Is Jesus Lord of Your Life?

December 27


Is Jesus Lord of Your Life?

Many people will say that Jesus is Lord. But, will they say Jesus is Lord of their lives?

Luke 2:11 - "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

The Bible says Jesus is Lord. Christ comes from a Greek word, Christos, meaning Messiah. Jesus is Lord, Lord of all there is. Many people confess Jesus as Saviour, but they don't let Him in as Lord of their lives. If Jesus is not Lord of a person's life, He is not Saviour either. A person cannot have Jesus in name but not in Lordship.
Some say, "I will make Jesus Lord of my life." This is wrong. No one can make Jesus Lord. He already IS Lord. So, it is only for a person to accept that fact and let Jesus have complete control over his life. A person cannot have Jesus and still live as the world lives. That person is only fooling himself. If he won't let Jesus have control over his life, that person is not saved at all.
Man has always wanted to have control of his life. Adam ate of the forbidden fruit because of his self will. And man has always wanted to make his own decisions. But, when a person accepts Jesus as Savior, he accepts Him as Lord. And that is the last independent decision a man will ever make. From then on, it is Jesus who is making the decisions. God is in control. And if a person is not willing to give up this control, he cannot be saved.
Romans 14:9- A man cannot live unto himself and still be a child of God. In verse 7, we read, "For none of us live to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." And in verse 11, "For it is written, As I live says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and ever tongue shall confess to God (that Jesus is Lord)."

One day every person who has ever lived will confess that Jesus is Lord. Every knee will bow to Him. Those who live today as though there is no God, as though Jesus does not matter, will one day bow before Him and confess that He is Lord. This is a fact. No man shall escape this.
We must take ourselves off the throne of our lives and let Jesus have His rightful place. We must say with Paul, on the road to Damascus, "Lord, what would You have me to do?" Our lives are to please Jesus, to obey Him. It doesn't matter who we displease if we please the Lord. So, for then on, our service is simple. Each day we ask for guidance to live as He wants us to live. That is our reasonable service.

When we have Jesus as our Savior and Lord, it subdues Satan. Satan fears a godly Christian. We do not fear Satan, for He is a defeated foe. Jesus won victory over Him at Jesus' ressurection. Now, Satan has no power over a Christian unless that Christian won't give up his will and way to Jesus.

Some people say that Jesus wasn't really born of a virgin. But in Genesis when we read what God said about putting enmity between Satan and the woman, Genesis 3:14-15- "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."

A woman does not have a seed. Only the man has seed to reproduce. So, this passage speaks of the birth of Jesus from a virgin. This is the first indication of Jesus' virgin birth. It was given in the earliest part of the Bible. And it was then foreshadowed all through the Old Testament.

When Jesus came to earth, His work and sacrifice on the cross gave Satan a death blow. Now, Satan has no power over those who belong to God. He want to make them think he has power, but he has none. And we all need to remember this. When it is Jesus, Lord, God, the Holy Spirit making the decisions about our lives, Satan cannot touch us.

So, I leave you with this question, Is Jesus Lord of your life?

Sandy

The Times Are Very Near

We are seeing today how the times prophesied in the Bible speak of.  As I have written in this site, false teachings about religion now abound. As I write this, we are on the very verge of becoming a one world government, economy, and also a one world religion under the church at Rome. All these things lead to the rise of the Beast who will be the leader of the one world government, and the Great Whore that will take people away from the Truth of the Bible and feed them with lies and lead them astray. This gives the scene for the appearance of the Anti-Christ.

The Anti-Christ will be just as his name indicated. He will be totally against everything of Jesus Christ and the Bible. This man will know the Truth of Jesus and the Bible, but he will lead many away by his lies and false miracles. He will imitate the life of Jesus while Jesus was on this earth. He will do miracles by the power of Satan, his other self. He will even seem to rise from death. He will foold many who do not know Jesus.

I have written many times how important it is for all people who want to be faithful to our Father, God and to our Lord Jesus Christ to make themselves prepared by knowing the Word as in the Bible, spend time in fellowship with the Father to know Him intimately, and learn to listen to the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit.  In the days, weeks, and years ahead, we cannot take time to get ready. We must BE ready. In order to do that, each person must learn to feed on God's Word for himself/herself.  We can no longer be spoon fed by preachers.

Today, many people are running to and fro, trying to find knowledge, but always seeking and never finding. We can't find what God wants us to know by running to other preachers. There are some great ones out there, but they had to find their messages the same way we have to find our knowledge of the Word and of God's will. They get into the Word, pray and ask for revelation, and spend time with the Father. It is so important to allow time in your prayer time to listen to the Father. He just may have something to say to you.

I wish I could get up on a tall building in every city and with a loud speaker shout to all the people this message. My heart burns with it. I just cry in my spirit for everyone to know this. Please, don't just read this for yourself. Tell others, share it with all you know. If you know people who don't know our Jesus, tell them about Him. We don't have time to be timid. We don't have time to be selfish with fear. We must tell them. How will they know unless we tell them?
Sandy

God's People Must Feed Themselves On The Word

If the people of God will stand in faith in the times we are in, they must learn to feed on God's Word. Too many people depend on preachers to feed them. These are still baby Christians, and they will not have the strength to stand in the hard times to come.

Psalm 119 gives plenty of instruction for how to feed on God's Word. I will take this message from that Psalm.

1.  We must appreciate the virtues of the Word of God.
         A. The Bible is a timeless book. v. 89. It is indestructible. Many have tried to destory it,
         but it lives on.
         B. It is a true word. v. 160
         C. It is a treasured book
All these are true of God's Word. It was written by many authors over long periods os time. Still, the  essential theme of redemption runs from Genesis to Revelation. It is a consistent book with the truths of how God wants mankind to live in relationship to Him.

2.  We must assimilate the vitality of God's Word
         The Bible pulsates with life. v.73- Pray over it, asking for understading
         Ponder it - v. 148 - take time to get it into your heart, think on it,
         v. 11- Preserve it. Keep it in your heart. We can memorize it better than we think. God
         says to hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against Him.
         v. 1-5 - Practice it.  We never remember what we don't practice. Faith is like a muscle.
         The more we use it, the stronger it gets. And the same is true with the Word of God.
         The more we read it, ponder it, think upon it, the more it will stay within us.

Spend time with the Father just talking to Him as you would a best friend. Ask Him for what you need. Ask Him to search out your secret sins and take them from you. Then, be prepared to obey the leading as the Holy Spirit helps you with this. It won't always be comfortable, but it will be healing and bring you peace.

Ask yourself these questions:
     Is there a promise to claim?
     Is there a lesson to learn?
     Is there a blessing to claim?
     Is there a command to obey?
     Is there a sin to avoid?
     Is there something new to carry with me?

If you really want to understand the Word of God, you must practice what you already know  and understand of it.

The, but not last, we must proclaim it. v. 46, 172.
After the Word is in you, then you can appropriate it.
It is our source of victory over all that besets us from the enemy. It gives us victory.
It is our source of food for the spirit. v 32 
It gives us joy and power and produces peace within us.
If we don't feed on the Word of God, we cannot grow in our spirits.

The Bible addresses one problem -- SIN. It has one enemy -- Satan. It has one hero- Jesus.
Our purpose is to glorify God. We cannot do this unless we know His Word, His ways, and His will for each of us. We learn these things by studying His Word and spending time in fellowship with Him.

We those who are of Jesus come before His throne to have our works judged, Jesus will not ask us how much earthly work we accomplished. Rather, He will be interested in how many works we did by the inspiration and leadership of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to God's Word.  He will look at our motives, our purposes, our desires of the heart. All these things must line up with the will of God, or they will burn up as wood, hay, and stubble.
Lay up in Heaven things of gold, jewels, and precious things to last and lay at the feet of Jesus in that day.

