[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeghFM0SL6Y[/youtube]
An Open Letter to the False Church
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Tim. 4:3).
Dear false prophets, false teachers and Christian apostates of every stripe:
We’ve all heard this phrase: “You know who you are!” It’s an expression typically levied in the context of some corrective admonition, intended for some person or persons, busy about some misbehavior. While sent via certified mail, this is one of those rare open letters to whom the preponderance of intended recipients have, somehow, managed to convince themselves, and one another, that they’re not even home. Most of you decidedly do not know who you are. You’re living on Deception Lane.
Indeed, this letter, for many who read it, will be marked “return to sender.” Such is the nature of deception. Those who labor beneath it have become so accustomed to its crushing weight that they’ve lost all sense of it. It is my humble hope and simple prayer that, if this is you, upon reading this letter the Holy Spirit might, instead, plant a seed of revelation in your soul and water it with His Word of life and truth, so that, for you, it might blossom to repentance and right-standing with God the Father.
To be sure, the guidepost for that which makes up the false church is not rooted in my opinion. I’m a fallen sinner, saved by grace and worthy, by my own merit, of nothing more than the lake of fire. The guidepost for that which constitutes the false church is the Word of God.
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.
“Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. … For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for ‘people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.’
“If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud'” (2 Peter 2:1-3, 18-22).
Let’s define the terms:
The church: The body of Christ—those regenerate, sanctified Christ followers who have sincerely called upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe, Creator, soul saver and sole savior of mankind, and have been forgiven, redeemed and saved by grace. The church recognizes God’s holy Word as infallible, unchanging and eternal.
The terms “orthodox,” “conservative,” “fundamentalist” or “Religious Right” are sometimes used pejoratively by those outside the church (and at times from within) in an effort to undermine the church and water down the Word of God. The church is hated by the world because the world first hated Christ and, as such, must suffer persecution.
The false church: The body of self-identified Christians who may, or may not, have begun the process of sanctification through belief upon and acceptance of Christ. The false church either rejects the infallibility of Scripture outright, or seeks to rationalize and radically “reform,” revise or reinterpret the Word to justify sin. False-church apostates are Olympic-caliber mental and exegetical gymnasts who systemically call good that which the Word of God calls evil. They imagine many paths to God and hold that the Holy Spirit-inspired men used of God to record the Holy Scriptures were, in their view, rather uninspired after all.
Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of BarbWire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter:@jmattbarber).
Original Post by Chrisma News
Boy Told He Cannot Read Bible During Reading Break
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ucXA_s3XXA[/youtube]
A South Florida student says he wanted to read the Bible during some free time in class, but what the teacher did next has his family furious. Fifth grader Giovanni Rubeo said he pulled out the Bible for free reading time at Park Lakes Elementary School on April 8. He said the teacher asked him twice to put the Bible on her desk, but he refused.
9 Secrets That Your Pastor’s Wife Wishes You Knew
She’s always there. Sometimes in the background, sometimes with a welcoming smile up front, sometimes noticed and appreciated, sometimes being silently judged. Your pastor’s wife; the powerful force behind most church leaders often perceived as a mystery by the rest of the church.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
What if we just asked our pastor’s wife to candidly, honestly, even anonymously share some of their secrets? What if we invited them to share their hearts and tell us what they wished the church knew?
I posed a simple, open-ended question to a panel of pastors’ wives in different states, from different denominations, with various years of service, “If you could tell the church a few things about your role as a pastor’s wife, what would you say?”
The women selected are the wives of music ministers, children’s leaders, senior pastors and youth pastors. Some of them serve in churches with large staff and even larger budgets, others in newer church plants, and even some from old and barely surviving congregations. Despite such different backgrounds, their responses were strangely similar and in several cases, almost identical.
I’ve sat for coffee, exchanged emails and had lengthy conversations with many who freely shared their secrets with me in exchange for the promise of anonymity. What follows is a condensed collection of their words.
