Man of Lawlessness

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

(Picture courtesy of my daughter who completed it as a project for her Bible class)

do you "feel" saved?

Salvation is NOT an experience...

Granted some people may report that they had some life altering experience or great emotional upheaval when they were saved. That is all well and good for those who have had an experience.

The thing to avoid is putting your faith in "experiences".

The problem comes when:

1) People don't think they were saved because they didn't have an experience

-or-

2) People think they are not saved because they do not continue to "feel" saved.


How do you know you are saved?

Because the Bible tells you so!

All you need is to put your trust in what the Lord has told us!

Mark them which cause Divisions

I hear a lot of folks say that it is wrong to "cause divisions" by pointing out something that is "wrong" or be "negative" in any way.

These folks will get in your face and say "the bible says to 'mark them which cause divisions'".

Unfortunately, this is a classic example of taking a verse out of context and not even quoting the entire verse...

Romans 16:17
Now I beseech you, brothers, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them.

Notice that the ones who are causing divisions are the ones spreading false doctrines or teachings contrary to the simplicity of the gospel, not the people who are telling the truth.

"Mark them" means to point them out for the purpose of avoiding them.

We are admonished in the Bible to "prove all things and hold fast to that which is good" (1Thes 5:21). We can test any teachings using the light of scripture. We are then charged by scripture to point out those who teach false doctrine so that people will know to avoid them.

This is neither "positive" or "negative", it is just sticking to the truth.

Taking America Back... to where?

Taking America Back... to where?

It is a mistake to think that we can somehow "Take America Back" or return America back to some imaginary "Christian Roots".

That is not our focus. Jesus did not say "Go and make all nations Christian", He said "Go and make disciples of all nations."

Our federal government has never been a "Christian" government. There at times have been very moral and christian men in various offices, and many of our laws have a footing in selective Biblical principles -- however, our federal government is a product more of "new Atlantis" Enlightenment thinking than anything else.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as the government is limited to very specific roles and the people in general have liberty.

The only good thing about the "good old days" of post revolutionary America was that there was LESS government involvement and MORE freedom.

The thing that we definitely do not want is a government that legislates and enforces morality. The problem is, whose morality should the government enforce? It may be a great thing to have the government enforce a morality you agree with today. But, once the government has that power, what happens when the next guy takes office and starts implementing a morality you don't agree with?

The key is always LESS government authority, and ideally a government that can only exercise those powers granted it by the Constitution.

The one thing the founding fathers definitely got right was that ALL government is bad, but having at least SOME government is unfortunately necessary.

The thing to keep in mind is that the system of this world is at enmity (actively opposed or hostile) against God. (Ps 2:1-3; Eph 6:12)

According to the Bible, this world system will continue to wax worse and worse as the time approaches for the return of Messiah. A Bible believer should see these signs and look up, and realize that our time is short.


An Example

It was not BECAUSE of the government that the Bible was used in schools up until the 1960s, it was BECAUSE of government involvement that the Bible was taken out of schools.

Bibles were used in schools because the schools were managed by the local people who had children attending there, and the local populace was generally Christian or at least had a Judeo-Christian foundation.

We do not need to return the government to being "christian", we need to cut the role of government back, so that we have the FREEDOM FOR US TO BE CHRISTIAN.


We get the government we deserve.

Proverbs 28:2 says When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

It is when the general population has a relationship with God and adheres to the Bible that the people are able to rule themselves and so make a government for themselves that allows them to do so.

A people with a strong moral foundation do not need a government to control every detail of their life.

Instead of focusing all of our time advocating for people to adopt a particular political platform, the very best thing we can do is to preach the Gospel and introduce people to Jesus. It is only the Gospel that can change people's lives and thereby influence the culture.


Unequally Yoked

Any "movement" that does not have the true Gospel at it's center and the Bible as it's "plumb-line" is a tool of this current world system that is governed by the "god of this world".

We as Christians are not to have fellowship with darkness or be unequally yoked to unbelievers (2Cor 6:14)

Do any of these ecumenical movements advocate the preaching of the Gospel? No, of course not, it might offend someone. All these various ecumenical movements are just a distraction from what we really need to be doing.


