This is an insightful article regarding the movie "The Passion of Christ" and how churches in their current state "simply cannot carry the 'weight' of this movie" to reflect the real Jesus to those who will be searching for answers after they see it. With regards to the ungodly condition of the church, Andrew Strom's words are painfully true, "A church that has bent over backwards to make its services a 'Seeker-friendly' mix of warm homilies and entertaining slickness, has nothing to say to a generation that is seeking the true Jesus of the Bible... How incongruous that we plan to use this blood-spattered, shatteringly 'real' movie to invite people back to our comfortable, plush-seated crematoriums - there to be wooed by our utterly 'unreal' Sunday pantomimes" He concludes by stating what I myself attempted to communicate in this forum on February 19 - that perhaps God intends to use this movie to shake believers out of their sin and complacency so that they can accurately represent and reveal the true Son of God to the lost and dying world who so desperately need a Savior.
- These apostate believers have absolutely no fear of God in them as evidenced by the fact that they wholeheartedly love that which is evil and vile (Proverbs 8:13). Their complete and total disregard for the clear teachings of Scripture on this depravity (Romans 1:21-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:8-10) reveals their true spiritual condition - that they neither love God, nor revere His Word, but are committed to their own self-indulgent sinful lusts. They conveniently forget that the holy and awesome God of the Bible commands them to "be ye holy" for He is holy." (1 Peter 1:15-16) The so-called god referred to in the article who "is doing a new thing in San Francisco" is merely the god of this world who has blinded their minds to the truth. 2 Corinthians 4:4
Evangelicals frustrated by Bush - The Washington Times - Any believer in Jesus Christ who puts their trust in a political leader to do the things that only the Spirit of God can do will be utterly disappointed. Take this statement quoted by Gary Bauer, president of the Christian right-wing organization American Values for instance: "I'm not blaming the president, but religious conservatives have been doing politics for 25 years and, on every front, are worse off on things they care about... The gay rights movement is more powerful, the culture is more decadent, the life of not one baby has been saved, porn is in the living room, and you can't watch the Super Bowl without your hand on the off switch." One would think that they would get the picture that God is not in American politics after twenty five years of spinning their wheels with nothing to show for it except the alienation of those God wants believers to reach. Men are not going to be able to legislate change to the hearts of the wicked and force the kingdom of God on people in the earth through worldly governments. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the accurate demonstration of the Body of Christ in the earth will effect the change that these men say they are seeking. Jesus clearly taught that His kingdom - the kingdom that true believers have been born into, is not of this world. John 18:36John 15:18-19
This editorial serves as a good reality check for we believers who are "lovers of the latest and greatest methodologies especially when it comes to evangelism." While the "Passion" movie may be used by the Holy Spirit to draw unbelievers to Christ, the greatest impact of all will be upon those who call themselves "Christians," but whose lives are void of true holiness and a reality of the demonstration of the power of the Son of God over sin in their lives. Let's face it, the majority of those who see this film will be from the church-going crowd, not from the world of unbelievers. My prayer, in light of the current conditions in the "church" today is that the sin that is tolerated in these so-called religious institutional organizations will be confronted with the horror of the brutality that was brought on the Son of God when He suffered for this very sin. The divorce, the adultery, the fornication, the homosexuality, the greed, the hypocrisy, the indulgence in ungodly movies and videos, the lust for experiential blessings, the love of ease, comfort and pleasure - all these are rampant in the "church" today not to mention the false doctrine, heresy, deception, spiritual abuse and manipulation that prop it all up - they are the very iniquities and transgressions that put the Holy One of God on that cross. I, for one am of the opinion that viewing anything that "Hollywood" produces is at best, a work of the flesh, but I am hopeful that God, by the conviction of the Holy Spirit will bring open confrontation to the church through this very medium of "entertainment" that most who call themselves "Christian" are unwilling to forsake. Isaiah 53
This is a well-written article exposing the deception of Roman Catholicism written by a former Roman Catholic whom God has called to a "ministry to reach the many Catholics who are where he was for most of his life - believing he was heaven-bound but, in reality, destined for a Christ-less eternity."
This post on the Five Doves website seems to imply that the message in the "Left Behind" series is the good news of the gospel of salvation and that we should all be wonderfully glad that "God is really pulling out all the stops" because of the "60 Minutes" coverage it received. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The escape mentality promoted by the "Left Behind" series is neither Scriptural, nor is it truth. It is a false doctrine promoted by an apostate church that makes idols of ease, comfort, and wealth and does everything it can to avoid suffering and pain. It is a hermeneutically unsound teaching that was pieced together using proof texts and God hates it not only because it is false, but more so because it leads His children away from seeking His specific purpose for their lives here on the earth. Read some of the books listed on the recommended resources link of this website to get a clear understanding of what God is doing in this generation and then give yourself wholeheartedly to His purpose instead of sitting around waiting for the myth of the "rapture" to magically whisk you away from your greatest opportunity to make a difference that will affect eternity for yourself and those you influence for God's glory.
