Welcome to the February, 2010 blog. February is one of the most unloved months of the year—snow, ice, lifeless plants, dreary days, kids at home instead of school on snow days, and empty pews due to sickness or inability to get to the church. But exciting reports from around the country sound like good things are happening in our churches. Let the good times roll!
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Let’s start with the Word:
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (II Timothy 1:7-10).
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Mini-message
Who is in control?
In English Literature class in high school, I did a thesis on the noted humanist, Alfred Lord Tennyson. He happened to be the inspiration for another humanist, William Ernest Henley, who wrote a powerful poem called “Invictus” (Latin for unbeaten):
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Sorry, not altogether true, Sir Henley.
Perhaps he had never read Daniel 4:32: “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” Only fools and deists think they are in ultimate control. God still rules in the affairs of men and nations. We are not puppets on a string, but we have to acknowledge that somewhere there is a God who is more in control of our lives, our circumstances and destiny than most of us realize.
Eve became convinced that she should be in control, make her own choices, and decide her own fate. But she learned the hard way that when we humans attempt to take sole control we should expect the worst.
A few years ago I read the hair-raising story of Danna Demetre of Los Angeles. She was in a hurry to a business meeting in San Diego, which was at least 70 minutes away and she had only 60 minutes to get there. She was traveling at 70+mph down an LA freeway feeling much in control when suddenly the steering wheel of her car came off in her hands! Her first thought was, “I am going to get hurt today!” She had to keep her foot on the accelerator to keep the car from being rear-ended. Beyond that, she had no idea of what to do. She realized she had no options. She was not in control.
She cried out to God: “I can’t do anything! I am helpless! It is up to You!”
She said that a sudden peace came over her. Then the car began to veer to the left toward oncoming traffic. As she went through the median, the oncoming traffic miraculously opened up and she went through, crossing to the left shoulder and striking a concrete abutment on the other side. She hit the brakes and came to a stop as cars whooshed by at 70 mph! Many thoughts came racing through her mind as well. Among them: “When I am not in control, it is good to know that Someone who loves me is.”
Ultimately, we must decide, although it is not easy to do, that God is in control. Daniel saw this in the story of Nebuchadnezzar.
When you begin to feel that everything right and good around you is collapsing, remember Daniel’s revelation that God orchestrates all things in relation to His ultimate plan and eternal design. That truth takes nothing away from the fact that stupidity or happenstance can put us in harm’s way. Nor does it diminish the importance of prayer and placing ourselves in the will of God according to His Word.
What a comfort in these distressing times!
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A tourniquet for the bleeding
A Christian attorney and conservative political activist says newly elected Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown was the “tourniquet” that temporarily stopped America’s “bleeding” caused by the agenda of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid.
Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel writes in a new column for Townhall.com that although Scott Brown is “woefully flawed” on social issues, including abortion, his win was still a “victory for life and liberty.”
“Obama, as I say in the column, has sliced open America’s wrists with his cutting political agenda,” the attorney notes. “Time is of the essence, and by providing Senate Republicans the crucial 41st vote needed to filibuster ‘ObamaCare’ and other radical leftist and socialist and anti-life policies, Scott Brown essentially provides the tourniquet.”
In his column, Barber explains the analogy. “While bleeding to death, one may be left no choice but to apply a tourniquet. A tourniquet is less than ideal. It may even cost a limb; however, it’s also likely to save one’s life.”
Be encouraged. This report lets us know how fast the American people can turn things around once they understand the problem. That is why I have chosen to keep my readers reminded of their civic responsibility. To keep America strong and free is crucial to the cause of evangelism and missions. Ethicists and pacifists may disagree, but are they basing their theory on history and fact or fanciful philosophy? Freedom in this nation has contributed more to the cause of missions and evangelism than any ten socialist countries that could be named.
Thanks, Massachusetts! We owe you.
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Bible trivia:
Was Keturah the wife or concubine of Abraham?
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/616
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A morsel for the inner man
Here is a tidbit of nourishment from Paul in Ephesians 4:1,2: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (NIV).
Paul and God had a way with words! He is speaking of the unity of the body of Christ, showing us how it can be achieved through living a life worthy of our calling. He follows with a description of that “worthy life”—“be completely humble and gentle.” Humility keeps our spirit and attitude right; gentleness contributes to keeping others’ spirits right. Patience tells us that nothing of value materializes quickly. Toadstools spring up overnight, but it takes years to grow an oak tree. Forbearance is restraint when provoked, accompanied by a liberal allowance for the faults and failures of others. Love is the motivator for all these virtues and what holds all the factors together.
What a prescription for local church unity and renewal!
