(In the order of the date posted - January 2016 - December 2016)

 1/Letter to the Editor: Open Letter to Anne Graham Lotz Regarding Circle Maker
Dear Anne,

I have always regarded you as a very spiritual woman, but when I read that you had bought into the heresy found in the book The Circle Maker, I thought to myself, how could she be so deceived?

The Bible says in 1 John 4: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are come into the world.”

If you were to type into a search engine  “The Circle Maker” you would find what I, a layman, found out about this book and this “new way” of praying.

2/Letter to the Editor: My Mother is Doing Reiki and Communicating with “Angels”!

My mother says she prays to “Jesus” before doing Reiki.  When she said that, I knew I couldn’t keep ignoring it and decided I needed to really look into Reiki and share my faith (she knows I’m a Christian—thus telling me Reiki is OK for me because she prays to Jesus; but I don’t think she saw much distinction in our beliefs and said her Reiki teacher used to be a female minister).  She does not believe in the Bible or most of it anyway, nor Jesus’ deity, but rather He came to point the way to God.  To me, of course, this just doesn’t make any logical sense for so many reasons (I told her those reasons), but she is so deceived she can’t see reason.

3/Letter to the Editors: Why Aren’t People Seeing What We See?

I have been admonished by a number a people that I am wrong,  just want to be right, question why I am worrying about what others do, or am too extreme or pharisaical (by some believers that are far more mature and Bible literate than I am). I have been told to stop looking on the Internet because that is unreliable and have been laughed at for doing so. My former pastor even told me to stop.

My Christian friends are constantly posting on Facebook about Bethel, contemplative prayer, or blatant New Age stuff as well as Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and Hillsong. Very few seem to be concerned about all the strange manifestations and theology coming out of Bethel or that contemplative prayer is not something most of us ever heard about or practiced until a few years ago, yet they are OK with it.

4/Letter to the Editor: Concerns About Erwin Lutzer

I wanted to let you know that I happened to listen to an online YouTube message from Erwin Lutzer yesterday that was an overview of his life.1 Well, I was shocked to hear him say he went to Loyola University!!!! [see YouTube link below; also: https://logoi.org/authors/erwin-lutzer/?___store=en]. It was after his graduation from Dallas Seminary, but still, he did not offer an apology for not knowing he should stay out of Catholicism back when he was young, no, he said it just as if it was a good university to go to!!! I was stunned, as I had always thought Moody Bible was separate from Catholicism, and the very name of Loyola screams Jesuit Catholicism, the worst of the worst of Catholicism! Anyway, I thought it might be worth noting in your articles about how Moody Bible Institute is going Contemplative, and it may help you to maybe understand why his response to your warning e-mails to him was to love all of the brethren.

5/Letter to the Editor: Trying to Warn Our Grown Children . . . And Letter to Our Pastor Goes Unanswered

We are especially concerned because our talented, zealous adult children are, to some degree or another, caught up in following Bethel and Hillsong worship and practices. So far as I know, none are practicing ‘contemplative’ prayer, but other occult practices are subtly mixed in with their schools of worship and ‘supernatural’ ministries. We prepared a notebook for each of our children and their spouses where we downloaded and printed Warren Smith’s Reinventing Jesus Christ (now titled False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?) back in late 2006 or early 2007 – probably just before we discovered Lighthouse Trails. I think they mostly stuck the notebooks under the bed or somewhere obscure.

6/Letter to the Editor: Her Father Left Her a Legacy of Discernment

I have been so blessed to come from a Christian heritage where standing up for the truth meant you ended up being almost on an island.  My own dear father was a layman who reported the truth over 50 years ago and was attacked for it so many times and yet, what he shared then is all coming to light now.  He at one time was setting up crusades for Billy Graham and had to resign as he saw what was happening with their alignment with the Catholic church. Dad had spent his early years in the service and due to his abilities went under cover for the Army and found while doing so, the information on the Illuminati and all the connections of its plans. He did such research in order to share with those who were unaware to prepare them for what was coming.  He also was the only white man invited to speak at so many black churches in Philadelphia at the conferences because of his knowledge and love for them as brothers in Christ and yet, he was not a pastor but a layman.