Sandra D
11/18/2009

Unity Is The Name of The Game

In most of what I read these days, the word "unity" is paramount.  The Catholic church, which was not ecumenical before, is now becoming so. It has been accepting Anglican Catholics into the church at Rome. And it is now considering accepting the Orthodox Catholics. It also has its eye on the Oriental Catholics.  The theme of all of this is unity. 

When I was a younster, I heard preachers say that the Catholic Church was the "Great Whore" of the book of Revelation.  Well, I won't judge that. But with everyone going to the church at Rome, what is one to surmise?

The Catholic Church is united with the Lutherian congregations in this unification process. Soon, all the mainline churches will be drawn into this unity. This is the establising of the one world religion.  This one world religion does not require that all people worship the same way or hold to the same "god",  it is allowing other peoples, such as other faiths, to join the ranks and keep their own religion.

Well, religion is not what Jesus preached anyway.  I am not a religious person. I am a person of faith.  My faith is in the one true living God of all, in Jesus Christ as His Son and my Savior, and the Holy Spirit who resides in me as my teacher, counselor, friend, and helper.  I don't claim a religion, but I claim salvation in Jesus Christ. 

Those who do not know how to feed on God's Word for themselves in these days will be led into error as more of the clergy turn to the false ways.  Those who are strong in faith will stand, but will be considered harmful people by this false way.

If you don't want to be led astray, begin studying the Word. Spend time with the Father. Listen to and obey the Holy Spirit.  You don't have a lifetime in which to do this. Time is short, and the workers are few. Be about God's business of spreading the truth of the gospel to everyone you can reach.

Sandra

Much Confusion Is Now In Christianity Ranks

I have been writing about the false teachings of the emergent church movement for about two years. But the situation is becoming so serious that even those in the main stream of Christianity are becoming confused as to what is the truth or what is false. I have written that we are in the days when those who are not well-grounded in their faith will have a hard time standing, and it is becoming so. I am going to put here some writing from the LightHouseTrails newsletter. It shows how this confusion has affected many of the pastors and leaders of main line churches.
Sandra

Dear Concerned Christian,


If your head is spinning, trying to keep up with the latest happenings of the leaders of the evangelical Christian church, it's no wonder. For many, it's becoming increasingly difficult to see clearly through the muddy waters of organized Christianity. More and more leaders, who have been considered orthodox and traditional, are ending up on speaking platforms with those from the emerging/contemplative/New Spirituality arena.



These minglings are not occasional or isolated events any longer. They are happening with increased frequency. For the most part, Christian leaders are not speaking up about the confusion it is causing.



Some people watching this unfold are angry that ministries like Lighthouse Trails would dare question their spiritual" heroes." For others, they laugh and say, "See, I told you there was nothing wrong with this new paradigm spirituality." And still others say, "I thought at one time it was wrong, but one of my favorite Christian figures shows no concern (and in fact stands alongside them), so now I believe this new spirituality is not wrong at all." And in the midst of all this, confusion mounts, and the Gospel message is looking more obscure all the time.



Examples, you ask? Too many to list them all. But here are a few:

I have included a link where you and read the rest of this.

http://mail.live.com/?rru=inbox

All Things Coming Together for the End

As I read and study today, I learn more about how many areas of our nation and the world are coming into alignment for the one world government, economy, and religion that will give rise to the man of sin, the Beast of the end times. At the present time, Tony Blair of the UK is probably going to try for the leadership of this one world society. It may be that our President, O'Bama will also try for this leadership.

This leader will be against Israel, but will make peace with her for the space of time alloted. Then, all the armies will come against Israel. This is the time when Jesus will come to the earth and kill all the armies so that a great deal of blood will be shed in the valley of war.

In Daniel 12: we read about this time. Read this for yourself. It refers both to the people of Daniel, the Jews, and to the people who have accepted Jesus as Saviour. Verse 3 gives a picture of what God's people will be like in this time.

However, the verse 4 says that many will run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. At this time in our church history, many people are going from preacher to preacher, from Bible study to Bible study trying to get the knowledge of God that they seek. These people want it spoon fed to them. They want preachers to give it to them. Instead of this, people should get into the Word, the Bible, and spend time with the Father Himself. They must get to know Him. They must hear what He wants to say to each individual. Spiritual maturity is not learned second hand. It is learned by being in the Word and hearing from the Holy Spirit.

People are wasting precious time that they could spend learning from our Father, from our Lord Jesus, from the Holy Spirit. Some even neglect their families for seeking out these preachers. They are like people on fire for something that is illusive to them. The Bible speaks of these people as babies. They have to be fed milk instead of meat. They can't feed themselves.

There are good times to hear the Word preached from the pulpit. This often happens on the day of worship for Christians, Sunday. There is nothing wrong with hearing from the preacher. He is annointed to bring God's word to the people. But when a person is not in the assembly of the church, that person has a duty to work out his/her own salvation with fear and trembling. This means that every person must study, pray, listen, and learn from the Father what is for that person. Make your spiritual experience personal. Make it from the Father for you.

A time is coming soon when you will not have a preacher to feed you. In these times, you must have the ability to get your food from the Word and the Holy Spirit. And if the Bible is taken from you, you still have the Holy Spirit to teach you and the Word that you have placed in your heart to guide you. If you don't get these now, when that time comes, you will have nothing to hold on to.

What will you have?

Demonic Power Will Grow Stronger in the Last Days

The following is from the latest newsletter from http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletter20091019.htm

I highly recommend this site to up to date information about what is happening in the spiritual world today.
Sandra


Demonic Power Will Grow Stronger in the Last Days


I am convinced that the world is being prepared even now to accept and believe the witness of the sign when the false prophet will call down fire from heaven (Rev. 13:13). Note, for example, the unprecedented increase in emphasis on television on supernatural powers, ghosts, and spirits. These themes have been around for a very long time, but not since the superstitious days of the Middle Ages have they been accentuated so heavily. This build-up, I believe, is preparing the populace for Satan's introduction of the Beast and his false prophet, who will deceive "them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;" (Rev. 13-14).



Thus will the false prophet seemingly verify that the Beast that rose out of the sea (Rev. 13:1), also known as "the son of perdition" and the anti-Christ, is indeed the promised Messiah. Once again, God will be testing mankind by allowing these miracle-signs, to reveal the faithful remnant that will cling to the revealed Word and will not be snared by the Anti-Christ's powerful delusion.



May all who read these words be among that faithful remnant!

Our Nation Is In Danger

http://fightinwordsusa.wordpress.com/rebels-and-radicals-the-new-american-revolution/
This link says a lot.



Folks, it is time for all who value this nation to act. We can no longer sit by and watch while our President gives our nation away to the European Community. All our rights will be gone. We will become slaves to this new One World Government. 

I have written about the emerging church movement and its goal to have a one world government. Well, it is past time to research them. Our President is about to sign away our nation.  We must act. Please, call the White House at 1-202-456-1111.  Call your senators and representatives. Call anyone who has any power at all.  Speak up. Tell them you don't want our nation given over to this one world government.

THE TIME IS NOW. WE MUST ACT!

Sandra

Our Nation Is In Mortal Danger

The link to the site above tells us that President O'Bama is selling our nation to the European Community. If we allow this, we will have no more freedoms. Please, please read the above article, then call your Congressmen and Senators. Call the White House at 1-202-456-1111. Tell them that you are strongly opposed to what O'Bama is about to do. Our nation is at risk!! Please do something.  Here is the link again in case the one above doesn't work.

http://www.infowars.com/obama-poised-to-cede-us-sovereignty-claims-british-lord/


Sandra

Sites To Read

http://www.understandthetimes.org    I have often referred you to the site where the LightHouseResearch.com tells of the emerging church teachings. I now want to refer you to the link at the first of this page. It is a site that publishes articles about things happening in our world that Christians should be aware of. It is easy reading, but gives the reader much more to search out. 