1) “I wish people knew that we struggle to have family time.” There was one common response that I received from every single pastor’s wife. Every. Single. One. Over and over again, many pastors’ wives shared numerous occasions where planned vacations had been cut short (wouldn’t that be hard?). They told me tales of family evenings being rearranged for crises of church members, middle-of-the-night emergencies and regular interruptions. A true day off is rare; even on scheduled days off their husbands are essentially on call 24/7.
2) “Almost every day I’m afraid of screwing it all up.” They don’t have it all together. They battle many of the same issues every other woman battles: marriage issues, extended-family difficulties, sickness, finances, children who make poor decisions, fear and insecurities. Some seasons of life are obviously harder than others; but remember, ministry wives are not Wonder Woman with special powers. Please have a little mercy and extend grace.
3) “Being a pastor’s wife is THE loneliest thing I’ve ever done and for so many reasons.” Personally, I think this is surprising to many (it was to me). Several ladies shared the difficulties of finding friendships that are safe, being looked at (or treated) differently and even the desire to be invited for an occasional ladies night out. One woman shared, “Invite us to something just to get to know us. We like being known.” People in the church often assume that the pastor’s wife is always invited and popular. In reality, for whatever reason, many ladies fear befriending them. On Sunday mornings pastors’ wives are often sitting solo, and those with children are essentially single parenting.
4) “It is OK and welcomed to have conversations with me about things that do not pertain to church, or even Jesus. There I said it!” They have a variety of interests. Believe it or not, many pastors’ wives went to college and had full-time careers before becoming “Mrs. Pastor’s wife.” They have hobbies, likes and dislikes, and though they often serve beside their husband, they are individuals with their own unique gifts.
Do not make the mistake of assuming your pastor’s wife has the same personality as her husband. One wife shared that when they announced their engagement people regularly commented on how good of a singer she must be (because her husband-to-be was a music minister). When she shared that she sounded more like a dying cat than an elegant song bird, the shock on their faces was evident.
5) “Sundays are sometimes my least favorite day. Wait—am I allowed to say that?” Sundays are hard. And long. And there is no rest. To a pastor’s wife, Sunday means an early morning of rushing around to have the family ready in their “Sunday best.” Although you may not see your pastor’s wife on the platform, rest assured, Sunday is equally tiring for most (all) of them.
6) “It’s hard to not harbor resentment or to allow your flesh to lash out at members who openly criticize his ministry.” They hate church criticism more then anything. It’s hurtful. Offensive, and yes, it’s very hard not to take it personally.
Original Post by Chrisma News
A Charismatic Church Leader Dies in Apparent Suicide
An Atlanta-area pastor who led a network of charismatic churches was found dead at his home Monday of what sources tell Charisma News was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Bishop David Huskins had acknowledged suffering from heart-related health problems and recently talked of taking time off.
Polk County Police say they found the body of Huskins inside his home in the Meadow Lakes community late Monday afternoon, according to a report on WGAA-AM radio in Atlanta. He was pronounced dead on the scene. According to Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd, detectives said there was no foul play involved in the incident, but they declined elaboration about the cause of death.
A Christian radio station in Atlanta, Joy105.com, reported Wednesday that the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Emails and tweets among a number of pastors and charismatic leaders who knew Huskins said the same thing, but this could not be independently confirmed.
Huskins founded the Cedar Lake Christian Center in Cedartown near Atlanta and served as its senior pastor. He was also the presiding bishop of the International Communion of Charismatic Churches. He hosted a weekly radio program and made many appearances on Christian television.
Huskins also had a close association with Bishop Mark Chironna, senior pastor of an Orlando, Florida-area church, Church on the Living Edge. A representative said Chironna was not available for comment Wednesday but acknowledged that Huskins had spoken at the church in the suburban community of Longwood in the past.
According to a statement on Huskins’ Facebook page: “Our hearts are deeply saddened to share with you that our Bishop, David Huskins, has joined the great cloud of witnesses this afternoon We will have more information later that will be posted here. Please pray for his boys and the rest of the family, and our church family as we grieve the passing of one of the greatest servants we have ever known.”
Polk County police referred inquiries to Chief Dodd, who was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
Early last month, Huskins sent a long email to his congregation and friends saying he needed to take some time off to deal with health problems.