This post begs an insightful question. Why is it that you never hear the advocates of religious tithing also promote circumcision? Both practices are Old Testament laws. If they are going to insist on one being kept, they are going to have to be careful to keep them all. Paul said in Galatians 5:3 that to every man that is circumcised (as an act of keeping the law for justification), "...he is a debtor to do the whole law." The same holds true for these who insist that believers must tithe to be free from God's curse - they too are debtors to do the whole law. As Galatians 5:4 says - they are "fallen from grace" because they seek to be justified by the law. Read the Book of Galatians and everywhere you find a variation of the word "circumcise," substitute the equivalent variation of the word "tithe" in it's place. The fact of the matter is that these culprits in the pulpits have a vested interest in keeping you in bondage to the Old Testament law of tithing because their very livelihood depends on it. If they were to walk by faith and depend on God in the realm of their finances as Jesus and the apostles taught, most of them would be shut down and out of business before long because God would never bless nor provide for the garbage that they're spewing out in His name. Preaching the lie of the tithe is the way in which they keep their man-made, religious kingdoms propped up and avoid the responsibility of making sure what they are saying and doing is truly of God.
Here is a well-thought-out post about why the man-made tradition of religious tithing is unscriptural and wrong . It is right in line with other posts about this topic that I have referenced here on this site during the past week. As I mentioned before, there are some really good books that document just how blatantly wrong tithing is to the New Testament Church. One is "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola who devotes an entire chapter to the subject. His books can be found on the Present Testimony Ministry website. Another, "The Lie of the Tithe" by Rick Johnston is very straightforward and insightful and can be found at the Simple Truth website. I highly recommend these books to anyone seeking to know the whole truth about religious tithing.
This is a sobering article that shows where we are headed as a nation if we do not repent. 1 Peter 4:17-18 gives us a somber warning about where that judgment is going to begin. The condition of the church with regards to the lack of holiness and truth is ripe for judgment. It's time for true followers of Jesus Christ to repent and forsake sin and unrighteousness of every kind, and to stand up and confront the blatant sin and heresy that is rampant in the house of God. We must become the true representation and demonstration of the Body of Christ in the earth. Many have already come out from the institutionalized religious organizations that masquerade as the church and are seeking God for His will and purpose as to what He would have us to do. This article - THE "OUT-OF-CHURCH" CHRISTIANS - why are thousands leaving the churches?, shows how this is indeed happening all around the world. The coming judgment is inevitable, but we can prepare ourselves through holiness and obedience to the purpose of God so that were are not found to be in bed with the enemy when it comes.
This post on the Five Doves website is a revealing and sobering example of the way American Christians tend to equate their selfish, comfortable, rich, easy lifestyles to God's stamp of approval that they are doing exactly what He want them to do. Didn't Jesus say in Luke 12:15 that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions? And did He not also say in Luke 14:33 that he who does not forsake everything cannot be His disciple? These people "count their blessings" and exhort others to do the same as if Jesus' words in the gospels were not applicable to their own lives. Perhaps their undying service to the god of Mammon is what is reaping all this counted "blessing" into their selfish, covetous lives. They justify themselves before men, but God knows their hearts: "for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." Luke 16:13-15
The Church of England's General Synod wants to rewrite both history and the Scriptures with their politically correct version of what happened when Jesus was born into this world. The truth which these deceivers do not respect is that in Matthew 2:1, the word translated as "wise men" in the King James Version of the Bible is "magos" which is a masculine noun according to Joseph H Thayer's "Greek - English Lexicon of the New Testament." It's no wonder that "...the decision was greeted by mocking newspaper headlines..." The world just mocks and laughs at the blatant hypocrisy and stupidity that modern day pharisees of institutionalized religion continue to demonstrate. Where are the leaders who will accurately represent the Savior and His Word to the lost and dying world? Evidently, they are not to be found in the Church of England!
Here is a great post on the topic of tithing found on the Five Doves website that gives clear insight about the effects that religious tithing has to produce and reinforce self-righteousness, greed, and witchcraft (manipulation) in the hearts of those practice it.