Why harp on this?

Currently we are seeing many spiritual and "conservative" leaders compromising their beliefs in order to join together with organizations and movements that promote some of the issues they have in common. Anything less than spreading the Gospel and making disciples is just a waste of time and a distraction.


What to do

First things first. Before engaging in any political activities, be sure that we are putting a priority on learning the bible, spreading the Gospel, and making disciples.

Put spiritual duties ahead of civic duties. Only after we have prioritized our time with God can we have proper wisdom and discernment to engage the political system.

- Stay informed, however put all the information from the various voices out there through the test of scripture.

- Vote in all elections!, write your representatives and newspapers, speak out, blog, and, if called, run for public offices.

- Don't compromise Biblical truth in order to join with a political, ecumenical, or quasi-religious group.

The Gospel will never be "Popular"

The message of the gospel will never be popular in the world because "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness....unto the Jews [it is] a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness...." (1 Corinthians 1:18,23).

Furthermore, rather than drawing the multitudes to Christ by example, Scripture states, "...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).

Jesus declared, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:18-19).

-T. A. McMahon

Gifts of the Holy Spirit 2 of 2

Who benefits from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

They are for the edification of the church (1Cor 12:17; 14:12)


All too often we think that the "gift" is given to us so we can use it. You can know this is wrong by where the "focus" lies. The focus is on the self.

Love focuses on others.

Really it is the Holy Spirit using us to manifest His blessing on someone else.

For example, a "gift" of healing is a benefit to the person who is sick, not the willing vessel through whom the Holy Spirit ministered healing.

We are motivated to be willing vessels through love.

I do not find anywhere in the Bible where we are supposed to be spending ANY TIME "finding" our gifts...

All I find in the Bible is that we are to love God, and love one another, and by that love we are willing to be used by God as He purposes...

So while it is important that we are aware of the gifts and even desire their manifestation, we do not need to spend any time hung up on figuring out which gift we have. Instead, we can spend our time in God's word and being willing vessels to be used by God has He wills.

How can we know God?

There are really only two possible religions


1. God is not personal (god is a force or consciousness) or god is personal and has chosen not to reveal himself to us. It is impossible for us to know god, so we worship a god of our own imagination. All variations that spring from this are man-made religions. There are no absolutes, we make our own rules, and are ultimately our own "god".

2. God is personal. Because we as finite beings cannot possibly understand God on our own, He has chosen to reveal Himself to us in a way we CAN understand. We learn about Him and develop a trusting relationship with Him through His revelation of Himself to us. We come to Him on His terms and are accountable to His standard.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit 1 of 2

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are:

1. Not at our command, they are manifestations of the Holy Spirit as He wills
2. Not signs to unbelievers, it is for edification of believers (the church). The gifts of the Holy Spirit are foolishness to unbelievers and like casting perls before swine.
3. They are manifested as the Spirit directs, or in other words, as the Holy Spirit determines they are needed.

We get too hung up on TV personalities thinking that for the Holy Spirit to be working in our lives that we should be at some "level of faith" such that we are manifesting the gifts of the spirit on command.

More often than not, the TV personalities are manifesting occultic "miracles" and not the working of the Holy Spirit. You can know them by their fruits, and whether they drawing attention to themselves or to Jesus.

The truth is, all we are to do is desire the gifts, be willing vessels, and be motivated by love to help other believers. When there are times that a manifestation of a Gift would benefit a believer, then we trust that the Holy Spirit will manifest it through us. We are basically "out of the loop" in deciding when and where a gift manifests, it is only important that we desire to be used.

Religious Left

Religious Left started by Judas Iscariot

"Should not this expensive perfume have been sold and the money given to the poor?"

Judas was trying to tell Mary what to do with HER money, when all along it was just a ploy for HIM to get HIS hands on it.

Deliberate Connotative Transfers (Puns)

Q: You know what a kilobyte and a megabyte is. What is a Moabite?

A: It's a Lot.


Q: Where did Cain get his wife?

A: He married his brother's sister because he was Able.



I've been asked if I take the Bible "literally". This is often a trap, as there are many literary devices used in Scripture.

