How to know the things that will take place at the second coming.

This is very good.

"...a lot of what we understand about Christ’s Second Coming is foreshadowed – a pattern – revealed during His First Coming. Learning as much as we can about His First Coming teaches a great deal about how things will ultimately take place at His Second Coming. And I have a very strong suspicion that we are seeing some of these things taking place right now."

More here:

Witnessing History Repeat Itself
moriel.org

Just another one of those things?

Thanks to all who voted on the flu pandemic poll. Here were the results:

Do you think the flu pandemic thing will lead to martial law?

• Yes 7 (15%)
• No 16 (34%)
• Possibly 19 (41%)
• Not sure 4 (8%)

I really don't want to blog about this thing anymore, but it looks like a good deal of those who voted (56%) have some concerns about it. Most of the readers of this blog are from the U.S., so I'll just mention that here in Canada we are being told to get ready to roll up our sleeves, but pregnant women and younger children get to go first (see here: www.ottawacitizen.com). More news sources say:

When the H1N1 vaccine is ready in November, expect children, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions to roll up their sleeves first. Others will be able to get their vaccine shots before Christmas.
www.news1130.com/news/local/more.jsp?content=20090928_132550_6548

There is growing public skepticism about the H1N1 vaccine. Canada has ordered more than 50 million doses from GlaxoSmithKline... Health Canada officials have repeatedly stressed that the swine flu vaccination will not be mandatory for Canadians and ...that includes members of the military.
www.news1130.com/news/national/more.jsp?content=n281279712

So far there isn't much of a big deal being made of it here, but just in case, we all might do well to heed this health expert's recent warnings - don’t get the shot! Watch here:

Doctor Admits Vaccine Is More Deadly Than Swine Flu Itself
livingjourney.wordpress.com

Also read:

Vaccine May Be More Dangerous Than Swine Flu
By: Dr. Russell Blaylock
www.newsmax.com

Now, it seems that down in the U.S. of A., there are some interesting scary rumours and things floating around, like this extremely freaky thing I watched...

Forced vaccinations: a whistleblower's clear warning - reposted by Project Camelot
www.youtube.com

Also of interest is this post at Living Journey...

“Swine Flu” The Contingency Plan – is this something that we should worry about???
livingjourney.wordpress.com

To be honest, whenever I hear about things like this, I am reminded of that box of Y2K memorabilia in the back of my closet that will some day be a collector's treasure. Sadly, so many, even Christians, profited from that false alarm (incuding those that denied it). For example, who can forget the Van Impe 200 Time Bomb (of course, it's always something - now it's the 2012 thing).

And so I wonder - will this flu pandemic and surrounding controversy go down in history as just another one of those 'things'?

Any thoughts from some American readers?

Atheists going Ape over Christian intro to Darwin's Book

This is too good...

A well-known Christian author and evangelist says atheists are up in arms over a planned book giveaway at universities nationwide this November.

Ray Comfort is co-host of the weekly television show The Way of the Master. He discovered that Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of the Species is public domain, so he has printed a special edition to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the book's publication. The special edition includes a 50-page introduction, in which Comfort debunks the theory of evolution and points people to Christ....

Read the rest here:

Atheists angry over Christian intro to Darwin's book
www.onenewsnow.com

I say - yeah Ray!

Things God won't Allow

There are some things that God simply will not allow, and here is one of them. Check this out...

September 22
Immortality only 20 years away says scientist
www.understandthetimes.org

Some verses that immediately come to mind...

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Genesis 3:24

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Genesis 11: 5,6

Blog Break

So much to blog...so little time.

The little brown blog is being given a rest for a few days.

The Mark from the Book of Ezekiel

This is the mark you DO want on your forehead. It's the one that the angel dressed in white marked on the foreheads of the faithful, that would spare them from the coming divine judgment. Here's an excerpt from a timely new article by Pastor Larry Debruyn:

For any Christians concerned to discern, they may be comforted to know they're taking the narrow Way. A spirit of discernment is symptomatic of true faith. The Lord's sheep care, yes, even "sigh and groan" when they see fellow evangelicals lapsing into worldliness and ungodliness. Goats however, are unmoved (Matthew 25:31-46).

Read the whole thing here:

"X-Men"
herescope.blogspot.com

Judgment? What judgment, you say? Hasn't it already begun?

[By the way, if you read that last link, here is a very good update and commentary on it.]

The Shaq

Oooo, nasty. Just incase anyone has not seen this yet...

The Shaq

Standing up for Truth (updated)

Yeah, oh yeah, Canada. You should be thankful for, and proud of, your Prime Minister this week because he knows the truth about these things...and stands up for the truth, and in Tim Horton's to boot:

Harper calls Ahmadinejad’s UN address a ‘real low point’
www.israpundit.com


UPDATED: AHMADINEJAD’S DANGEROUS SPEECH AIMED AT BUYING TIME TO FINISH IRAN’S NUCLEAR BOMB
flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/

Update:

Meanwhile, down in the U.S. of A., their fearless leader obviously does not share the same convictions (see here), but just look what they are teaching their children...

Children Taught to Praise Obama
www.crosstalkblog.com

And the latest on these things:

NETANYAHU LAYS DOWN THE GAUNTLET
flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com

Did Obama Call on Israel to Vacate Temple Mount?
Aaron Klein

Review Ordered of Video Showing Students Singing Praises of President Obama
www.inthedays.com

Netanyahu attacks Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial
www.inthedays.com

Things that have the Spiritual Significance of the Number 3

There is no doubt that God uses some number patterns more than others through the Bible. In this very interesting new article, Prof. Johan Malan teaches on the spiritual significance of the number 3....

Three Steps to Higher Heights
Prof. Johan Malan
www.bibleguidance.co.za

While reading this article I found these things to be both challenging and encouraging at the same time.

Calling Things into Existence is 'The Secret to Teen Power'

As I was shopping in Costco this week I was browsing the book section, like I always do, when I came across a brand new one in the kids section that made me gasp. It was called The Secret to Teen Power. It's a teen version of the international bestseller, The Secret, and like it's forerunner it is based on 'the law of attraction.' This law is based on the idea that "everything and everyone in the universe is energy, and our thoughts put out a vibration, attracting things to us like a magnet." (1)

The Secret to Teen Power, which is also being published in Spanish and French, is written by Paul Harrington (producer of the film version of The Secret). The Secret to Teen Power youtube clip has already had over 11,000 views in one week.

Here's what the publisher says:

"With The Secret to Teen Power, Paul's dream is that teens around the world will understand the power they have in their hands to create their lives, and that they too can choose their life by choosing their thoughts. Paul wants teens to know that they can have, do, or be anything. And he can only imagine what this knowledge will do for teens just beginning to make their own choices and plans."

-S&S to publish teen version of The Secret
(www.thebookseller.com)

This strangely reminds me of the fictional energy ribbon from Star Trek Generations called The Nexus. When inside the nexus, the only thought one can think of is joy, for when within the nexus reality forms it self according to the wants of the one within (Star Trek Wiki).

Isn't that just great. Now we'll have a pile of teens thinking they can speak things into existence - like God. Nothing new here. Genesis 3:5 also comes to mind.

Both The Secret and The Secret to Teen Power are easily recognized as they have the familiar red seal stamped on their front covers, however, it is my personal opinion that a more appropriate choice would have been a red flag.

Recommended reading:

THE SECRET: A COSMIC DREAM MACHINE
www.christiananswersforthenewage.org

MORE ON THE SECRET: CHICKEN BONES FOR THE HUNGRY SOUL
www.christiananswersforthenewage.org

Things Skeptics Ask

Speaking of atheists and skeptics, do you know the answers to these questions?