7/Letter to the Editor From Japan: After An Unusual Childhood Surrounded by Mysticism, She Finds the Truth

You may think of Buddhism and Shinto religion when you hear the word Japan, but my background is quite unusual in that my mother was hugely influenced by the QUAKERS when she was a teenager, because of the Quaker Girls School that she went to from 13 to 19, which gave her silent worship opportunities every single morning. She then went on to become very much into metaphysics and western philosophy. She would often sit quietly doing nothing when I was a child, and she would tell me that Jesus was one of those people who had psychic powers to heal the sick. But I was little and I had no idea what kind of thing my mother was trying to convey or teach to me.

8/Letter to the Editor from a Former Young Life Leader: “My biblical background was considered a liability instead of a blessing.”

Having joined the staff after high school with the purpose of working with teens, I soon began to notice the compromises creeping in and no one else seemed to be concerned. It all came to a head when I took a stand and insisted I attend a retreat they had planned with the local [Catholic] Abbey before permitting my Campaigners to go. That, in itself, caused a major problem. After attending and taking my stand, it was apparent that my biblical background was considered a liability instead of a blessing. Over many days of discussion, I finally had to offer my resignation as I felt I could not agree with the ecumenical direction Young Life was taking by aligning itself with a Catholic fellowship.

That was many years ago, and it is sad to realize how so much compromising was happening then long before the flood of what is taking place today. Satan has been busy, and the standing for the truth has turned into a determent rather than a badge of honor.

9/Letter to the Editor: Friend’s Church Bringing in “Praying in Color” – A Disguised Vehicle for Contemplative Prayer

A friend of mine texted me to ask if I had heard of “praying in color.”  She included the following website: www.prayingincolor.com.  Immediately, I knew that this was not of God.  I perused the website and was not surprised that this is rooted and grounded in Hinduism, Catholicism, visualization, and mysticism.  Apparently, one of the leaders at my friend’s church is introducing this to the congregation.  My friend knew something wasn’t right or biblical about this.  The leader explained to the congregation that she had gone to a seminar on “praying in color” and was so taken in by it that she is inviting a “praying in color” coach to do a seminar at her church.  This is not the first time that this leader has introduced false teaching to the congregation (i.e. Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life).

10/Letter to the Editor: Serious Concerns Over Beth Moore’s New Series, “Entrusted”

My small Southern Baptist church recently finished Beth Moore’s “Entrusted” series which includes articles from her daughter Melissa Moore.  Not having experienced Beth Moore I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.  Being informed by Lighthouse Trails and other discernment websites, I approached the class with a good deal of wariness.  I love Beth and Melissa Moore as sisters in Christ.  I was hoping to find nothing of concern in “Entrusted.”  This was not the case.  Following are some of my concerns.

(Listed in order of date posted from January 2016 – December 2016)

1/Stunning Statistics: “From Antichrist to Brother in Christ: How Protestant Pastors View the Pope”

Christianity Today: More than half of evangelical pastors say Pope Francis is their brother in Christ.

More than one-third say they value the pope’s view on theology, and 3 in 10 say he has improved their view of the Catholic Church.

Those are among the findings of a new study of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors, released this week from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

Overall, the survey found that many Protestant pastors have taken a liking to Pope Francis.

2/“Namaste Nation” – New 2016 Study Shows Staggering Growth in Yoga in America!

Yoga Alliance:  The newly released 2016 Yoga in America Study Conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance shows that the number of US yoga practitioners has increased to more than 36 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012, while annual practitioner spending on yoga classes, clothing, equipment, and accessories rose to $16 billion, up from $10 billion over the past four years.

Survey data for this comprehensive study of the consumer yoga market was collected by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance.

3/Meditation Has Become A Billion-Dollar Business

Fortune Magazine: In 2015 the meditation and mindfulness industry raked in nearly $1 billion, according to research by IBISWorld, which breaks out the category from the alternative health care sector. But even that doesn’t count the revenue from the nearly 1000 mindfulness apps now available, according to Sensor Tower (top app Headspace recently raised $30 million and has been downloaded 6 million times), or the burgeoning category of wearable gadgets designed to help people Zen out (the popular Muse connected headband measures brain activity during meditation for $299).