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Jihad in America
For those of you who would like to keep up with the Israel/Arab conflict, and the threat of Jihad in the West by Muslims, here is an interesting web site: http://www.shoebat.com/
Walid Shoebat is a former Palestinian terrorist who is exposing what the Jihadists are planning in America. There is one report here that shows the terrorists bragging about crossing our porous borders. Will we never wake up?
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Is America a Democracy or a Republic?
We actually answer that question every time we cite the Pledge of Allegiance. Our forefathers established a Republic, and there is a huge difference. What actually is the difference?
The definition of each was published in the Soldiers’ Training Manual of the United States War Department in 1928, and is accepted as authentic in any court of proper jurisdiction. These precise and scholarly definitions of a Democracy and a Republic were carefully considered as a proper guide for U.S. soldiers and U.S. citizens by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
Shortly after the bank holiday in the 1930s, hush-hush orders from the Roosevelt White House suddenly demanded that all copies of this book [Training Manual 2000-25] be withdrawn from the Government Printing Office and the Army posts, to be suppressed and destroyed without explanation. Why did the FDR administration destroy this official training manual?
Here are the definitions:
Democracy:
A government of the masses. Authority is derived through mass meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic, negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the people shall regulate, whether it be based upon deliberation, or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Results in demagoguery, license, agitation, discontent, and anarchy.
Republic:
Authority is derived through election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them. Attitude toward property is respect for laws and individual rights, and a sensible economic procedure. Attitude toward law is the administration of justice in accord with fixed principles, and established evidence, with a strict regard to consequences. A greater number of citizens and extent of territory may be brought within its compass. Avoids the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy. Results in statesmanship, liberty, reason, justice, contentment, and progress.
A G. 014.33 (4-28-8).] C.P. SUMMERALL,
Major General, Chief of Staff. OFFICIAL: LUTZ WAHL,
Major General, The Adjutant General
I say, let’s keep the Republic alive and let those who prefer a socialist state continue to enjoy its bounty peacefully or move to a country employing that form of government.
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And we kept silent…
I know. It is not smart to speak out about matters that might shine a poor light on a sensitive situation either in state or church. Most people want to be “safe”—including me. Only fools embrace a death wish. But politically smart and silently safe are not adjectives found in the biographies of those who make a difference in the world. Some wonder why anyone speaks out on certain issues when it would be much more sagacious to just remain silent. Silence invites no rebuke, no ad hominem charges, no curses or marginalization.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” So said Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the last martyrs of Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich.
I have wondered how the Trinity doctrine became so popular in the third and fourth centuries. That could only have happened if those who knew better but felt intimidated by great minds like Justin, Cyprian or Tertullian, and as a result, chose to remain silent. They might have saved the day for Oneness if they had stood together and made their collective voices heard.
How could we not have known what was happening in Pol Pot’s Cambodia, or Mao’s China, or Stalin’s Russia, or Hitler’s Germany until the deeds were done? Silence pervaded. Fear reigned. Fear rules from the thrones of tyranny. The complicit minority with the silent majority is a marriage made in Hell. Must truth forever be the victim of self-preservation?
Speaking out on the issues of false doctrine, Emergent ideologies, and unchecked, blatant compromise within ministerial ranks is not an option if we are to retain our Apostolic identity.
I realize that some who label themselves as only “experimenting with different methodologies” do not think of themselves as compromising the truth. They believe we have been wrong on many of our positions and they have now been enlightened and need to drag the rest of the movement kicking and screaming into the light where they are or be left in the dust. That is not a premise that many men of experience can get their faith around.
Here is Bonhoeffer again: “First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
Martin Luther King put it succinctly: “Your life begins to end the day you become silent about the things that matter.”
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Quotes we would do well to remember
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear.” - Cicero Marcus Tullius – Born on January 3, 106 BC and was murdered on December 7, 43 BC
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” - President James Madison
Every person of color in the U. S. and elsewhere who are descendants of slaves should meditate on this quote for a while:
“Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman, philosopher and orator
“To change masters is NOT to be free.” – José Martí y Pérez
“God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany.” – Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler
I have always been wary of perceived “national saviors.” I can think of a few who filled the role and rescued a nation from tyranny, but outnumbering them by far are the many tyrants who saved the resources of the nation and its people for themselves only, leaving naught but a legacy of ignominy. – JRE
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did NOTHING because he could only do a little.” – Edmund Burke
“Truth like freedom is principled. It requires principled men to defend it, and if necessary to die for it.” – Source unknown
“If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.” – Frank Herbert
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RECENT SERMON DELIVERED IN
A VIRGINIA CHURCH
Good morning, brothers and sisters; it’s always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God’s Word. Turn with me to the 47th chapter of Genesis, we’ll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27. [Reading]
We see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain.
