Category: Musings

 

 

Under the Bus

Back in May I met with a local photographer I hired for a memorial photo book.  Her name is Pennie Collinson and she told me a story I simply did not believe.  She spoke about a town hall meeting in the small town of Cataldo, which had about 60 people in attendance.  Pennie was the photographer for the challenger to Sheriff Bob Norris.

Bob stood up to address the crowd, ostensibly to introduce himself and make it clear why he deserves to be re-elected. According to Pennie and many in attendance, Bob accomplished the precise opposite, when he pointed at her, called her out by name and declared she takes photos of child porn and likes to give blow jobs.  There is no known recorded account of his statement, probably due in part to his well-known opposition to having video or audio recordings in certain public venues.  What was recorded gives veracity to Pennie’s account.  She may be forgiven for in her shock and humiliation her voice trembled a little as she demanded “Are you calling me a pedophile? then denounced his statement as “disgusting” and recounted the rape and murder of her 7-year-old niece which caused her to be a child protection advocate for the rest of her life.  Bob’s response was less than conciliatory or even civil, he bluntly attempted to cut her off asking “What’s your question?!”  I could only admire the woman who’s voice rang out “Shut up and let her speak!”

We all know you should never shoot the piano player but this calls for a new maxim. Never attack a woman with a camera in her hands.  Here you see Bob’s expression following his ‘formal’ remarks.  If he was contemplating the damage he did to himself, he’s most likely broken into a permanent sweat at this point.

 

Now for a little crowd reaction:

Online commentary raged for quite some time immediately following Bob’s remarks.

  • “I was there!  It’s true. It was very explicit sexual accusations to a female photographer.  It definitely was NOT what I expected to hear at a town hall.  Is this the kind of behavior we will accept from our sheriff, I don’t care what the back story is, this was not a venue for such a random attack that was not provoked in any way.”
  • “He asked if there was anyone in the room who was 17 or younger and then looked at the female photographer across the room and said ‘I know you like oral sex and giving blow jobs.’ He then accused her of liking to take pictures of porn books in the library.  Is this acceptable behavior for our sheriff to publically bully/shame our residents?”
  • “Several of us walked out of there in total shock since this is the last thing you are expecting to hear from anyone in a public political setting.”
  • “I would never expect anyone to act that way at a town hall but especially our law enforcement.  He can’t be openly attacking someone’s character with these sexually explicit accusations without it looking like public shaming or defamation of character.  He is supposed to be in charge of keeping law and order.”
  • And to another person who said they heard it didn’t happen: “Not true! It did happen and it was not appropriate in what he said at the venue he was in.  I was stunned.”  Again later in the thread: “I was holding off sharing anything but when you said someone said ‘It didn’t happen, I couldn’t stay silent.  I like Bob and I don’t know if there is a past between her and him and I don’t care.  I just don’t think it was appropriate to bring it up at this venue!”  When this commenter was asked “You were there?” he responded “Yes, I was there with my wife” and the response was “This speaks volumes to his character and temperament.”

(Names withheld out of respect but the comments have been forwarded to legal counsel)

So why, in the name of God, is the response from the good citizens of Kootenai County, including pastors, political leaders and law enforcement officials contained in the first point?  “Shut up!” with no follow up “let her speak!”  It occurs to me that not only do the powers that be desire Pennie to shut up, but they intend for the entire community to remain silent.

We are in an election season, the purpose of which should be to vet the candidates and determine fitness for the highest law enforcement office in the county.  Yet the conspiracy of silence is overwhelming and I’m forced to ask if wordless assent is the only right we have.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and while this is no spurned female (any and all speculation that she was sexually involved with Sheriff Bob is nauseating), the scorn from the community at large is a mile deep. Bob knows this so at a Pachyderm meeting he publicly (and this time it was recorded) declared he called her out, to the mocking laughter of the people in the room.  So what’s a girl to do?  This is a feisty little creature so she went out and found a powerhouse law firm, Witherspoon Brajcich McPhee, PLLC, cited as the top law firm in Spokane, WA in 2023.  How many of you know of lawyers with solid reputations who will take a case that has no basis?

