why rome is wrong

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
1 Tim 4:1-3

It is a doctrine of demons to forbid to marry...  while it is fine for a person to choose to abstain from sex and marriage, it should not be a religious requirement (ie: priesthood, etc...)

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time
1 Tim 2:5-6

There is only ONE mediator, Christ Jesus...  you don't need a priest, saint, queen of heaven, ascended master, dead ancestor, or a pope...

charismata

charismata is not the source of charismata...

Christ is the source of charismata...

What happens when charismata becomes the foundation you build on instead of Christ?  You have the same worldly-fleshly charismania that happended in Corinth.  Everyone is obsessed with experience instead of Messiah...

When you build on the wrong foundation, the structure crumbles...

holiness

Holiness does not come from holiness...

Holiness comes from a relationship with Christ

Two Messiahs?

Scripture relates what has been at times interpreted as two Messiahs...

Messiah ben Yosef - suffering servant
Messiah ben David - triumphant king


Instead of two Messiahs, it is one Messiah and two "comings".  He first came as the suffering servant to pay for our sins.  He is returning as triumphant king to rule and reign.

value

God created everything with very little cost or effort on His part...

The value of His creation comes from the price He paid for its redemption...

Michael

Possibly one of the two covering Angels over the mercy seat?

One is Michael and the other is Lucifer (Satan) Ezekiel 28:13-15.

Michael is the only arch-angel that directly contends against Satan (Jude 1:9)

Daniel 10:13-21  Prince of the First Rank and Protector of Israel

Daniel 12:1 - At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise

Revelation 12:7-9 describes a war in heaven in which Michael, being stronger, defeats Satan and casts him down to earth

love ourselves?

Some folks like to talk a lot about "self-esteem" and how we need to learn to love ourselves...

Apparently they never read the Bible...

Eph 5:29

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it

Phil 2:21

For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.

According to the Bible, we do not have to be taught to love ourselves and we don't need to love ourselves any more..

Just spend some time observing kids in a pre-school or kindergarten and you will see they do not have to be taught to be selfish or self-centered.  We are all born slaves to the flesh and sin, knowing how to be selfish and thinking the universe revolves around us.

The problem is that we already know how to love ourselves too much.  

It may not be popular or tickle any ears, but the Bible puts our position in a different light...

Isaiah 64:6  

But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our works of righteousness are like filthy rags;

We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Instead, we need to be taught that we are NOT the center of the universe and we need to be taught how to love others.

The greek word for unconditional love, agapao, means to totally give ourselves over to something.

Unconditional love is self-LESS-ness.  The opposite of love is self-ISH-ness.

Prideful, selfish, self-absorbed people are easy to spot.  They are consumed with themselves and their primary focus of attention is on themselves.

Romans 12:3

...to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Some may say, "what about people who have low self-esteem?"

The problem is no different.  A person down on themselves wallowing in self-pity is still being consumed with "self", and they have given over their focus of attention to themselves.  Also, a person can still be prideful about how "lowly" and "humble" they are...

Instead of spending our time thinking of ourselves, whether how great or pitiful we are, we need to think on these things...

Phil 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The time we spend thinking of Him and preferring others in love, the less time we will have to spend thinking of ourselves...

Instead of esteeming ourselves, which we are born already knowing how to do, we need to highly esteem God and put Him before ourselves...

Mark 12:31

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

love and hate

Psalm 97:10
Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

Why is it so many people say that hate is the opposite of love?

Apparently they have never read their Bible.

There are many verses that reflect both God's love and the truth that He also hates sin at the same time.  Matter of fact, God is Love.  How can hate be the opposite of love if God is capable of hate?

Deuteronomy 12:31; Deuteronomy 16:22
You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. 

Proverbs 6:16
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

Psalm 11:5
The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.


Malachi 2:16
“For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”


The truth is that love is really about self-LESS-ness.  So the opposite of selflessness would actually be self-ISH-ness.  Hate then, is actually a component of love. 

If you love someone selflessly, then your going to hate things that hurt that person. 

We are also instructed to both love and hate at the same time.

Notice how scripture tells us to hate things such as sin, wickedness, evil, and money; as well as sinful behaviors such as idolatry, immorality, etc...

Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Amos 5:15
Hate evil, love good;

Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.
Romans 12:9


Hate can be a component of self-ISH-ness as well.   Selfishness can lead to hating people, something we are admonished NOT to do...

1 John 4:20
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

Woe to them that are at ease

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Amos 6:1

"Woe" is a hearalding of judgement.  Those who are at ease and not watchful will be caught off guard when judgement comes.