And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again. So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock—their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkeys—to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.
But the famine wasn’t over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. “There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh.”
So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh’s government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters? That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes. That’s the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master? Yes.
But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! “Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.”
God provided for His people, just as he always has! They didn’t end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today—the government today wants to “share the wealth” once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind. And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago—as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama’s government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh’s government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a “Messiah,” don’t they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn’t the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh”?
Well, I tell you this—I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh.
Bow with me in prayer, if you will.
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of I Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says, “And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters. Give us hearts to seek you and hands to serve you. And protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh’s government. In God we trust….Amen.”
(Source unknown)
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Indonesian Officials Consider Tearing
Down Obama Statue
Authorities in Indonesia are considering a petition to tear down a controversial statue depicting President Obama as a 10-year-old boy only a month after the bronze was erected in Jakarta.
The statue of “Little Barry”—as the president was known when he lived in the capital in the late 1960s—has inspired 55,000 people to join an Indonesian-language Facebook group named “Take Down the Barack Obama Statue in Taman Menteng Park.”
“We’ve been discussing for the past two weeks what to do with the statue—whether to take it down, move it elsewhere to retain it. We’re finding the best solution,” Jakarta parks agency official Dwi Bintarto told AFP.
Obama lived in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971 with his American mother, his Indonesia stepfather and his half-sister. He went by the name “Barry,” had a pet monkey and attended the elementary school near the site of the present-day statue. But critics say Obama has done nothing for Indonesia to deserve the honor.
The statute cost $10,000. The money was donated by eight Indonesia patrons, a TV station and a disaster-relief charity. “The statue is of Obama as a child, not as the U.S. president,” Bintartol told AFP. “His relatives and friends who erected it said it’s meant to motivate children to study hard and dream big.”
-Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Meanwhile, another crowd anxiously awaited the decision whether it would remain or be taken down.
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“The Gipper” knew
Ronald Reagan once stated, “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism, or socialism, on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project.”
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Factoids
• A 2006 study shows that premarital preparation, education and counseling reduces the divorce rate by 31%.
• The Journal of Happiness Studies reports women are happier than men, but only until their late 40s. The study found women in their 20s are happier than men. The lackluster love lives and low-paying first jobs of younger men are blamed. By age 48, men are happier. (cbsnews.com 7/08)
• A Cambridge University survey suggests growing numbers of people are concerned about the impact of working mothers on family life. In 1998, 51% of women and 45.9% of men believed family life would not suffer if a woman went to work. This had fallen to 46% of women and 42% of men in 2002. Women’s changing role is viewed as having costs both for the woman and the family. (BBC News 8/6/08)
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Obama working hard to promote globalism
In the dead of night on December 17, 2009, President Barack Hussein Obama placed the United States of America under the authority of the international police organization known as INTERPOL, granting the organization full immunity to operate within the United States.
Executive Order 12425 grants INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) a new level of full diplomatic immunity afforded to foreign embassies and select other “International Organizations” as set forth in the United States International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 draws its authority from the International Organizations Immunities Act (http://www.ipu.org/finance-e/PL79-291.pdf) passed by the 79th Congress December 29, 1945. The law grants to designated organizations a list of “immunities” including Section 2(c) which states:
“Section 2(c) Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable.”
By removing language from President Reagan’s 1983 Executive Order 12425, this international law enforcement body now operates with no accountability on American soil beyond the reach of our own top law enforcement arm, the FBI, and is immune from the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
What, exactly does this mean? It means that INTERPOL now has the full authority to conduct investigations and other law enforcement activities on U.S. soil, with full immunity from U.S. laws such as the Freedom of Information Act and with complete independence from oversight from the FBI. In short, a global law enforcement entity now has full law-enforcement authority in the U.S. without any check on its power afforded by U.S. law and U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Why would we elevate an international police force above American law? Why would we immunize an international police force from the limitations that constrain the FBI and other American law-enforcement agencies? Why is it suddenly necessary to have, within the Justice Department, a repository for stashing government files, which, therefore, will be beyond the ability of Congress, American law-enforcement, the media, and the American people to scrutinize?
At least one answer to these questions is very clear. A coup is underway in the United States of America, the goal of which is to establish complete, unquestioned authority over the citizens—a “fundamental transformation” of the United States where citizens have no legal recourse against an authoritarian central government.
Sources: Andy McCarthy in National Review; Threatswatch.com; Henry Lamb, Sovereignty International, Inc.
