Many Paths to God: Lies Christians accept to make others Comfortable

I don't know about you all, but I am done with being the type of Christian that tells others things that make them comfortable. Before I really delve in to my topic, I want folks to know that I am not judging anyone. However, the scripture that will come up 99.9% of the time in the conversations about this has already been written about. 

Over the past few weeks, I have been watching different people state their Christian beliefs online, then as soon as someone offers to read their "cards" they jump on board with Tarot. While I understand the tarot is a pack of playing cards, used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini, French tarot and Austrian Königrufen, many of which are still played today. In the late 18th century, some tarot decks began to be used for divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy leading to custom decks developed for such occult purposes. Yet it is still dangerous as it opens the door to evil. 

In fact, the Nazi party was involved in the occult. As it turns out, the Nazi party incorporated occultism from its very start. The political group that would eventually become the Nazi party (the German Worker's Party, or DAP) was founded in part by individuals from the Thule Society, an esoteric group dedicated to studying the mythological origins of the Aryan race. Several prominent Nazis were either members or active within the society, including Rudolph Hess, who would become the deputy further to Hitler; Alfred Rosenburg, head of the ministry that oversaw Nazi Germany's occupied territories in Eastern Europe; and Dietrich Eckhart, who founded the DAP.

The Thule society's primary focus was on the study of Ariosophy, referring to wisdom regarding the Aryans founded by occultists Guido von List and Lanz von Liebenfels. These individual's beliefs would come to inform significant aspects of the Nazi state, such as von List's belief in the power of magical runes. The most glaring example of this would be the twin "sig" runes that formed the SS insignia.

Occult-related activities and organizations were often suppressed in Nazi Germany at the behest of Heinrich Himmler's Rasputin-like personal occultist, Karl Maria Wiligut. The point of this was to ensure that Wiligut's own brand of occultism would be the eminent philosophy of the Nazis. Wiligut had developed a religion centered on worshipping the Germanic god Irmin. 

The reason that the occult was so alluring to the Nazi is that it promises power. If someone is involved in the occult can provide secret information to an individual that only he knows, and the predict something that does indeed occurs then the occultist has secured power over the other person. Another reason is that the occult promises love, but it's not the divine unconditional love of God (agape), rather it's a psychosexual love (eros), which explains why many of those involved in the occult are immoral, recognizing only a standard of authority established by their own reasoning. The occult also provides a minute amount of certainty in an uncertain world. It provides a sense of belonging so desperately needed by those who reject the love of Jesus Christ. 

Let's take a look at Acts 13:6-12 

6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

A fulness of deceit and mischief together, make a man indeed a child of the devil. And those who are enemies to the doctrine of Jesus, are enemies to all righteousness; for in it all righteousness is fulfilled. The ways of the Lord Jesus are the only right ways to heaven and happiness. However, more than that, Acts 13 reveals God's attitude towards the Occult. 

According to Martin Walters, The Kingdom of the Occult states of the sorcerer/magician:

1. They are in league with Satan and possess certain supernatural powers.

2. They are false prophets.

3. They seek to influence people politically and ecclesiastically, particularly those in positions of power. (v. 6-7)

4. They attempt to prevent those who are seeking to hear the Word of God from learning it by opposing those who preach it. (v.8)

5. They deliberately attempt to divert prospective converts from the faith as their ultimate goal (v.8). 

Dr. Walters continues by contrasting to this, the judgement of the Holy Spirit is explicit: 

1. He calls such attempts and practices "Fully of all kinds of deceit and trickery" (v. 10-NIV)

2. He designates occultism and the occult as having its origin with the devil by calling Bar-Jesus "Son of the devil." (v. 10)

3. He unmasks the occultists' tactics and declares them to be enemies of all that is righteous. He calls them perverters of the Lord, which are designated as "straight," or right. (v. 10). 

The "religion" that the leaders of Black Lives Matter claim to practice is an ancient religion from Western Africa called Yoruba. One of the main practices of the Yoruba religion is divination. William Jones had attended predominantly African-American churches throughout the earlier part of his life and had considered himself to be a spiritual person. The Christian church just did not give him the personal attention he wanted.

Notice the article says it didn't give Jones the attention he sought. Not the attention that would glorify God. He wanted the attention himself. That is what false religions and the occult promise people. The attention they seek. 

You see God has been warning those after His heart for years not to go after practioners of the Occult. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

Leviticus 19:26-31 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

Isaiah 8:19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

There are scripture upon scripture telling us to not engage with the darkness. Christians need to stop letting people think there are many ways to Christ. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

How many of us know people who are choosing the wide way because it's easy? They are choosing the wide path because it is allowing them to live how ever they want without the discomfort of conviction that God brings to you life? They don't have to change? How many people do we know as Christians who support people in their every path leads to God? How many times have you been scared to say something because you didn't want to make people uncomfortable? 

There is a bumper sticker that I abhore. It says basically states that all religions are equal and should coexist, but the truth is that all religions are not equal. Christianity isn't a religion at all, it's a relationship. Friends we as Christians, need to stop making people feel comfortable, we need to stop with the I am okay, you are okay, we are all okay since that is not the truth. We are lying to people by telling them they are okay whatever path they choose. Sometimes I think people are scared to go out and minister to people. Some of us, if challenged, get defensive, we will stoop to the levels of others to get our points across. Even I am guilty of this. Instead we need to be willing to tell people that Christianity is the only path to God. We need to educate ourselves in apologetics so that we can speak to people and do so in a way that isn't offensive and being able to do this will bring more people to Christ. 