Here is an article from the recent newsletter of Understanding the Times:

September 27 - The US joins the world


Article: Israel And The Last Days

US President Barack Obama last week firmly aligned his administration with the Arab world, joining the rest of the international community in its position against the Jewish State of Israel.

Addressing some 140 world leaders gathered in New York for the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Obama condemned as an illegal "occupation" Israel's presence in its ancestral homeland. And he roundly rejected the right of Jews to live and build communities in the hill country they believe was given to them by their God.

But while, according to the American leader, Israel's people have no right to possess, dwell in and govern the land of their fathers, the United States must insist that Israel "respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians."

Obama's position indicates his acceptance and intention to champion the Arab narrative - which insists that the "Palestinians" have lived in the land "from time immemorial" and have the right to be formed as a nation in it.

He has thus rejected the Jewish narrative - which holds that this was the Land of Canaan given to Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob and then Jacob's descendants; that the nation took root here nearly 4000 years ago, growing and developing in this land and ruling as sovereigns over it; that following the Jews' expulsion from the land they kept burning for two millennia the fire of their intended return; that they are not a foreign implant, not a colony, not in the land in order to assuage stricken western consciences following the Holocaust; that the Palestinian Arabs have no national history - neither in this land nor anywhere else, and that the creation of an Arab state in the historical Jewish homeland constitutes land theft and poses an existential threat to Israel.

Critics slammed Obama's speech as the most anti-Israel message ever delivered by a president of the United States. America's former ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, slammed Obama's address as "the most radical anti-Israel speech I can recall any president making."

Read More ....

Folks, this is getting serious. The time when many armies will come against Israel and God will intervene on their behalf is very near. And most of us as Christians believe that before that time Jesus will come for His own, so the time of the Rapture is so near that we dare not be ready.  Our nation is rapidly entering into the One World Community, and Tony Blair just well may be the leader of this community. We all need to read what is currently going on in our world. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the signs of the times. Some say that they just want to be ready and wait on Jesus to come. They don't want to know what is happening in our world. I think this is wrong. As we see the times growing closer, we are spurred to tell the gospel of Jesus even more to everyone we know. We must continue working until Jesus takes us out of this world. None can afford to sit idle.

Christians Who Hold To The Truth Will Be Hated

I am continuing to read in the book of Acts in the Bible. This is where the Holy Spirit has me for the time being. This morning I read about how Peter and John were arrested for preaching the truth of Jesus. The Pharisees were so angry at them for this that they warned them not to preach about Jesus anymore. Before they let Peter and John go, they beat them. But this didn't diminish these disciples' ardor for preaching Jesus.

In Acts 5: 41- we read that Peter and John went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus' name.

In our society today, Christians and Christianity is under attack. According to Rick Warren and people like Brian McLaren,

"if you believe the Book of Revelation and Matthew 24 are yet to take place, you are a dangerous psychological misfit and are assumed to have no compassion for the suffering, no concerns for the environment or the world in which we live, and have the potential to blow up the world with 'weapons of mass destruction."
(Faith Undone by Roger Oakland, page 204)

It would be one thing if he was referring to big governments and political leaders, but this is not the case. He is referring to Christians who believe what the Bible says about the last days.

Rick Warren calls these people "resisters."  He says they will have to leave or die. He calls these Christians "the ornery ones." And he calls the pastors of churches that still preach the Truth, "the meaner ones."

With such criticism of Christians being taught by leaders whom most Americans think to be wonderful leaders in the spiritual movement, it is time to think about what Christians who refuse to
"leave or die" will do when the fire comes to each one of them.

I have written much in my other site: http://christianchatsandart3.spaces.live.com/ about Christian growth and how Christians must learn to stand on faith. It is imperative that we learn these things. If we cannot stand in times of really minor persecution from people around us now, how will we stand when this persecution comes from leaders of the nation?

In the book Faith Undone, a man with the last name of Sutherland tells readers that "some folks are going to get very angry. He likens these opposers (Christians) to 'leaders from hell." (page205) 

The concept of get with it or die is very common in New Age and emerging circles as well.

I could site many references to these people and their views of Christians. But you need to get this book. You can order it from LightHouseTrailsPublishing on the web. It costs $12.00 plus shipping and handling = about $18.00. It is worth every penny. I also recommend the other book I have been referring to, A Time Of Departing by Ray Yungen. If you read these two book, you will have a complete knowledge of where this movement came from, what it advocates, and where it is leading.  This may be the most important reading you can do besides the Holy Bible.

I will write more about this movement and about another church that is promoting a false christ in future messages.

Please tell your friends about this site.  I want everyone to be warned. What they do with the knowledge is up to them.

Sandra

In My Opinion: Christianity Is Threatened in America

In My Opinion: Christianity Is Threatened in America

Christianity Is Threatened in America

I saw Newt Gingrich on tv last night. He and his wife are making videos about how Christianity is being threatened in our society. I don't know what all his videos contain, but you can get the link for them from this site.
Sandra

Newt Gingrich: Americans Must Fight Hostility to Christianity Growing in Schools


Sunday, October 4, 2009 5:37 PM


A virulent hostility toward religion is threatening the very fabric of American liberty and prosperity: That's the alarm former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, are sounding in their thought-provoking new documentary, “Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage."

In an exclusive Newsmax.TV interview, the former House speaker contends that American culture has been marked by "a steady increase in hostility to religion over the last 70 or 80 years, in ways that are a profound challenge, both to Western Civilization and to America as we know it."

Christianity appears to be the primary target of the attacks, Gingrich says.
See Video: Newt Gingrich talks about the threat to Christianity in our nation’s schools - Click Here Now

Special: Get Gingrich’s new video and see trailer Click Here Now

Gingrich says, "When you look at efforts to drive the cross off of public lands, efforts to drive [out] Nativity scenes. . . there are a number of places in America now where there is a great bias in favor of teaching children about Islam than there is about Christianity. You actually have schools today that will have a class on Islam but refuse to have a class on Christianity. I'll let you decide whether that's a bias."

With top-drawer cinematography complementing the real story of democracy's birth pangs, the DVD manages to avoid sounding the drumbeat of religiosity or politics.

"What we try to do is really put America in a historic setting," says Gingrich, himself a former college history professor. "These movies are not theological, they're not ideological."

The new DVD takes off where Gingrich's New York Times best-selling book “Rediscovering God in America” and its companion DVD by the same name left off.

Videos too important to miss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM2A4AHkMzQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Fr-FBstaE

Here are two more videos that I think are good.

Videos About the Emergent Teachings

I want to give you some videos to view to learn what others have to say about the teachings of the post-modernism and emergent teachings. Please view these in the order in which I have listed them.
I got these from You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv6uxCch7oc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z6jAXuSaYI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vM0qODY9Gg

(If you have trouble with any of these videos, just let it run. Most of the time it will continue.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVth6gtHBNk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH1yOmij7Q4

On the same site where you view these videos, you will find others. You can look at them as you want. I just put these here to show you that many people are talking about this false teaching. It is not something of yesterday, rather it is a teaching of the now. We are experiencing it.
Sandra

What Is Contemplative Prayer?

Today I want to make sure everyone knows just what contemplative prayer is, and why it is so dangerous. I am using data from the link I put with this post.

Contemplative Prayer—A mystical prayer practice that leads one into the "silence" but in actuality leads away from God.


Definition of Contemplative Spirituality: a belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is often wrapped in Christian terminology; the premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).

The purpose of contemplative prayer is to enter an altered state of consciousness in order to find one's true self, thus finding God. This true self relates to the belief that man is basically good. Proponents of contemplative prayer teach that all human beings have a divine center and that all, not just born again believers, should practice contemplative prayer.

                     "Contemplative consciousness," says [Thomas] Merton, is "a trans-cultural, trans-religious, trans-formed consciousness … it can shine through this or that system, religious or irreligious"(Thoughts on the East, p.34)

                     "Sparked by Eastern meditative techniques, today's version of centering prayer is bent on stilling the mind."