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Whoa! Take a laugh break.
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What can we Apostolics do?
The nation we love is leaving the path of individual freedom heading toward socialism. The effect could be catastrophic for churches and missions. Or…it could set the stage for a pre-second coming revival. Who knows? Judging by how the church has fared under similar conditions elsewhere, the scales seemed to be tipped toward difficult times, especially evangelistically. What should we as Apostolics do about it?
Start a revolution like the colonists did in the 1770s:
• They recognized tyranny when they saw it. They refused to be blinded by the thoughts of overwhelming odds and distinct disadvantages. They first believed that something should and could be done.
• They rejected hatred for their British heritage. They operated from a perspective of love for freedom, not from a despising of Britain, nor of lust for raw political power. The majority apparently maintained pure motives.
• They did not initiate violence against the British soldiers. Only when their lives and livelihood were threatened did they act. Tossing tea into the waters of the Boston harbor was a symbolic act to express their displeasure at unfair taxation, and not intended to spark a shooting war with England.
• They went to their knees in prayer. In the deliberations of how they should respond to British tyranny and force, they regularly prayed to the God of the Bible for divine guidance. They wanted their motives to be right, but they also wanted to found a nation that would feature a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
• They did not fight an aggressive war. They merely announced the formation of a government separate from the British crown, a nation of laws that dictated civility and mutual respect. They did not cross the sea to attack Britain to kill or capture or subjugate the English populace. However, they were willing to fight a defensive war for freedom when it seemed there was no alternative.
• They quit fighting when British troops stopped their aggression, surrendered and sailed back to that island nation. They extended a hand of friendship to their forebears, with one exception—when they again had to defend themselves against British aggression in 1812. Since then we have been allies, forgiving each other for whatever actions were taken.
How can we use their actions as a template for our own?
First, we must recognize the dangers of tyranny. There is an obvious effort by high profile people to discredit Christianity who are aided and abetted by the actions of government. The spirit of globalism embraced by our government is a major threat to any future evangelistic programs of American Christians. As government grows, the freedoms expressed in the Bill of Rights diminish. This includes the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of the press, and others that have made this a great nation. The looming socialism bodes ill for all people in America, and especially for Christians. Our current president seems to have assumed the position of King of America, issuing orders and mandates and imposing fees and taxes at will. Congress is all but ignored.
Second, we must make sure that our motives remain pure. We must be free from hate. We must do what we do from a position of love—not a cushy, namby-pamby attitude of softness that invites tyrannical bullies, but of meekness, which is strength emanating from conviction and controlled by love. We will lose if we countenance racism or anything that smacks of it. We will lose if we lust for position or advantage or power of any kind. We must love our children, their children, and their children’s children. To raise up and maintain “godly generations” was God’s stated purpose for His people. That should also be our motivation.
Third, we should reject any acts of aggression that lead to violence. Apostolic Christians were not made Christians by the sword and they do not live by the sword. That means that we do not maintain a Christian presence by violence or war. Those who live godly in Christ should expect persecution (II Timothy 3:12). We accept that. Apostolics detest violence. It is not our way. But pushing us may only push us together and as a “prayer force” for good and right we can be formidable. We are not privileged to protect ourselves with violence when confronted by violence should the sole cause be that we are Christian believers (I Peter 2:21-23). However, if members of our family are attacked by force for reasons other than because they are Christians, we seem to be duty bound to defend them to whatever limit is necessary. To protest publicly is a constitutional right. That should not be considered as aggression. The rights of assembly and speech should not be abridged or challenged.
Fourth, we must pray. We do not always know the best path to take in secular matters, nor how to bring about peaceful change. We do not know the future. But God does. We need to pray for those in positions of power and authority. The Bible is clear about this. That does not mean that prayer is the only thing we do, but actions that follow prayer can be directed by God. We all know that there have been times when the outcome of serious situations has been determined by the Lord. The Bible is filled with such instances, both in the Old and New Testaments. We need to pray corporately as well as privately. Pray that God’s purposes will be achieved, whatever they are. Pray that we will maintain a right spirit throughout any trial or testing of our faith.
Fifth, we ought to be prepared spiritually, financially and physically for whatever lies ahead. Maintain a walk in the Spirit and in the Word (Galatians 5:16,25). Get out of debt as soon as possible (Romans 13:8), and take no money from the government, other than that which you have rightfully earned and was specifically set aside for you (e.g., Social Security, tax refunds). The strings attached are a mile long. We should live in such a way that our physical bodies are in the best shape possible to endure whatever may be our lot. This will enable us to be strong in the face of opposition or physical persecution and show a right spirit toward those who misuse us and treat us unfairly (Matthew 5:44). Forgive them. Jesus did. Stephen did. We can.