This leaves our current sheriff in quite a predicament.  If he would see the tort claim settled, knowing Pennie, nothing more than a public apology and retraction would do, along with compensation for damages.  His reputation will be in tatters. If he wants to brazen it out and stick to his story that nothing happened and does so under oath, his career is likely over.

So now Kootenai County officials have a choice, settle a Tort claim with a starting point of $500,000 or roll the dice and go to court.  If October 9th comes and goes without a settlement, hang onto your hats.

I wish this looming legal action could impact the election but it won’t be on the docket in time.  So after November, we’ll know if it’s only Pennie under the bus or all of Kootenai County.

 

Legalism and Lawlessness

  • Legalism brings division where God intended for there to be unity, and lawlessness brings unity where God intended for there to be division.
  • One afflicts the flesh and the other indulges in it, but both are insubordinate to His will.
  • One has an appearance of righteousness and the other doesn’t but both are insubordinate to His will.
  • One claims a virtue of discipline and the other claims love but both are insubordinate to His will.

Both miss the mark. Both achieve the same end of causing the heart to bow to another. Both deceive. Both are devices of the enemy that lead to the same end. Whether by much or by little, whether gentle or harsh, whatever is done apart from His time, apart from His way, is a device of the deceiver, and is insubordinate to His will.

~Jeff Neufeld

 

Let Him Who Thirsts Come

From Pre-School to Doctoral Dissertation

Blogger’s Note:  When you leave a seeker-friendly church after 20 years you have a gnawing, nearly insatiable hunger for deep truths.  You might sense you lack the rooted certainty to get you through turbulent times because you’ve been splashing around in a puddle of milk.  Maybe that’s just me.  In the past few months, since leaving a mega-church, it’s as if I’ve surged from pre-school to post-doctoral preparation.  This is a gift from God and also due to the profound knowledge and shepherd’s heart of Pastor Paul Van Noy.  The resulting certainty brings peaceful contentment and strength.  The end to ignorant striving is in sight, the sheep are resting assured.

Parson to Person –

When believers get to heaven we will declare, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) We will declare, “You are worthy (for)…You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)
We will exclaim, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10) We will worship saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 7:12)
In the verses above we find an excellent example of the many expressions and declarations we will make when we get to heaven, but there is an unstated truth here revealing so much more. In the declaration of praise to God there is a complete absence of praise for human merit and glory! All the glory belongs to the Lord.
The Apostles warned us that there would be many false teachings introduced to the church. Human-inspired – incremental grace is one of the false teachings we should be guarded against. Any teaching that moves people from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and toward a human-centered / human-assisted righteousness is forbidden by Scripture. Church history is replete with examples of this error and the array of incidents range from the very extreme to the very subtle. Those who embrace a human-assisted salvation find it difficult to fully embrace the verses cited above. In their view, placing ALL the worth, blessing, glory and honor upon the Lord for salvation is unbalanced. The thoughts supporting their view are summed up in the concept that they participated with the Lord, made efforts and to some degree or another earned a bit of God’s favor by both actions and intentions.
When a person believes people cannot get to heaven, by faith in Christ alone, but add to faith the requirement of making any or every effort to live a life pleasing to the Lord, that person has embraced a performance-based / human-assisted Christianity.
Those who by genuine saving faith in Christ, who have nonetheless been touched by this doctrine, will get to heaven and discover afresh that all their righteous deeds are as filthy rags. Those things thought to be instrumental and worthy of reward will be lost; the works themselves “tried by fire”. In the light of God’s presence they will discover that any “good” they believe to have done is lost and only those things manifest by God’s working within, remain. At this revelation they will say… ALL thanksgiving, blessing, glory, honor and power belong to the Lord. No credit to us at all!
Here is a test. Do you feel condemnation when you forget or even neglect to read the Bible? How about when you fail to spend enough time in prayer? Do you ever feel that God is disappointed with you? Have you felt that you have let God down? Do you feel the need to inventory every sin in your life and confess them one by one in order to be forgiven? What if you forget one? If you can say yes to any of these questions you have need again to understand the true Gospel and see the awesomeness of our God. You need to purge out the leaven of error and embrace the true Gospel of grace. It is God who paid the price for our sin. It is by His work we are saved, forgiven, and made righteous. Remember, “For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 6:21)
Oh Lord, “You are worthy… You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood…” (Revelation 5:9-10)