Today's Laodecean church measures its relationship with God by the level of prosperity they experience.  They are in need of nothing and are at ease.  They will be woefully unprepared and caught off guard when judgement comes.

enabling

In all the Biblical examples of service to others that we are to follow, can anyone give me an example where service to others enabled someone's bad behavior or made them more comfortable in their sin?

positive

correction is positive, it makes us better...

blindness

if you have never seen the light, you do not know you have been blind until you see the light...

they that hate you shall reign over you

But, if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you:

1. I will bring on you sudden terror, (terrorism?)

2. wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.  (AIDS? STDs? Bird/Asian/Swine Flu?)

3. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. (Taxes collected to pay interest on debt to foreign central banks?)

4. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; (when was the last time we won a war?)

5. those who hate you will rule over you, (current administration...)

6. and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

Leviticus 26:14-17

The Kingdom of God

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17

new wine

New wine refers to fresh squeezed grape juice that is very sweet in the mouth due to sugar content.

Grape juice undergoes fermentation (corruption) of the sugar converting it to alcohol.  Consider the words of Jesus concerning leaven and how it is typically representative of sin or corruption.

The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the great day.

Jude 1:6

Does God "believe" in us?

I recently heard someone say "God believes in us".

Where is THAT in the Bible?

The only text they quoted to support this was "For God so loved the world that He gave...".

Basically they were saying that it was not just the motivation of love that Jesus endured the cross, but Jesus also believed in us, or had believed that we would receive the salvation He offered.

Now this is not a matter of difference of opinion or different interpretations.  Hello... John 3:16 is "milk", how can you get more basic than that?  By adding to that verse something that isn't there, no matter how cool it sounds,  it still sours the milk.  If the milk is sour, guarantee that the meat will be rancid.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. -  1 John 4:10

Why is it not sufficient that love was the motivation that Jesus went to the cross?  

Taking into consideration the whole counsel of God and His nature, my understanding is that since God is love and expresses love perfectly, that Jesus went to the cross solely because of His love for us and would have done so even if nobody would repent and receive His completed payment for our sins.

This contrary doctrine contradicts not only John 3:16 but also Ephesians 2:4-5 and other verses...

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Now why is "God believes in us" bad?   Basically, instead of God being the only one who gets the glory for our salvation, we can get a share in it by doing something that God believes we will do.  This is very appealing as it tickles our ears and appeals to our prideful flesh.

Unfortunately, some folks mistake having their flesh tickled for the "witness of the spirit".  Regardless of how we feel, we still need to test all things against scripture and prove all things, holding fast to that which is true.

Of course the responses then become "well this is God doing something new", or "this is new revelation", or "Jesus told me this".

God reveals His nature in the Bible as being of order and not confusion.  He does not contradict Himself, and neither should anything revealed to us by Him.

If I'm wrong on any point, I want someone to show me in scripture where I'm wrong.  By two to three witnesses is something established (Deut 19:15) and it should not contradict any other scripture in context.  If shown this, I quickly repent and conform to what the Word says.  I want to get it right and be sure of what I teach my kids.  

This verse reveals a very good reason to be sure of what you teach:


Matthew 18:6
But whoso shall offend [lead astray] one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.


Addendum:

This "God believes in us" line of thought is likely because of the contrary doctrine that God needs to use faith to do things...  This is a popular contrary doctrine because if God needed faith, and we can use faith, then that puts us in the place of being a god (Gen 3:5), appealing to the pride of life (1John 2:16)

Of course, being that God is All-powerful and All-knowing, and that He knows the end from the beginning (Isa 46:12), He accomplishes His will by His own power as Creator.

We have no power in and of ourselves, and that is where faith comes in.  The only way we can participate in things spiritually is through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we put our trust (faith) in God's Word that He will accomplish everything He has said.  The power is not in faith, or to say, we don't put our faith in faith.  Faith is only effective when we put our trust in something that is truly powerful.  The power is in God, and our trust needs to be in God and His Word.

gifts

^1Cor12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.

Folks have a bad misunderstanding about gifts.  The gift is for the person that needs it, not the person through whom the Holy Sprit may choose to work at that point in time.

Gifts are dispensed according to the will of the Holy Sprit and are for His glory and not our convenience.

If I encounter someone who needs healing, my hope is that the Lord will give them a gift of healing according to His will, timing, and for His glory.  Should God will that I be an instrument in that process, my hope is that I'm sufficiently filled with and led by the Holy Spirit to play my part.  Through the whole process God gets the glory and someone is blessed.

gifting and titles

I've been asked, "What's your gifting?"

Seems the assumption is that everyone must know what their special gifting is and be operating in it and all that jazz...