“It has been almost 20 years ago since I had open-heart surgery to repair a hole in my heart that had become critical,” Huskins wrote on July 10. “That started a series of mostly ignored warnings to take care of my heart health. Then in November, I had a mild heart attack (if there is such a thing) and that put me on a path to great introspection of all the areas of my life I had not properly dealt with. …
“While I am grateful for all the Lord has allowed me to do, I knew sometimes I had let ministry be a substitute for God. I felt Him dealing with me to let go of areas and delegate and release and spend more time with Him and with people not just always in a pulpit. I had started that process much earlier with seeking to place others in charge of the church and daily duties but still had not relinquished the active roles.
“Then over the past few weeks I experienced congestive heart failure twice, which forced the cancellation of our annual conference, and now I have been told medically I am at the point of complete exhaustion while still dealing with chronic congestive heart failure. After three nights in I C U and another two-night regular hospital stay along with several follow-up heart procedures and this past week a Transient Ischemic Attack (minor stroke) and the adaptations of all the medicines … and the on-going recovery process and having been admitted to bed rest, I am now forced to make some significant and important changes immediately.
Original Post by Chrisma News
How to Defeat the Insidious Spirit of Jezebel
By Jennifer
Jezebel was a Phoenician princess who married Ahab, king of Israel. Her father was Ethbaal, king and high priest of the Sidonians. Queen Jezebel introduced Baal worship into Israel. By acquiescing to her idolatry, King Ahab broke the first two commandments:
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (Ex. 20:3–5).
Baal worship gives us clues as to the workings of Jezebel. The name Baal means “lord” or “possessor.” According to the Dake Annotated Reference Bible, Baal was the sun-god of Phoenicia, and the supreme deity among the Canaanites and various other pagan nations. His full title is Baal-Shemaim, which means “lord of heaven.” In Greek mythology, Baal is the equivalent of Zeus.
The Canaanites, who were Baal worshipers, participated in sex worship, fertility rites, religious prostitution and human sacrifice—all to pacify the gods. Fast-forward 54 chapters in the Bible and you find the false prophetess Jezebel who teaches and seduces God’s servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. Can you see the stage being set for idolatry and sexual immorality in Jezebel’s world? Where Jezebel is pulling the strings, you will find idolatry and sexual immorality behind the curtain.
Just how sinister is the Jezebel spirit? Easton’s Bible Dictionary says,”Jezebel has stamped her name on history as the representative of all that is designing, crafty, malicious, revengeful and cruel. She is the first great instigator of persecution against the saints of God. Guided by no principle, restrained by no fear of either God or man, passionate in her attachment to her heathen worship, she spared no pains to maintain idolatry around her in all its splendor.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary calls Jezebel a “zealous idolater, extremely imperious and malicious in her natural temper, addicted to witchcrafts and whoredoms, and every way vicious.”
Clearly, the spirit of Jezebel is interested in more than control and manipulation. We have to discern the deeper motive of this spirit if we ever hope to resist the temptations that will lead to the great falling away that Paul writes about in 2 Thess. 2:3. Jude urges us to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to us, because “certain men have crept in unnoticed … ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
The spirit of Jezebel is already running rampant in the world. Unfortunately, Jezebel is also running loose in the church and manifests in many local congregations without anyone ever seeing it—or confronting it.
If Jezebel is not a spirit of control and manipulation, what, then, does Jezebel look like? It looks just the way many books describe—on the surface. This is why so many are deceived. Jezebel is not merely a woman (or a man) with an overbearing personality or immature character. Jezebel’s influence runs much deeper than a desire to make someone a mouthpiece or puppet, or control the worship song list, or intimidate people from joining the inner circle in order to guard the leadership positions of those it controls.
Let’s be real. Some of those bossy, controlling people just need to read How to Win Friends and Influence People, and they would be fine. In other words, some saints just need good old-fashioned people skills.
So, think again: What does Jezebel look like in the church? Male or female, a Jezebelite—meaning a person who is influenced or dominated by this spirit—is a subtle seducer. And the key word is subtle. If Jezebel were obvious, no one would be fooled. A Jezebelite usually has a charismatic personality that draws people to other gods and away from Christ. Sometimes she succeeds in this idolatry by exalting pastors—puffing them up, putting them on a pedestal, giving them the honor God should have. She also does this by luring people to the things of the world and by introducing doctrines and principles that sound godly but come from the world’s system.