I love you all, Pastor Paul

 

 

A Few Words from Clark Wade

Blogger’s Note:  When I find succinct, solid information, I don’t bother trying to replicate it.  I simply swipe it and present it here.  Clark said I could.

 In Revelation, we know of a time when that “old dragon, Satan, the Liar, and Accuser” will be cast out of heaven to this earth: “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the Liar-Slanderer (the Devil) has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.” Catch that last line: “Knowing he has only a short time.”  It can be what triggered his hellish anxiety was when Israel became a nation again in 1948.  That was a momentous event as a harbinger of his “midnight hour.”  He’s going down, and all of his co-conspirators, the leaders of this fallen world’s system who are in a war against the God of Creation, to wipe out His name on the earth (See Psalm 2). 

We’re told that in the “Last days, grievous times will come.”    I believe that term “last days” refers to the end of the church age, but the time of the “Great Tribulation” referred to in Daniel and Revelation, and throughout the Prophets and the Psalms is called, “the End of Days,” the “Day of God’s Wrath,” “the Day of the Lord,” etc.  We are, I believe, in those “last days” as described as so grievous, but what terror awaits this fallen earth in the coming of the “end of days” after the rapture of the church.  To those who love God, who eagerly wait for the return of Christ, I read these words in Proverbs the other day:

“Don’t allow the actions of evil men to cause you to burn with anger.  Instead, burn with unrelenting passion as you worship God in holy awe because your future is bright and filled with a living hope (the hope/anticipation of His return, as an anchor of the soul) that will never fade away” (Prov. 23:17-18). 

We must remember, and its becoming ever more evident/obvious, that “the whole world lies in the Wicked One” (1 John 5:19) and that “Satan is the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), and his reach, while ubiquitous, is on a “timer” that is about to run out of sand. A burning fuse.  “Tick-Tock Devil!”  

Soon, the church of God, will co-reign with Christ, even, as we are told, will “judge angels” who neglected their first estate, who rebelled against God (1 Cor. 6:3). 

Chapter 14 in Isaiah descries Satan’s rebellion against God in Heaven, and his subsequent fall.  This chapter also describes those who will gaze on him in contempt:

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the [b]lowest depths of the Pit.

16 “THOSE WHO SEE YOU WILL GAZE UPON YOU,
And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’

We are living in a season where it appears the wicked are thriving and having their way, but we must consider their end as well.  God’s timetable is not our timetable, but his timing will be perfect and his true justice/judgment will prevail, when there will be “nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open” (Luke 8:17).

 

 

 

A Worthwhile Vocation

Why Yes, I Am Going to Try to Destroy His Work

You simply never know when inspiration will strike.

Today I’d walked my large Bernedoodle Carson to the river,

tended to my vegetable garden, enjoyed a fresh salad for lunch and was just settling into a pleasant afternoon of peaceful contemplation when my phone thrummed with an incoming text.  When I say ‘incoming’ it’s because that’s what you shout when you hear the roar of enemy ordinance heading your way.

BC:  “Have you listened to the comments made about The Chosen by Dallas Jenkins?”  Attached were two links.  I bit and started to watch the first one.