Where is that in the Bible?

Some folks love to pridefully walk around with a title and authority to look over their nose at others.

That IS in the Bible, but is a description of what NOT to do.

Personally, the only title I hope to someday be called is "servant".

contrary doctrine

I've had folks tell me that I'm causing division when I question certain teachings.  They often quote that the Bible says "mark them that cause divisions", as if any challenge to the teaching is a form of division...

The thing is, they are quoting 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, it is the folks who are espousing the contrary doctrine that are causing division.

It is NOT the berean who is searching his scriptures daily to see that something is true that is causing division.

Nowhere in scripture are we told to tolerate false doctrines for the sake of "unity".

Instead, we are told to prove all things and hold fast to that which is true.  We should always expect that a teaching be established by at least two to three witnesses in scripture.  

Also, God's nature is order and not chaos.  There should not just be a few verses to support a teaching, but the teaching should also not contradict any other scripture.

If we unite around anything, let it be the truth as presented in the scripture.

If my question is answered from the authority of scripture, then I'm perfectly happy to conform to what God has revealed He wants and expects.

Doormat

Unfortunately, some folks think that humility and being humble means your supposed to be everyone's doormat.


Keep in mind Jesus washed the feet of others, not allowed others to wipe their feet on Him. At no point was He not in control in how He served others. At no point in His service to others was He enabling someone in their sin.

And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:23

three that bear record in heaven

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

1 John 5:7

The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.
Psalm 12:8

why do bad things happen to good people?

When confronted with this question, Jesus turned it around ...

Luke 13:1-5

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

... in essence, the question is not about why bad things happen to good people, instead it is why should good things happen to bad people?  The thing is, we have all sinned and we are all deserving of worse happenening to us.  Our only hope is to repent of our sin and turn to Jesus for salvation.

If two believers agree on every single thing and never disagree, then one of them is not thinking...

falling away

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away,[b] to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.  Heb 6:4-6

consequences

Maybe God is telling our nation something...  if only we would listen.

To those who may have doubted whether or not our nation is under judgement, consider the following...

When I read the Bible, I see a pattern in how God treats nations.  

When the both the northern kingdom of Israel and then the southern kingdom of Judah turned their back on God, the same pattern revealed itself each time:

1) first the people turn their back on God and seek after other "gods"

2) God then abandons the nation to sin, allowing them to engage in their wickedness to the fullest extent, so that it is obvious to all they deserve judgement 

3) then the people fall under the rule of wicked leaders

4) then they are attacked by a foreign invader

5) then they are overthrown and their wealth and property go to foreigners  

6) those that survive are forced to live in a pagan nation, under a pagan government

We are only now waking up to the realize just how far along we are in the process.

Our nation has been in the process of turning its back on God for the last 100 years.  The rejection of God was popularized and formalized back in the 1960s and has continued growing.  What we are seeing now are just "tip of the iceberg" symptoms of a larger problem of the heart.

The fact of the matter is that we are already well into steps 5 through 6 in the process.  Our wealth and property is being stolen by international opportunists.  Our children are being sold into debt slavery to foreign nations.  

Those who live in a pagan nation should only expect to have pagan leadership.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel never repented of their idolatry and they never were again a nation.  The remnant of the Kingdom of Judah repented and cried out to God in their captivity and were again returned to their nation.  Which will we be?

That is, unless we are truly on the brink of the rise of the antichrist and beast world religious and government system.  This global new world order system could not come to power with the United States as a superpower and center of Christian influence.  The agenda has always been to collapse our economy and reduce our influence in the world.

If that is the case, then it is time to look up, for our redemption is drawing nigh!

remnant

Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:9

wall of separation is a good thing

The proverbial "wall of separation" is a good thing... at least as it was described by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists.

While most of the "christian" religions (Catholics, Reformed, etc) wanted a formal state enforced religion, the Baptists (and a handful of others) were well familiar with what being on the wrong side of a state enforced religion was like...

When we look through the un-doctored history of the church we see a pattern of true believers being persecuted and martyred by state enforced religions.  Christians were persecuted by the pagan Roman Empire, then by the Catholic Roman Empire, then by the monarchy and oligarchy governments that enforced Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, and/or Reformed Catholic (Protestant) traditions by burning or beheading anyone that dared question them.

The persecution of the Anabaptists was still in recent memory of the Baptists, and was one of the driving forces behind them coming to America, not to establish a new state religion, but to have an assurance of being free to practice their beliefs without interference by the government.

The wall of separation was to be a "one way" wall, to keep the government from interfering with the practice of religion.  They felt that government was a bad influence on the practice of religion.  However, it was clear that the founders felt that religion could be a good influence on the practice of government.