A Quiet Revolution—JODI MAILANDER FARRELL


Listen to What Contemplatives Have To Say About This Form of Prayer and the Contemplative Lifestyle.


"For Fr. Bede, being universal meant to be centered and grounded. He generated this universality of heart through his daily practice of meditation and contemplative prayer, and this opened him ever more to the myths, symbols and teachings of the other great religions of the world."

Man, Monk, Mystic by Pascaline Coff, O.S.B. Speaking of Bede Griffiths.


"This understanding of the unity of the human family is central to Christianity. Our spiritual journey, especially contemplative prayer, together with its practices for daily life, are processes of becoming aware of just how profound that unity is with God, ourselves, other people, other living beings, the earth, and all creation." Thomas Keating in The Transformation of Suffering

"... beyond our methods and understanding is an ultimate reality that is open to all people regardless of their religious traditions. The overwhelming sense of this groundbreaking conference was the unifying force of a contemplative prayer practice."

Jena Hatchett WCCM 2001

This shows you why this type of prayer is so dangerous. It leads one away from the true God and opens him up to evil spirits, witchcraft, mind-altering myths.  It denies the need for Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

Did Jesus instruct his followers to empty their minds through contemplative prayer?



On the contrary He said,


"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your MIND."


Matthew 22:37 [NKJV]

I will write more about this type of prayer and about the things that are leading our nation into a one world religion as well as a one world government in future writings.





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We Live In Dangerous Times

Almost all people today have the sense that the world is coming to an end. Even news casters who don't claim to be Christian talk about it. We can see that this earth is wearing out even as the Bible says it will. But there are those who condemn the ones who think this way or who look for the coming of Jesus. Those in the emerging church movement condemn such ones.  Here is an article from LightHouseResearch.com that tells of this:

A growing number of well-known evangelical leaders today are teaching thousands of people that the world has a serious problem. The problem they describe is not what you might expect to hear, especially from evangelical leaders. They believe that those who claim Jesus is coming back soon and that the Earth will face a horrible Armageddon or judgment are actually the cause of the world's major problems and are prohibiting a time of great renewal from taking place. Talk of biblical end-time prophecy is considered by these men to be unnecessary and downright dangerous.




Tony Campolo in his recent book, Speaking My Mind suggests that these types of end-time thinkers are even the cause of wars. He says, "Their doctrines are a major factor in determining a far-ranging set of consequences that include American policies regarding militarism, the emergence of evangelical Zionism, attitudes toward Palestinians and the role of American geopolitics." (p. 207) He later says their "impact on geopolitics can only lead to war." (p. 215).



Rick Warren suggests that Jesus doesn't want us to even think about prophecy or His return. Warren tells us that it is none of our business. He tells us that thinking about Jesus' return is a ploy by Satan to get us distracted. (PDL, pp. 285, 286)



Richard Abanes, author and speaker, in his book End-Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon, criticizes many Christians who believe we should discuss prophecy and that there is indeed a coming Armageddon. He puts solid, Bible-based Christian leaders in the same category as cult leaders such as David Koresh, who led his group to an untimely end.



Are these evangelicals the first ones to hate the idea of Armageddon and the disaster that is coming to the world before Christ returns? In the book, Reinventing Jesus Christ, he quotes Barbara Marx Hubbard who says that those who believe in an Armageddon are self-centered people who if not stopped will actually cause a self-fulfilling prophecy to take place - the destruction of the world.



Marx Hubbard tells us of a global peace plan and she calls it an "Armageddon alternative." This alternative can actually save the world from Armageddon, she says, but only if enough people believe it and only if the world can be rid of these self-centered doomsdayers. "The species known as self-centered humanity will become extinct. The species known as whole-centered humanity will evolve.... Those who choose this version of the future will be there. Those who do not choose it will not be there." Marx Hubbard's own book of "Revelation" describes a message she received from the "Christ": "You are to prepare the way for the alternative to Armageddon, which is the Planetary Pentecost, the great Instant of Co-operation which can transform enough, en masse, to avoid the necessity of the seventh seal being broken." She continues: "Tell them to recognize the God within themselves, and to follow that light through the darkness of tribulations to the dawn of the Universal Age, when only the God-conscious continue to exist, and everyone is like Christ…. Those with the seal of the living God on their foreheads will be with Christ at the time of the Transformation. I cannot 'return' until enough of you are attracted and linked."
(By Sandra - This is just like Satan. He is a liar and the father of lies. If he can convince people to take this mark of the beast, he will have a people to worship him.)



According to Marx Hubbard it is these self-centered believers that are standing in the way. And yet in the book of Revelation, in the last chapter, Jesus says not once but three times, "I am coming quickly," while John in the same chapter tells us not to seal the words of the prophecy because the time is at hand."



In Reinventing Jesus Christ, he quotes Alice Bailey who was "told by her spirit guide over fifty years ago that the 'Forces of Darkness' would oppose the 'new gospel' and the 'New Age.' Is this new gospel and Transformation one and the same as Brian McLaren's New Kind of Christian and Emerging Church? Is it the same as Rick Warren's spiritual awakening and global Transformation? With so many similarities, one can only surmise that they may indeed be so. And if that is the case, will there be a growing hostility and anger towards those of us who say, Maranatha, come quickly Lord Jesus? (I Corinthians 16:22)

By Sandra-- All this is just more positive proof that the time when Jesus is coming for His own is immediate. Today we see that our President and other world leaders are working toward a one world community. The Catholic Church is now holding up the Eucharist Christ as the thing to be worshipped instead of Jesus himself.  All over the world, we see that false christs are on the rise more than ever in my lifetime. Soon, the main anti-christ will make himself known.  Satan is just using these foolish leaders to bring people in line with his plans. His desire has always been to be worshipped as god. He even tried to get Jesus to bow down and worship him when Jesus was in the wilderness.  If Satan will tempt Jesus in this way, how much more will he work to get man to bow down to him. We are indeed living in a dangerous time. It is not that Satan hasn't been working hard to accomplish his goal all along, but now that he has reputable leaders in churches teaching his lies, his goal is that much more within his grasp.  We must be warned. I urge you to tell everyone you know about this.  It is your mandate from the Father.  We are our brother's keeper.

Sandra

The Article from A. W. Tozer about the Lonliness of a Christian

An Excerpt from




The Loneliness of the Christian



by A. W. Tozer









The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His God-given instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone.



The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way.



The man [or woman] who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and over-serious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens.



He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.



It is this very loneliness that throws him back upon God. His inability to find human companionship drives him to seek in God what he can find nowhere else."







From Man - The Dwelling Place of God, Chapter 39: "The Saint Must Walk Alone"





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Is It All About Relationships?

In his book, Rick Warren would have you believe that the Christian life is all about relationships. Well, I found the following article that says it better then I can.

IS CHRISTIANITY ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS?



By Paul Proctor

September 11, 2009

NewsWithViews.com



“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” – Luke 6:26


It seems I am receiving a little extra email these days from troubled Christians who have had to give up a church, some friends and/or certain family members in order to remain faithful to God and His Word. I can tell you without hesitation that I certainly have – and on more than one occasion.



No one can lead you down the road of temptation quicker than a close friend, family member or fellow Christian. The downgrading of today’s “Church” along with society has clearly taken its toll on the brethren and is now driving many out the sanctuary doors to preserve their faith in Jesus Christ.



I heard Authority Research founder and director, Dean Gotcher, in a recent radio interview refer to the loneliness that results from the loss of such relationships as the taking up of one’s cross for Christ. When I respond to the heartbreaking email of readers who have had to leave their local church in obedience to God’s Word, I often reply with some empathetic encouragement and a link to a short piece written by A.W. Tozer titled: The Loneliness of the Christian.