I must confess, I found his mannerisms and precise speech arrogant and I’m no fan of The Chosen so I responded rather promptly “What a pompous punk. Started to listen but just can’t”. (true confession: another alliterative pejorative sprang immediately to mind but I chose the milder rebuke) 

BC: “I did not take him as pompous at all.  I am surprised that you feel free to judge him without watching the show or listening to his view”.

Always anxious to learn but feeling a tad impatient I responded thusly: “Sigh.  The show is produced and directed by temple Mormons.  They conceded that the first four episodes were not based on any scripture.  I will not watch what cult members dream up, no matter how entertaining.  I thought the spirit rolling off him was pure arrogance”.

BC: “So I send you 2 videos to watch and you do not bother to get my point? I believe you are wrong about the Mormons.  And if I am right, you are defaming someone – a brother in Christ – based upon your opinion.  The studio may be Mormon owned but the show is not”. (here’s a clue – she’s not right).

I retorted with more restraint than I felt: “So you’re accusing me of defamation?  Now that’s intriguing.  Just because I refuse to see your point.  I’m going to have to go with Biblical accuracy”. 

I watched the second video she’d supplied.

 

I’m glad I watched it, yet at this point, I’m wondering why an evangelical believer would join himself to darkness and pour his life into presenting a false picture of the God he says he worships.  We are to judge believers in the church who violate the faith.

How many Christians joke about what Jesus was doing while hanging on the cross?  

AAAND she’s back:  “I am saying you are bold on stating your beliefs but have not listened to him.  He is born again.  The Chosen is a tool to reach the unreached.  Is it meat?  No.  But that is not the goal audience.  I am ok with that baby step for people.  I came to know Jesus at a concert where the love of Jesus was preached.  I think better to be praying for the fruits of this show than bashing the Dallas. (I know, it’s just a text, I am reprinting with full accuracy, mistakes and all) If he is born again and doing what God lead him to do, who are we to bash him?  He answers to God alone.  Are you praying as much for him to be faithful or to destroy what he is doing?”

Here at last is the crux of the matter!

I had to ask this friend if something (else) was bothering her and added “And yes, I would destroy anything that exalts itself over the knowledge of God.  The true God.  You betcha.” 

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. ~ 2nd Corinthians 10:4-6

I sent my friend the video you can peruse here: 

https://youtu.be/r0mckI8Xfl8

 

In short, Mormons aren’t Christians and their slick, appealing series on Jesus isn’t teaching you about the one true God.

It’s not defamation to defend the truth.

I wrote The Idol of Evangelism yesterday.  My point is that lying to people about Jesus is not helping, whether it’s leaving chunks of truth out to make him easier to approach or just plain making stuff up.  My friend concedes The Chosen is not meat, my point is, neither is it milk (for new believers).  It’s poison.

It’s akin to pointing the lost to a mirage so they die in the desert and that’s not love.

Love is what you see from the family that found Jesus after 30 years in the Mormon church.  Please hear them.

 

Great Balls of Fire

 Or Will Our Land Be Healed?

Written by Chris Hohnholz

With all the recent discussions of Christian Nationalism and “Christianizing” the nations, here is a thought to consider: any theology and practice that seeks to engage the culture in hopes of transforming a nation into a Christian nation must also account for God’s purposes, specifically insomuch as He may have judged a nation and given it over to destruction.

This isn’t defeatism, it’s recognizing Biblical truth. In the book of Judges, God repeatedly gives Israel into the hands of her enemies because of their rebellion. At one point in Judah’s history, God tells Jeremiah not to even pray for them as He will not listen to them in their time of trouble. Paul writes in Romans 1 that there is a time when God gives over a nation to depravity as a judgment against them. This is biblical truth. This is our history.

By all means, engage the culture. Proclaim Biblical truth against the evils of our age. Call people, cities, states, nations, and governments to repentance. Vote for people and public policies that find their basis in Scripture. Do all of it and more.