Religious beliefs are yet another set of checks and balances to keep the government contained and in line.  Religion works best when it is at odds with the government, not in cahoots with it.

The role of government was to protect religious freedom (thought, belief, and practice), but should never be used to enforce a religious system or otherwise interfere with any other religions.

unleavened bread of sincerity and truth

1 Corinthians 5

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 

 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 

For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Your glorying is not good. 

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.  Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.  But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? 

Do you not judge those who are inside?  But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Note the following about the Corinthian Church:

1) They were tolerating sexual sin that not even an unsaved person would tolerate.

2) They took pride (puffed up and glorying) in how "tolerant" they were.  Just like in the politically correct world that says "your arrogant if you do speak out", God says that we are arrogant if we don't speak out...

3) By tolerating this sin in their midst (even in the "name of love"), they were supporting and prolonging the continuation in that sin.

Making people feel more comfortable in their bondage to sin is NOT loving.

In this case, instead of toleration, the most loving thing to do was to put this person out of fellowship so that he would have a chance to realize the wrongness of what he was doing and repent.

temptation

God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Cor 10:13


Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Ps 119:37

The Idol Shepherd

Zechariah 11:17

Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Worst Storm in 100 Years

Maybe God is trying to tell our Nation Something...  I've heard people talk like electing Romney is our nation's way of "turning back to God".

Personally, I don't think so -- even though I would rather be wrong...

When I read the Bible, I see a pattern in how God treats nations.  

When the both the northern kingdom of Israel and then the southern kingdom of Judah turned their back on God, the same pattern revealed itself each time:

1) first the people turned their back on God and sought after other "gods"
2) God abandons the nation to allow them to engage in their wickedness to the fullest extent, so that it is obvious they deserve judgement 

3) then the people came under the rule of wicked leaders

4) then they were attacked by a foreign invader

5) then they were overthrown and their wealth and property went to foreigners  

6) those that survived were forced to live in a pagan nation under a pagan government

We only now waking up to the realize just how far along we are in the process.

Our nation has been in the process of turning its back on God for the last 100 years.  The rejection of God was popularized and formalized back in the 1960s and has continued growing.  What we are seeing now are just "tip of the iceberg" symptoms of a larger problem of the heart.

We chastise the democrats for removing God from their platform, and then putting it back under protest from the majority of their delegates.  However, has anyone thought about how God views the republican party and the way that it overrode and rewrote its own rules in order to block true Christians such as Bachman and Paul in preference of a mormon and catholic?

The fact of the matter is that we are already well into steps 5 through 6 in the process.  Our wealth and property is being stolen by international opportunists.  Our children are being sold into debt slavery to foreign nations.  

Those who live in a pagan nation should only expect to have pagan leadership.

So why should we be upset when the choice left to us is which pagan leader do we vote for?

They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands - Jeremiah 25:14

Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. - Isaiah 1:7

Worst Storm in 100 Years Seen for Northeast U.S.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-25/u-s-east-from-washington-to-nyc-at-risk-from-hurricane-sandy.html

Obama fundraiser in Miami shut down after power knocked out by Hurricane Sandy

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/10/obama-fundraiser-in-miami-shut-down-after-power-knocked-out-by-hurricane-sandy.html

AccuWeather.com Election Coverage: Sandy May Pose Threat to East Coast Voters

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/2012-election-coverage-battleg/282863

Could 'Frankenstorm' be a sign from God?

http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/could-frankenstorm-be-a-sign-from-god/

AccuWeather.com Election Coverage: Sandy May Pose Threat to East Coast Voters

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/10/obama-fundraiser-in-miami-shut-down-after-power-knocked-out-by-hurricane-sandy.html#storylink=cpy

Maybe God is trying to tell our Nation Something... I've heard people talk like electing Romney is our nation's way of turning back to God. Personally, I don't think so. When I read the Bible, I see a pattern in how God treats nations.

When the both the northern kingdom of Israel and then the southern kingdom of Judah turned their back on God, the same pattern revealed itself each time:

1) first the people turned their back on God and sought after other Gods

2) then they came under the rule of wicked leaders

3) then they were attacked by a foreign invader

4) then they were overthrown and their wealth and property went to foreigners

5) those that survived were forced to live in a pagan nation under a pagan government

We only now waking up to the realize just how far along we are in the process.