Where the Bible gives accounts of historical events, yes it can and should be taken literally.

Where the Bible employees poetry, such as Psalm 91 where it says that God has wings and feathers, it should be taken figuratively.

The problem with liberal theology is that they want to "spiritualize" and "allegorize" everything. When you do that, you can make the Bible say anything you want.

80% of lemmings can't be wrong

I've heard folks say that they rely on the statistics for what is true. How can a majority of people be wrong? How comes the Bible goes against the "common intuition" of man?


This actually proves the Bible as true!

Scripture says that the heart of man is decietful. Man has a fallen natutre. The wisdom of man is at odds with the wisdom of God. God uses the simple to confound the wise, that no man can take credit.

Jesus said that the path to destruction is wide and many travel it, while the path to life is narrow and there are few that find it.

Keep in mind that in spite of Noah spending 100 years building the Ark and preaching to the people of the day, nobody got on the boat except Noah's 8 member family.

What about those who have not heard?

What about people living in remote places where they never hear the gospel?

This is a good question that I often hear, and often ponder myself. While I don't have an answer that will satisfy most people, here is what I have found so far in scripture...


1. People don't go to hell because they havn't accepted Jesus, they go to hell because of sins they have committed. Jesus came to save the world, but people still choose to reject Him. (Romans 6:23)

2. Everyone is without excuse, because the evidence for the Creator can be clearly seen in His creation. (Romans 1:20)

3. God foreknows who will respond to the Gospel, and He arranges for them to learn what they need to know about God. (Romans 8:29, 11:2) All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13)


How can a loving God send anyone to hell? He doesn't send anyone to hell. God is not willing that any should perish. (2Peter 3:9) Hell is the alternative to being in God's direct presence for those who willingly reject God. God originally created hell for the rebellious angels (Matthew 25:41) and hell was enlarged to accommodate rebellious man. (Isaiah 5:14) The truth is God Himself, motivated by His Love, took our place and died for our sins so we would not have to go to hell.

The real question, is how can anyone reject a Loving God?

Man in Charge

Power corrupts [man], and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Power attracts corrupt power-hungry men the way a lamp attracts moths.

The more centralized and concentrated the power, the more corrupt the men in charge.

In a nation, the leaders tend to be the most corrupt and power-hungry in that nation.

Once we have a world governance body, the men in charge will be the most corrupt in the world.

What God says about rejoicing over the fall of an enemy

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.” (Proverbs 17:17-18)

“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23)

“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezekiel 33:11)

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? … Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:44-48)

First Sign of Falling Away: Ingratitude

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:21

Titanic Freedoms

"... Here is the reason why we have a moral breakdown in every area of life. The titanic freedoms which we once enjoyed have been cut loose from their Christian restraints and are becoming a force of destruction leading to chaos. And when this happens, there really are very few alternatives. All morality becomes relative, law becomes arbitrary, and society moves toward disintegration. In personal and social life, compassion is swallowed up by self-interest. ..."

Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer



Proverbs 28:2
For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.


The consequence of a nation transgressing against God is that the people of that nation will suffer under the hand of many rulers (police state).

The Dangers of "Seed Faith"

"Seed Faith Prosperity" is a false teaching that in order to receive anything at all from God, one must first donate money, known as a 'seed-faith' offering. You reap what you sow, the claim goes. In this case you must send your money to - usually - a televangelist, some of whom promise a 'hundred-fold return.'

If this scam worked as advertised, televangelists would be sending you money.

The concept of the seed faith offering was invented by James Eugene Ewing, who has long run a direct mail scam that has gone under many names but mostly known as "St. Matthew's Churches".

In 1968, when Oral Robert's donations were down due to his joining the United Methodist Church, Ewing sold his program to Oral Roberts and Robert's ministry doubled its income within 1 year. This was so successful, that many other ministries began adopting this methodology.

Just because something is "successful" by the world's standards, that does not necessarily mean that it meets with God's support or approval.

Though "successful" in making the promoters of this lie very wealthy, it is a very thorough perversion of God's Word. The "seed" talked about in the bible is not money.

