can you spot a real Christian?

In America--as, I suppose, in most other so-called "Western" societies, it can be a little challenging to discern who is, and who is not, a real Christian.  Just because someone may be modestly dressed--or happens to be wearing a cross necklace (as in the above image), should not be taken as a sign that he or she is a Christian.  But you might be surprised to learn just how far a lot of people are willing to go, to be immodestly dressed, but who still want to call themselves "Christians".  (Some images in this blog post are "edgy", but not pornographic.)

what is truth?

Years ago I wondered whether it were possible to formulate a meaningful definition of the word "truth" -- apart from any reference to God.  I found that to be a far more difficult task than I could have imagined.  After three days of thinking about nothing else but to resolve that difficult question, I arrived in my mind at a definition of truth, which definition I still believe it to be valid and therefore useful.  Here, then, is my "secular" definition of truth:

praying -- like Elijah

"[Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." (James 5:17)

Revival -- unlike any other

"Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy.  I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly Evangelicalism, one by one.  The house [worldly churches] will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them. . . .  I would like to live to see the time when the men and women of God--holy, separated and spiritually enlightened--walk out of the evangelical church and form a group of their own; when they get off the sinking ship and let her go down . . . and form a new ark to ride out the storm" (A.W. Tozer, d.1963)

pansies in the pulpit

Back in the day, to have called anyone a "pansy" or a "sissy," simply meant that he was timid, cowardly.  In that famous movie The Wizard of Oz, the character shown in the above image was referred to as the "Cowardly Lion".  It is fitting, for my present purpose, that he is shown posing amidst a setting of flowers: the whole scene reminds me of a lot of churches I have seen -- with some or other "cowardly lion" standing at the pulpit, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, professedly preaching the Gospel.

insanity -- as judgment

Seeking God for Revival has become the foremost thing in my mind.  In the course of which, I continually give a great deal of thought, not only to the Word of God concerning Revival, but also to the present condition of the world.  The need of Revival seems overwhelming, in the extreme.  Were it not for the fact that God has given us His Word, the situation truly would be hopeless.  It is nothing short of astonishing, to me, that the great majority of professing Christians do not yet demonstrate any real comprehension of the desperate condition of the Church and of the world.  How, then, can they be concerned enough about the need of Revival, to be moved to travail in prayer?

Today, as I have been contemplating the pervasive madness (insanity) throughout society, I happened upon a website which addresses the fact that, in Scripture, insanity is shown to be a judgment of God upon sinners.

NEEDED: Revival of Biblical preaching

The above quote is from one of the most famous sermons in history, titled, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," by Jonathan Edwards.  God powerfully used Edwards to bring Revival to America in the mid- to late-17oos.  But the words of Edwards's sermon doubtless seem harsh and even un-Scriptural, to most modern-day church-goers and even to most professing Christians.

change is coming

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?   (Jeremiah 5:31)

Those, who foresaw the judgment of God coming afar off, warned as many as would listen.  Tragically, not many cared to listen.  Now, a sense of alarm and dread seems to grip the mind of everyone in this nation (America).  Still, there appear to be few who understand that the real cause of judgment against this nation has little to do with what goes on in Washington, D.C..

Why is Satan promoting Revival?

A lot of people are saying that a great End-time Revival is already happening in America!  Are they right?  Is that claim true?

idolatry in the churches

Do you recognize the man in the above picture, that is to say, who he is supposed to represent?  Here's a hint: the thing he's swinging above his head is meant to be a whip.  No, it's not Indiana Jones.  And, no, he's not racing horses down the throughway of a Moroccan bazaar.  Here's another hint: he's swinging his whip AT PEOPLE--in the vestibule of a large, Middle Eastern church....

children of the Great Revival

1950s

2015

(least offensive image I could find)

I have seriously studied Revival for the past decade or so.  Yet, until I juxtaposed the two images, above, it never occurred to me that the people celebrating 'gay pride', in the bottom photo, are the children and grandchildren of those (shown in the top photo) who experienced one the greatest periods of Revival in history.  So I asked myself, How did a nation of churchgoers--many of whom experienced the Great Revival of the early 20th century, produce a generation of devils?  How did American culture degenerate so rapidly in the span of merely a couple of generations?

