but just as you and I can predict certain things with great accuracy, and perhaps even cause things to be put things into motion that turn out to lead to tragic events does not thereby mean that we made it to be so with that as our sole purpose in mind....even so, God knew that would happen therefore He also created the antidote, the one that is being mocked and jeered about in this video, and lots of other blogs and places as well...


At about the 12:30 mark he mentioned his mother's disappointment with his becoming a Christian: "had I become a Buddhist or an atheist it wouldn't have been as bad..." and there it is, it is better to believe in a fake God or no God at all than to believe in Jesus...and the devil couldn't be behind such a thing because there is no such thing as a devil...or so the devil says....


  Being born again is not just "an experience"... if God did it, it is a reality that doesn't go away.

When a "Believer" Stops Believing

I enjoy listening to John MacArthur and Phil Johnson. I do not always agree with every word, I do agree with most of what they share and approve of the fact that they back up what they say with where to find what they are talking about in the Bible so one can read these things in the proper context and thereby form one's own opinions on the things discussed.

This morning I found an audio broadcast on the topic of apostasy given by both Pastor Johnson and Pastor MacArthur in an interview style, Pastor MacArthur being the interviewee with Pastor Johnson asking the questions.

The topic of the falling away or apostasy was a topic that I viewed with slight interest in an academic sort of way. I was aware that people that said they believed in Jesus were (and are currently) falling away from their faith, but in my immediate circles people either believed in Jesus or they didn't. They either do or they don't...and it made it easy to feel that I had a handle on it...the falling away is something that happened "out there" somewhere and had nothing to do with me or anyone I was directly involved with. When it did involve someone that I knew directly (through the internet community that is), the apostasy became more relevant to me. It no longer hovered "out there" far away from me, a topic for research and detached discussions which involved statistics and involved knowing the Bible verses that spoke on the topic. It used to be safe.

When it finally did touch someone that I knew, someone who I discussed Jesus with as a fellow believer, someone I trusted and enjoyed fellowship with, it involved me in such a way that it immersed me into the problem. It was no longer just about knowing the Bible verses and the statistics and the reality of it "out there somewhere". It involved me and now it had a face and a person that I knew, or thought I knew.

Pastor Johnson and Pastor MacArthur explore this phenomenon in light of people they were acquainted with and explore the questions that I had, discuss the same scriptures that I sought out regarding this issue, and came to the same conclusions about this as I had come to see. I tell about it in "A True Story" in the tabbed page next to my testimony at the top of my blog. Their discussion again reiterates the fact that Jesus knows what is going on with these persons more than we know, and more than those persons (like Judas) know about themselves. Their discussion digs a little deeper, giving their own insights from their having handled the scriptures faithfully for many many years. They discuss the difference between the person who struggles with moments of doubt and the person who rejects Jesus and the Bible...and if there is any hope for the person that rejects Jesus while having a full understanding of what and Who he/she is rejecting.

It is a discussion that is important and needed for this time...many changes are taking place these days, we need to be awake, aware and in prayer, and we need to know what it is we need to be in prayer about. Please take the time to listen, and if you wish to comment on this, know that I would love to know your thoughts regarding the topic at hand, however be mindful of the commenting guidelines. Thank you.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=111510129269

Testimony of an ExMuslim

Kamal Saleem gives much more than just his testimony in this interview, he also gives much info on the intel that has been gathered, including his own personal knowledge of the inside workings of Islamic terrorism as well as how we taxpayers fund these terrorists, and what is going on behind the scenes in the White House. I was shocked as well as horrified by what he shares...however many of these things I already somewhat knew (or thought I knew...maybe "had an inkling" would be more correct). He puts a bunch of the scattered pieces of the puzzle together with what the Bible has told us all along into a picture that is making a whole lot of sense.

Now I know many would rather ignore the warnings...

...but you do understand that you look ridiculous in this position, and people will rightfully make fun of you (behind your back, usually... to your face they will always supply you your desired compliments).


Read about Kamal and watch what he says about what he has found at this link:

http://www.endtime.com/podcast/interview-kamal-saleem/

Walid Shoebat recently stated similar observations about what is happening in "Islamabad"...the beast is rising in Turkey, where the book of Revelation says "the seat of satan" is:

 http://shoebat.com/2014/08/26/bombshell-antichrist-confederacy-announced-turkey/

I've been seeing the Hagia Sophia in many suspense/espionage type movies and tv programs:

image link

It embodies the very reality of the corruption of the Christian religion...Islam came out of her:

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (KJV)

Yep, there it is...again...

Pride and Shame

Over the last few months I've been contemplating the complaints of atheists and "former Christians". Often their accusations against the Bible, God, and against Christianity come in the form of boasting that their way is the better way, that they have a right to claim the things that they do because Christians are stupid and brainwashed, don't use proper reasoning faculties, and are hypocrites. They are proud of the fact that in their own estimation of themselves they are so much smarter and not at all hypocritical.