In the Bible (Luke 8:11) Jesus Himself explains that the "seed is the Word" and it is sown into different types of soil which represents the hearts of men. (see Luke 8, Matthew 13).


Promoters of the lie of "seed faith" just seek to take your money and make merchandise of you.

2 Peter 2:3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

We are not to take things related to God and use them as a source of profit for ourselves.

John 2:16
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

If a ministry is truly spreading God's Word and is working within God's will, then the ministry should not need to beg for money.

People hear the message that they can get rich by giving money to such and so ministry. When that doesn't happen, they think that everyone who talks about God is just a charlatan, so they close their hearts and ears. All that these so-called ministries do by preaching "seed faith" is to inoculate and harden people's hearts against the Gospel.



Additional reading:
http://www.raptureready.com/rr-evil.html

fiery trials

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy

1 Peter 4:12-13

Storm Preparation

It is easier to build before the storm comes, rather than try and build during the storm.


http://shapedbytruth-prepare.blogspot.com/

Compassion

Folks don't care to hear how much you know

Until they know how much you care...

America in Trouble

This is a persuasive speech my daughter wrote as an assignment in Jr. High school.

There are many evidences that America is in trouble. A close look at threats to our national security, the dumbing down of our education system, and the constant erosion of our freedoms will reveal the dangerous path our country is on.

There are many things in today's world that pose a threat to our national security. The worst threats are caused by our own irresponsibility. At the present time our economy is on a down hill spiral. The runaway spending by our government is creating debt of historic proportions. To find examples of this overspending one needs to look no further than the 89 percent increase in expenses in running capitol hill. They have spent $51 million of taxpayer's money on electricity, $3.27 million for office supplies, and over $4.6 million on sewer and water. To top it off, over $200 thousand dollars was spent on bottled water in just the first quarter of this year alone!

Another example of government funding irresponsibility involves a study called “Malt Liquor and Marijuana: Factors in their Concurrent versus Separate Use”. This study pays people to drink beer and smoke marijuana, all at taxpayer's expense!

And, these are just a few of many examples of the government's out of control spending. Run away spending has caused America's debt to soar over the last few years. In 2007, the debt was $8.67 trillion. As of Tuesday, October 26th, it was over $13.6 trillion. This amounts to every citizen owing a debt of $43 thousand dollars – yes, every student in this classroom currently owes $43 thousand dollars, and we don't even have jobs yet!

Currently, our economic system is being kept afloat by other countries funding our debts. For example, China has bought over $867 billion of our debt and is the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries. On August 9th, a Chinese general implied economic retaliation against America over a U.S. Carrier in the Yellow Sea when he said: “Imagine what the consequence will be if China’s biggest debtor nation challenges its creditor nation.” As the proverb goes: “the borrower is slave to the lender”. With most of our manufacturing jobs going overseas and our liabilities being controlled by other countries, we are finding ourselves more and more at their mercy. This poses a clear and present threat to our national security.

An area that has also become a part of America's downfall is the education system. The history that is being taught today isn't always the whole story. Many of the founding fathers have become just a bunch of names on some document whose identities, ideas, and beliefs have been lost. Many people are never taught the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. An example of this is that many people are taught and believe that the only reason the 13 colonies separated from England was because of taxation without representation. However, the real reason they separated from England was due to England's abuse of governmental powers. In fact, in the Declaration of Independence, abuse of governmental powers was mentioned 11 times more often that taxation without representation, which was only mentioned once out of 27 reasons.

Kids nowadays are taught more about political correctness and environmental stuff than they are taught reading, writing, and math. Now these kids are growing up and becoming teachers, and principals. So now we have people who don't even know how to write, read, and do math teaching kids how to write, read, and do math. An example of this has to do with a principal of a middle school. He does not think that the kids in his school need textbooks. So he writes and sends out a memo defending his policy of not providing textbooks for his students. What is so bad is that in his memo he made a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes and he could not even even support his topic. Because of America's declining education system, there are kids in junior high and even in high school, that still do not know how to read or write. Kids that do not know reading, writing, and math are at a disadvantage in today's world.