4/Berlin’s House of One: a Church, a Mosque and a Synagogue Under One Roof

The UK Guardian: . . . A group of Christians, Muslims and Jews is trying to crowdsource funds to build a place where they can all worship: Berlin’s “House of One” is aiming to become the world’s first building to combine a church, a synagogue and a mosque under one roof.

5/Meet the new campus Gestapo

Washington Post: On campuses across America, the Thought Police have a new tool: Bias Response Teams, administrators who crack down on classroom insensitivity.

More than 100 US colleges have set up BRTs. The newshounds at Heat Street last week dug up a taste of how it works.

A professor at the University of Northern Colorado got visited by the school’s Bias Response Team — for imploring his students to think about opposing viewpoints.

6/Orthodox Christian Leaders End Historic Meeting

Associated Press: The leaders of the world’s Orthodox Christian churches ended a historic gathering on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday hoping to repeat the meeting within a decade, despite a boycott by the Russian church—the most populous in a religion of some 300 million people — and three other churches.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I led prayers attended by the 10 Orthodox church leaders who attended to mark the end of the weeklong Holy and Great Council — the first of its kind in more than 1,200 years.

7/Ten More States Sue Obama Admin Over Requirement to Allow Boys in Girls’ Restrooms – [That Makes 22!]

Christian News Network: Ten more states have filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its requirement that school districts allow male students who identify as female and vice versa to use the restroom that correlates with their “gender identity.”

Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming now join the list of states that are challenging directives from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice issued in May.

8/World Vision’s Gaza Manager Funneled Millions to Hamas

NBC News: Israel has accused a manager working for U.S.-headquartered Christian charity World Vision of funneling millions of dollars to Islamist militant group Hamas. Mohammad El Halabi, was arrested by Israel on June 15 while crossing the border into Gaza, World Vision said in a statement. He was charged by Israeli authorities on Thursday. He had run the organization’s Gaza operations since 2010.

9/Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and Israel

Jerusalem Post: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran denomination in the US, passed two Israel-related resolutions earlier this month at its triennial assembly in New Orleans. One resolution established an “investment screen” that will recommend where Lutherans should invest their money with regard to Israel and the Palestinians. The other urged a cutoff of US aid to Israel unless Israel meets a series of conditions, and calls for the immediate US recognition of “the state of Palestine.” . . . David Brog, of Christians United for Israel, said in a statement that the resolutions “blame Israel and only Israel for the conflict in the Middle East.

10/Pope Urges Lutherans to Set Aside Doctrine to Work Together

Associated Press: Pope Francis urged Lutherans to set aside doctrinal differences Thursday and work with Catholics to care for the poor, the sick and refugees as he laid out his vision for greater communion before his visit to Sweden later this month.

Francis greeted about 1,000 Lutherans who were visiting the Vatican on an ecumenical pilgrimage. They had arrived in Rome from Germany, where Martin Luther famously sparked the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 theses to a church door to challenge the abuses of the Catholic Church.

Francis will mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation with his Oct. 31-Nov. 1 visit to Sweden, where he will participate in an ecumenical service with the Lutheran World Federation.

1/Jesuit Pope Francis, Pastor Rick Warren And The Coming One-World Religion for Peace

By Roger Oakland
Understand the Times

Hardly a day goes by without news relating to Bible prophecy and especially the advancing trend towards a global religion for the cause of peace. It seems there are few who understand this is what the Bible predicts will happen on planet earth before the return of Jesus Christ to set up His Kingdom.

2/Terror Against Israel

By Tony Pearce
Light For the Last Days Ministries (UK)

Israel is in the grip of a terror offensive as Palestinians have been attacking Israelis with knives and driving their cars at them. Between September 13 and November 30, 2015, 22 Israelis were killed and 215 wounded.