But, do not forget that the hand of God will not be swayed by anything or anyone if He has determined that He will judge a nation and its people. Therefore, your theology must include the possibility that God will not relent in His judgment. We must also be preparing our people for a time when (not if) God brings that judgment down upon our lands and gives us over to evil rulers for a time (or until the nation is destroyed).

Are we willing to prepare our brethren for such a time? We must be. It is biblical and it is historical. To deny such a thing could happen is the highest of hubris. Teach, therefore, both things. Seek to influence and change culture, primarily through our first and most important task of preaching the gospel, but also be ready to endure the downfall of a nation and the inevitable persecution that comes.

This is not pietism or defeatism. If you think otherwise, then I encourage you to revisit Scripture before you defame your brethren who speak of this as biblical reality. Until then, I would argue you are going off half-cocked and are perhaps being arrogant in your presumption that you can “succeed” where so many Christians in the past “failed.”

Just a thought, do with it what you will.

 

 

When Your Faith Becomes Force

Ye Shall Not Be as Gods

The reality we face is 2 Peter 2. I can unequivocally say that false teachers have increased at a ratio of 100 to 1. They have turned faith into a force and they say our success in life is based on our ability to use this “force.” Following Jesus by denying self has been replaced with exalting self with spiritual powers. Nearly everything in the Bible has an opposite meaning taught by those who claim to be representing Him in this way, but they really are Gnostics, mystics who use the pulpit for fame and fortune. These are the ones Jude warned about.

They wrap their own teachings around God’s Word and make disciples to follow them, instead of teaching people to follow Jesus.

~Bible In Context

Here’s 2nd Peter 2: 1-3
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.  By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

 

In the book of Isaiah, we read “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” ~Isaiah 14:13

It seems that the condition of mankind is to desire to be like God, or if we’re super delusional, to be gods.  It’s the hottest new thing, although the Mormons have predicated an entire religion on the original sin for ages now, it’s catching on all over afresh.  If you never actually proclaim “I AM God” like Steve Furtick, then you might have to settle for believing you are on par with Him.  Satan is laughing all the way to the bank as he watches people joining into the original sin while proclaiming it a new wave of God.

Giving grace and granting rights to God (??)

That’s how we get sermons wherein the pastor states repeatedly that we must sometimes “give grace to God.”  It’s also how we get books  like Operating in the Courts of Heaven subtitled “Granting God the Legal Rights to Fulfill His Passion and Answer Our Prayers.”  Bethel Church in Redding, California is chock full of people believing they can earn or buy their way to supernatural power.  It’s why we have teachers literally declaring that our words can create reality, which they can indeed if your reality is a hellish mess. 

Do Our Words Create?

The idea that speaking positive or negative words somehow causes something to take place in the spiritual realm comes from the occult not from the Bible.

 “Inseparable from magical speculation about words is the theory of vibrations, which supposes that certain sounds have a powerful acoustic impact on the spiritual and astral worlds.  Like the spiritual world and astral plane can in some circumstances be affected by sound, so that verbal magic may be said to derive its power not only from the idea contained in certain words, but from the peculiar vibrations these words create when spoken”. (Magic: an Occult Primer, pp. 74-75)

This grasping at power-filled authority is a contagion and the path for it is enhanced by the teaching that it’s cutting-edge Christianity, not ancient sin.

But there are difficulties for these yearning ones, and these difficulties are, when you look at them squarely, insurmountable.

The real God is infinite, and every little creaturely aspirant to His throne, is finite.  The distance between the infinite God and the finite creature is, and this is understating it, large.  The idea that the creature, any creature – from a roly-poly bug up to one of the seraphim, could inflate himself up to divine proportions is a proposition that can be modified by many adjectives – risible, preposterous, ludicrous, outrageous, and monstrous being chief among them.  That chasm cannot be jumped, it cannot be bridged.