Our nation has been in the process of turning its back on God for the last 100 years. The rejection of God was popularized and formalized back in the 1960s and has continued growing. What we are seeing now are just "top of the iceberg" symptoms of a larger problem of the heart. We chastise the democrats for removing God from their platform, and then putting it back under protest from the majority of their delegates. However, has anyone thought about how God views the republican party and the way that it overrode and rewrote its own rules in order to block true Christians such as Bachman and Paul in preference of a mormon and catholic?

The fact of the matter is that we are already well into steps 4 and 5 in the process. Our wealth and property is being stolen by international opportunists. Our children are being sold into debt slavery to foreign nations.

Those who live in a pagan nation should only expect to have pagan leadership.

So why should we be upset when the choice left to us is which pagan leader do we vote for?

one world

Satan has been working to bring about a one world government since the beginning.

The world before the flood had been corrupted to the point that only Noah was perfect in his generations, and it (along with Sodom and Gomorrah) gives us a glimpse of what a satanically saturated culture would be like.

Nimrod and his city along with Babel's Tower was the first glimpse of what the anti-christ and a one world government would look like.

God purposefully confused the languages to prevent this from happening before the time set aside for it in the "last days".

Because of computer technology, mankind is once again uniting behind a single language as well as a single world economic, governmental, and religious system.

A debate is a conflict which clarifies a position. A dialogue is a conversation which compromises a position.

Pastor John E. Ashbrook

attractional

Seeker sensitive is now being rebranded as "attractional"...

interesting, they must have read "The Secret" and are now using the "law of attraction" to draw donors, er, i mean church members...

evidence

when you go to court, who do you present the evidence to?

the judge...

when you present evidence of God's existence to unbelievers you elevate them to the position of judge and put God on trial...

according to scripture, the unbeliever already knows in their heart that God exists, they are just suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-20)

our job in defending the faith is to not to join them in their folly (by arguing evidence according to their rules), but instead to demonstrate the foolishness of their folly (Proverbs 26:4-5, 23:9, 29:9; Matthew 7:6 )

the place for evidence is to give evidence to believers to help them build their trust of scripture

seeker sensitive?

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.


Romans 3:10-12




The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psalm 14:1-3

heretics, apostates, and cultists

Error 
Everyone falls in this category on some point.  We see through a glass darkly and are in the constant process of learning and making course corrections as we mature spiritually.  The key is that we remain teachable and ready to change our minds, beliefs and opinions to conform to scripture under the guidance and discernment of the Holy Spirit.  We must be ready to correct or abandon the teaching of any tradition, personality, doctrine, or "revelation" that contradicts the full counsel of God's word.


Heresy
When error becomes doctrine.  Have unscriptural views on issues that may not directly interfere with salvation.  Considers those who don't agree with their beliefs as being heretics.  While they may sow doubt about the inerrancy of scripture and take scripture out of context, they still refer to scripture as the source of their beliefs even though they bend it to conform to their pet doctrines and traditions.


Apostasy
Heresy gone to seed.  Heresy to the point that they have departed from the faith to follow traditions of men and doctrines of demons.  Their apostate view is the basis of their salvation.  While they may refer to scriptures taken out of context, they look to other sources as being equal authority to or higher authority than the Bible.  These sources may include "new revelation", "spiritual experiences", traditions, commentaries, ancient wisdom, additional books, authority of an individual (prophet or apostle) or council of elders.  Apostates will also change the definitions of commonly used terms so that they sound "mainstream" in their public statements, documents and marketing materials, but then begin to incrementally introduce their true meanings to recruits over time.


Cult
An apostate group that is typically exclusive (they alone know the secret and everyone else is wrong or corrupted), is typically centered around a particular personality who is the ultimate authority, and they typically do not introduce their more controversial doctrines until after a recruit is first initiated into the group.  Often will seek to isolate members from those friends and family outside the group.

pastors

it is the job of pastors to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable...

the problem with attracting people with entertainment, you have to keep them with entertainment

if you get worldly people to sit in your audience using worldly methods, they will never stand for the offense of the Gospel

the Bible says that the Lord added to the church, not worldly entertainment and positive thinking

soccer

How often our kids rip out our hearts, kick them around like a soccer ball, and don't give a thought to how it makes us feel.

We are expected to just stand by with the stoic face and keep it together long enough to deal with them -- and then, be there standing by to pick them up when they fall?

How often have we done that to our own parents?

How often have we done that to our Heavenly Father?

carried away into babylon

When Israel turned its back on God, He allowed them to be overthrown by Assyria.

When Judah turned its back on God, He allowed them to be carried away into Babylon.

Being that our nation has turned its back on God, has He allowed us to be carried away into Babylon?

Is that why we have the leaders we do?

Is that why foreign nations now own or control more of our resources and finances than at any other time since we became an independent country?