No one knows what the future holds. This is our country. We are citizens and have rights. Paul insisted on his rights as a Roman citizen and we should also. Stand up and be counted. Speak up. “When you have done all to stand, stand therefore” (Ephesians 6:13,14).
The time is now!
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Muslims now, Apostolics later?
A pastor sent me the following thoughts about the decision of the French government to outlaw the full face veil or “burqa”:
While I am no fan of the practice of the veil, there is already scattered talk about banning it in the USA as well. Here is my problem: virtually all the women who wear it, wear it by choice (and apparently quite a few do it voluntarily), or are made to by their society or spouses for religious reasons. When any government starts to either require or ban certain types of clothing or styles of dress that individuals wear for religious reasons we had better take notice.
Right after September 11, 2001, I was listening to a Public Radio station that was interviewing a Muslim cleric. In the interview the commentator asked the cleric, “Why do your people (Muslims) hate us (Americans) so much?” His reply was that your Christian churches teach the worship of “three Gods”! The commentator tried to explain that most denominational churches believe in a “Triune God.” The cleric replied that America was a country of idolaters. He said the Muslim world clearly sees the blasphemous habits of the Americans and are determined through “Jihad” to stamp it out.
When I heard that, I wondered how many years before we are categorized with the Muslim “Trinity” haters for our stand on the Oneness of God. Our Bible-based belief in the new birth, baptism in Jesus name rather than the Trinitarian formula, has for years ostracized us from mainstream denominational religions. The next thing I wondered was how long before their (the Muslims) mandatory, extremely modest dress and our voluntary biblical modest dress were also linked together. If they can tell Muslim women their clothes don’t meet with the social norm, how long before they start telling the Apostolics that?
These events in France are the very tip of the iceberg of worldwide persecution that will envelop the Apostolic church in these last days. We are already being punished in certain areas of North America for preaching against the biblical abominations of homosexuality and lesbianism. What’s next?
Perhaps every “good ol boy” in the church is shouting at the French, “Make them terrorists take off them veils”! We had better be very careful. Are true Apostolic holiness believers next!
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Grin and bear it
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Book review
The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity
for New Generations
by Dan Kimball, Rick Warren, Brian McLaren and Howard Hendricks.
This book is one of the guiding lights for those who are breaking the shackles of traditional Christianity and launching into the methodological morass of the progressives. Warren offers his currently bland views about the postmoderns who are assuming the heights of heresy. He has cast his lot with the emerging apostasies of Kimball, McLaren, et al, but is woefully out of place. His star is rapidly fading, it seems.
Practically speaking, Kimball and the other hardliners want to send us back to the Dark Ages when superstition and Catholic mystic ritual dominated the church. [This is what is being promoted today under the heading of “contemplative spirituality.”] This is not progressive; it’s regressive. Rather than leaning on just another splintered reed, Christians should build their lives on the pure milk and strong meat of the Word.
Kimball has it backwards. Meetings of the church are not about art, music, incense, candles, mood and experience. They should be about love for one another, holiness, and pure doctrine undefiled by the wisdom of this world. “Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…for the customs of the people are vain” (Jeremiah 10:2,3).
Kimball, Warren, et al., give us the Burger King gospel—have it your way. For example, Warren writes on page 7 that it’s OK to do anything in church worship “…as long as the biblical message is unchanged.” This sounds good until you try to pin down what Warren’s “biblical message” really is. It won’t even sound good for long, because when you clothe the gospel in rags, you can hide “the riches of His grace.”
On one of these cold February nights when you need some kindling for your fireplace, try this book and see if will serve the purpose.
- Source: JRE and Hadley Robinson
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Apostolic Ministerial Conference – April 7-9
Apostolic Ministerial Conference in Nashville, TN at the Opryland Hotel is for ministers and their immediate families. This year there will be a special Minister’s Wives session. Don’t miss this historic meeting. See you in Music City! Mention AMC when making reservations. For more information, go to http://calvarytabernacle.homestead.com/AMC.html.
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Thanks…
When you want Bibles or good Apostolic and conservative books, contact advanceministries.org. You will probably find what you want there. Order directly from our secure site. We thank you.
Tip: When you are searching for older, rare or out of print books, go to google.com, type in the title and perhaps the author, and see what sites come up. If you see one that has a google.com web site, it is likely that all or some of the book is available in PDF format free online. While you can’t print them out, you can read them and obtain quotes, etc., from them. Many newer books are available online also.