A final example of how America is going the wrong way is that U.S. Citizens are loosing more and more of their freedoms – and often giving them up willingly. Every day our freedoms are being challenged. For example, we have increasingly intrusive firearm registration and restrictions on ownership, all in violation of our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Similarly, our freedom of speech is being silenced because of the fear that someone might be offended by what we have to say.

A clear demonstration of how our freedoms are being legislated away was with healthcare reform. Most everyone agreed that we needed changes made to the healthcare system. However, what they stuck into the bill that was passed does little to truly address the problem. For example, the bill forces people, just because they are a member of society, to buy a service that is regulated by the government. Additionally, in section 9,006 of the healthcare bill there is a policy that has credit card companies sending credit card transaction records to the IRS. This begs the question: What business does the IRS have in knowing what we buy with credit cards? And, what exactly does this have to do with healthcare?!? We all wanted healthcare reform, but we ended up giving up our freedom and still not getting the reform we needed.

Benjamin Franklin wisely said: “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

Our irresponsibility threatens our national security. The dumbing down of our education system handicaps future generations. And, the constant erosion of our freedoms will lead to tyranny. Any reasonable person, when presented with these facts, should come to the conclusion that America is indeed in trouble.

Christianity Rotting from Within

Main areas in which the church is under attack from within...


1. Liberation Theology / Social Gospel / Green Gospel


2. Dominion Theology / Kingdom Now / Latter Rain / Manifest Sons of God


3. Emerging Church / Pagan Spirituality / New Age / Mysticism


4. Universalism / Ecumenicalism / Syncretism / "Chrislam"


5. Happiness Gospel / "Seed Faith" - Give to Get - Greedy Gospel

Born This Way

We are indeed born into sin and the flesh...


However, God does not leave us that way.


He made a way for us to be born again of the spirit.

Intelligence

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

Albert Einstein

Does Your Church Practice Astrology?

I was surprised when my daughter showed me a survey she got from her Sunday school class concerning a program called "S.H.A.P.E."

I recognized it immediately as while I was in the Air Force we went through a program in the mid-1990's that was then called "Total Quality Management" (TQM) that used a very similar survey. Over the years, the same TQM program has undergone many name changes (currently called AFSO21), even though the methods and materials are the same.

This program is geared toward "evolutionary" changes to business processes to promote "continuous improvement". One aspect of this program is for organizational members to take personality surveys and teaches them a psychological system to promote "self-knowledge" so they know where they fit within the organization and then "self-improvement" by knowing and overcoming their weaknesses.

Part of this psychological system uses personality profiles that goes under many names and forms including Myers-Briggs, Ned Herrmann’s Whole Brain, DiSC assessment, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, and Galen’s four temperaments.

I did some digging, and It turns out this program is currently being employed at many Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches and is based on a book available at Lifeway by Erik E. Rees called SHAPE

While the program I went through did not have the "friendly" animal names, the handout my daughter recieved would categorize the participants personality as one of "four temperaments" as follows:

• Lion (Choleric/Dominance)
  Strengths - Visionary, practical, productive, strong-willed, independent, decisive, leader
  Weaknesses - Cold, domineering, unemotional self-sufficient, unforgiving, sarcastic, cruel
  
  
• Otter (Sanguine/Influence)
  Strengths – Outgoing, responsive, warm, friendly, talkative, enthusiastic, compassionate
  Weaknesses – Undisciplined, unproductive, exaggerates, egocentric, unstable
  
  
• Golden Retriever (Phlegmatic/Steadiness)
  Strengths – Calm, easy-going, dependable, quiet, objective, diplomatic, humorous
  Weaknesses – Selfish, stingy, procrastinator, unmotivated, indecisive, fearful, worrier
  
  
• Beaver (Melancholy/Compliance)
  Strengths – Analytical, self-disciplined, industrious, organized, aesthetic, sacrificing
  Weaknesses – Moody, self-centered, touchy, negative, unsociable, critical, revengeful

Occultic Origins

Empedocles (495-425 B.C.) taught concerning the four elements and how they related to cosmology and personalities of the gods and goddesses. Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) expanded on Empedocles and taught on the four humors and he is generally credited with the "humoural temperament theory of personality", since he connected the types with both mental and physical states. While Hippocrates focused on applying these concepts to treatment of physical ailments, Plato (427-347 B.C.) would begin applying the concepts of the four humors to treatment of mental ailments.