Here is another post on the Five Doves website which is filled with untruths, assumptions and misrepresentations of both the Scriptures and those who do not subscribe to the lie of religious tithing. The writer, it seems is trying to bolster his unbiblical position by resorting to judging the hearts and motives of those who disagree with him. He also attempts to use the passage in the book of Hebrews (which was written in context to show the inferiority of the Levitical priesthood in comparison to the priesthood of Jesus Christ,) to hang a law of tithing on New Testament believers. To say that Hebrews 7:8 is proof that "Jesus still lives and receives our tithes in heaven" is simply not true since the words "receiveth them" are not even in the original Greek manuscripts. The translators took the liberty of adding those extra words. A more accurate translation, according to Greek scholar Jay P. Green is "And here dying men indeed receive tithes, but there it having been witnessed that he lives" (LITV). This is in line with the context of the passage which is not about tithing, but about the superiority of the High Priest, Jesus Christ Who lives compared with the Levite priests who die. The author of the post then goes on to label those who disagree with him as "covetous" and blames the money problems of other believers on the fact that they don't tithe which is completely presumptuous and unfounded. People have money problems due to a variety of reasons, one of which may be the presence of greed and stinginess in their lives. But to tell them that they can bribe God into delivering them out of the consequences of their sin will only serve to confirm them in the very thing that they need to be delivered from. God doesn't need our money. To say that He does is to say that Mammon is more powerful then He is. That we should give to those in need - the poor, the widows and the fatherless of the world - is written on the hearts of everyone who is born of the Spirit of God. But as the New Testament teaches, it should be voluntarily and not under the religious law of tithing. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Here are two posts on the Five Doves website that reveal just how much bondage believers are in when it comes to the unbiblical practice of religious tithing. While reading the first post, you can't help but see an arrogance and condescending attitude that is not uncommon in the writings of those who have a pharisaical stance towards religion. They don't want to "debate this issue with you, but will enlighten you on this important subject by the word of God." That one comment is enough to raise suspicion about anything said in that post. The second post is deceptive in that it wrongfully uses the example of Abraham giving tithes to Melchizedek as proof that New Testament believers should tithe. As pointed out in "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola, take note that Abraham's tithe was totally voluntary. No one told Him he had to tithe. Also note that Abraham tithed out of the spoils that he obtained from a war he fought - it was a sudden windfall and not a part of his regular income or property. Thirdly, this was the only time Abraham tithed during the 160 years of his life and there is no evidence that he ever tithed prior to or after that incident. So if you want to use this example as a "proof text" to argue that believers must tithe, then you only need to tithe one time, voluntarily, and not on your regular income. These culprits in the pulpits will stop at nothing to keep believers in bondage to their power and control. As long as they are able to keep that tithe coming in by motivating their congregations through fear, greed and manipulation, their kingdom is safe. Take away the tithe and let's see how many will be left standing by Gods sustenance and provision. Very few indeed.
This post on the Five Doves website is a follow-up to the post that appeared there yesterday regarding the unbiblical practice of religious tithing. Please note the link in the post that points to a well-written article shedding the light of truth on this issue. Believers today need to be set free from this ungodly and unscriptural bondage that has been placed on them by those who are building their own kingdoms on the wallets of their congregations. Be free!
Here is a great post on the Five Doves website which exposes the lie of the tithe. (The only thing wrong with it is the foolish and unnecessary comment from the moderator of the site at the bottom of the post. Religious tithing is not a good practice and he completely misses the point of the post.) There are some really good books that document just how blatantly wrong tithing is to the New Testament Church. One, I mentioned yesterday, "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola devotes an entire chapter to the subject and can be found on the Present Testimony Ministry website. Another, "The Lie of the Tithe" by Rick Johnston is extremely informative and can be found at the Simple Truth website. Read these books and you'll never be able to nor want to practice religious tithing again.
This post on the Five Doves website is a reminder that there are other believers in the Body of Christ to whom God is speaking about the sorry state of the institutionalized religious meetings that masquerade as the church. More and more of us are getting the picture and realizing that the modern day concept of what we call "church" does not in any way fit into the pattern laid out for us in the New Testament. A great book that documents the unbiblical roots of these present day religious meetings is "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola and can be obtained at the Present Testimony Ministry website. Get a copy, read it and your view of "church" will never be the same again.
In this article, Jerry Falwell answers for God in assuming that the Almighty is pro-war. The so-called "Christian Right" ought to keep quiet when they come to their self-serving conclusions about God, for they neither know Him nor speak for Him. Whether God is pro-war or not isn't a matter that human flesh can determine (Romans 11:34). Statements like these reveal only arrogance, presumption, hypocrisy and the utter absence of humility in the hearts of those who make them. They do nothing but alienate the watching world away from the kingdom of God. What possible glory will God receive from such foolishness? The motive can only be the promotion of a flesh-serving, power-hungry, political agenda that God hates. And I for one, as His child in Christ hate it too!