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Featured books this month:
A Hair Short of Glory
Apostolics have always held that I Corinthians 11:1-16 is not merely a cultural statement written only for the Corinthian assembly or saints just in that time period, but a commandment for all Christian men and women everywhere since that time. Penny Watkins starts from this premise and reveals how and when the current trend of women cutting their hair began. The facts she discovered and presents here may shock and surprise you. If you have a question about the matter of women cutting their hair, this book is for you.
AM Price $6.95
Larry Booker’s books…while they last:
The Journey of A Lifetime
Larry Booker’s life is an astonishing epic of God’s love, truth, and grace. As the world drowns in hopelessness and despair, this story reveals the unbelievable length to which God will go in order to redeem His children. A gripping tale that weaves from the hilarious to the tragic, you will become enmeshed and changed while hearing this exciting story. Careful…don’t let a tear dim your vision while driving!
Book – AM Price $12.95 Audio CDs – $32.95
What a Difference A Line Can Make
English and Spanish
In this era of indecision, fearfulness, and compromise, the world cries out for decisive leadership. Be it politics or Christianity, the world is clamoring for dynamic direction. This book is a treatise of Holy Ghost direction that has been overlooked and long overdue. Simultaneously concise and in-depth, this book offers crystal clear views of holiness themes that have been largely abandoned by Christendom, but long held dear by the people of God.
AM Price $10.95
This month only: Free book with any order!
Still only 1.50 each (1.00 in quantity)
Into His Marvelous Light
No other one-hour Bible study has enjoyed the consistent results of IHML over the years. Often copied but never duplicated. It is attractive, well written, and doctrinally sound. It will convince any open-minded person (and some whose minds are not so open) that the new birth is absolutely essential and that Acts 2:38 constitutes that experience. Now in both KJV and NIV.
Bulk pricing as follows:
1-49 $1.50 each
50-99 $1.25 each
100 or more $1.00 each
Guide for Living
A follow-up Study for the new convert. This little booklet can be given to the new convert to go through alone and then comeback to you with any questions they may have.It covers the new birth —what has happened to them and goes through what their responsibilities are now.
Bulk pricing as follows:
1-49 $1.50 each
50-99 $1.25 each
100 or more $1.00 each
The Keeper
A secure, happy marriage, functional children, and a clean and ordered home are the goals of every apostolic woman. How to achieve these goals is our daily challenge.
The Keeper, by Marthalee Lyman, brings practical techniques with a focus on spiritual responsibility to your fingertips. The author’s ideas are offered from a heart of love and burning desire to see our ladies walk in victory. “Its message has proven effective through life’s fiery trials…” -Rebecca Ensey. “Read it, you will never forget it.” – Pastor Harold Kern. “I could not put the book down!” -Roffie Ensey.
AM Price $11.95
J. R. Ensey’s Theological Dictionary on CD!
The reference volume based on the biblical, apostolic viewpoint! Compiled and written by J. R. Ensey.
When you want to know the meaning of a theological term, or the description of a religious movement, or the definition of over a thousand words that are found in reference works and the Bible…turn to The New Cyclopedic Theological Dictionary!
Contains:
• Over 1000 entries
• Definitions and descriptions of many Bible words, theological
terms, and religious movements
• 486 pages of easy-to-read, easy-to-use information
• The only reference volume of its kind! Written from a conser vative, apostolic viewpoint, this classic work has enhanced the study habits of thousands of ministers and laymen.
“This dictionary is far more than a word study; it is replete with the background and history of many doctrinal positions and teachings. It also serves as a standard for testing the validity of different theories…an invaluable tool!”
-Dr. Marvin Treece
Dictionary – AM Price $16.95
Dictionary on CD – AM Price $18.95
Buy both and SAVE – AM Price $25.90
Bro. Ensey’s book “The Perils of Pluralism” explains what is happening in our world, the church world, and also in many apostolic churches today. God help this book to impact the minds of ministers of truth. – Bro. Kenneth N. Baglin
AM price $3.95
Order all books through advanceministries.org or all 936-856-3419.
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The last laugh
This guy is bloodied but unbowed. Sometimes we have to be like him…hold our head high even though it has a few lumps on it.
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Parting shot
When you redefine sin, it is simple to come up with deeds or creeds that do not require the cross of Christ, atonement, or redemption through the substitutionary death of Jesus. This is where the Emergent movement is today. But—no sin, no cross. No cross, no Christ. No Christ, no salvation. Sorry. Paul addressed their ilk in Philippians 3:17-19: “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”
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Enjoy revival in February!!