It used to be (especially during the Victorian era) considered a sin to be prideful. Today it seems to be regarded as a strength...however pride is now separated into: arrogance and pride, arrogance being the evil and exaggerated form of pride and simple pride being the healthy form. I see that as another deception that has taken hold of many, even within "the Church".

Doing a word search using the search parameters the words "pride" "proud" and "shame" in the Bible brought forth many nuggets of truth.

Here's a sampling from the Proverbs (KJV):

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Proverbs 8:13

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Proverbs 14:3

 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. Proverbs 16:5 (people even today join hand in hand to encourage each other in their pride)

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:18&19

A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverbs 29:23

and from the New Testament:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
        the lust of the flesh,
        and the lust of the eyes,
        and the pride of life,
 is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1 John 2:15-17

I've also seen humility faked all over the place, by both Christians and non-Christians. Pride is a human trait, one that needs to be confessed before a holy God. If we pretend we have no sin, we lie (1 John 1:8). My husband sometimes jokes: "The minute you think you are humble, you aren't" and "I am proud that I can say I am humble". Indeed humility, true humility, comes from God. That is the lesson many fail because the hardships and struggles of this life should bring us to a point of humility before God. Instead today we see people fighting for their rights to have everything that they want, fighting anyone who stands in their way...including God. And then they feign their humility when they are told how wonderful and clever they are. How ridiculous.... however God will have the last laugh.


Posts that are related:

God's Righteousness vs Self-righteousness

The Worldly-Wise

and this from my other blog:

Argument with Ignorance 

The Falling Away and The Remnant Church

From his own story, with no need for deconstruction whatsoever, he essentially came at the doctrines of Calvinism on his own, started reforming one church, crashed and burned at the next, then spiraled downward slowly into unbelief through the spectrum of liberalism. 
 http://www.choosinghats.org/2014/07/the-haberdashery-of-bruce-gerencser/

Since he "outed" himself in my last post, I will use the atheist's full name in this one. Bruce Gerencser (I won't give him the elevated status of "pastor", he's burned up that right) gives us a good look at what atheists do when dialoguing with Christians. In this (above linked) article Joshua Whipps does an excellent job of dissecting exactly how Mr. Gerencser ruins attempts at meaningful dialogue with Christians and only gives kudos to those who agree with him. Yep, I've been there. But what I'm interested in examining here is what Mr. Whipps says in the portion of the article I excerpted. I've heard this before that many Christians enter into a liberal form of "Christianity" (I'm doubtful about it actually being Christian), before completely losing what faith they had, or thought they had.

This sermon by Phil Johnson talks about liberalism and the Church. This is a very uplifting and edifying sermon. One thing he says towards the beginning is the thing that I was (thankfully I can say "was") having trouble with. He says that institutions and persons have failed and will continue to fail into the future, but the gospel of Jesus will be triumphant. I admit that I was overly concerned by individual persons failing and falling away. Pastor Johnson says that this is actually a blessing in disguise in that the Lord is weeding out through this process the pretenders and keeping the faithful remnant. Pastor Johnson sees the season of unpopularity of the Church having a purifying effect on the Church because the ones who go for any other reason besides their love of Jesus, will drop out. They can deny and deny and speak of their previous love for Jesus, but in the end TRUE LOVE DOESN'T FAIL, so their denials are about as valid as an alcoholic saying he's not a drunk. Anyway, have a listen to an excellent sermon and be strengthened in the power of the Lord to save those who truly desire Him. He is faithful and true, and let our desire be for Him and His saving grace alone, even when everything else on earth fails.

Enemies at the Gate: Four liberalizing trends that threaten the contemporary church

The Anti-Pastor

      Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

                                                                            2 John 2:18 (ESV)

      I have heard that it happens from time to time, a pastor struggles with his faith...and gives up the struggle. Recently I stumbled onto the website of such a former pastor. God only knows if he truly was saved and if he was (I personally doubt it myself) the Lord will retrieve Him in His time. As of this time this ex-pastor not only says he has given up on Christianity, he also feels it his duty to anti-evangelize the flock. He goes about seeking whom he can “assist” in getting others to give up their faith just as he did. That is why I've christened him the anti-pastor. He doesn't think it is enough to blaspheme God by saying He doesn't exist, he also feels the need to yank people out of the fold. Yeah, that's right...I truly thought I had seen it all. Is there no limit to the hurt the devil will inflict on Jesus? It seems not, however there is a limit. One day people like the anti-pastor will come to the end of the time the Lord will give to their foolishness which inflicts pain on others. He will limit it in such a way that the only pain they will inflict is on themselves for ever and ever. God in His mercy is still giving him time to repent (otherwise he would have passed from this life into his eternal fate) so I hope he will “get true wisdom” and learn truly of Christ instead of getting his learning from the spirit of antichrist. God only knows how much more time the anti-pastor has left on earth to turn around and repent of the error of his ways.