For believers new to this column, I realize that the idea of sacrificing treasured relationships, even those we worship with, is probably a stark contrast to what you regularly receive from the pulpit of your local church and the lectern of your weekly Bible study class where most everything these days revolves around establishing, protecting, sustaining and maintaining relationships of all kinds, at all costs – a dangerous notion that is just not biblical.


“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” – Amos 3:3

Simply put, it turns people into church worshippers who revere, embrace and obey the consensus of a congregation with a contrived unity rather than God worshippers who put His Word and Authority far and above the fellowship, opinions, theories, life experiences and personal tastes of well meaning Christians and clergy.

This Religion of Relationships has now all but taken over what is called “Christianity” and ought to be called what it really is: “Churchianity” – the worship of and faith in those who claim to be the “Body of Christ” – especially its leaders who treat their own counsel, conjecture, sermon stories and agendas as equal to or greater than the Word of God.

Those who embrace Churchianity will often respond to a rebuking scripture with: “Yeah, but…” as if to be able to trump it with some greater knowledge, wisdom, anecdote or seemingly contradicting verse from the Bible. This is the ugly arrogance of today’s humanistic spirituality and its self-serving, self-worshipping ways.

When listening to a fellow church member, teacher or preacher talk about the Christian life, how many times have you heard them cite that sacred slogan: “It’s all about relationships?”

Baloney!

It’s about repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and our loving obedience to His Word, whatever may come – a faithfulness that will cost you more relationships than it will ever garner you! Our first love and loyalty is to Him, not our fellow man. That doesn’t mean we don’t take up the towel to wash feet, serve others, sacrifice ourselves and love our neighbor – it simply means they don’t come first in our lives – Jesus Christ does. That’s why we call Him “Lord” and not the brethren.

But, when we place our hope and faith in the redeemed rather than the Redeemer and put the words of men over the Word of God, we become no better than new agers who believe that God is in everyone and in everything – worshipping the creation instead of the Creator and in doing so, make ourselves gods to be praised and exalted with reciprocating adulation and acclaim.

“They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” – Psalm 12:2

If your Christianity isn’t costing you at least some friends and family, both inside and outside the church house, your hope and faith may have turned horizontal. If your Sunday gatherings have become flattery festivals where people are quoted and praised more than Jesus Christ, you might want to reconsider your church membership. If you have friends and family that hate God, but love you, it might be time to reexamine your witness for Christ and your commitment to Him.


“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.” – Luke 21:16-17

Take a sober and discerning look around your church next Sunday and tell me what you see. If it’s all about relationships there, it may be time to hit the door and go find your cross.


“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” – Matthew 10:33-39

Related articles:

1. The Loneliness of the Christian

2. Authority Research

3. Are You A Church Worshipper?



© 2009 Paul Proctor - All Rights Reserved







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Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print.



E-Mail: watchman@usa.com

A Novel About Contemplative Spirituality

The following statements are from people who have read a novel that exposes the dangers of the Contempative Spirituality. A novel is generally easier for some people to read than a research book. I highly recommend getting this book and reading it to share with others.              Carolyn A. Greene's novel, Castles in the Sand
Sandra



One Family's Reaction to Novel Exposing Contemplative Spirituality Dangers


LTRP Note: The following letter was sent to us by a woman in Florida, whose family has been helped by reading Carolyn A. Greene's novel, Castles in the Sand, the only novel ever published that exposes the dangers of contemplative spirituality. We hope this letter will encourage others to get this book and share it with their families and friends who may be delving into this mystical spirituality).

Dear Lighthouse Trails, just want to pass on some input about Castles in the Sand:



--From a friend I had loaned the Castles book to:

"I finished the book ... I'm ordering some extras to pass out, too."



--From another friend I had loaned a copy to:

"This is scary! May I buy this book from you? I want to mark in it and show the info to all my friends and my children."



--From my niece in rural Kentucky who had read a copy of Castles that I had loaned her:

"Because I had read that book you loaned me, I was able to recognize what a lady who spoke in our church was saying. She was promoting contemplative prayer and other such things. Had I not read Castles, I would not have known what she was talking about and would not have been concerned. I plan to speak with our pastor about this."



--From Me:

My daughter read the book while visiting us. She liked it so much she had me order one for her to loan to her friend in Tennessee. She told her friend about it before the book came in. A bit later, her friend told her that, because of what my daughter told her about the book, she recognized the problem areas in a book she had checked out from her church library for her 4 YEAR OLD. It was about snakes and yoga. My daughter's friend is now reading the book. Her husband is the Christian Ed teacher at a Christian school, so I'm hoping he'll also read the book so he can beware.



My son, who doesn't usually read things like that (he's a history reader) read it -- at my insistence. He said--without my prompting-- that it was a book that many should read so they can know what is out there!!!



I'm so proud of my late 30s children--that they truly have a biblical worldview, and I know it is because of sound Bible teaching and understanding the need for books like Castles in the Sand.



Please pass this on to the author. I am giving each of my two visiting friends copies of the book this week. They are from two different churches in Kentucky so, hopefully, the info will go out from them to many. Thanks for your ministry! M.R. in Florida.

Test The Spirits

by Warren B. Smith


www.newagetograce.com

Not long after our conversion, my wife and I sat down one day and talked about the ultimate spiritual deception described in the Bible--the great "falling away" of the church and the coming of Antichrist. We agreed that for someone like Antichrist to be credible in the world, he would need a majority of the people who call themselves Christians to believe that he was Christ. If he could get enough Christians--especially Christian leaders--to follow him, he could then discredit and marginalize those who oppose him. But to get people who call themselves Christians to believe that he was Christ he would first have to successfully redefine Christianity. To do that he would have to introduce non-Christian teachings and practices into the church, while at the same time make them appear Christian. His obvious goal would be to convert undiscerning and unsuspecting believers into a more eastern and mystical, New Age "Christianity." While invoking the name of "God" and "Christ" he would actually turn the Bible upside down--just as we had seen in A Course in Miracles and in our New Age teachings.



Christianity would become a more "positive" New Age "Christianity." This New Age Christianity would have "a form of godliness" but it would actually deny the true faith (1 Timothy 3:5). This New Age Christianity/New Spirituality would use Christian terminology but it would be under the spell of "another Jesus," "another spirit," and "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4). This New Age/New Gospel/New Spirituality would be the ultimate counterfeit and the ultimate deception. It would be what the real Jesus warned his followers to watch out for.



The New Age/New Spirituality has continued to make great inroads into the church--particularly in the area of meditation and so-called "contemplative prayer." Despite grave warnings from many of us that came out of the New Age movement, the church remains extremely vulnerable to deceptive, supernatural experiences that appear to come from God.



We knew from our own New Age involvement that powerful, seemingly "meant to be" spiritual experiences had often been used to draw us closer into the New Age and its various spiritual practices, including meditation and contemplation. And we knew that the same seductive experiences which had led us into the New Age, continued within our meditations and contemplations. Because our spiritual experiences felt so good, we just assumed that what we were experiencing was coming from God. Our meditations and contemplations soon became the primary connecting force that gave us "the feeling" we were on the right track. These daily meditations and contemplations served to reinforce our emerging New Age beliefs, and had the effect of leading us deeper and deeper into the teachings of the New Age/New Spirituality.



For most of us in the New Age, meditation was an integral part of daily life. Because it was so relaxing and felt so good we had no idea that our meditations were opening us up to great deception. Looking back on it now, meditation was the major pipeline through which deceptive spirits impressed upon us their New Age thoughts and teachings. The spiritual "high" that often accompanied our meditations and contemplations seemed to corroborate our emerging New Age belief that we were all "one" because God was "in" everyone and everything. In fact, in my very first meditation I experienced a "mysterious sense of oneness" that I perceived to be my "divine connection" to that oneness. One of the daily lessons I contemplated from A Course in Miracles was "Let me remember I am one with God."Click here for source material and to continue reading ...