But, let me hasten to add, it can be redefined, provided you have already lost your mind.  The sides of the north are glorious, majestic, and infinitely serene, and at some point it becomes clear that we and our army of roly-poly bugs are not going to be successful when we storm the ramparts of Heaven.  ~Douglas Wilson

I have pondered what venal boredom has driven this temporarily delicious, yet fatal, quest to be gods.  I am convinced it’s due to an enormous vacuum where knowledge of God should reside.
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you,  making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. ~Ephesians 1:15-22
Oh if we only knew. 

 

 

Real Life – Honestly!

The American Church is in a fight for its life.  We have media-savvy wolves, sin-supporting suck-ups who promote the gay lifestyle, women preachers who by their very vocation show a deep disdain for scripture and then we have Jim Putman, senior pastor at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho.

Jim did something every pastor in America should be doing but it’s just so hard.  He stood up and preached the Word in blunt clarity with love and truth.  It was executed with the perfect balance of a Flying Wallenda, except all they had to deal with was gravity and wind speed.

 

Men who preach the actual gospel have to deal with death by a thousand cuts.  I’m certain that after this masterpiece, the slicing will continue.

The lesson was from Jude, the half-sibling of Jesus, who started his life having to live with the perfect brother.  Familiarity breeds contempt (except with Jesus) so Jude became a believer and wrote this letter which is the template for contending for the faith.  

This is a book, a mere chapter in length, that contains more meat than a Montana beast feast.    The book is targeting false teachers, and the point was that there is no new message, no new understanding and if you hear men speak of new revelation, look out. These false teachers are inside the church, who obey their own lusts and flatter people to gain advantage.

“These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you, without fear, serving only themselves.  They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds;  late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for who is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” ~Jude 12-14

 

It’s not merely a warning against trendy pastors who believe they have special authority to declare something fresh, we all know the ‘demon-slayers’ who believe they have special gifts to name, rebuke, bind and cast out demons.   It’s a fine line we’re treading here, and I’m no Wallenda so my tight rope is starting to wobble, there can be a case made for casting out demons but as your claim to fame and sole vocation, you’re out of balance.  What does Jude say?

“Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you!” ~Jude 9

Throughout the book, perhaps the most salient point, is to watch yourselves.  The examples of Cain, Balaam, and Korah are used.  There’s a common thread and for a deeper look go to Genesis 4,  Numbers 22 – 24 and 16.  If you too suffer from wounded pride, material desire, or wanting power, be on guard.  Not sure about anyone else, but I scored a trifecta.  

Jim isn’t messing around, asking if we really believe what God is saying, asserting it’s serious business and that if you love God you will obey Him.  He was clear he’s not ok with sin coming into the church and recruiting.  People aren’t going to like it but that’s not the point.  

“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.  They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.  ‘Peace, peace’, they say, when there is no peace.” ~Jeremiah 13 -14

The church of today is assuring people that everything is going to be okay, listen to Joel Osteen and you know it’s all good.  He’s telling a world with a fatal wound that they’ll be fine and is setting them up to go to hell.

Jim Putman is pointing the way to heaven.

 

Sound Advice

Friends, in Noah’s day, with lawlessness and rebellion all around him, Noah did not go engage in battle with the damned or try to use force to stop their insane debauchery.  Noah just worked on the Ark as they laughed at him.  All the way up until the Flood came and took them all away.  I am asking The Lord to make me more diligent in building the Ark (metaphorically, meaning, strengthening my dependence on Him alone).  ~Clark Albritton

I spotted this strong wisdom this morning and it answered a question that’s been burning in my brain for years.  As we watch this world sail blithely into destruction, many of us strive to hold it back.  We get politically involved, we start blogs, we search the word of God.  I’ve long since written off Drag Queens and school boards and have honed in on fellow Christians who have fallen in love with a fake Jesus.

 

 

I’ve been singled out from the pulpit for being divisive, told I was blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and called a pharisee.  And that’s just from friends!

Here’s the problem, divisiveness comes from introducing new doctrines, not defending sound Biblical doctrine.