Charlie Campbell answers some common questions skeptics ask here @ www.alwaysbeready.com.

Lots more good books and things at Always Be Ready here.

Nothing Created Everything

In his new book called Nothing Created Everything: The Scientific Impossibility of Atheistic Evolution, Ray Comfort cites a few atheists who have some amazing things to say. Like this:

Robert A.J. Matthews of Ashton University in England: "It is now becoming clear that everything can – and probably did – come from nothing."

American physicist Paul Davies of Arizona State University: "Even if we don't have a precise idea of exactly what took place at the beginning, we can at least see that the origin of the universe from nothing need not be unlawful or unnatural or unscientific."

-Finally exposed: The scientific impossibility of evolution
www.wnd.com

Ray Comfort says that the thought that nothing created everything is an intellectual embarrassment for atheists. I agree.

~Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools~ Romans 1:22

Meanwhile, the poor atheists feel so threatened that they are making threats (here) to shut down Ray Comfort's blog for hate speech. Some of his posts have nearly 200 comments - very interesting.

Related:

285 Atheists visit Creation Museum
www.crosstalkblog.com

Richard Rohr on Oprah Radio

Can you imagine men like Kirk Cameron of Way of the Master, or John MacArthur of Grace to You, or David Hocking of Hope for Today, or Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel...being interviewed on Oprah Radio about prayer? Of course not. The only people interviewed about prayer on this radio program would be those who have the same New Age spirituality as Oprah and friends. So it's interesting to see Richard Rohr, whose books and teachings are finding their way into many churches and Christian universities, being interviewed about contemplative prayer here...

Finding time for prayer doesn't have to be difficult. Father Rohr says his daily contemplative practice is simply letting go of all thoughts. "Whatever obsessive thought, compulsive thought, negative or paranoid thought or feeling—whatever comes, try to gently let go of it." He says that it can be hard to do, because you have to let go of all the things that you think you are. "We think we are our thoughts, we think we are our feelings," he says. "Once you see [these] ways of thinking, it clears out. You move to a deeper level beyond your thinking—that's the experience of conscious union."

-Richard Rohr in a conversation with Dr. Oz on Oprah Radio
Contemplative Prayer
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahradio/moz/moz_20070207

Listen HERE to Dr. Oz talk with Father Rohr about "helping people find deeper spiritual enlightenment by gaining a greater understanding of their personality through the Enneagram personality system, an ancient tool that explains how human personality works."

More on the ecumenical Richard Rohr here:

Who is Richard Rohr?
morebooksandthings.blogspot.com

What is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram
watchman.org

Johanna Michaelsen Interview

This is a very interesting thing to watch. It's an interview of Johanna Michaelsen, the author of The Beautiful Side of Evil entitled “The occult infiltration into today’s professing church.”

Entire Johanna Michaelsen Interview
nazarenepsalm113.wordpress.com

Fascinating...scary...creepy, actually. Can these things really happen? Yikes.
(Warning 18A?)

Stunning, powerful. The church needs to repent.

Oh my, oh my! Let me say that again.

THE CHURCH NEEDS TO REPENT!

~ ~ ~

Related:

Meditation and Contemplative Prayer: Test the Spirits
by Warren Smith

'His Holiness' brings peace to our Newspaper?

Today I read an interesting thing in this weekend's newspaper. It's a small ad that says:

HIS HOLINESS BRINGS PEACE TO THE NEWS
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, the 14th Dalai Lama sits as Guest Editor.
Saturday, September 26th
The Vancouver Sun

To celebrate, 10 cents for every newspaper sold in news stands that day will go to The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. And the purpose of this thing?

...the special Educating the heart edition of The Sun, and the events it highlights, will help to put flesh on the bones of the emerging concept of mindfulness.

The spiritual and intellectual extravaganza in Vancouver will explore how individuals and even nations can be improved through through developing this state of mind, which comes in many forms.

It is a state of consciousness increasingly being studied by scientists, including many who will be in Vancouver, such as psychiatrist Daniel Siegel, author of The Mindful Brain.

Even though mindfulness is a concept most commonly associated with Eastern-inspired meditation, Chan says mindfulness is also integral to Western-inspired spiritual contemplation, as well as to the arts, poetry, journalling, music and even so-called profane activities such as sports and business.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama brings peace to the news on September 26
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/dalai-lama/index.html

Educating the Heart is the theme that this special edition of The Sun will focus on. And that's not all. The Dalai Lama’s visit begins Saturday, Sept. 26 with an invitation-only dialogue called Connecting for Change, which has quite a line up (see about this 'spiritual dream team' here). After breaking Monday for Yom Kippur, a discussion about creativity and well-being will begin Tuesday morning that includes the Dalai Lama and ~surprise~ Eckhart Tolle.

Why? Because mindfulness can lead to higher levels of achievement, inner happiness and greater compassion for others by reshaping the brain, of course.

OR NOT!

Well lower mainland. Prepare to have your brains reshaped. As for me, I prefer to have my brain washed in God's way of Holiness, not 'His Holiness' the Dalai Lama's way of mindfulness, thank you very much.

...Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:23,24

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:7

Has your Christianity cost you something?

Are you reading the internet this morning because you have had to give up your church and your friends due to false teaching? The sad but true fact of the day is -- you may be lonely, but you are not alone...


IS CHRISTIANITY ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS?
www.newswithviews.com

Just a few things I'd like to say today...

I see that a reader from Mesa, Arizona logged on from Christian Research Network this morning and flipped the counter thingy at the bottom of this blog to 150,000. I feel like I should send them a book or something, but I don't know who they are.

Anyways, it's not a huge deal, but I want to take a moment to thank all who read the meanderings and musings of this little brown blog. I still haven't quite figured out why there are any visitors at all, as surely there are many more interesting books and things to read out there. So I count it a privilege and am very thankful for such an opportunity, for as I have journeyed through blogland thus far God has graciously given me many very dear friends, some of whom I have personally met, and others I look forward to catching up with in eternity. And a special thanks to my partners in prayer and my fellow bloggers who link here, and for those special people who make me laugh, encourage, inspire and challenge me, while you work tirelessly for the Lord. You know who you are. :)

Some Things about Psalm 130 and Repentance

Psalm 130 is known as one of the seven penitential Psalms that bring comfort to a repentant heart (the others being 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, and 143). For some reason, this particular Psalm has stuck with me this week, and as I’ve been reading about repentance I have put a few things together. Today, I’ll let these quotes do the talking…

One of the things that most frustrates God in His dealings with us is our stubborn refusal to admit that we’re sinners. We clean ourselves up on the outside, we make a good impression on those around us, sometimes even fool ourselves into thinking that we’re better than we are. But in our hearts we’re sinners in need of forgiveness. Every one of us.

-Psalm 130 (gracethrufaith.com)

What a confession! How glorious the forgiveness, and the peace! What the unrepentant criminal did not see and recognize. The truth was that since Jesus is The Christ He did save the dying criminal. And only by not saving Himself from death could He save anyone! Jesus could not save a man who wanted only to escape the consequences of being caught in sin. This was the error of Esau. He was sorry that he lost his inheritance, and not repentant for his sin. He like Cain, was angry at his brother, and in his anger sought vengeance rather than repentance.

-Do You Fear God? (herescope.blogspot.com)

So if the Lord should begin to keep an account of iniquities, none of us would make it. Oh, how thankful we are that with God there is mercy; there is forgiveness. Oh, how happy is the man whose sins are forgiven. "With the Lord there is mercy, and plenteous redemption."

