Christ Among Other Gods‏‏

Hello Friends!

Whether or not all religions are equally true can be easily determined by examining the character of the One who founded Christianity – Jesus Christ. There is a fascinating story from Erwin Lutzer that explains why...

Christ Among Other Gods

Dr. Erwin Lutzer is the pastor of the historic Moody Church in downtown Chicago, he is also an outstanding author. Back in 1994, he attended in Chicago a major symposium on the religions of the world. Dr. Lutzer walked the convention center, visiting with some of the 7,000 attendees. He describes his experience noted below in his superb book called, Christ Among Other Gods:

      I walked through the display area in search of a sinless prophet/teacher/Savior. I asked a Hindu Swami whether any of their teachers claimed sinlessness. "No," he said, appearing irritated with my question, "If anyone claims he is sinless, he is not a Hindu!"

What about Buddha? No, I was told, he didn't claim sinlessness. He found a group of ascetics and preached sermons to them. He taught that all outward things are only distractions and encouraged a life of discipline and contemplation. He sought enlightenment and urged his followers to do the same. He died seeking enlightenment. No sinlessness here.

What about Baha ullah? He claimed he had a revelation from God that was more complete and more enlightened than those before him. Though he was convinced of the truth of his teachings, he made few personal claims. He thought his writings were "more perfect" than others, but he never claimed perfection or sinlessness for himself.

When I came to the representatives of the Muslim faith, I already knew that in the Koran the prophet Mohammed admitted he was in need of forgiveness. They agreed. "There is one God, Allah, and Mohammed was not perfect." Again, no sinlessness there.

Why was I searching for a sinless Savior? Because I don't want to have to trust a Savior who is in the same predicament as I am. I can't trust my eternal soul to someone who is still working through his own imperfections. Since I'm a sinner, I need someone who is standing on higher ground.

Understandably, none of the religious leaders I spoke with even claimed to have a Savior. Their prophets, they said, showed the way, but made no pretense to be able to personally forgive sins or transform so much as a single human being. Like a street sign, they gave directions, but were not able to take us where we need to go. If we need any saving, we will have to do it ourselves.

The reason is obvious: No matter how wise, no matter how gifted, no matter how influential other prophets, gurus, and teachers might be, they had the presence of mind to know that they were imperfect just like the rest of us. They never even presumed to be able to reach down into the murky water of human depravity and bring sinners into the presence of God. Erwin Lutzer, Christ Among Other Gods (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), p. 62-64

     

      What did Jesus and those who knew Him have to say about His sinless life? Here are just a few examples found in the Holy Scriptures:

• He pointed out hypocrisy in the lives of His critics, but none of them returned the compliment: "Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?" - John 8:46
• Judas, an apparent friend turned enemy, testified, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" - Matthew 27:4
• Pontius Pilate, who needed to come up with a charge against Christ, confessed, "I find no fault in this man" - Luke 23:4
• Peter, who personally lived with Him for three years, said He "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" - 1 Peter 2:22
• The apostle Paul explained that God the Father "made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Not all religions are created equal because not all founders of religions are equal.

Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

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A "Critical Moment": Obama, Beck & Rome‏

Hello Friends!

Satan is very clever. In recent days, it appears the enemy of our soul is using President Obama and Glenn Beck, along with Beck’s ecumenical friends, to achieve his ultimate goal of distorting the Gospel of Jesus Christ and building a false, world-wide church...

A "Critical Moment": Obama, Beck & Rome

This strategy begins by using Obama to scare false "converts", theologically weak Christians, and various evangelical leaders directly into the waiting arms of Mormon Glenn Beck, his ecumenical friends and ultimately a Revived Holy Roman Empire. Interestingly enough, Glenn Beck recently returned home from a trip to the Vatican and wrote about his global spiritual agenda to "fight against the forces of evil"... 

Enter: The Hegelian Dialectic Process

Satan’s controlling of the thesis, Obama, and the antithesis, Glenn Beck, has resulted in the accomplishment of one major goal - driving evangelicals to embrace false teachers, a false gospel and a false Jesus, which results in building the false church that Satan will use to build his demonic one-world kingdom here on earth as described in the book of Revelation, chapter 17. 

One example of how all this is taking shape

This process can be discerned through the recent activities of people like televangelist James Robison who praises the Mormon faith of Glenn Beck. Robison has recently written a book with Catholic leader Jay Richards titled Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before It's Too Late and contains a foreword written by Jesuit Priest Joseph Fessio of Ignatius Press. The book’s description fits the goals of the Roman Jesuit Order perfectly, as it declares that this book:

 “…needs to be set on a lampstand-of how Catholics and Evangelicals can and must work together at this critical moment in our country’s history.”

Indeed this “critical moment” - or manufactured crisis - has been orchestrated in part by Obama who himself admitted that Gregory Galluzzo, a former Jesuit Priest, was a key player in his 2008 presidential election. It is very interesting to note that there is a Jesuit on the side of Obama (left) and a Jesuit on the opposite side with the New Religious Right (right). 