Plato’s student Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) would continue in this vein, but it was Claudius Galen of Pergamum (A.D. 130-200) who wrote more fully on the relationship between humors and temperaments. He sought to explain emotional and behavioral differences between people and to develop treatments that would be suitable to those of varying temperaments. It is Galen's work from which we get "Galen's four temperaments" described earlier.

According to R. W. Coan's entry "Personality Types" in the Encyclopedia of Psychology (Volume 3, 1984, p. 24):

Central to astrological views of personality is a system of 12 patterns or types that correspond to the 12 signs of the zodiac. The 12 types may be viewed as including three modes of expression of each of the four elements noted by Empedocles, as there are said to be three air signs, three earth signs, three fire signs, and three water signs. This typology has enjoyed some popularity for over 2000 years.

And K.J. Shapiro's entry "Temperaments" in the Encyclopedia of Psychology (Volume 3, 1984, p. 410):

Synthesizing ideas from classical Greek medicine and astronomy, a theory of temperaments prevailing well into medieval times held that, for example, a sanguine disposition reflected a particular combination of humors in the body and that, in turn, this combination had been fixed by a certain configuration of the stars at the time of an individual’s birth.

In his book Psychological Types (Princeton University Press, 1971, p. 531.), Carl G. Jung, clearly notes the relationship between astrology and the four temperaments. He says:

From the earliest times attempts have been made to classify individuals according to types, and so to bring order into the chaos. The oldest attempts known to us were made by oriental astrologers who devised the so-called trigons of the four elements-air, water, earth, and fire. The air trigon in the horoscope consists of the three aerial signs of the zodiac, Aquarius, Gemini, Libra; the fire trigon is made up of Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. According to this age-old view, whoever is born in these trigons shares in their aerial or fiery nature and will have a corresponding temperament and fate. Closely connected with this ancient cosmological scheme is the physiological typology of antiquity, the division into four temperaments corresponding to the four humours.

What was first represented by the signs of the zodiac was later expressed in the physiological language of Greek medicine, giving us the classification into the phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, and melancholic. These are simply designations for the secretions of the body.

As is well known, this typology lasted at least seventeen hundred years. As for the astrological type theory, to the astonishment of the enlightened it still remains intact today, and is even enjoying a new vogue.

The signs of the zodiac further refine and break down each of the four elements into "trigons" or "triplicities" as follows:

Element	Humour	Temperament	Zodiac
Air	Blood	Sanguine	Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Fire	Yellow Bile	Choleric	Aries, Leo, Sagittariu
Earth	Black Bile	Melancholy	Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Water	Phlegm	Phlegmatic	Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

For a greater detailed description of the link between the four temperaments and astrology, see the e-book by Martin and Deidre Bobgan at this link:
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/e-books/4temp-ebk.pdf


It is interesting to note that Erik Rees is a pastor and leader of the Ministry S.H.A.P.E. Discovery Teams at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. (http://www.shapediscovery.com/author.php)

It is evident that Rees has relabeled TQM with christian-ese terminology and made it palatable for the church. It is also a book recommended to be used in conjunction with a Purpose Driven Life.

This program is a very subtle way to introduce astrology, psychology, Rick Warren's program, and Total Quality Management into mainline evangelical churches.

Turns out there are many variations of this program all using the same features, just repackaged under different names.

After speaking with my in-laws who live in another state, their church (also a SBC church) is doing a program called P.L.A.C.E. which follows the same purpose-driven, TQM model and uses the same personality assessment with the 4 DISC personality types (Choleric, Melancholy, Sanguine, Phlegmatic) as the S.H.A.P.E. program.

It is great to encourage people to particpate in the ministry. However, considering that these programs are targeted to new believers and new church members, it is taking these folks and using psychological profiling (which can only measure attributes of the "flesh") and tries to involve them in the ministry of the church so they are more likely to continue attendance (translate: church growth). This, combined with slogans such as "if you can read, you can lead", is how we end up with "carnal christians" leading other "carnal christians" in feel good cliques (er, I mean "life groups").