-Chuck Smith commentary on Psalm 130 (www.blueletterbible.org)

If JAH, the all seeing, should in strict justice call every man to account for every want of conformity to righteousness, where would any one of us be? Truly, he does record all our transgressions; but as yet he does not act upon the record, but lays it aside till another day. If men were to be judged upon no system but that of works, who among us could answer for himself at the Lord's bar, and hope to stand clear and accepted? (...) Were it not for the Lord Jesus, could we hope to stand?

-Psalm 130, Charles Spurgeon (www.spurgeon.org)

His (the psalmist) calling God Lord twice, in so few words, Jah and Adonai, is very emphatic, and intimates a very awful sense of God’s glorious majesty and a dread of his wrath. Let us learn here, 1. To acknowledge our iniquities, that we cannot justify ourselves before God, or plead Not guilty. There is that which is remarkable in our iniquities and is liable to be animadverted upon. 2. To own the power and justice of God, which are such that, if he were extreme to mark what we do amiss, there would be no hopes of coming off. His eye can discover enough in the best man to ground a condemnation upon; and, if he proceed against us, we have no way to help ourselves, we cannot stand, but shall certainly be cast. If God deal with us in strict justice, we are undone; if he make remarks upon our iniquities, he will find them to be many and great, greatly aggravated and very provoking; and then, if he should proceed accordingly, he would shut us out from all hope of his favour and shut us up under his wrath; and what could we do to help ourselves? We could not make our escape, nor resist not bear up under his avenging hand.

-Matthew Henry (www.searchgodsword.org)

Today or sometime soon, make room in your schedule for an extended time of confession before the Lord. Make sure you choose a time and place where you won’t be disturbed. Take your Bible and perhaps some notes with you, and resolve to “do business with God.”

-Today in the Word (Psalm 130) (www.todayintheword.com)


As usual, there is much more to be read at the corresponding links.

It's a beautiful a thing to meditate on the Psalms, and fill our minds with the things of God. But even more desirable than this to God is when our head knowledge makes it to our hearts. Maybe these things will speak to someone who reads them today.

And finally, a beautiful thing to listen to...

Psalm 130 - Sons of Korah
www.youtube.com

Some Things about the Dummying Down of the Church

They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
(2 Peter 3:1-4 ESV)

“One of the most difficult things for me over the last few years has been in addressing the heretical things that the emergents were saying...”
-Mike Ratliff

Read an excellent article about who is responsible for the dummying down of the church, by Mike Ratliff, here:

Emergent Fallacies and The Dummying Down of the Church
September 18, 2009 — Mike Ratliff
mikeratliff.wordpress.com/

Ultimately, it is the father of lies who is responsible for this. Has your church allowed these men and their books and things in? If so, has there been repentance over this compromise? Or have they believed the lie - that these men are our friends? I pray that the true church will be stirred to prayer and intercession for those who are asleep.

A Few Things about Rosh Hashana

"Sound the Shofar in Zion and sound the alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the Land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand"
(Joel 2:1)

Rosh Hashana, or Feast of Trumpets, is the Jewish New Year. It is also said to be the birthday of the world. This year it occurs on September 19, 2009 on the Gregorian calendar (1st of Tishrei, 5770 Jewish Calendar).

The Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) are the holiest days of the Jewish year. These ten days are called the Days of Awe or High Holy Days. Unlike other holy days, they do not celebrate a season or historical event. This season is a time for looking inward to spiritual growth.

-Rosh HaShanah
http://www.bibleprophesy.org/trumpets.htm

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which follows 10 days later, will be on September 28 this year (10th of Tishrei, 5770). This day is also called the Day of Judgment and the Sabbath of Sabbaths in the Bible. It is one of the Lord’s holy days which He says will remain “a statute forever” (see Leviticus 23).

The ten days between (and including) the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are preceded by a time of fasting, and are called the Days of Awe or Days of Repentance. Some say that this time may represent or reflect the 7 year tribulation (Jacob’s Trouble - Jer. 30:7).

One theory divides the days as follows:

* The thirty days of the month of Elul —the Church
* The Day of the Feast of Trumpets—the Rapture
* The days between the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement—Tribulation
* The Day of Atonement—the Second Coming

-biblicalholidays.com

Since I'm not the brightest bulb on the string, every year I have to remind myself of what these things are all about. I know so little, but there is so much more very interesting info here:

Rosh Hashanah -
Awakening to Judgment
www.hebrew4christians.com

Feast of Trumpets / Rosh Hashana
biblicalholidays.com

Day of Atonement / Yom Kippur
biblicalholidays.com

The Meaning Behind the Sounding of the Shofar
by Rabbi Chaim Richman

The Fall Feasts of Israel
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
gracethrufaith.com

Meanwhile, isn't it ironic that right smack in the middle of these days of the Lord (on Sept. 25), the leaders of the great U.S. of A. have chosen to give honor to the farthest thing away from this nation's Judeo Christian roots - in their nation's capitol (see here)? Not to mention the path that some in the emerging church are continuing on this fall (see here). The way things are going, I think that we as the church would do well not only to listen for the sound of the Shofar, but to also study these days and take to heart their theme of repentance.

Latest High-tech Church Thing

We've all gotten used to things like Christian chat rooms, live satellite church conferences and webinars, but wouldn't you say something is wrong with the Christian culture when folks start having skype and virtual internet bathtub baptisms? At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising to soon see robots stepping up to preach and lead worship for the pastor that just can't be there. Or better yet, for the person who is too busy for fellowship, there's always virtual church.

What will they think of next?

Hebrews 10:25

Birds of a Feather and the Things they Tweet (updated)

What's in a link? We've all done it - estimated what a person is like by the company he keeps. One can also pretty much figure out the beliefs of a Christian organization by who they link to on their website. But some say that the old saying, birds of a feather flock together, is just a judgmental observation only pharisees would make...

RW Tweets
http://christianresearchnetwork.com/?p=12916

This is a convenient statement in the light of what we are seeing today. Now - what about those who preach another gospel? Do we as Bible believing Christians chill out with them and be 'friends' without confronting them, knowing that they preach a gospel that will lead to apostasy? As I recently re-listened to Pastor John MacArthur explain a few things about THIS (which I stole from HERE), the shocking truth of the matter is that we are now seeing that what he said about the PD thing right from the start is coming true... IT IS LEADING TO APOSTASY based on common purpose!

And while this is happening, another little development we are now seeing is that others are slowly being persuaded by this PD PR campaign that began with one surprising picture after another.

In the meantime, although some watchmen (and watchwomen) are speaking out about these things, the sad thing is that many others are about to compromise and be deceived by the dialectic process.


* This post will make absolutely no sense unless you click on the links. Even so, some nice folks who don't quite understand yet may still be confused. Anyways, I have been thinking of it for some time, but thanks to twitter, as of today I am removing a certain blogger/book reviewer from my blog roll.

***Related/updated:

Read the latest RW Tweet and the latest related deleted RW Tweet here. Oh, and another humble tweet here.

NEW - Is Rick Warren a False Teacher, and Is 40 Days the Answer?
watcherslamp.blogspot.com

Which Translation of the Bible is Best?

Here's an interesting Q&A from Ankerberg Theological Research Institute:

Which Translation of the Bible is Best?