Herein lies how the Hegelian dialectic is utilized by the Jesuit Order, as is openly documented by TIME Magazine back in April of 1973. History itself clearly proves that the ultimate goal of the Jesuit Order is the deconstructing of absolute truth and Biblical Christianity in order to create a "Counter Reformation" to push Protestants back to the ecumenical church of Rome. The Jesuit Order (Society of Jesus - IHS) was founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540 to destroy the Counter Reformation and was responsible for the murder of some 50 million Christian Reformers during its 600-plus year inquisition.  

Sadly, numerous “Christian” radio stations, networks, and New Religious Right leaders are interviewing and promoting the ecumenical agenda of James Robison, Jay Richards, and the Jesuit Priest that wrote their book foreword. Many so-called evangelicals and New Religious Right leaders are also embracing former Catholic-turned-Mormon, Glenn Beck who recently met with officials at the Vatican, as noted above. 

Consider what has been accomplished by Satan through such men as Glenn Beck and Barrack Obama. Unfortunately, few individuals will have the necessary understanding of history, radical philosophies, the Holy Scriptures, the Jesuit Order, or the Hegelian Dialectic Process to understand and discern what is clearly taking place in our world today. 

Time is short…

 
We as Christians must be praying for the salvation of these lost souls. May they repent of their evil deeds, receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and serve Him alone - before it’s too late. In this life, we either serve God or Satan; there is no middle-ground. It’s Heaven or Hell. Don’t be deceived! The choice is yours to make. Today is the day of Salvation!


Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The "Useful" Church

Hello Friends!

Many clergy have been used and abused by politicians and made as props for as long as there have been politics. For example, well-known in the political world – shared and confirmed by the late Chuck Colson – is how Richard Nixon would "wine and dine" key pastors, give them the red carpet treatment and send them home to be good "mouthpieces" for the cause. Not to mention Hitler's Jesuitical co-opting tactics of the German church...

The "Useful" Church

Pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church in Illinois is one of the driving forces behind the "seeker friendly" phenomena that essentially neutralized the evangelical church as a moral force over the last 30 years. I personally know many pastors who believe him to be a decent man who loves God and is sincere. However, his own admittance of the failure of the "Willow Creek Model" to create true biblical disciples did not undo the massive damage this "Christianity light" has done to the church. And as a result, has been slowly destroying the strong godly influence in our nation.

Hybels willingness to use failed leaders like Jimmy Carter in his annual "Leadership Summit" as a model of such also reveals either no discernment or lack of consistent biblical standards in that widely viewed conference. My point? When highly influential pastors like Bill Hybels, Rick Warren (e.g., his support of Tony Blair's "one-world religion" Faith Foundation) and Joel Osteen (e.g., his giving thanks to God for "raising up" activist lesbian mayor of Houston, Annise Parker) give cover to reprobate politicians, they yield not only their own moral high ground and influence, but that of pastors all over the nation whom they are perceived to represent.

The other concern is that pastors bitten with the market-driven, seeker-friendly, church-growth bug spread by Hybels and his progeny have established large churches, big budgets and big visibility but are so far removed from political decision making, they are a joke when they step to the microphone in this manner. Do you not think that Obama and his Chicago squad know very well that Hybels is never likely to risk any disfavor by exerting confrontational leadership on what we would define to be conservative issues and values?

Politicians often use the same strategy employed by tyrants and regimes throughout world history who routinely parade as puppets representing the "opposition" to prove how benevolent and inclusive they are. That, of course, occurs after they have imprisoned, intimidated or killed those who are any threat. Obama's anti-Christian, anti-life, anti-marriage, anti-constitutional and anti-American policies, in my opinion, prove he has no legitimate interest in hearing from pastors like Hybels. He in fact would use the church in the same way as a previous leader on a different continent.

As Erwin Lutzer illustrates magnificently in his must-read book, "Hitler's Cross," the theologically shallow and nationalistic nature of the German clergy proved easy pickings for Hitler. Lutzer states:

"The swastika was, in effect, adopted as the new cross in the very cathedral where Luther has preached the cross of Christ four hundred years before!"

The legitimate and proper role of the pulpits in relation to our governing leaders is as the prophetic voice of God's absolute truth upon which their authority rests. As a nation, we should heed the words uttered by the "Father of the American Revolution," Samuel Adams:

"We have this day restored the Sovereign, to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come."

Lest any be confused about to which Sovereign Adams was referring, read his statement to the state legislature as governor of Massachusetts:

"I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world… that the confusions that are and have been among the nations may be overruled by the promoting and speedily bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people bow to the scepter of Him who is the Prince of Peace."

I believe it right, appropriate and vital that the voice of pastors be heard on all issues of our day, serving as godly influences first to our congregants/citizens, then to our public servants. However, the words of Solomon must be heeded to avoid evil snares:

When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are a man of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for it is deceptive food - Proverbs 23:1-3

We need patriot pastors holding elected officials accountable to God's standards, not serving as pawns by enemies of our faith and our country. May God bless America!

Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

The Bible and American Slavery‏

Hello Friends!