Let me say, (Sandra) that for more information on the terms used by the emerging community, you can go to

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/researchtopics.htm

I use data from this site by their permission. It is a really good site to learn more about this false teaching.  And while you are there, go to the publishing site where they sell books about this. Everyone should read Faith Undone by Roger Oakland. It will open your eyes.

Sandra

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin534.htm

The Bible is the absolute Truth for anyone who wants to know God. There is no other way.   Satan is working overtime to make this world into a one world community. This is the community over which he will preside as the anti-christ. The above link tells more about how the Presidents of our nation have been and are pushing for this one world community. 

This effort tells me more than anything else that the stage is set for the appearance of Jesus to come for His own. In John 14: 3, we read:

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Now, why would Jesus tell people this if all they could expect was to live on this planet forever until they die. Or why would this be true if there was no Rapture as some people think.  Jesus didn't say He would make a place on this earth for us. And He is not going to prepare a place for the lost people. Rather, He is preparing a place for His own people, those who accept Him as the Savior, the only door to the kingdom of Go.

And Jesus says He will come again and receive us. He will take us up to be with Him in that place He has prepared for us.  Let not your hearts be troubled.  Many of us who are alive today will witness this event. Of this I am positive.

I put in the above link so you can read some things for youself about the efforts to make this one world community. And it will happen.
Sandra

Is Christianity All About Relationships?

IS CHRISTIANITY ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS?












By Paul Proctor

September 11, 2009

NewsWithViews.com



“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” – Luke 6:26



It seems I am receiving a little extra email these days from troubled Christians who have had to give up a church, some friends and/or certain family members in order to remain faithful to God and His Word. I can tell you without hesitation that I certainly have – and on more than one occasion.



No one can lead you down the road of temptation quicker than a close friend, family member or fellow Christian. The downgrading of today’s “Church” along with society has clearly taken its toll on the brethren and is now driving many out the sanctuary doors to preserve their faith in Jesus Christ.



I heard Authority Research founder and director, Dean Gotcher, in a recent radio interview refer to the loneliness that results from the loss of such relationships as the taking up of one’s cross for Christ. When I respond to the heartbreaking email of readers who have had to leave their local church in obedience to God’s Word, I often reply with some empathetic encouragement and a link to a short piece written by A.W. Tozer titled: The Loneliness of the Christian.



For believers new to this column, I realize that the idea of sacrificing treasured relationships, even those we worship with, is probably a stark contrast to what you regularly receive from the pulpit of your local church and the lectern of your weekly Bible study class where most everything these days revolves around establishing, protecting, sustaining and maintaining relationships of all kinds, at all costs – a dangerous notion that is just not biblical.





Advertisement



“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” – Amos 3:3



Simply put, it turns people into church worshippers who revere, embrace and obey the consensus of a congregation with a contrived unity rather than God worshippers who put His Word and Authority far and above the fellowship, opinions, theories, life experiences and personal tastes of well meaning Christians and clergy.



This Religion of Relationships has now all but taken over what is called “Christianity” and ought to be called what it really is: “Churchianity” – the worship of and faith in those who claim to be the “Body of Christ” – especially its leaders who treat their own counsel, conjecture, sermon stories and agendas as equal to or greater than the Word of God.



Those who embrace Churchianity will often respond to a rebuking scripture with: “Yeah, but…” as if to be able to trump it with some greater knowledge, wisdom, anecdote or seemingly contradicting verse from the Bible. This is the ugly arrogance of today’s humanistic spirituality and its self-serving, self-worshipping ways.



When listening to a fellow church member, teacher or preacher talk about the Christian life, how many times have you heard them cite that sacred slogan: “It’s all about relationships?”



Baloney!



It’s about repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and our loving obedience to His Word, whatever may come – a faithfulness that will cost you more relationships than it will ever garner you! Our first love and loyalty is to Him, not our fellow man. That doesn’t mean we don’t take up the towel to wash feet, serve others, sacrifice ourselves and love our neighbor – it simply means they don’t come first in our lives – Jesus Christ does. That’s why we call Him “Lord” and not the brethren.



But, when we place our hope and faith in the redeemed rather than the Redeemer and put the words of men over the Word of God, we become no better than new agers who believe that God is in everyone and in everything – worshipping the creation instead of the Creator and in doing so, make ourselves gods to be praised and exalted with reciprocating adulation and acclaim.



“They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” – Psalm 12:2



If your Christianity isn’t costing you at least some friends and family, both inside and outside the church house, your hope and faith may have turned horizontal. If your Sunday gatherings have become flattery festivals where people are quoted and praised more than Jesus Christ, you might want to reconsider your church membership. If you have friends and family that hate God, but love you, it might be time to reexamine your witness for Christ and your commitment to Him.







“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.” – Luke 21:16-17



Take a sober and discerning look around your church next Sunday and tell me what you see. If it’s all about relationships there, it may be time to hit the door and go find your cross.







“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” – Matthew 10:33-39



Related articles:



1. The Loneliness of the Christian

2. Authority Research

3. Are You A Church Worshipper?



© 2009 Paul Proctor - All Rights Reserved







E-mail This Page



Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts

E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, not for sale







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print.



E-Mail: watchman@usa.com

Alcoholic's Anomynous Uses Comteplative Teachings

All who don't want to be led astray these days must be aware of the teachings of the emerging church movement, or Emergent as we can call it. Many are being taught these practices without knowing it. Satan is certainly deceptive, and he is using many good organizations to foster his work.

Editors at Lighthouse Trails editors@lighthousetrails.com
by John Lanagan


Free-Lance Writer

AA's 11th Step states: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.



"Don't make a big deal about AA's 'prayer and meditation,'" writes pro-AA author Dick B. ... "It is nothing more than praying and studying or 'pondering' what you are reading."[1]



This is simply not so. As discussed in 'Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality,'[2] advocates of contemplative spirituality are using AA and other 12 Step groups as a launching pad for their meditative practices. Nor is AA's contemplative potential a new thing. As a treatment website notes, "AA and 12 Step Fellowship have known for years that spirituality or some form of contemplative meditation is an important part of treatment."[3] (italics mine)



AA's definition of meditation has no limits and no boundaries. For most, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Word of God. AA cofounder Bill Wilson felt meditative knowledge from anywhere in the world could be valid.



It should be noted that AA apologist Dick B. has written numerous books and articles portraying AA and the 12 Steps as Biblical in origin.[4] This is a concern because Christians who join AA based on these erroneous claims may become involved in the very meditative practices this author minimizes.



In Standing Fast in the Last Days, Warren Smith describes his entrance into the occult. He recounts how a psychic, a woman who uncannily knew many details about him, told Smith the spirits on the other side needed his permission to work in his life. Watching this DVD recently, it reminded me how similar this is to AA's 11th Step. Click here to continue...

New Message For This Site - Sept. 20, 2009

This is my first message since moving my writings from the Windows Live site. All messages before this one were copied and pasted here. So, some of the links don't work. You can just copy the links and put them in a new window to view what is there. I urge you to do this because I would not have put them there if they weren't important.

I will continue my writings here. It is a much easier site to work with, and I think that all a person has to do is join blogger to get into this site.  I had to send invitations to the other site. That is why I moved here.

I hope you will read prayerfully what I have written. I pray each morning for the Lord to give me the words for the day. Unless the words come from God, they will not have life or light. My words mean nothing unless they are inspired by the Holy Spirit.

I have an unction in my spirit to write these messages. I know that there are books available to read about these false teachings, but I also know that most people won't take the time to read a book.  I have permission from LightHouseResearch to use portions of the books I refer to and to use excerpts from their site. I urge you to go to their site to do further study about this topic.

Please pass along the word about the writings here. I am not out for personal attention, not at all.  I just want as many people as possible to know about these false teachings.  A lot of people think Rick Warren is just fine and like his book. But these people don't know the real truth about his or his teachings.  Yoga is being taught is some schools as a way or relieving the stress for the students. They are leading those students into witchcraft, and it is of the devil.