The attacks began after false accusations that Israel was defiling the Al Aqsa Mosque (on the site of the former Jewish Temple in Jerusalem). Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been telling his people that Israel was planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and “change the Arab and Islamic character and identity” of Jerusalem. He condemned Jews for “defiling the Aqsa Mosque with their filthy feet.” Radical Islamist and terrorist elements are calling on Palestinian youth to murder Jews. Statements by Fatah and Hamas have described the attacks as “heroic actions” and “the natural response to Israel”s crimes.”

3/The Rising Storm and a Clarion Call for Humility, Truth, and Repentance

By Chris Lawson
Spiritual Research Network

Filmed between a 45-minute break between down-pouring rain and a storm system approaching from the horizon, this unscripted, impromptu video expresses my heart and desire to see people in the Calvary Chapel movement (and other movements) helped and healed and strengthened in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in these last days.

I have no desire to divide the Body of Christ or needlessly offend anyone who is in Calvary Chapel movement and beyond. I am simply sharing my heart and God’s truth in light of a number of observations I have seen growing for over 25 years now in the Calvary Chapel movement. Things now have become so blatant in the rising storm of ecumenical apostasy that only sincere prayer and publicly declared clarion calls for humility, truth, and repentance will make any difference at all. My prayer is that God Himself by His Spirit and His Word will raise up clarion voices around the globe in this late hour.

As a Christian missionary and as a former Calvary Chapel pastor for many years, I have been observing a growing trend of too many people remaining silent on far too many major ecumenical compromises. A host of other issues are also of concern.

4/Guideposts: Teaching Little Children to Blaspheme

By Cedric Fisher
TruthKeepers

Recently, I was in a hospital waiting room and reluctantly picked up an issue of Guidepost Magazine. I very seldom read Guidepost because the long-time publisher, Norman Vincent Peale, promotes heresy and diabolical religions. He has also denied the virgin birth and the necessity of being born again.

As I perused the magazine, I landed on an article by Anna Gentile, a hospital chaplain. The article was about Guideposts and Gentile’s work with sick children.

5/Andy Stanley’s Dangerous Path – Tells SBC Leaders “Get the spotlight off the Bible.”

By Jim Fletcher

Late last month, the Southern Baptist Convention’s “Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission” (ERLC) hosted another self-serving conference in Nashville, titled “Onward” (shockingly, the same title as that of the ERLC chief’s new book; it’s about the marketing, stupid). Stanley was invited to speak. Boy, did he.

While ERLC President Russell Moore looked on grinning, Andy Stanley said the following: “I would ask preachers and pastors and student pastors in their communications to get the spotlight off the Bible and back on the resurrection.”

6/The Hijacking of the Calvary Chapel Movement into the Coming One-World Religion

By Roger Oakland
Understand the Times

The commentary you are about to read has been written with much prayer and thought. I have not written it impulsively or with ill motive but rather believe God has compelled me to testify of things that have gone unspoken of and hidden in secret for too long. For the sake of the body of Christ and the furtherance of the Gospel, the secret things in darkness need to be exposed.

There are a number of low-profile Calvary Chapel pastors starting to ask questions. Chuck Smith, the founder of the movement, seemed to be biblically sound and determined to serve the Lord throughout his many years of ministry. Toward the end of his ministry, it appears there were strange bedfellows planted around him who in earlier years he would have avoided. So what happened? The purpose of this commentary will be to answer that question.

Chuck Smith attributed the growth and the strength of the Calvary Chapel movement to the Holy Spirit and not to man-designed gimmicks or human effort. He never wavered from that position until the day he died. He called Calvary Chapel “His Church.” While there were those who had some questions about strange things going on behind the scenes, the Calvary ship sailed pretty well most of the time.

7/Fed Up With False Teaching: Calvary Chapel Church Says “So Long” to the CC Association

By Berean Research

Fed up with false teaching: Calvary Chapel church says “So Long” to the CC Association – Berean Research

A Calvary Chapel pastor who warned of false teachings and apostate movements seeping into the Calvary Chapel organization has been removed from his regional leadership position, and is now removing his local congregation out of the Calvary Chapel Association altogether.Pastor Dwight Douville of Calvary Chapel Appleton Wisconsin was informed last month that he was being removed from his position as a regional leader, a position he’s held for many years. Why? He says because personal friendships have been put above doctrinal truth, muddying the waters of what Calvary Chapels are all about. And because he advocated for maintaining and staying the course while calling out wolves and yeast seeping into Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and the organization as a whole since the death of founder Chuck Smith.