Likewise, a Jezebelite is quick to encourage sin. A woman confides in her, for instance, that she is having sex out of wedlock. The Jezebelite will assure the woman that it is OK if she is in love, easing the guilt and glossing over any godly conviction the woman might feel.
Please hear me: If we look only for control and manipulation, we will wrongly accuse people of “flowing in a Jezebel spirit,” while the principality wreaks havoc in the lives of people in the church.
Continue reading … read more
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet and The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@
Original Post by Chrisma News
Nine Current Mars Hill Pastors Tell Mark Driscoll To Step Down from All Ministry
Mars Hill Church responded publicly today to the leaked letter by nine of its 65 pastors.
“Despite the way the letter was sent out, please know we take its contents very seriously and will be taking the appropriate actions to honor Jesus, address the allegations and concerns, and work toward becoming a healthy church,” write 18 of the church’s lead pastors, including eight members of a newly appointed “board of elders” comprised of “trusted lead pastors … appointed to examine these charges.”
The letter asks church members to not “react in fear or anxiety,” “pronounce judgment before the time,” or “slander, gossip, or pick sides,” and instead asks them to “pray,” “seek wisdom,” “walk in godliness,” and “trust.” Mars Hill writes:
We must allow God to bring to light everything that he wants to have brought to the light. Just because someone brings forward allegations and concerns about a leader does not mean we should presume guilt. Any and all allegations and charges must be treated seriously, with impartiality, and without jumping to conclusions. Your elders will seek to honor Jesus as we proceed forward.
The 18 pastors note that “our ‘team’ is Jesus, not one group of elders or another,” and writes:
Pray that the elders will seek the Lord, be led by the Spirit, and proceed forward in confession, repentance, love, and godliness. Pray that the watching non-Christian world would not be given opportunity to discredit not only our church but the very gospel of Jesus. Pray that Jesus will be glorified through all of this.
The letter can be read in full at this link -> … read more
Jesus: He Lived Among Us
He was born in humble obscurity, yet his family had to flee to save him from a jealous ruler. He forgave sins, healed the sick and gave hope to the down-hearted and oppressed, yet he was despised and rejected by many.
He spoke the truth even when it was dangerous to do so.
He willingly laid down his life and then rose again, conquering the power of death!
From the voice of the Martyrs comes the dramatic, animated retelling of the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of the last surviving apostle, John. Journey with Jesus and encounter His miracles, His astonishing teaching and His unsurpassed bravery. Discover the power and love of Jesus Christ and see why His followers risked all to carry His message to the ends of the earth.
Children and adults alike will be captivated by this account of Jesus’ life, featuring vivid storytelling and high impact animation. Recommended for ages 7 and up.
This powerful presentation will encourge and inspire viewers to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to live among us.
| Categories: | Documentary, New to Rental |
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The Prayer Circle
Following a brutal convenience store roberry, five survivors form a Bible study group to help cope with the trauma. They meet every Sunday, sharing their experiences and feelings about the incident and how it ihas affected their lives. When Wood and the driver of the roberry vehicle, is released from prison, Annie the leader of the Bibe group invites him to join. Can the put the past behind and forgive?
| Director: | Jason Horton |
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| Producer(s): | Rodrequez, Veronica / Noel, Ashley |
| Categories: | Drama |
Authorities in Nigeria warns that Terrorist may disguise as Nuns
Government officials from the Department of State Services issued the warning after some clothing was stolen from a Catholic shop in the country.
It’s thought it could be used by terrorists to gain access to areas they want to attack.
A statement from the department said: “With the recent trend of female suicide bombings in the country, the theft of these regalia heightens concerns about the possibility of terrorist elements using [it] to perpetrate acts of terror.”
Members of the public are being urged to report any suspicious activity.
Bomb attacks on churches in Nigeria have been on the increase recently as a terrorist campaign by Boko Haram continues.
Original Post by Premier News