I don't find where this is based on anything in the Bible. What happened to discipleship, Bible training, and concepts such as sanctification? I thought that we needed to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and the washing of the word (Eph 5:26; Rom 12:2)? While God can use us at all stages of development, everything I find in the Bible talks of finding leaders who are of good reputation, full of the Spirit, and wisdom (Acts 6:3). Programs such as S.H.A.P.E. and P.L.A.C.E. do none of that.


Great Articles:
Discard the DiSC
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/discarddisc13_5.html

Personality Cult
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/personality_cult13_2.html

More Information:
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/e-books/4temp-ebk.pdf
http://www.pamweb.org/missionsbk_online.html
http://www.shapediscovery.com/
http://www.placeministries.org/
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/book/chapter12.shtml
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=3377
http://www.ericbarger.com/pdl/Examining_The_Purpose_Driven_Philosophy-by_Eric_Barger_All_rights_reserved_copyright_2006,_2007.pdf

Blaspheme

Psalm 139:20
For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain.

Religion of Peace

When they find a so-called moderate muslim to answer questions in interviews and he says that scriptures in the Koran and Hadiff do not condone terrorism, that is like asking a Presberterian if the Bible condemns homosexuality.

Jesus was not "Cool"

The bible says that there was nothing particularly "cool" about Jesus.

Isaiah 53:2 puts it this way, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.”



It was the Holy Spirit that drew people (John 6:44). Except that The Sprit draws people you labor in vain.


When we try and flirt with the world in order to "be cool" we end up drawing people who need constant stimulation and end up wasting time on false converts so that nobody gets a firm foundation in the Word of God.

Why Settle for Less?

Satan is a deciever and seeks to pervert everything of God.

Keep in mind that Satan has a false, perverted version of most every work of the Holy Spirit.

Examples include: the laying on of hands is biblical and for today, however false religeons such as Reiki also use laying of hands to impart a demon spirit that imparts false healing.

Now, just because Satan has a falsified version of it does not mean that all healing or laying of hands is "of the devil" -- it is just doubly important that you know and follow the Bible when it comes to these things and not get duped into the wrong thing.

As I have said before, Satan's parlor tricks and false spirituality is a very pale and poor substitute to what we can experience through a rich and biblical relationship with the Holy Spirit.

It is sad thing that so many folks choose to settle for less than the best that God has in store for us.

On one hand you have folks who say that the work of the Holy Spirit ceased in the time of the Apostles. They live a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.

Many who grow up in that environment have a rightful hunger for spirituality, but think they can't get it from the Bible -- so, they make easy converts to forms of false spirituality.

On the other hand, you have folks who seek nothing but spirituality and spiritual signs and experiences without a grounding in the Bible. They too can be duped by money hungry false teachers (2Peter 2:1-3)

When we study the Bible and cultivate a relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit there is more than enough true spirituality to go around.

Treasures in Heaven

You cannot take it with you, but you can send it on ahead

Matthew 6:19-20
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot


Think about it...

Q: What is the only thing you can build today that has the potential to last forever?

A: Relationships.

Emerging Cultural Spiritism

Several movies are coming out with a common theme that reveals the rising popularity of spiritism in our culture.

The previous century was the hallmark of modernism where science and materialism was supposed to be the end all and answer to all of mankind's problems. Examples of modernism in the culture would be things like Sherlock Holmes or Scooby Doo, where, due to people's superstitions, they believe that something supernatural is taking place. However, the scooby gang comes along and unmasked the villain who is really using some kind of technology to fool people.

After two world wars, people have become disillusioned with the concept that modernism, science alone, and materialism can solve all their problems. Hence, the rise of "post-modernism", which reintroduces the supernatural into culture.

What we see in many of the movies coming out in early 2011 are examples of skeptical modernists having to come to terms with confrontations with the supernatural.

(Please note I have not seen the movies referenced below nor recommend anyone see them, this commentary on societal trends is based only on press releases made by the producers.)

In "Season of the Witch", Nicolas Cage's character, Behmen, is a disillusioned knight, who questions his own faith, returning home from the crusades to find his homeland ravaged with the plague. He is given the task of escorting a girl accused of witchcraft to what will probably be her death. Behmen doubts that witchcraft even exists, but later is confronted with and has to fight against the supernatural.