Much could be said about the horrors of American slavery. In an honest assessment of the Bible’s teaching on this despicable stain on American history, one would come to the realization that Scripture actually stands in direct opposition to the slave trade…

The Bible and American Slavery

It is often said today that a literal reading of the Scripture was used to validate American slavery. This argument is totally flawed. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. Yes, the Bible does say in Ephesians 6:5 “slaves, obey your masters” However, the kind of slavery described in the Bible is fundamentally different than the kind of slavery that was practiced in America, and any honest historian should know that fact. Here are four reasons why a literal reading of the Bible actually condemns the institution of American slavery:

1)     Kidnapping someone for any purpose - especially for the purpose of slavery - is a capital crime in the Bible. Exodus 21:16 reads: “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” This passage, if treated literally, would have ended the American institution of slavery.

2)     Slavery in Old Testament times was fundamentally different than American slavery. It was an institution of mercy, which people entered voluntarily, for the purpose of providing for their families. It was not based on the kidnapping, sale, and ownership of individuals. As it is written in Exodus 21:2, slaves were released very six years: “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.” There is no concept of perpetual slavery found in the Bible.

3)     The Bible prohibits returning run-away slaves to their masters. Deuteronomy 23:15-16 forbids fugitive slave laws: “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.”  If a slave runs away, he is given his freedom and is allowed to dwell “wherever it suits him.”

4)     In the Roman world, where kidnapping for slavery was more common, the New Testament says that a person who sinned in such a way was not welcome in the church. In 1 Timothy 1:10, the Apostle Paul writes that “enslavers” have no place in the kingdom of God: “the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine…” The Greek word used for “enslavers” refers to those who took people into slavery against their will.

The Bible clearly condemns both the act of kidnapping and the ownership of a person against his or her will. One can either believe these passages or reject them. In this debate, those holding to slave era hermeneutics ignore the clear teaching of the Scripture in this matter.

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Jerusalem: Past, Present & Prophetic‏

Hello Friends!

In the Bible, we find in the Old Testament book of I Samuel the record of the first King of Israel, King Saul. Then in 2 Samuel we find the record of the second King of Israel, King David. Let’s refer to the Scriptures for more information pertaining to Israel and the plan of God for this land and its people…

Jerusalem: Past, Present & Prophetic

And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake - II Samuel 5:12

In the first chapter of II Samuel David hears of the death of King Saul and we see his reaction to the King's death. David is then made King of Judah in chapter 2 and moves his family to Hebron to reign over this one tribe of the twelve tribes of Israel in chapter 3.

The event recorded here in II Samuel 5 took place 3,000 years ago which is very significant as it relates to Jerusalem, both politically and prophetically. The men of the tribe of Judah had come to David to appoint the now grown-up shepherd boy of Bethlehem as king of their tribe, II Samuel 2:4, how-be-it, only one of the tribes of the twelve of Israel.

King David would serve as King of Judah for 7 and a half years before all the tribal leaders of Israel would come to him where he served in Hebron, to make him the King of all twelve tribes. King David made a league with them before the Lord and they anointed David King over Israel. Now David must find a neutral location to headquarter his kingdom, some location other than Hebron. David's search took him to a Jebusite stronghold between the tribal locations of Benjamin and Judah known as Jerusalem.

After capturing the city, King David makes Jerusalem the political capital of the Jewish people. By the way, that was done some 3,000 years ago - before the Islamic faith came into existence.

Jerusalem, and in particular the Temple Mount, became the political center for the Jews. The Jews were occupying the Temple Mount over 1,000 years before the Muslims were ever in existence - especially before the prophet of the Islamic faith, Mohammed, ever thought of riding a horse from the stone under the Dome of the Rock into heaven to meet with Allah. The truth be known, the Quran never even mentions Jerusalem and most Islamic scholars debate whether Mohammad ever was in Jerusalem.

King David has an actual historically documented connection to the Temple Mount. The second King of Israel actually paid cash money for the Temple Mount, II Samuel 24:18-25, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. God made King David a promise - known as the Davidic Covenant - that there would be a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and one of his descendants would be there to serve as co-regent, administrator of the Temple Mount. The Davidic Covenant cannot be broken, however, there is one exception. If you can make the sun, the moon, and the stars disappear, then the Lord would forget all the promises He made to the "chosen people", Jeremiah 33:20-21, and King David.

God used this shepherd boy, giant killer and natural leader to not only lead the Jewish people in ancient times but He will also raise King David to serve alongside the Messiah Jesus Christ for the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom that is coming to Jerusalem - a kingdom that will be there forever!

That "kingdom" is yet to come and it will be a literal kingdom here on the Earth. But before that time there will be a "terrible time of judgment" known as the "Tribulation". This is a seven-year period of time of "judgment" on the Earth, which is preceded by the Rapture of the Church. The Church is made up of those of us who are true "Bible-believing born-again Christians". The Rapture, as I often remind you, could happen at any moment, even today. Keep looking up!

MARANATHA! – Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings on your studies and involvement in understanding and sharing the Truth!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you.  Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

 

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <>< 
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)