A viewer writes: “I am a little frustrated with all of the English translations I have encountered having some sort of problems in the translation that I am concerned I may not be aware of if I am just reading the Bible on my own. …I just would like to know which version is the most correct translation the largest percentage of the time,…”

Dr. Ankerberg and Dr. Norman Geisler addressed the issue of translation accuracy in their series How Can You Know the Bible is the Word of God?

Read their answer HERE @ www.ankerberg.com.

The Lost Symbol - Another Book to Deceive the Masses

I walked past a large book display by the check out in the grocery store yesterday. It was another Dan Brown book (author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) called The Lost Symbol. Then I noticed that the headlines of some of the magazines in the check out line were about this book. As I was wondering what it could be about I opened my mail and noticed an e-update about The Lost Symbol from Spiritual Research Network, explaining that this book heavily involves the reader with Freemasonry and The Masonic Lodge. Apparently the first printing was 5 million copies and it has already topped a few best-seller lists.

According to the e-update (which I would link to but it's not on their website yet), Associated Press reports that…

Brown goes out of his way in "The Lost Symbol" to present the lodge as essentially benign and misunderstood. Masons are praised for their religious tolerance and their elaborate rituals are seen as no more unusual than those of formal religions.

And here’s what Dan Brown said in an interview:

"I have enormous respect for the Masons," Brown told The Associated Press during a recent interview. "In the most fundamental terms, with different cultures killing each other over whose version of God is correct, here is a worldwide organization that essentially says, `We don't care what you call God, or what you think about God, only that you believe in a god and let's all stand together as brothers and look in the same direction.'

"I think there will be an enormous number of people who will be interested in the Masons after this book (comes out)," Brown said.

Spiritual Research Network also notes that these are the closing statements of the Associated Press article:

Brown is not a Mason, but said that working on the novel helped him imagine a time when religious prejudice would disappear and added that he found the Masonic philosophy a "beautiful blueprint for human spirituality."

He was tempted to join, but, "If you join the Masons you take a vow of secrecy. I could not have written this book if I were a Mason," he says.

And now?

"They've let me know the door is always open."

*To read the entire Associated Press article click here:

Freemasons await Dan Brown novel `The Lost Symbol'
Associated Press

I am thankful that Spiritual Research Network is warning about this book. Because the author has influenced and confused so many people already with his other popular books, I find Brown’s statement [that an enormous number of people will be interested in freemasonry after reading his book] disturbing, especially if one looks into the truth about freemasonry.

For more on that see here:

A FRANK EXPOSURE OF FREEMASONRY
www.spiritual-research-network.com

*To order books and DVD’s that tell the truth about freemasonry, see here:

Ankerberg Theological Research Institute (resources)
http://www.ankerberg.com/catalog/masons.html

Reasoning from the Scriptures with Masons
Ron Rhodes
www.ronrhodes.org

Related articles:

The Lost Symbol Now Found -- A Mystical Bible
www.worldviewtimes.com

Where Does the Masonic Ritual Conflict with the Bible? - Part 1
by Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon
www.ankerberg.com

Answering the Questions Raised by the Da Vinci Code
www.ankerberg.com

Masons and Freemasonry
understandthetimes.org

*NEW:

The Lost Symbol and Masonic Oaths
www.4truth.net

The Bible Defends Itself

The amazing thing is...

"Even if one has never actually read it, the mere continued existence of the Bible stands as the most convincing and undeniable proof of its contents. No Book in history has withstood greater opposition, both to its existence and to its purported accuracy."

Read the facts about this book here:

Defending a Lion
In Defense of the Faith
Jack Kinsella
www.omegaletter.com

I love what this article says about the lion at the very end.

A Very Unusual Thing

Here's something different for a change. I like different.

This morning as I was checking the blogosphere, I was highly impressed with a very unusual and inspiring thing I came across. Here's an example of how we are to talk about the Lord as we go, where we are planted, and according to what God has put in each one of us. This blogger is shining his light in a place I would least expect...take a browse and see if you are blessed by what you find. (This one is for all those guys and hobbyists out there who don't think they can make a difference!)

Mister Bob's model works emporium
misterbobsmodelworksemporium.blogspot.com

[Okay, so my husband loves model planes, trucks, cars and trains and has boxes of old ones in the basement from when he was a little boy. Now he drives a life sized toy.]

Today I am reminded that God can use anyone, anywhere. He knows you, and made you to bring glory to His name! Whatever we do, wherever we are, when we ask Him, He will give us opportunities to tell of His great love for us.

~ ~ ~

1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
Psalm 139 (NKJV)

Seeker Friendly Churches may as well Take the Bible Out

Quote of the day...

"You hear people say, “You don’t want to go into the pulpit and do Bible exposition, non-believers won’t understand that. Right? Of course they won’t understand it. But the church service of worship and instruction is not for the unbeliever. Of course they won’t understand it. They can’t understand it.

If you’re going to decide that the focus of your church is going to be on unbelievers, I would agree, take the Bible out. Find something they’ll buy into. It won’t be the Scripture. But if you’re talking about the saints, you start to give them a steady, unrelenting, deep understanding of the Word of God and their lives will change and their love for the truth will grow and grow and grow and grow and so will they."

-John McArthur, The Job Description of a Faithful Pastor
(www.gty.org)