8/The Spirit of Antichrist—in the Church

By Mike Oppenheimer
Let Us Reason Ministries

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Paul warns us that at the end of the age, inside the church, there will be teachings of demons—quite a serious charge. That it will be a time that is extremely dangerous to believers who do not know the Word correctly and do not watch what they are being taught.

The Devil has tailor-made deceptions for every church in every age; he knows the people’s weaknesses and propensities to do wrong in certain areas. He will use whomever he can in whatever capacity he can to bring confusion, falsehoods, and destruction—especially if he can target a church’s pastor. Contrary to popular teaching, the Devil, who is the greatest of angelic creatures, is of the highest intelligence, has power, and is often underestimated in his scheming by those who think they can bind him.

9/New Age Leader Deepak Chopra Asks? “Will Pope Francis Become a Holy Man for the World?”

By Ray Yungen 

In an article released in January 2016 written by New Age leader Deepak Chopra titled, “Will Pope Francis Become a Holy Man for the World?,” Chopra states,

Pope Francis I is poised to be more than a very popular pontiff . . . He could rise to become a symbol of holiness beyond the Catholic Church. . . . for those of us who aren’t Catholic, there’s a universal message voiced personally by the Pope: “No one can be excluded from God’s mercy. The question, then, is how potent this mission will be.

Chopra says that “millions of non-Catholics feel a fresh wind blowing” because of the Pope’s actions and that Pope Francis has “become a spiritual exemplar.”

In the article, Chopra gives some advice to Pope Francis, that he not become another “theological” pope but rather  one with a “higher consciousness” and like the “Jesus” who was not theological but rather “enlightened.”

10/Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga Infiltration of Major School Systems

By Lois Putnam

Miami-Dade County Schools Partner with Mindful Kids Miami

Miami-Dade County Schools (Fourth Largest School District in the U.S.A.) is being transformed into a mindfulness-yoga school system through its partnership with Mindful Kids Miami, and its mindfulness lady leader–Valerie York-Zimmerman.

Yes, grades Pre-K through 12, students as well as teachers and administrators will be instructed in mindfulness meditation. Training centers have been set up all over Miami even in the sanctuary of the “most progressive church in the city”–Riviera Presbyterian Church (USA).  Recently Riviera adherents proudly held up a banner reading, “We All Are God’s Beloved Children: No Exceptions!”

(Listed in order of date posted)

1/A History of AWANA’s Contemplative Track Record and the Implications of Their New CEO

On March 9th of this year, a press release came out announcing the retirement of long-time AWANA president Jack Eggar who was being replaced by an interim president and CEO, Valerie Bell. Bell is a member of Willow Creek (and her husband is a Vice President of Willow Creek Association). The fact alone that AWANA has selected someone from Willow Creek to lead AWANA should be enough to show that AWANA has at least in part absorbed the spirituality of Willow Creek, which is the spirituality of the emerging church (and that is NOT guilt by association). But the selection of Valerie Bell has even deeper roots in the “new” spirituality.

2/Christian Homeschoolers Targeted by “Christ-Centered Energy Healing” Organization

“Are you looking for reliable, Christ-centered information and healing that is safe, affordable and that really does work? Are you sick & tired of being sick & tired? Are you a healer or are you searching for effective healing that is Christ-centered? You have found your tribe.”

So says Tammy Anderson Ward, President of Hope Haven Events, who presents the “Christ-Centered Energy Healing Conferences.” If Christ-centered energy healing sounds like an oxymoron, that’s because it is. And all one needs to do is cruise around on the  website to see that the nature of these conferences is blatantly New Age. But we’ll get to that in a little bit. The group is reaching out to a broad audience and is being billed as “the world’s largest Christ-centered energy healing conference;” but what caught the attention of Lighthouse Trails and author Ray Yungen more than anything is that they are reaching out to homeschool kids and parents, a traditionally conservative segment of the population.