      I'm not going to post a link to this man's website because the teachings of this man are ugly to say the least. If anyone is interested in doing research into these ridiculous goings on I'll make it available upon request with a warning to cover yourself in prayer before inflicting such ugliness on yourself. For most of us it is enough to be aware that he's out there, and the Lord is allowing him to do his worst damage for a while, until He says “Enough!”, and then it will be too late for the anti-pastor. Let's hope for him he wises up before it is too late for him.

Edit (added after Bruce revealed himself here): There is an interesting dialogue that went on between Pastor Joshua Whipps and this person that I have given the title "The Anti-pastor". Mr Whipps gives more detail about this situation as well as detailing how to attempt at a rational dialogue with atheists (on a scale of 1-10 I would rate my attempts at this a 6.5-7, a failing grade, using this article as a measuring instrument)
 http://www.choosinghats.org/2014/07/when-your-resume-is-irrelevant-your-testimonial-does-the-trick/

There are two more articles which give more info on this situation specifically here:

http://www.choosinghats.org/2014/07/the-haberdashery-of-bruce-gerencser/

and

http://www.choosinghats.org/2014/07/wherein-bruce-gerencser-combats-the_vast_evangelical_conspiracy/

Seducers and the Seduced

  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, 

deceiving, and being deceived. 

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned 

and hast been assured of, 

knowing of whom thou hast learned them 

2nd Timothy 3:13-14(KJV)

We've been warned and see it happening all around us...please guard yourselves with the armour of God, be a wise virgin with enough oil in your lamps, and know that many will fall into the deception that is already taking hold more and more:

 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another,
and shall hate one another.
 And many false prophets shall rise,  
and shall deceive many. 
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;

and then shall the end come.

.... Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

 (Matthew 24:10-14; 44 ( KJV

Jesus also stated that it would be as the days of Noah were, not many were saved, the prevailing wisdom of the time was to ignore Noah's "silly warnings", after all the majority ruled so obviously those of the minority (Noah and his family) had to be wrong.  But God had the final say in the matter.

Be sure to read this link about the many flood legends from around the world: 

http://creation.com/many-flood-legends

 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,  

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; 

so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.   

Matthew 24:37-39 ( KJV)

The ship is about to sail, and the mockers are plentiful saying:

  Where is the promise of his coming? 

for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 

2nd Peter 3:4 (KJV)

 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;  How that

 they told you 

there should be mockers 

in the last time, 

who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, 

having not the Spirit. 

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, 

praying in the Holy Ghost, 

Keep yourselves in the love of God, 

looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 

unto eternal life. 

Jude 1:17-21 (KJV)

                                  Therefore be ye also ready: 

for in such an hour 

as ye think not 

                                                                                   the Son of man cometh.

Repost on the Kinsey Effect

Originally talked about it here:

http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.ca/2012/03/kinsey-effect.html

Be warned that this is a very disturbing video; do not watch it if you have a weak stomach for the ugly things that are going on in this world... however, the value I see in knowing about this is that we can get too complacent about the awful things that are happening, we need to be awake and aware of what is going on, and to stand strong against all of the evil in this world. I too become complacent at times and think that this world "isn't that bad"...however, the truth is there is much that is wrong with this world and our hearts need to be broken about it, Jesus wept over Jerusalem for their unbelief. How much more should we be in tears about the evil and unbelief that is our current situation. God help us!

Why Isn't This Brought Up On Nightly News Etc??

This just bears repeating:

False "Men of God"

 image link (great article here btw)

There are many false teachers these days, I've been posting about the obvious ones on my other blog under "The Gifts of the Spirit" series...but there are those who are just as false, but more stealthy and snakelike...I've always enjoyed John MacArthur, however someone (thanks Lyn) gave me a heads up about him and his ties to the Rockefeller Foundation. You can read about it here.

I found his pre-trib position difficult to bear with, but I didn't find it something that I would dismiss a pastor for...but now this goes a bit deeper...because it looks as though soon people will be required to be chipped (as in verichip aka MARK OF THE BEAST), and these "ministers" (read it as "of Satan") are saying it is not THAT MARK because we who are saved will have been raptured before the MARK makes it's appearance. Sigh. Wow.

In past conversations on Christian forums I've had quite a few people dismiss the chip saying "it isn't the MARK, and even if it were, God knows we have to eat, work, etc, so He is forgiving and will forgive us..." then the martyrs of previous times had it all wrong and died for nothing??? No, dear friends. Be assured that the Bible says that all who take the MARK will go with the false Christ and the false prophet to hell. Too strong for you? Read the book of Revelation for yourself and ask the Lord for wisdom, truly.

"Mr. O"

That has been my name for him, and I'm sticking to it. Mister Zero was in the Netherlands last month for the "Nuclear Security Summit". His reception was rather cool, if not cold, and believe me when I say the Dutch loved Obama, so this was actually a surprise for me. He's not fooling anyone anymore:

Was and Is and Is To Come

Finally, spring is really here...there still are a few patches of snow here and there in the wooded patches, but for the most part it has finally been vanquished!

soon, very soon, we will be enjoying nice meals outside!

 

 in the distance, it is apparent that the trees haven't budded...yet,

the only green is still from the beautiful evergreens...