More on the Alpha Thing

"We need to take the church outside church walls."
-You Run Alpha in a Pub?
~~~

What do you think about these things?

Alpha in Pubs and Restaurants

Alpha serves up food for thought in comfortable settings. Pubs and restaurants and other familiar gathering-places are perfect venues for the Alpha course. The important thing is that you're in a relaxed and encouraging atmosphere while you explore the meaning of life with others!

http://www.alphacanada.org/find/restaurants

And this...

Alpha in a Catholic Context

Since its inception, Alpha has run frequently in a Catholic church setting. Whatever the setting, the focus of Alpha is the same -- giving people the opportunity to explore the meaning of life.

http://www.alphacanada.org/find/catholicContext

Hmmm. As we were trained to say when we signed up to help in Alpha a few years ago, "I don't know. What do you think?" (Actually, I do know what I think, I just want to know what you think.)

Related:

Alpha Course: Evaluating Alpha
Christian Research Institute
www.equip.org

Note: While the above article is informative, I personally do NOT endorse Hank Hanegraaff of CRI (or the Alpha course). (OOPS - my apologies for the typo earlier! ...as readers drop like flies...argh...good thing I checked my e-mail today...)

Here is good resource for further research on the Alpha Course:

SPIRITUAL RESEARCH NETWORK - ALPHA COURSE
www.spiritual-research-network.com

Beer, Pretzels and Alpha

Have you heard about this thing? It's an Alpha lecture series that is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, B.C. (RCAV)...

The drinks are on the church tonight

CHRISTIANS are being driven to drink – but for all the right reasons, and only in moderation. Several initiatives are bringing believers and non-Christians together, outside the church.

Alpha on Tap

Alpha Canada is trying a new approach to its popular course, sponsoring an evening of gospel-centred discussion at a pub....

More at Canadian Christianity HERE.

Thoughts?

Poll Results – Summer Reading

And the survey said…

The Summer Poll

What are you reading this summer?

non-fiction
19 (52%)

fiction
2 (5%)

magazines
1 (2%)

absolutely nothing
0 (0%)

a bit of everything
12 (33%)

other
2 (5%)

Thanks for voting. :)

14 Year Old Preaches the Bible

What can I say except that this is an amazing, inspiring girl...

Deborah 13 - Servant of God.
www.youtube.com

Deborah Drapper
deborahdrapper.com

Deborah Drapper: Follow the Bible not the Beckhams
www.telegraph.co.uk

Deborah Drapper: 14-Year-Old Evangelist
www.drdino.com

Related:

Mark Cahill - One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven (FULL)
www.youtube.com

Principal Bans Bible

Not another one...

The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear a case in which a kindergarten student, under an assignment in which parents were invited to read their child's favorite book, was denied permission to share a Bible story and asked to read a book about witches instead.

Find more on that here:

Principal bans Bible, suggests book about witches
Supremes urged to review 'kindergarten cop' case

Recognize False Teachers by these 3 Things

Mike Gendron writes...

Since we are now living in the age of religious tolerance and ecumenical unity, there are some people who will immediately call this article unloving and divisive. Others will ask, "What right do you have to judge another religion?" The answer is given in Scripture. All God-fearing people are called to make right judgments, judgments that have already been established by the objective principles of God's Word (John 7:24). There may be nothing more important than warning people who are being deceived about their eternal destiny. If we do not lovingly confront them with God's Gospel, they may never know how to escape the eternal fire of God's punishment. Clearly, the most unloving thing we can do is to ignore them and let them continue down the road to destruction. For this reason, I am always willing to offend people with the offense and exclusivity of the Gospel in the hopes that God may grant some of them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2: 25). Let us look at three fatal errors of false prophets and how to handle them.

Three Common Errors of False Teachers
Proclaiming The Gospel Ministries
pro-gospel.org

Video clip - Contemplative Prayer and the Emerging Church

What's wrong with contemplative prayer?

The following video clip features Ray Yungen and Mike Oppenheimer (Let Us Reason Ministries) talking about the emerging church and contemplative prayer. This discussion was filmed recently as part of a special DVD project put together by a group of Nazarenes who have become increasingly concerned about the emergent/contemplative influence within the Nazarene denomination. Featured speakers of the DVD (interviewed by John Loeffler) include: Gary Gilley, Ray Yungen, Joanna Michaelson, Sandy Simpson and Mike Oppenheimer.

Numerous topics are discussed - Postmodernism, Yoga, Labyrinth, mediation, Hegels Dialectic process, Liberalism, inter-spirituality, New age and the Occult. Addresses the people involved, what they are teaching and how they convince others to accept this "new" hybrid Christianity they are introducing.

Watch here:

Mike Oppenheimer and Ray Yungen Discuss Contemplative Prayer and the Emerging Church
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

Also see:

Concerned Nazarenes
www.concernednazarenes.org

09/11/09 and Joel Rosenberg

Did you know that 644 churches are signed up to show the National Town Hall Meeting tonight? My church is one of them, so that's where I am right now, but if your church isn't aware of this, it's not too late to learn more here:

“WE ARE AT THE MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT...”:
National Town Hall Meeting Set For Tonight
flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com

Update: By the way, I've heard Joel Rosenberg before, and was surprised that this presentation was very different than I expected. Besides being very well done, and besides the usual pro-Israel message (we already love Israel), there were lots of amazing testimonies by some very interesting guests. It was beautiful the way it opened up not only our eyes, but our hearts, as it gave us a love for the Muslim people (instead of a fear of radical Islam) and a new desire to pray for them. (John 3:16) And that's what the inside of the revolution is all about...the love of Jesus changing hearts from the inside out... perfect love casts out all fear. The only hope of the world is Jesus, and when we see the world the way God sees them, and when we love our neighbours, and pray for them, we ultimately pray for the peace of Israel. (As Joel Rosenberg says, when Muslims get saved they don't blow up buses in Israel.)

The two hours went by very quickly, and Janet Parshall did a wonderful job of facilitating the evening. If you can buy the DVD, it will be well worth it.

Book Review of Joel Richardson's Book about the Antichrist

Here is a brilliant new review by Jacob Prasch of Joel Richardson’s book, promoted by World Net Daily, titled The Islamic Antichrist, in which he explains that it is fundamentally flawed.

The Islamic Antichrist
The Unresolved Problems with Joel Richardson’s Theory
by J. Jacob Prasch
moriel.org

Related:

Four Book Reviews - Could the Anti-Christ be a Muslim? (Updated)
morebooksandthings.blogspot.com

A Response to Dr. David Reagan
By Joel Richardson
www.prophezine.com

Joel Richardson’s “Gog” Challenge Met and Overcome
eschatologytoday.blogspot.com

The Lord's Holidays

Which thing would you rather join with?

While some evangelical leaders and politicians are urging Christians to commemorate the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, one pastor is calling on believers to join with Jews around the world next Friday in observing Rosh Hoshana – or the Feast of Trumpets.

Mark Biltz, who specializes in teaching the Hebrew roots of Christianity, says the biblical feasts in the fall and spring calendar are not just, as commonly believed, "Jewish holidays."

"These are not Jewish holidays, they are the Lord's holidays," explains Biltz...

More here:

Pastor: Christians should mark Feast of Trumpets
'These are not Jewish holidays, they are the Lord's holidays'

[This year Rosh Hashana begins Friday night, Sept. 18. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is Sept. 27.]

World’s Largest Temple Model

Interesting thing of the week…

(IsraelNN.com) The world’s largest model of the Holy Temple was inaugurated Wednesday only a few hundred meters away from the Temple Mount, the site where the Temple existed up until 70 CE.

See video here:
World’s Largest Temple Model Inaugurated next to Temple Mount
www.israelnationalnews.com

A Challenge from the Book of Ezekiel

This evening I listened to a good sermon by David Hocking, who is going through the book of Ezekiel. Here are some things to think about...

Are good people deceived? Are people telling you about good books that are more life changing than the Bible? Are these books being promoted by Christian ministries? Are there women who are prophesying falsely today? Are we hearing lies? Is the T.V. seducing us?

Oh yes, says David Hocking. He even mentions the name of one such book, and says that these things are all an attack against the Word of God. So is contemplative prayer, because it is getting people to quit listening to only the words of the prophets, and instead listen for new things so we don’t need Bible teaching. (This makes so much sense and reminds me of those contemplative retreats that don’t have schedules and programs and teaching…just nice quiet listening time in silence, like Kerith Creek retreats that are "Not a conference where the days are filled with one seminar after another." In other words, no Bible teaching?)