the spirit of Elijah

The above image may fairly well represent how most people--who know anything about the prophet Elijah--perceive him, in their imagination.  Elijah called down fire from Heaven.  Elijah slew 850 prophets of Baal and of the "groves".  Elijah was bodily taken up to Heaven by a chariot of fire in a whirlwind.  But there was another aspect of that charismatic prophet's personality, which was no less a part of the man he was...

indifference to Revival -- part 2

Thirteen (13) kids every day ~ 5,000 per year, die on the street!  The actual number is probably much higher.  In searching for images for this post, I found so many pictures of homeless children and families, which pictures were so heart-wrenching I could not bear to display them here.  It has recently been reported that an estimated 2,500,000 kids are homeless in America!  Oh! what suffering is already here in America!  And what far deeper suffering is yet to come!  It calls to my mind the Scripture in Amos 5:18, which declares: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light."  But what does the issue of homeless kids have anything to do with God's judgment on America?  The answer to that question can be found buried beneath the ashes of ancient Sodom....

indifference to Revival -- part 1

Indifference.  It is not always nor necessarily offensive.  One can be indifferent to any number of things, without detriment either to oneself or to others.  One may be indifferent to how it is that birds can fly, without harming either birds or oneself.  Indifference, in principle, is not immoral.  But when one's attitude and behavior towards something needful and important may be characterized as indifferent, such an one may be guilty of gross sin and may indeed cause much harm by reason of his or her indifference.

Thus, questions related to the moral implications of indifference must be considered in relation to a given subject.  In the case at hand the subject is Revival.  Indifference to the need for Revival--especially, in the face of the great Apostasy of our time, is immoral, it is sinful, and it invariably results in serious harm to oneself and to others.

Remarkably, there is a certain, numerically large class of professing Christians, to whom the very notion of Revival is utterly meaningless--if it is not in fact repugnant.

what is the Church?

It seems like such a simple question: What is the Church?  Yet, after all my years as a Christian attending scores (if not hundreds) of different churches, I have come to believe that most professing Christians do not really know the answer to that question.  Many will likely say that the Church is a place where people meet to worship God.  But that is very far from being a correct answer.

what is love?

If you were to conduct a random survey of 1,000 people, asking them whether they know what "love" is, how many of them, do you suppose, would say, "Yes"?  Probably, 100% of them would answer that question in the affirmative, without even pausing to think about it.  What about you?  Do you know what love is?  You may be surprised to learn that....

mixed multitude

One of the most serious problems with the churches, today, is what I call the principle of the “mixed multitude“.  Throughout the Old Testament (which entails a host of eternally valid spiritual truths), God taught His people not to be admixed with the world.  The New Testament, in many places, teaches exactly the same principle.  For example, the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 5:3-7), stated:

an evil time

"They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.  Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.  For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.  Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time."  Amos 5:10-13

"And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil."  Zephaniah 1:12

"Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil."  Micah 2:3

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."  Ephesians 5:16

"They [the godly] shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied."  Psalm 37:19

remodel, replace - or remove? (part III)

Notice, in the above image, the first step down from the topmost level.  The first step downward away from true -- that is to say, Biblical Christianity, begins with abandonment of faith in the infallible (without error) character of the Bible itself.  Tragically, the vast majority of professing Christians, today, believe not only that the Bible does contain errors but, furthermore, that the Bible MUST contain error.  That statement is very easily proved, by reason of the ongoing proliferation and pervasive use of multifarious so-called Bible "versions" -- no two of which, versions, agree with each other.  How can they all be the pure Word of God?  For, it is demonstrably true that they do not all "say the same thing" (as many naively and wrongly claim).  Deuteronomy 32:4 says, of God:

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he".

If there exists (and there does exist) a pure and true record of Scripture, then the Church does not need any other text; most certainly the true Church does not need any fabricated imitation of God's Word.  Faith in the infallibility (without error) of the true Word of God is the bedrock of genuine Christianity.  Conversely, belief in the fallibility (with errors) of the Bible is the bedrock of the modern Apostasy.

remodel, replace - or remove? (part II)

It was brought to my attention that I ought to explain what are those things which characterize an "apostate" church.  I can think of no better place to begin than to discuss the subject of TAX-EXEMPT STATUS for churches and pastors.