If people aren't warned, then they will be led blindly into these false practices. It is my goal and mission to warn them if they will just let themselves read and know.

Sandra

What Does God Have To Say? Sept. 16, 2009


Sandra D Before I begin writing about the teachings and practices of the emerging church movement, I want to say a little about what the Bible has to say on this subject.



I am using some excerpts from Faith Undone by Roger Oakland, and also from A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen. I highly recommend both of these books. You can buy them at Lighthouse Publishing online. I use these excerpts by permission from LighthouseResearch.



Since Adam and Eve's day until our own, a battle has waged between man's ways of doing things and God's ways. So often, what may seem to be the right way ends up not being that at all. Rebellion is always due to one thing -- rejecting God's Word because our own way appeals to us so much more. ....the emerging church movement fits this explanation.



So many of the people who go to the way of the emerging church do so because they have failed to find what they are seeking in the traditional church. But, the Bible is truly an amazing book. To get to the place where the truth that has been taught for centuries gives a person a life of joy and peace in his walk with the Lord, one has only to read the Bible.



However, while God has provided a way for us to seek Him and to know Him, God's adversary has a plan of his own. The last thing the devil wants is for man to be obedient to what God has said. Instead, his objective is to lead people away from the Savior, Jesus Christ, with counterfeits; these deadly detours sometimes very closely resemble the real thing.... but in reality lead to spiritual disaster. The Bible says as the time before Christ's return shortens, the devil's agenda will only intensify.



Emergent leaders say the Christian faith needs to be reinvented or reimagined for the 21st century.

In his book, Faith Undone, Roger Oakland challenges the emerging church message, and here is why: True biblical faith never changes. What Jesus and His disciples offered two thousand years ago is still offered to mankind today and has been consistently offered to every generation in between. Jude, verse 3, exhorts us to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.



Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8: 12) By saying this, Jesus wanted us to know that the world without him is dark (because of sin). But He has come to dispel the darkness of sin and give us true life.



The Bible says we have been given the answer to the mystery of life. It is God coming in the flesh (Jesus) and His Spirit living inside all who accept Him by faith. Contrast this with the message of the emerging church -- a message that is not clear at all. One movement leader wrote a book called

The Secret Message of Jesus. But in truth, there is no secret message of Jesus.



In future writings, I will emphasize the teachings and practices of the emerging church. I believe you need to recognize these because many of them are already being widely practiced in our society today. Even in our schools is yoga being taught as a means to relax the students and take the stress away. These practices are insidious, and and creep into churches and institutions as acceptable ways. This is why I am writing about this. I want every person to be able to recognize these teachings and practices in order not to be lead astray.



Please invite everyone you think would be interested in this topic to come in by invitation to read.



Sandra

Why Abortion Is Murder


Sandra D Life Begins at Conception Aug 14, '09 4:35 PM

for everyone



I really don't know why people have so much trouble deciding when life begins. It takes a spark of life to start the cell multiplying into the human form. This spark of life comes from God. God knows us from the time this spark of life begins. The life that is forming may not know anymore than a new born baby knows, but God knows this forming life, and He made it. He approves of it. And to kill it is murder in His sight.



Psalm 139:



King Davd talks to God here and tells how God knows him.

He says that God "has possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb."



David describes how God made him "fearfully and wonderfully."



"My substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."



God knows each tiny life that is growing in the mother's womb. He knows the parts that are not yet formed. God made the DNA that composes this life. Even in the unperfected form, all of the tiny life's members are written in God's book. They continue to be fashioned according to God's plan.



In another scripture, it is written that the very hairs of our head are numbered. God knows every cell and the particles that make up each cell. This is how God will give a glorified body to people who have died in the Lord and their earthly bodies are now gone, some even scattered over the earth or water. All the parts of these bodies are written in God's book. And it is not a hard feat for Him to make our glorified bodies from the plan that is written in His book.



Those who kill an unborn life are commiting murder. God created that life. Only He knows what that life will produce. Take the examples of lives that were born with handicaps but who went on to produce great works for the world.



No one can justify abortion at any stage. Once that life has started from the first cell dividing, it belongs to God. Those who destroy these lives will some day answer to God.



Sandra

God Is Real!


Sandra D Last night as I read more in the book, Faith Undone, by Roger Oakland, I came to a chapter on page 190 called

A Slaughterhouse Religion. Now, I have heard people talk about this before. They say that no God of love could cause a man to be cruely punished for the sins of others. But I have never read it quite as clearly as I did last night.



In this chapter, some called God a "blood-thirsty barbarian" and the faith we hold a "slaughterhouse religion".

It is said that the atonement, where "Jesus suffered as a substitute for us" because of our sins, is a "precivilized barbarity." I have put the word, Gnostic, in the definitions message. For it is this that is behind most of this thinking. In the early church, some became Gnostics. These use philosophy to live by instead of faith. I believe it is this that is in the thinking of most and maybe all of those who are against the faith of the Bible these days.



In 1991, William Shannon (biographer of Catholic monk and mystic, Thomas Merton) said:



"This is typical patriarchal notion of God. He is the God of Noah who sees people deeep in sin,

repents that He made them and resolves to destroy them. He is the God of the desert who sends

snakes to bite His people because they murmured against Him. He is the God of David who

practically decimates a people.... He is the God who exacts the last drop of blood from His Son,

so that His just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased. This God whose moods alternate between

graciousness and dierce anger..... This God does not exist. (emphasis added)



As Roger Oakland says, "This is another perfect example of how the emerging church turns doctrines it doesn't understand into a mockery against Scripture and God's plan of salvation. God's way are not our ways, and to expect them to live up with our human reasoning is ludicrous." ( Read Isaiah 55: 8-9)



Another person, former Catholic priest , Brennan Manning, has been a major influence in emerging spirituality. In his 2003 book Above All, he quotes William Shannon almost word for word, regarding the atonement:



[T]he god whose moods alterrnate between graciousness and fierce anger ... the godd who exacts the last

drop of blood from his Son so that his just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased, is not the God

revealed by and in Jesus Christ. And if he is not the God of Jesus, he does not exist.



I have not written all that is in this book, but it is enough to show you how these people think. Not everyone in the emerging movement thinks God does not exist. In most part, they just want to make God such a part of themselves that they are god. This is done by a type of meditation that I will write about in future messages. I will be writing about what these emergent followers believe and what they practice in future messages. But today, I want to tell you what God has to say about what I have written here.



When I went to bed last night, these thought were in my head. So, I began to talk with my Father, God. I said to Him, "How can people think this way. What do they have to hold on to? How can they live without You?"

And as I poured out my thoughts to Him, these words came to my mind. They came fast and they were complete. I had to get up, go to the computer, and write them down. I feared lest I forget them in the morning. And these are the words He gave me:



God has a nature, a personality. He hurts, he feels, he gets angry. He is not a force, but he is a person. God has angels who adore Him, but He wanted to fellowship with someone like Him. So, He created a man in His image. He gave to the man a body, a soul, and a spirit. God could communicate with the man by his spirit. God wanted fellowship. He walked with Adam in the garden each day. They talked and they fellowshipped.







But God wanted a friend. No one can force a person to be a friend. A friend must choose to be a friend. So, God had to give man a free will. He wanted man to choose to be His friend. But Adam chose to be disobedient to God’s rules. He violated them for his own pleasure. He chose to give in to self rather than obey God. Every wrong choice has consequences. And the consequence of breaking fellowship with God was to be cut off from fellowship with Him.







But God was sad about this. He had made man to be His friend. And God has feelings. He wanted Adam to live and not die. But Adam could not live eternally as God had designed him to in the disobedient state he had chosen.



So, God made a covering for Adam, and his wife, Eve. He took the lives of animals to cover the ugliness of Adam’s sin, disobedience.