Listen to this interesting sermon from the very contemporary book of Ezekiel by going here:

http://www.davidhocking.org/radio-archive.php

Click on:
Monday, September 07, 2009
Ezekiel
There Is No Peace (Day 3)

Gospel Tract Society has Changed Their End Times View

There are all sorts of silly ideas and things floating around these days regarding end times. Not a week passes by that I don't get some kind of forward from some well meaning Christians that the end is near, we are in the tribulation, or that we'd better get ready and stock up for the tribulation, and other such nonsense. Surely, time is running out on God's timeclock, but some folks are going a little bit wonky over some things. And now we see that even the Gospel Tract Society has joined the 'we're in the tribulation' wagon.

Do you know that...

The Gospel Tract Society has changed their longstanding view in the last month. Lamb & Lion Ministries was first alerted to the change when the ministry’s successor, Tom Buttram, asked founder Dr. David Reagan to change the wording in his tract “Living for Christ in the End Times” (based on the article) from “Rapture” to “Second Coming.” The second alert came when a friend of Lamb & Lion Ministries contacted the Gospel Tract Society for copies of that tract, only to be told the remaining 6,000 in inventory were going to be destroyed.

Upon inquiry as to why the Gospel Tract Society would desire to change the wording and destroy the existing inventory, Tom Buttram responded with a very startling revelation. “As though someone reprinted my Bible overnight,” Tom Buttram now believes humanity has already entered into the Tribulation and the Church will not be raptured until the Seventh Trumpet Judgment has sounded mid-way through the Tribulation.

Read about this and more interesting things here:

Take a chill pill, the world will not end in 2012 in spite of Pagan Mayan, Mahdi, Planet X speculations.
www.thepropheticyears.com

Whether you agree or not, Don Keonig's opinions are ALWAYS very interesting.

Former Catholics Speak Out

These are important things to read in light of the present popular teaching through books and retreats and things that is leading many pastors into Roman Catholic mysticism…

Understand The Times
Radio Commentary
by Roger Oakland
www.understandthetimes.org

FORMER CATHOLICS SPEAK OUT

Warning this generation about the manifestations of the Eucharistic Christ in light of the Bible is no easy task. The majority of the opposition I face comes from Protestant “Evangelicals” who say I am being divisive. The greatest encouragement comes from former Roman Catholics? Why is that?

Read the rest HERE.

Also see these transcripts at Understand The Times:

ADORATION EVANGELIZATION

AN APPEARANCE OF “JESUS"

THE COMING DELUSION

*And please pray for Roger Oakland who is still recovering from a bad fall. (Latest update HERE.)

Some Things about Exposing False Teachings

Q&A at The Berean Call…

Question: Where do you get the courage to expose what you believe are false teachings of some of the best-known and most popular Christian leaders? Have you gone to each of them privately first, as the Scripture says we should? Can't correction be accomplished simply by referring to the false teachings without bringing in personalities? Is it really productive to identify by name those who teach these things? Wouldn't that instead be counterproductive by offending them and their admirers? And isn't it very costly financially by causing you to lose the support of many people?

Read the answer HERE at The Berean Call.

Focus on the Family Canada and Contemplative Spirituality

Here are the four parts to the series about Focus on the Family Canada and how they have chosen the contemplative pathway...

Part 1:
Has FOTF Canada Chosen the Contemplative Pathway?

Part 2:
Why the Fuss over These Recommended Books?

Part 3:
One More Thing About Kerith Creek

Part 4:
Another Thing Kerith Creek Recommends

***Note: If you have spiritual burnout, before going to a silent retreat at Kerith Creek, please consider this...

Some Refreshing Things for Spiritual Burnout
morebooksandthings.blogspot.com

Another Thing Kerith Creek Recommends

Another contemplative retreat center that Kerith Creek (kerithcreek.com) of Focus on the Family Canada recommends for PASTORAL CARE RESOURCES is King's Fold Retreat and Renewal Center. This is the kind of retreat King's Fold offers:

Retreating King´s Fold Style
2005-05-12

What are the benefits of a personal retreat?

In his modern classic on the Christian life, "Celebration of Discipline", Richard Foster says, "in contemporary society our adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds." (...)

What is the difference between a retreat centre and a conference centre?

Basically, a conference centre calls people into structured programs where the emphasis is on teaching, group discussions, workshops and mutual fellowship. A retreat centre is mainly to assist you in focusing on the reality of God's presence within yourself, and to listen quietly for His still, small voice. You do not go primarily to fellowship with other people, but with the Lord. Well planned group retreats will facilitate listening and fellowship for both the individual and the larger group.

-www.kingsfoldretreat.com

Sound familiar?

Included in their facilities (see here) is a labyrinth (see here), Stations of the Cross, fasting cabins, a prayer walk, and Quiet Spaces, and a chapel where "if you pause a moment you will sense the presence of the Divine One - it will be life changing."

In October King's Fold offer this course on Spiritual Direction (here):

Living From the Heart
2009-10-23 - 2009-10-29
October 23-29, 2009

This new, one year course on contemplative living serves as prerequisite for the new 18 month Art of Spiritual Direction course, offered by SoulStream (see www.soulsteam.org). We are excited about it and the continuation of Spiritual Direction training at King's Fold.

Mind you, they've spelled it wrong, but the Soul Stream website (soulstream.org) reveals that it is definitely a very contemplative ministry run by Jeff and Steve Imbach. (Jeff Imbach is the founding president of the Henri Nouwen Society of Canada.) Soul Stream offers spiritual direction courses and is linked with not only King's Fold Retreat and Renewal Center, but some other contemplative communities as well. One ministry listed among these is Fresh Wind Press (of contemplative author Brad Jersak).

King's Fold also recommends Retreats on line, which offers quite a combination of opportunities to delve further into the false teachings of New Age and contemplative spirituality.

Ask you can see, when Focus on the Family Canada chose the contemplative pathway and began to join up with contemplative retreats and books and things, they may or may not have been aware of it, but from that point on the road got very broad and is quickly becoming very slippery.

In conclusion, I did not write these posts to gossip or to be divisive, but rather to show how easy it is for sincere Christians to end up on the wrong path and be led astray. May those who read here remember to bring these people, books and things to the Lord in prayer.

*For additional reading:

What Are Stations of the Cross
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines
A Critique of Dallas Willard and The Spirit of the Disciplines
by Bob DeWaay
cicministry.org

LABYRINTHS, Prayer Paths That Promote the Occult
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

*Many more biblical articles on contemplative spirituality here and here.

One More Thing About Kerith Creek

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Matthew 11:28,29

As I was browsing on the website of Kerith Creek (kerithcreek.com), a ministry of Focus on the Family Canada, I noticed an interesting thing. The verses on their nice picture slideshow are all from The Message. (Is it any coincidence that its author Eugene Peterson is a contemplative mystic?) One of these verses is this one...

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
Matthew 11:28,29 The Message

I thought it was interesting that the way this verse has been reworded in The Message supports the Rule of Life (mentioned in the last post) and its objective to "integrate contemplative practices and rhythms (e.g. Daily Office, Sabbath - keeping) to slow down my life." The rhythms of this contemplative rule include spiritual disciplines of contemplative spirituality. But does the Bible teach this? Rules and rhythms, like The Daily Office (fixed hours of prayer)? Is that what God's grace is about? Is this what you want to "bless" your pastor with?

Under Support Us on the Kerith Creek website we read...

BLESS YOUR PASTOR

Those in ministry need your love, prayer and support. Here are some ways you can bless your ministry leaders:

* Give the gift of a Kerith Creek retreat to your senior pastor and his/her spouse (gift certificates are available)
* Give the gift of a Kerith Creek retreat to a missionary couple your church supports
* Plan to send other members of your pastoral staff to Kerith Creek

Before I go any further, allow me to say one thing. The reason I don't enjoy making blog posts like this is because these are all really nice people who are convinced they are doing the right thing. No doubt these retreat leaders are sincerely trying to bless and lead pastors in what they think is God’s ways of renewal. But do God’s ways include sitting straight and doing breathing exercises and emptying our minds? Do they including reading the writings of men who are researching the effects of mindfulness meditation on Buddhist monks? What about repeating prayers at regular intervals during the day in Benedictine Monk fashion? Are these God’s ways? Or are these the ways of man made traditions and religion, as found in Roman Catholicism and mystical practices? Peter Scazzero teaches these as spiritually healthy ways. Tony Campolo, who recommends these retreats, thinks these are good things to do.