JREnsey
Bloomberg.com reported on July 8 that at that weekend’s G-8 summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for a supranational currency to replace the dollar. He illustrated his call by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”
Lutherans adopt more open view on homosexuality
The UPCI General Conference will be considering a resolution to develop a process for the reinstatement of those ministers who have been dropped from fellowship following a conviction or confession of immoral behavior. While it may seem to be a compassionate measure, do we really need to be backing up—more than we already have? What is next on the list to be undone and removed from the Manual? Are we opening ourselves up to future legal liability should the individual again fall into sexual sin? We had committees and resolutions and discussions on this issue nineteen years ago and put it to rest. Why dredge it back up and re-open old wounds?
The Arab International Festival in Dearborn, MI, the city with the densest population of Muslims in America, provides a capsule of what America will be like in a few years. The following is news you didn’t hear about on your radio, or doubtless on TV. The news media is afraid to report it. 
(August 24) – By executive order, President Barack Obama has approved creation of a new, special terrorism-era interrogation unit to be supervised by the White House, a top aide said Monday. Bill Burton, Deputy White House Press Secretary.
Let’s say it costs insurance or government $99,000 to treat a patient in the effort to extend the life of a senior. If he dies, the cost may be only $6,500 to bury him. The savings would be $92,000. Since there are about 36,300,000 seniors, the total savings would be $3,357,750,000,000! That’s quadrillion! That puts dollar signs in President Obama’s eyes. Since the seniors are those most opposed to his health care plan, to see large numbers of them pass off the scene would not bring tears to his eyes. His health care plan would quickly move us toward reaping those savings. When babies are dispensable, so the elderly will become dispensable. Don’t let him beguile you with his smooth rhetoric. He told us what he was going to do before he took office. As a nation, we just didn’t listen.
o get it right; they are both broke; and now our government dares to mention them as models for all US health care.
As the story goes, a Harley rider is passing the zoo, when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion’s cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents. The biker jumps off his bike, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back, letting go of the girl. The biker brings her to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.
Answer: Contemplative prayer is not just “contemplating while you pray.” The Bible instructs us to pray with our minds (I Corinthians 14:15), so, clearly, prayer does involve contemplation. However, praying with your mind is not what “contemplative prayer” has come to mean. Contemplative prayer has slowly increased in practice and popularity along with the rise of New Age spiritualities and the emerging church movement—a movement that embraces many unscriptural ideas and practices. Contemplative prayer is one such practice.
Foster is a Quaker, so his spiritual life is grounded in the subjective “inner light” presupposition of the Friends tradition. He is highly steeped in the Roman Catholic mystics, drawing from dozens of them for his theology. More than that, Eugene Peterson informs us that Foster has “‘found’ the spiritual disciplines [in the mystics] that the modern world stored away and forgot” (p. 206). Foster’s views are also formed by Quaker mystics and even secular thinking, most surprisingly Carl Jung, self-confessed demon-possessed psychologist.
Practices called “spiritual disciplines” that are deemed necessary for “spiritual formation” have entered evangelicalism. Recent encounters with this teaching narrated to me by friends caused me to investigate these practices. The first experience involved my friend and co-worker Ryan Habbena who went back to seminary to finish his masters degree. Here is his experience in his own words:
The National Education Association’s (NEA) top lawyer, Bob Chanin, recently made clear the goal of the NEA. He called those who believe in and work for traditional family values “b****rds.” He also praised the NEA because the organization has “power” and “hundreds of millions” of dollars from dues to spend in promoting their agenda and political candidates. Pentecostal teachers have the opportunity to speak out on the issues and I pray they will do so. Let’s pray for our teachers and administrators in the educational system that God will give them grace.
“An organized minority, obeying a single impulse, is irresistible against an unorganized majority in which each individual stands alone before the totality of the organized minority. A hundred men acting uniformly in concert, with a common understanding, will triumph over a thousand men who are not in accord and can therefore be dealt with one by one.” – Gaetano Mosca in The Ruling Class (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1939), p. 51.
Compiled by J. R. Ensey
Rick Warren is a keynoter at the upcoming Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) Fourth of July weekend annual convention. The conference theme, surprisingly, is Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. What a strange theme for Muslims. Would they use that for a theme if the conference was in Riyadh or Damascus or Gaza City?
By Ken Ham and Britt Beemer
In a special news conference yesterday, Government Motors (formerly called General Motors) announced its ‘new concept car’ slated for production in the Fall.
Commenting on Thomas Jefferson’s statement on banking institutions:
Why would anyone want to be a Christian when many of the most visible and well known churches of America have devolved into what some observers are calling “circuses”? There seems to be a competition for the church that can be the wildest, most ridiculous and nearest a carnival atmosphere.