3/DRESS REHEARSAL FOR A FALSE REVIVAL? – Evangelical, Charismatic, Emerging Leaders, & Pope Francis Unite for “Together 2016” in Washington, DC

According to a news release from PRWire titled “Pope Francis To Address Americans At National Mall Event ’Together 2016’ With Special Video Message,” Pope Francis will be joining (via video) evangelical leaders such as Ravi Zacharias, Luis Palau, Michael W. Smith, and Josh McDowell, emerging-church leaders such as Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Jennie Allen (IF), and Mark Batterson (Circle Maker) and charismatic leaders such as Sammy Rodriguez and Hillsong for an event motivated by a goal to bring unity to all those who “love Jesus.” The event is called “Together 2016,” subtitled Fill the Mall.

4/Evangelical/Ecumenical Leaders Together in “The Gathering” Raises Serious Questions

On June 13, Lighthouse Trails reported on an event called Together 2016 that will take place this summer in Washington DC. We explained that organizer Nick Hall was bringing together evangelical, emerging, charismatic, and Catholic leaders for the ecumenical purpose of uniting together. A special video appearance by Pope Francis will be part of the event. A similar event (but without the Pope) has been announced. The Gathering: A National Solemn Assembly will take place in September in Dallas, Texas, and while there doesn’t appear to be any direct promotion of the Roman Catholic religion as there is with Together 2016, there is a definite united-we-stand-regardless-of-our-beliefs scenario in The Gathering.

5/Brian Brodersen and Greg Laurie’s “Bigger Picture of Christianity”

As we observe evangelical Christianity being drawn toward “the Mother Church” of Roman Catholicism, it is amazing to see how very few Christian leaders speak up about this. On the contrary, one after the next, Christian leaders are succumbing to this ecumenical, interfaith last-days apostasy of merging evangelicalism into the Catholic fold. Lighthouse Trails has reported on numerous examples of highly influential evangelical leaders heading in this direction: Rick Warren, Beth Moore, James Robison, and Ken Copeland to name a few.

Today, we received two different e-mails that provided information to show the continuance of this evangelical move toward Rome. In the first e-mail sent by Roger Oakland of Understand the Times, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa senior pastor Brian Brodersen was brought to our attention. Brodersen is beginning an online YouTube series called Things That Matter.

6/Erwin Lutzer Tells Skip Heitzig’s Church: Don’t Attack False Teachers, But Spiritual Disciplines Are “Absolutely Critical”!

Last week, a colleague sent a note to Lighthouse Trails asking us to review a sermon that Erwin Lutzer recently gave at Skip Heitzig’s Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque (New Mexico) Church. Lighthouse Trails has issued challenges and appeals to Erwin Lutzer on a number of occasions over the past ten years because of our concerns that as a major Christian leader (Pastor Emeritus (as of spring 2016) of Moody Church  – the same church Dr. Harry Ironside and D.L. Moody pastored many years ago), Lutzer would lead many astray because of his written endorsement of Larry Crabb’s book, The Papa Prayer, that openly promotes “centering prayer.” An editor from Lighthouse Trails spoke personally on the phone with Lutzer in 2006 but to no avail.

7/Christian Leaders Finally Beginning to Speak Out About Jesus Calling, Saying: “WE LOVE IT!!”

For three years, Lighthouse Trails has been warning believers about Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling. It was October 25th 2013 that we announced going to press with Warren B. Smith’s book “Another Jesus” Calling. Since then, we have published three booklets by Warren on the topic as well as several articles. We also sent his booklet 10 Scriptural Reasons Jesus Calling is a Dangerous Book to over 100 Christian leaders earlier this year. Interestingly, in these past few years, we’ve heard virtually no public comments by Christian leaders about Jesus Calling – for or against. We wondered, “Do they like the book and are too afraid to say so?” or “Do they NOT like the book and are too afraid to say so?” Afraid that if they stated their true feelings about the book – whether for or against – they would take heat from either their followers who love the book or from discernment ministries who warn about the book. Well, apparently, all that doesn’t matter anymore because leaders are starting to speak up about Jesus Calling – and the ones who are, LOVE IT!