Okay, so perhaps you send your weary pastor or your worn out missionaries here for a well deserved rest and time of refreshing. If they know the Word of God, they will be wise enough to discern truth from error. But what if this is taught to them at a time when they are vulnerable, exhausted and emotionally drained? What if they get deceived? Isn't this exactly what Leighton Ford writes happened to Peter Scazzero?

The Kerith Creek retreat leaders most likely are very sincere in their desire to care for clergy. They probably teach some good things and help them deal with some difficult issues. No doubt, pastors are forgetting to wait before the Lord to hear His voice, and a place of rest and renewal is a much needed ministry. But do they use only biblical resources during their retreats? It's not that there is anything wrong with sitting before the Lord in stillness and solitude (and filling the mind with His Word), but should they be using the resources from Peter Scazzero and lead pastors into contemplative spirituality (emptying the mind) in order to do this?

And now, just so it doesn't look like I have a bone to pick with this one author, there is something else. Even if Kerith Creek was to remove his books from their recommended retreat reading list, there is still a problem. The next blog post will explore another retreat center recommended by the nice folks at Kerith Creek. And it doesn't get any better. In fact, things are about to get much worse...stay tuned...

Why the Fuss over These Recommended Books?

So what about these books that Kerith Creek recommends? As a review, I looked over my old posts on these books by Peter Scazzero. (I never would have remembered these things had I not blogged them for my own personal research), and so here's a recap of what they are about, just incase someone thinks I am making a big deal about nothing (see last post).

~ ~ ~

In October of 2005 I signed up for a class in our former church. Lesson 2 of the workbook of The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero was (appropriately) entitled Something is Desperately Wrong. Here are my old notes that I dug up…

Even though I had done my homework and prepared extensively on the section on Romans 7:7-25 about our warfare with sin (which I commend Mr. Scazzero for including), this Bible passage was not discussed during class. All of our class time was spent on discussing our results of the emotionally/spiritual maturity inventory questionaire, and then reviewing the questions in the questionaire. Although it is peppered with Scripture references to make it appear biblical, I disagree with the premise of this (man-made) quiz.

For example, questions #18) I am rarely judgemental or critical of others, and #39) I rarely judge others but instead am a peacemaker and reconciler. This is not so simple as giving yourself a 1,2,3 or 4 as this really depends on what this refers to. True, we are not to judge non-Christians, but are we not told to judge, rebuke, admonish, reject, mark, avoid, and correct those within the church and the things they teach? ( 1 Cor. 5:12,13: “For what have I to do with judging outsiders, do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges.") There many scriptures verses like this: Titus 1:13, 3:10, Romans 16:17 and Col.1:28 "And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with wisdom, that we may present every man complete to Christ". How do you admonish and teach and correct without judging (with God's plumbline)?

It may seem like a small point to be stuck on, but perhaps the reason there are so many examples in Mr. Scazzero’s book of ’emotionally unhealthy” Christians is BECAUSE we aren’t using the scripture to judge and admonish sin and practice biblical church discipline. As 2 Timothy 3:16 states, the scripture is enough ..."All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate (perfect- KJV), equipped for every good work." So why do we now need another book to tell us how to be complete? We are even being told to read books written by non-Christians to help us reach 'transformation and healing' when we have the Word of God and the power of His Holy Spirit!

I propose that the problem with the church today is not emotional immaturity but a lack of understanding of the Scripture, as demonstrated in the first lesson (as the beautiful messianic Psalm 69 was misused and totally misinterpreted for Mr. Scazzero’s purposes of showing that David had 'feelings' too).

In our homework, we were supposed to read chapters 2 and 3 of the main book. Many sad stories of fallen people in ministry are told. Like Reverend Sonny (in the movie “The Apostle”) who has just had his wife divorce him after he had numerous affairs, in a jealous rage he attacks his wife’s lover(the youth pastor) with a baseball bat and he dies, Sonny leaves town, gets a ’new calling’ from God, starts a new church, has a fling with "Tootsie", gets in a fight, is arrested and sent to jail. He has a temper, he is a womanizer, drinks too much. Yet, observers ‘cannot deny the evidences that Sonny is a true believer in Jesus Christ’.

Then Scazzero goes on to say that “most of us in Christian leadership and in the church can relate to more about him(Sonny) than we like to admit.” Huh? Can this be this true? If ‘most’ Christian leaders in today’s churches can relate to Sonny, then we are in big trouble. Because I would say a leader like that is not really a Christian. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7) And what does that fruit look like? “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Now those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with it’s passions and desires“. Gal. 5:22-24

Then there was the story of another couple who needed to step down from their ministry for a time to experience ‘emotional healing’ by looking deep beneath the surface of their spirituality, drawing their boundaries and breaking patterns, living within limits, staying home more, embracing grief and losses of the past, and learning to ‘incarnate with one another like Jesus‘(???)...oh ya, apparently they also allowed the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to impact the emotional component of their persons... meanwhile they still struggle with temptation to fall back into old destructive patterns...Then Mr. Scazzero says, “Yet, the quality of their ministry now has a depth to it that could have only occurred under an emotionally healthy board and a congregation that understood emotional and spiritual health as inseparable."

Huh?

And finally, at the end of Lesson 2 in the “Going Deeper” section, the recommendation is to arrange a movie night to watch the movie "The Apostle", invite people to share how they related to Sonny’s life, and continue keeping a “Feelings Journal.”

Argh! Some of these 'new things' just don't line up with scripture. But I agree with him on the title - something is desperately wrong!

~ ~ ~

Then there were these things about the book:

In Chapter 5 of Peter Scazzero’s book The Emotionally Healthy Church: "Look Beneath The Surface," the following names are used by Peter Scazzero as examples to make his points:

• Daniel Goleman - behaviour and brain psychology and science guy who has been learning mindfulness meditation training from Buddhist monks.
• RICHARD J. FOSTER - psychologist, Quaker, founder and president of Renovaré, best known for his book, Celebration of Discipline.
• Dag Hammarskjold – mystic and UN former secretary general 1953-1961), founder and designer of the creepy meditation room at the UN.

More things 'beneath the surface' included the genogram (based on the Bowen family systems theory) that is also highly recommended in this book. And then there was something he said on page 71, “Regularly, I spent a day in prayer and fasting at a Jesuit retreat center near my house-and I still do.”

Hmmm. Read more here: Look Beneath the Surface and here: Continuing our look below the surface... if this interests you.

There was also the alarming influence of contemplative Leighton Ford who writes the foreword of The Emotionally Healthy Church - see Looking back at the foreword to find out more about that. Of course, these things were all combined with a lot of anti-biblical psychology of the world about finding your true self (Be True to Yourself) and finally, I had had enough of this book (see Enough is Enough). All that fun studying led me to purchase his next book which brought to light even further the kind of spirituality Peter Scazzero teaches as healthy…such as this kind of thing:

What happens when a pastor has an ‘experience’ with the Trappist monks? Peter Scazzero's experience launched him into...

“…a journey over the next two years to visit a variety of Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox monastic communities to learn more. From Taize, France, to the Northumbrian community in England to the monks of New Skete in upstate New York…(we)participated in all kinds of variations of the Daily Office."
(pg.158, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality)

-Breathe In, Breathe Out
November 20, 2006

And as mentioned previously, for a brief recap of what’s basically in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, click HERE.

Mind you, these are rather all old posts and the links might not work (and a few I would no longer link to today for various reasons). Let's just say some of my edges may have softened, and some have sharpened since then, so keep in mind these are all just personal opinions I wrote at the time, nothing written in stone, but I have tried to measure them with God's Word. If I am wrong, if these things actually are taught in the Bible, my humble apologies. Mr. Scazzero himself is surely a very nice man, and I don't intend to attack him personally, but we are instructed in God's Word to test everything. While we cannot judge a person's heart, we can judge a person's public teaching. And so that, in a nutshell, is a brief glimpse into what I found these books to be about and why the alarm bells went off the minute I saw that they were recommended by Kerith Creek, a ministry of Focus on the Family Canada.