In a similar vein "The Rite" involves a seminary student, Kovak, who has doubts about faith and the supernatural, believing that things like demon possession are really psychiatric problems that should be dealt with using medical treatment. He is then confronted with very "real" manifestations of the supernatural and demon possession that are dealt with using exorcism.

Both of these examples show a trend of converting skeptics into believers in the supernatural, and then the heroes fighting evil using their "faith" and inner strength.

This is the new age, emergent spiritism, where seeking supernatural experiences and seeking out your own "inner star" are the promoted practices.

Of course, evil can only be defeated by Jesus. Faith in anything else is idolatry.

Homophobia

It's official, I'm not "homophobic"

43 - Your score rates you as "non-homophobic."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/etc/quiz.html

It has never been about hating people, it has always been about hating sin.

People that choose to succumb to temptations and participate in homosexual acts are sinners in need of a savior the same as myself and everyone else.

What is most important is that we do not call, for any reason, something acceptable that God has declared in His Word to be an abomination.

No I do not hate or fear anyone, instead love insists that I do anything and everything I can to share the Good News that everyone can be delivered from the bondage to sinful behaviors through belief and trust in Jesus.


Psychology does not make right

The Frontline article referenced in the link above states that "For much of this century, homosexuality was defined by the medical and scientific community as a psychiatric disorder."

This is true. The APA changed its position not based on scientific research or data, it changed its position in 1973 due to political pressures and infiltration of its leadership positions by homosexual activists.

Homosexuality continues to become accepted more and more as "normal" and it is religion that is seen as the "mental illness".

Researchers treating religious, moral obsessions
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13855078

The recongized "father" of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, believed that people who follow their "natural" desires (read "sin nature") that are truly sane. Dr. Benjamin Wiker in the book "10 Books That Screwed Up theWorld: And 5 Others That Didn't Help" explains:

He [Freud] claimed that psychological disorders were the result of the unnatural repression of our naturally unholy and anti-social desires, and that some people just couldn't handle the repression... Therefore, neurotics are the only sane people because they react to unnatural frustration by training to reclaim their original, natural, asocial and amoral state. The result: the anti-social psychopath who kills without conscience is the most natural of all. The interesting effect of Freud's proclamation that evil is natural was the seemingly unintended consequence of making psychopathic insanity natural.

Since psychology/psychiatry is limited to man's "wisdom" and man's determination of what is right and wrong, psychology can be used to redefine anything in service to a purpose.

There is ample evidence that Psychiatry has been used for political purposes by communist countries. Basically, political and/or religious dissenters are labeled as "mentally ill" and imprisoned in maximum-security psychiatric hospitals.

Political Abuse of Psychiatry in the Soviet Union and in China
http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/reprint/30/1/136.pdf

We are already seeing this happen in the U.S., and can expect it to wax worse.

Those of us who look to God's revelation as to what He considers to be right and wrong are being labeled, marginalized, and more and more demonized. This is in fulfillment of prophecy as the world comes together under one universal religion that leaves no room for God.


Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


3 John 1:11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.


Romans 12:9
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

Out of an Infinite Universe

Question: Isn't it prideful and against christian "humility" to believe:

1) that out of the infinite size of the universe, the millions of stars and planets we think we are special?

2) out of all that, how can we presume to think that God should love us?


This line of questions presumes on at least two fallacies:

1) Love is based on "what's in it for me"
2) That the Christian wordlview should have anything to do with the size of the universe


The truth is:

1) What Christians say is based on what God Himself has chosen to revealed to us in His Word. God's Love is based on His choice and His convenent to us. He chose to love us when we were unlovable. So when Christians talk about God's love for us, it is not out of some haughtiness or prideful self worth thing, it is about God's grace extended toward us as revealed by God Himself!

2) The size and majesty of the universe is not there to reflect on our value or earth's value or position in it -- the size and majesty of the universe is there to reflect the magnificence, power, and glory of God!

True humility is to put God's Word and His wisdom ahead of our own vain philosphies and limited wisdom.