In his latest “survey” and report, George Barna profiled religious homosexuals, publishing some “surprising insights.” He contends that the differences between straight and gay Christians are less than previously thought. (http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/282-spiritual-profile-of-homosexual-adults-provides-surprising-insights)
The Institute of Soteric Counseling will host its eighth annual training conference at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Indianapolis, IN on October 15-16, 2009. Those who have completed their requirements for certification during 2009 will receive final training and be awarded their certificates at this conference.
A German citizen recently claimed to have found a 47 million year-old fossil in a volcano in Germany. The evolutionists jumped on the story and touted the fossil as “the missing link” between monkeys and men. How many other “missing links” have been reported only to be proven to be false. Google up “Piltdown Man.”
Why is this man smiling?
Last month was the 10th anniversary of the Columbine school massacre. Isn’t it significant that during the months preceding the shootings, the perpetrators began wearing black? Now there is nothing wrong or sinful about wearing black clothing. We’ve probably all got a black suit or two. Even good ol’ boy Johnny Cash wore black before there was such a style as “Goth.” About the same time the Columbine killers started wearing black clothing in the Goth style, they started making bombs in their basements. It was evident that their apparel spoke of something going on in their minds that made death sound attractive to them. The black frocks, chains and studs shouted, “We are rebels. We are developing an agenda. We could become notorious killers.” Some may have recognized a dangerous trend in those boys but no one said anything, not even their parents. Then one day…Bang! Bang! You’re dead.
There is progress in revelation from the earlier to the later books of the Bible, but that is not the same as assuming that the plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles in this age has been progressively revealed. For instance, the concept of redemption by Christ is in the prophecy of Genesis 3:15, but it took centuries for men to comprehend how it would come to fruition. Additionally, God always planned for the Gentiles to participate in the redemptive process, but it was a mystery until it was revealed in Christ (Ephesians 1:9; 3:3-9). This unfolding of God’s eternal plan is not the same as individuals or groups of people in this dispensation either not knowing or refusing to obey the plain teaching of the Bible, perhaps ignorantly following false prophets and erroneous Christian cults.
A word about terms is necessary. If we should use the popular term “restoration” in regards to the endtime latter rain, that does not mean that the apostolic gospel had been completely lost or totally hidden. The meaning is that a “revival” of apostolic teaching and methods has taken place. When something is revived is when it has been “near death,” or badly mauled, and is brought back from the precipice of expiration. One does not get “revived” if he has died, only if the life forces have merely been dormant or virtually immeasurable for a period. When I say that the New Testament church has been “restored,” I mean that its expansion, its influence and its previous power has been renewed. As a rain suddenly renews the flowers in a desert place where they have formerly been out of sight, so the church has flowered in this last day by the latter rain.
Doubtless you have read the recent reports of some of our soldiers in Iraq committing suicide. Those reports are shocking. This is another reason I have lifted up my voice against the psychological way of counseling and particularly the psychiatric medications that are destroying so many people. Click on the following link for more information on this.
it as the lead story of the major news networks. Hispanic students and others on their way to a march in Los Angeles stopped at Montebello High School, took the American flag off the school’s flag pole and hung it upside down while putting up the Mexican flag over it.
President Obama has been in office for three months and already we are looking more and more like Germany in 1933. Now we have HR 1388. The Bill was sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and 37 others. The Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives where both Republicans and Democrats voted 321-105 in favor. Next it goes to the Senate for a vote and then on to President Obama. This bill is called “Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education” (GIVE).
The Apostolic Ministerial Conference is coming up on May 5-7 at the Opryland Hotel in beautiful Nashville, TN. To experience the unique Apostolic conference and the unbelievable hotel simultaneously is a rare treat indeed. For ministers and their families only. You won’t be sorry you dropped everything for a few days and relaxed in a preaching conference that will feed your soul.
Some have asked about my health. Thanks! I am glad to report that they did another scan of my leg and found no trace of the blood clot. It either broke up into minute particles and was absorbed by the lungs or dissolved. Either way, I am glad to be rid of it! Thanks for your prayers.
The highly effective Into His Marvelous Light Bible study has added a new dimension. It is now available using the scriptures from the New International Version. This is in response to many requests to use a version other than the KJV. New converts and those not familiar with the Bible to whom we are witnessing find it much easier to understand. It will likely prove to be even more effective as a soulwinning tool. Same format, and the doctrines are just as strongly worded, if not stronger, in the NIV. Of course, the Bible study is still available in the KJV for those who prefer it. Price: as low as $1.00 each in quantity.