~ ~ ~

Related reading:

Discernment in an Age of Deception
Defining the Believer's Biblical Call to Judge
by Bob DeWaay
http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue94.htm

Has FOTF Canada Chosen the Contemplative Pathway?

This might be a long one so you might want to pour yourself a cup of something...

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In his February Newsletter, James Dobson writes with conflicting emotions that the U.S. of A. is at a crossroads in history. I can totally relate. While this is very true, the sad thing is that at the same time, FOTF Canada has been at it’s own crossroads, which I'll explain soon. As previously mentioned, many of us associate FOTF with Dr. Dobson's radio program back in the days when we were doing that tough job of parenting through those difficult toddler years. And then came the teen years. Dr. Dobson's was a familiar voice in our households as we welcomed every word of timely advice from him and his guests. And where would many of us be without the voices of Mr. Whittaker, Connie and Eugene that gave us half an hour of bliss every evening while our kids snuggled in bed by the radio with Adventures in Odyssey. Our daily FOTF shot in the arm helped to keep us mommies sane. Not that I always agreed with everything on the program, but I must admit FOTF was a big part of my life until I grew out of that needy stage. I quit listening when it got too political, but I never forgot those days when dear Dr. Dobson was there to help me, and have kept a few dust covered boxes of cassette tapes to prove it. Therefore, it is also with conflicting emotions that I write the following regarding the fork in the road that Focus on the Family Canada has chosen at the 'contemplative crossroads'...

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Last week it was drawn to my attention that in this September's 2009 FOTF magazine is a very pleasant ad that says the following:

KERITH CREEK
Refreshing Those in Ministry

October is Clergy Appreciation Month
Send your pastor to a refreshing retreat in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.

Kerith Creek (kerithcreek.com) renewal and retreat center, situated on 66 acres in Alberta, Canada, has been under the direction of Focus on the Family Canada since 2008 (although it has existed since 2003). At this very nice place they offer a seven day small group retreat for clergy based on a program established by Son Scape Retreats (www.sonscape.org).

As I tried find out what these Son Scape retreats are like, I noticed that their website is somewhat vague about what they teach at these retreats, however there was this:

"Mornings are spent in personal silence, solitude and meditation before God, followed by pointed and meaningful group teachings focused around ministry issues and spiritual formation." -sonscape.org

I also read what they are NOT: "Not a conference where the days are filled with one seminar after another. "

Small warning bells began to ring. Could this be a contemplative retreat center? I was still not sure when the second little bell of caution jingled. I was browsing Son Scape's website when I noticed an endorsement of their retreats given by a previous guest. It was none other than author/speaker Tony Campolo. As you may already know, Tony Campolo has said that he was born again by centering prayer and repeats a mantra every morning to get into "the thin place." In fact, just this spring he spoke to our local Christian school prinicipals at another retreat, and told them how he has tapped into Roman Catholic spirituality, St. Ignatius and Thomas Keating, and centering prayer, and experiences God by going into a deep silence every morning (read about this retreat here). This is why I began to seriously wonder about Campolo's endorsement of Son Scape. Could this mean that their retreats suit his brand of (self confessed) Roman Catholic mystical spirituality?

Just as I was thinking about these things, I came across the biggest indication as to what they are teaching at Kerith Creek as I clicked on their resource page. Their recommended reading list for these seven day retreats consisted mostly of books by H.B. London. But wait, what was this? Also listed here were some heavy duty contemplative resources that nearly popped my eyeballs out - Peter Scazzero's books The Emotionally Healthy Church (& workbook) and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Having studied both these books in detail (and one workbook) several years ago, I have personally concluded that the kind of spirituality Mr. Scazzero teaches as 'healthy' in both these books is neither spiritually healthy nor biblical.

That said, I can almost understand why FOTF would gravitate towards the first book and it’s psychological aspect, which I will get into more later, but I CANNOT understand why they would condone, and even recommend, the second one which is totally over the mystic edge.

Click here to discover what Emotionally Healthy Spirituality is about:

EHS Part 1
foolsonly.blogspot.com

[By the way, since 2006 the Focus on the Family on-line book store has sold the Emotionally Healthy Church workbook (here) and the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality book (here). Also see here.]

As shocking as it is to see that FOTF is promoting such books and things, this does not come as a complete surprise. As was already observed way back in June of 2005, according to CCN (Clergy Care Network, a ministry based out of Focus on the Family, Canada which promotes the Scazzeros), there were two Pastor Spouse Gatherings hosted by FOTF in Western Canada - see picture here (NOTE: Scazzero is wearing the pink shirt). Those who attended these events got a “free continental breakfast, an update from Focus on the Family and the Clergy Care Network, a free gift package for each couple, and a message from our very special guest speaker Peter Scazzero.” (This was a previous quote from the Clergy Care Network site that I gleaned from some old research.) Today they are promoting Kerith Creek (see HERE @ www.focusonthefamily.ca):

Kerith Creek Ministry Retreats

For married or single ministry leaders, Kerith Creek offers a seven-day, small-group retreat located near Calgary, AB. It's a safe haven where you can learn, reflect and be renewed in a beautiful setting. During the week you will receive personalized care and group instruction to help rekindle your personal marriage and vocational commitments.

To many, this promotion might look pretty benign, and there is no doubt that Kerith Creek is a lovely place for much needed rest and renewal, but the questions is, what exactly might pastors and their spouses be exposed to at these seven day retreats with no newspapers or outside communication? To name a few things, if you don't already know, Lectio Divina, the Daily Office, silence, mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, and centering down, are what they will learn if they read the recommended books by Peter Scazzero. This is all part of slowing down and entering the contemplative life, as Peter Scazzero's church (New Life Fellowship) website explains. It's something called the Rule of Life...

New Life Fellowship Rule of Life (document may be found here)
September 2008
At New Life we are exploring an ancient practice used by communities of Christians for almost 2000 years called a Rule of Life.

What does this Rule of Life look like on a personal level? Among other things, the New Life document mentions that part of it means to "Befriend silence" and "integrate contemplative practices and rhythms (e.g. Daily Office, Sabbath - keeping) to slow down my life."

This "ancient practice" of contemplative spirituality and rhythms this is referring to is all about going into the silence. Peter Scazzero writes about it - alot. Tony Campolo does it - alot (every morning). And now the new concern is that this may be what pastors, church leaders and even missionaries are learning to do at Kerith Creek - and all under the direction of FOTF. As long as they are recommending resources that teach these very things, what reason would there be to assume otherwise? There are some important questions that need to be asked of Focus on the Family. Like, does James Dobson know about this? His website states that he is still deeply involved in Focus on the Family — as its chairman. If he knows about this, does he think it's okay?

For anyone who has opened up their copy of Focus on the Family's magazine and read the nice retreat ad, if you are considering sending your pastor to be refreshed at Kerith Creek, please reconsider before it's too late and your pastor returns with a new kind of (ancient) spirituality to teach to his church.

[Note: It may be too late for some - FOTF has apparently been doing this retreat since 2008.]

It might be a good idea to look into these things a bit more over the next few days. Stay tuned...

*In the meantime, if you think it's no big deal that pastors could be learning to chill out in the silence with centering prayer, as Peter Scazzero teaches in his book, please check out this article from Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry:

Centering Prayer
www.carm.org

And after reading that, if you still think this is no big deal, and that I have made far too big a thing out of nothing, then perhaps you had best not read the next few posts I will be making this week lest you end up choking on some of that sand your head is buried in.