God had to turn Adam and Eve out of the Garden before they could eat of the tree of life and live forever in their sin nature. So, they went out to live on their own, as they had chosen to do. And thus began the time of the generations.







The people whom God called to be His people began with Abram from Ur. He called Abram and told him that Abram would be the father of many people, more than the sand on the beaches. He promised Abram, who became Abraham, that He would be with him. God made a covenant with Abraham. This covenant was to be God’ promise to Abraham, and Abraham made his covenant with God, to be obedient to God. It takes two to make a covenant. This is an agreement between the two. And it is binding. The method of making this covenant was of sacrifice. (See Genesis 15: 9-21)







God gave Abraham a son named Isaac. To see if Abraham loved God more than his son, God gave him a test. Abraham took Isaac up to a mountain and prepared him as a sacrifice to God. God saw that Abraham loved Him this much, and He spared the son of promise. This showed God that Abraham would keep the covenant they had made.







All down through the succeeding generations, the people often disobeyed God. This made Him sad and angry. He sometimes wished He hadn’t made man. God could feel these emotions because He is a person. But God is also just. He knows that disobedience brings consequences. So, when the people disobeyed God, there were consequences to pay. Sin in our lives brings consequences. Bad things happen to us. We suffer the effects of the sin in our lives. What we do brings harm to us in one way or another. God knows this. And He wants us to learn from our disobedience. And, just as we teach our children that wrong actions bring consequences in order to teach them to do the right things, so God has to teach us that our disobedience to His laws hurt us. He made the laws of nature and of the universe for our good. But when we break these laws, we harm ourselves and others.







But God didn’t want to give up on man. He instituted the sacrifice of animals (the covenant He made with Abraham) as a way of repentence for the sins the people committed. This was the way God designed. It was a temporary covering until the time when the permanent offering could be made. The people knew this. The time came when the sacrifices were made in a Temple for the sins of all the people. This was a satisfactory act in the eyes of God for it said to Him that the people recognized that they had sinned and wanted to repent of it. By making the sacrifice of their best lamb, the people were reminded of their sins and wanted to make it right with God.







Time passed, and people continued to sin. Sacrifices were made, and temporary forgiveness was given. But it was not enough. God wanted a people who would choose Him above themselves. He wanted the friend He had made in Adam. So, God had a plan by which each person could once again gain that state in which he/she could communicate with God in spirit to His spirit. God’s plan was to send a part of Himself to earth in human form. God became flesh and dwelled on this earth by the name Jesus. This was a part of the Trinity, God, the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.







Jesus taught who God was and what He was like. He was like Jesus. Jesus is a picture of God. Jesus had emotions and wanted fellowship with those who would be His followers. The emotions Jesus had were the same as what God has. Jesus wept. He had great compassion. He loved the people. So many emotions housed in that body of Jesus told us how God feels. Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen God.” He was a living picture of God. So, we know God. We have no excuse for denying God exists.







The plan of salvation was not a cruel punishment for Jesus as some think. It was a plan that made a way for humans to once again have the privilege of making the choice between themselves and God. God made Jesus the last sacrifice that would ever have to be made. Jesus went willingly to the Cross. God sacrificed a part of Himself so that man could once again make the right choice to choose God as his friend. And those who choose to believe in the work of Jesus on the cross make this choice in their own conscience. It is a choice of free will, just as God gave to Adam.







By choosing Jesus, man chooses to be a friend of God. And in return, God puts a part of Himself into man. When the person makes a public profession of faith in the work of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity, comes to reside in man. This does not make man a god. It makes man a vessel in which God can dwell on earth.







When this is done, a person usually is baptized by immersion to show his death with Jesus as he goes under the water, and it shows he is raised to a new life as he comes up from the water. The water represents the grave. Then a new relationship begins between God and man. They can now talk, communicate. They can fellowship. They can become friends. And as a man walks with God, he learns how to live as God designed him to live.







In a man’s walk with God, the Father, the Holy Spirit teaches that man what he needs to be rid of in his life. Since habits and faults of personalities are hard to change, God gives man help in doing the changing. The Holy Spirit gives check in a man’s spirit when that man is going in the wrong direction. If the man listens and changes his course, he conquers the habit or bad personality trait. It is a strait and narrow walk. Man cannot live as the people of the world live and also live as God’s friend. He must make the choice. But becoming more like Jesus, and thus what God wants us to be, is not hard for a man who is dedicated to God.











The walk of a Christian, a person totally given to God, is a way of life. It leads eventually to a state of God-likeness. Man never reaches the absolute goal of perfection while living in a human body, but he can attain a state of peace that the world cannot understand. And the life of a mature Christian is a life of living joy. It is not a dead life, but rather a life of vitality and strength to face each day’s problems in the right way. It is a victorious life.







Once again, man has the choice to make. Will it be fellowship with God, or will it be a life of obedience to Satan, the supreme being of evil. No one can



live without making a choice. He will either serve God, or he will serve Satan. Which one will you choose?









Put in writing by Sandra Davis, August 31, 2009

We Live In The Last Days


Sandra D I am not alone in saying that we are in the last days. But, we must remember that the last days began when Jesus went to the Father after He was resurrected. However, we see signs of the appearance of the anti-christ all around us. Many are now following other christs, believing they have found some secret way to God.



In II Corinthians 11: 3-4, Paul warns these people about those who preach "another Jesus". And this is just what the emerging church people and other groups are doing today. The Bible warns that in the days before Jesus Christ returns, truth will be abandoned for a wider spiritual road that gives "heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I Timothy 4:1) A new form of Christianity will replace biblical faith with a faith that says man can find his own path to God and create a perfect kingdom of God here on earth. The Word will become secondary to a system of works and rituals driven by ancient mystical experiences. (Faith Undone)



An ecumenical pattern toward unity with other religions has already become quite apparent. Many people will consider those who refuse to embrace this direction as spiritual oddballs who need to be reprimanded. These resisters who stand up for biblical faith will be seen as obstructions to a one world spirituality and global peace. Now, do we want to be singled out as people who keep this world from becoming a world of peace? Ask yourself what this will mean in your life. If you stand firmly for the true faith taught in the Bible, how will it affect your work, your social life, your church life? Are you ready to stand? Are you strong enough? Am I? We all must ask these questions of ourselves.



The emerging movement is not really a church. It is rather a dialogue or conversation. Brian McLaren, a leader of this movement, explains the objective of the movement:



We are "exploring off the map" -- looking into mysterious territory beyond our familiar world on this side

of the river, this side of the ocean, this side of the boundary between modern and postmodern worlds.

We are looking into an exciting, unmapped world on the other side of all we know so far. (Faith Undone)



In II Timothy 4:3-4 we read: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall the heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables."



This is what we are seeing in our own nation today, even in some of our churches. People are not finding fulfillment in the truth of the Bible. And this is because they never had a life-changing expierence of salvation in Jesus Christ. Paul says in one of the Scriptures they "they went out from us" but he also says that they were not of us to begin with or they would not have gone out from us. When people pretend at being saved, they can find no satisfaction in being a so-called Christian. It is only when a person has been truly born again, and the Holy Spirit is living in him, that he can learn the truth and become free from the ties of this world.



The churches of today are filled with people who just endure the sermon and go their own ways all the days of the wreek. They think they have done their duty by going to church. These people don't have the joy of the salvation in Jesus. No one who has known Jesus can ever go back.



(Faith Undone) One young pastor who participated in the early stages of the emerging church said the old traditional church is bein replaced with an "emerging, missional [church] and bound together by the following traits:



* The cultural context is postmodern and pluralistic.

* The church accepts that it is marginalized in culture.

* Pastors are local missionaries.

* Church services blend ancient forms (Mysticism) and local styles.

* Missions is "glocal" (global and local).



These new types of missional emerging leaders want to break away from what they view as a dead, traditional church. More on this next time.



Sandra