If we can’t have unity and agreement upon The Truth then we can’t have unity. True unity is in the unity of the Spirit of Truth.

“Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who 👉🏼cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. 👈 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
Romans 16:17-18

Divisiveness is going beyond what is written. It is going outside the boundary of the Truth of Gods written Word. Those who do such a thing are not true servants of God, in fact they have not God (2  John 9) ~The Bible In Context

 

I’ve also read in Revelation, as John’s encounter is wrapping up it says: “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.  He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” ~Rev. 22:10-11

If you want to follow a fake Jesus, false prophets and teachers who feel they have a new revelation, a fresh take on God, be my guest.

I’ll be over here, building a boat.

 

 

Lambs to the Slaughter

A Perspective From the Desert

I grew up in Modoc County, California.  When I mention the main town, Alturas, people ask “what’s it near”?  Nothing, I respond, because if I told them Canby, Termo, Ravendale or Likely, their faces remain blank.  It’s a vast, windy, arid, high desert.  Across the Warner Mountains, lies Surprise Valley, where there’s a population of Basque families.   They raise sheep in harsh conditions, with parsimonious land in terms of feed, water, and moderate temperatures.  It is generous in one way – coyotes.

 

When it’s lambing season, terrible things can happen.  Packs of coyotes flood in.  When the ewes are at their most vulnerable, as the lambs are emerging, is the choice time for the coyotes to strike.  It’s known that they will consume the emerging lamb, the hindquarters of the ewe, killing both, before moving on to the next target.  The carnage of these vulnerable sheep is heart-wrenching.  Entire flocks can be killed, not entirely eaten, just wasted.

This gets us to the Asbury ‘revival’.  Plenty of sheep, the wolves surging toward the flock, and some people calling out warnings.  I’ve shared many balanced perspectives, Biblically based, which call for restraint, discernment, and waiting to see any good fruit emanating from this gathering, before coming to a firm decision.  I’ve been called several things, most of which are not complimentary.  Or given instructions like the following:

I’m clearly dealing with an intellectual.

I do long for revival but I don’t care for viral gatherings based on false prophecy:

 

I know you might think me stubborn, but it’s a good time for 2nd Thessalonians Chapter Two.  

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for That Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, . . .”

I’m concerned at this point in time, with a giant falling away, even one that might appear to be the opposite, even one that just feels so good.

I also am leary of the flood of false teachers rushing to the exact spot where little lambs are emerging but not even able to walk yet.  Why would I claim the students at Asbury can’t walk?  It’s a place where Spiritual Formation (it’s included in the curriculum)  and Contemplative Praying are promoted.  According to an article from Truthkeepers.com:

“Spiritual Formation is contemplative spirituality, and it is sweeping quickly throughout Christianity today.  If a college, a seminary, a church, or an organization wants a spiritual Formation, may they keep in mind, they will get eastern mediation and the occultic realms that accompany it.

Contemplative Praying is a pagan practice that came into Protestantism via the Roman Catholic Church.  RCC mystic, Thomas Merton, recognized the church was void of spirituality.  His search for spirituality led him to associate with a Buddhist colony where he discovered Contemplative praying.  The Buddhists received it from the desert-dwelling Sufi Muslims.   . . . This mystical stream contemplative prayer is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality.  One cannot get more New Age than Spiritual Formation and Contemplative Praying.”

 

Essentially this is a group that is being fed toxic waste blended in with Christianity or as my pastor, Jim Putman of Real Life Ministries, would call it “Rat Poison Theology”.  As is clear from the list of ingredients on many rat poisons, about 95% of the contents are harmless, some might even be good for you, but the poison contained in the box will kill you.  The rest of it is just to get you to eat it in the first place.  The lambs at Asbury are already in a weakened condition.

There’s almost nothing more precious than a newborn lamb and almost nothing more heart-wrenching than seeing it meet a brutal death before it sees the light of day.  We can’t kill all the coyotes but we can mobilize to protect the lambs.