8/InterVarsity Comes Under Heat for Trying to Make a Stand Against Same-Sex Marriage – But Straddling the Fence is Hard to Do

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has come under public heat because it recently announced they were giving an ultimatum to employees who saw nothing wrong with same-sex (homosexual) marriage. In a Charisma magazine article (we are not endorsing Charisma), the author states:

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is one of the leading campus ministries, and its publishing arm, InterVarsity Press, is one of the top Christian publishers. But this fine ministry is learning the hard way that, when it comes to homosexuality, you cannot straddle the fence.1

The reason the Charisma writer says “straddle the fence” is because InterVarsity Press has been publishing emergent, contemplative, New Age/New Spirituality authors for a long time, and mixing truth with error has finally caught up with them.

9/LifeWay Resources (SBC) Stops Selling Same-Sex Marriage Promoter Jen Hatmaker . . . But LifeWay Still Not Seeing the Big Picture

According to a Christianity Today article, LifeWay Resources (the Southern Baptist Convention resource arm) has stopped selling products by Jen Hatmaker because of her promotion of same-sex marriage. The CT article stated:

Jen Hatmaker posted a 650-word response on her Facebook page Monday, saying she “wrestled with and through Scripture, not around it” before coming to a decision to affirm same-sex relationships, which recently led to LifeWay Christian Resources pulling her books from its stores.

Hatmaker has been the topic of Lighthouse Trails articles and Cedric Fisher’s booklet called IF it is of God: Answering the Questions About IF: Gathering as she is part of the group of women who head up the women’s movement called IF: Gathering.

10/Pope Francis Proposes New Beatitude – to See God in Every Person

According to an article in the Catholic Herald, Pope Francis has proposed six new beatitudes. The article states:

At the Mass, which took place at the conclusion of his ecumenical trip to the country, Pope Francis highlighted the lives of the Swedish saints Elizabeth Hesselblad and Bridget of Vadstena.  . . . New situations require new energy and a new commitment, he said, and then offered a new list of Beatitudes for modern Christians.

Four of the “new beatitudes” had to do with forgiving others, caring about the earth, and helping the poor and needy. One of them was ecumenical in nature: — Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians [meaning Christians and Catholics], and the second resonated with earlier comments Pope Francis has made to indicate that this pope is not only ecumenical, he is also interspiritual (all paths lead to God) and panentheistic (God is in all).

By Bill Randles

President Obama’s term is almost over (God willing), but in one of his last attempts to express his disdain for the only Democracy in the Middle East, and our Ally, Israel, he has denounced Jewish settlement building in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). Normally, the U.S. would veto such a brazen vote (a vote that puts incredible pressure on the state of Israel to “cease immediately all development of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem”).

Within two days of the uniquely conjoined holidays of Christmas and Hannukah, the U.N.security council  voted for a resolution which would criminalize Israeli settlements, subject Jewish soldiers defending their homeland to international tribunals, and cede the entire West Bank, (Judea) to the “Palestinians,” cede East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, and criminalize any construction of Jewish dwellings there, as “obstacles to the two state solution.”

In view of this outrage, I am reposting a teaching from the prophet Joel to demonstrate the stunning relevance of this passage to the current Geo-political situation. This teaching is an excerpt from my 2010 book, A Sword On The land-The Muslim World in Bible Prophecy.

God Sues the Nations . . .  Joel 3

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. (Joel 3:1-3)

Joel, the biblical prophet, who ministered between 835-800 BC, prophesied with amazing clarity Geo-political events that are occurring right before our very eyes.

To demonstrate this, allow me to unpack Joel, chapter three.

*The Time of fulfillment: “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem . . . .” This prophecy is slated for the time when God would bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem; that is, it is going to be fulfilled post 1948.

* I will also gather all nations: The literal possibility for this aspect of the prophecy is only recent, for at no other time in human history has there been even a possibility for the “gathering of all nations” since the Tower of Babel judgment.

All nations have indeed been assembled into a congress, the United Nations, which arose, like Israel, out of the aftermath of World War II in the late 1940s. As Psalm 2 predicts, “the kings of the earth and their rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His Christ.”

* Valley of Jehoshaphat: “ . . . and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat . . .” The point is not that there is or isn’t an actual geographical valley of Jehoshaphat, the point is that the name Jehoshaphat is part of the prophesy. It means “Jahweh shall Judge,” i.e. God shall judge the nations of the earth.

It could also be a reminder of the story of the siege of Judah in the days of King Jehoshaphat, in which after repentance and a national day of prayer and fasting, the instruction was given not to fear the combined gentile armies of Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites.

This is the battle where Judah, at God’s command, marched the Priests out front of the army, with instruments instead of weapons, and praised the goodness of the Lord! The enemy turned upon itself and was routed.

* “ . . . and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel . . . ” This is not a prediction that God will ask the nations to go easy on Israel. This is legal language. God is going to slap a lawsuit upon the nations; he is serving an indictment, for this is the court of Divine justice!

The indictment has four counts, 1) they scattered God’s people, 2) they parted God’s land, 3) they cast lots for God’s people, and 4) they sold out the children of Israel, for the hire of a harlot, and for wine.

My people, whom they have scattered among the nations— The nations of the world indeed scattered the children of Israel, thoroughly across the world; it is not unusual even to this day to find a tribe in remote China, India, or even black Africa, who keep kosher and observe other practices of the Jews, though cut off for centuries from the rest of the world.

But one could argue that this was exactly what God told Israel would happen should they prove faithless.

And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.(Leviticus 26:33)

So why is there an indictment on the nations of the world for doing exactly what God said they would do? We have to turn to Zechariah for the answer:

And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.(Zechariah 1:15)

God is bringing suit against the nations because though He used them to scatter the children of Israel, and to afflict them, they have taken it further than He wanted.

The nations were “at ease” when holocausts and pogroms were occurring—it didn’t bother them. Hitler was offering shiploads of German Jews to any nation that would shelter them, but there were no takers. He then knew that his “final solution” was possible to undertake without international interference.

All through the 1940s into the 1990s, the word of the nations to Israel, in the midst of intifada and terror campaigns was “don’t rock the boat” and inflame the Arabs, give them “land for peace” so that oil prices would be stable.

The nations could overlook the Palestinian bombings and murder campaigns, the slaughter of children, women, Olympic athletes, etc., for they themselves were “at ease.” This is what is bringing upon the world the final judgment.

The second indictment against the nations of the world is that they have participated in the partition of God’s land. This will bring judgment to the world.

* Israel isn’t the property of the UN, the Vatican, the European Union, or the Arabs; neither is it the property of Israel, for it belongs to God himself.

The land shall not be sold for ever [permanently]: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. (Leviticus 25:23)

Therefore, for the nations of the world to deliberate at the UN, or in Rome or Washington or Cairo as to the disposal of the Holy Land and its borders, as if it were theirs to dispose of is arrogant presumption.

Not even the Jews have the right to trade land for peace, although the leadership of Israel being for the most part secular in their outlook, would desperately love to do so if it would bring peace.

Currently, this prophecy is being fulfilled by the insistence of the UN that Israel return to its pre-1967 borders (rendering it indefensible), as well as the pressure everted to cede the Gaza, and the so-called “West Bank” territory, which is biblically named “Judea and Samaria.”

The United States, under the Obama administration, has been insisting upon a “No Natural growth” policy for Judea, which means that the number of Jewish settlers there is to be “capped,” allowing for no further growth in population. This would effectively strangle the existing population, forcing the remaining Jews to leave.

While Arab leaders, International statesmen, “human Rights” champions of every stripe, the Pope, the presidents of the free world, UN delegates, and a host of other parliamentarians the world over heatedly debate the “status” of Jerusalem and the “legitimate” borders of Israel, the Holy God of the Bible observes.

It would be well to remember the Words of the prophet Ezekiel in his prophecy to the “West Bank,” that is the mountains of Judea:

Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord: 2 thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: 3 therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. . . .

But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10 and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded. (Ezekiel 36:1-10)

Used with permission.

From Roger Oakland
Understand the Times, International

 

If you cannot hear this radio broadcast, click here.