I have found that people are often times scared to walk up to the stranger in the street and strike up a conversation; my friend Tim used to be so good at this. He'd walk up to the most random stranger and say "Do you know my friend Jesus?" By the time the person checked out, he'd most likely exchanged numbers and began to build a relationship with that person. 

I have met several people over the past few weeks that don't believe in God and I have built relationships with them. I am comfortable enough to say "I don't agree with your lifestyle or I don't believe in what you do, but I care enough about you to still be your friend and to tell you the truth."

Christians we need to stop coddling people and actually tell them the truth. Yes, it will hurt. Yes, it will make them angry. Yes, it will possibly cost you their friendship, but hopefully in the end, it will help them come to a true relationship with Christ. 

The Battle is Here

There is a great war being waged in the world today. It is not a conflict between nations, tribes, or government leaders. It is not a rebellion or coup. It is an important invisible battle taking place in the spirit world. The Bible states that God's people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). The early Church viewed their spiritual experience in terms of warfare. Military terminology is used throughout the New Testament. Protection was seen in the armor of God. The Word of God was compared to a sword. Satan's attacks were called fiery darts. Faith was the "good fight" and believers were told to "war a good warfare." The early Church knew they were engaged in an intense spiritual struggle.

This week I have been reading a YouVersion devotion called Warrior by Tony Evans. This devotion came earlier in my 2020, but it didn't feel like the right to complete it so I sat it aside. On Sunday afternoon, I was looking for a devotional that just spoke to me, that would help me through the next few weeks of my life. 

In my last post, I wrote about being attacked and taking refuge in Christ Jesus. Growing up in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) I wasn't taught very much about the spiritual realm. In fact, it was mostly what I read (I read everything I could growing up). Even now, in the United Methodist Church (UMC) we don't speak much about the fact that there is a spiritual realm. This is probably because in 1985 Stanley Hauerwas and Bishop William Willimon accused "mainline" Protestants churches and theologies of conducting business as if God does not exist. This has flowed over to conducting business as if the supernatural and the spiritual realms don't exist. In his article Embarrassed by the Supernatural Roger E. Olsen states that our disbelief has less to do with intellect than it does with not wanting to look like a fanatic or a our religion being respectable.

However, all of this being said, I do believe in the spiritual realm and I believe what our world is going through is because the spiritual realm is manifesting itself in our physical realm. An enemy that we can see is easier to fight than one that we can only feel and can't see. 

So much of what is going on in our country isn’t so much racial oppression and being fed up; it’s the spiritual realm manifesting itself in what we can see...however, we don’t have enough strong, godly “soldiers” willing to go to war. They are willing to pray, of course, but have yet to step foot onto the battlefield. Christians, our time is now! Through the civil unrest God is calling us to something greater, flood doors are opening and people are needing to see Christians, not as uppity, perfect people, but as real, authentic, willing to be in relationship with the least of these.

I have been mocked, called a traitor, had people threaten me, call me a leftist, liar, hypocritical, bi***, for walking over to the monument protestors in Statesville and talking to them. All the protestors at the monument know where I stand on the issue at hand and they treat me with respect; as I treat them with the same respect. If I am driving in town, I stop, say hello, and ask if they need anything. Then I converse with them; and I always end with, “I am praying for you all.” The battle isn’t with the protestors, and it’s certainly not over a monument. It’s very literally for the souls of men, women and children.

William Abraham stated in an article on Juicy Ecumenism "Evil is not just an absence of good,” but also “a real turn to evil,” in which we can know very well that something is wrong and still “consciously choose it, and then celebrate it.” 

John 10:10a tells us that the "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." (ESV) Later in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds us to Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.(Eph. 6:11-12 ESV)

The church needs to teach more about Spiritual Warfare! Christians are soldiers, but we are highly untrained, much like the Continental Army when the revolution was declared; but like those soldiers we don't have to stay untrained. The best way to train for this battle is to be aware, be aware that everything that happens is first to God's plan, but not everything is from God; next stay engaged with your Bible, delve into the Scripture and stay engaged in prayer; staying connected to God leaves no room for the enemy to attack you. Once you are built up, then you are able to go out and fight a good fight for the kingdom of God. 

The battle is here, how ready are you to suit up in your armor? 

ADVENT 2019: NAME 1: IMMANUEL

Advent is probably one of my favorite seasons. It's a time for preparation, and anticipation. This year is no different. I decided though to spend my time writing a short devotion that is dedicated to Jesus and the Names that we have given our Savior in the Bible. The First name I chose goes with the candle that we will be lighting today: the PROPHECY name of IMMANUEL. 

Isaiah told King Ahaz to give him a sign. Yet Ahaz would refuse to request a sign, the prophet said that God would give him one anyway. And He did. Isaiah 7:14 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

What I love is the fact that this verse starts with the simple word "Therefore." I love it because it signals the fact that even though we can say "I am (or will) not.." God can and often will say "You can't change my mind. Let me show you what I can do." 

The next part of the verse that is significant is "Will give you a sign." "Signs" were of various kinds. They might be actual miracles performed to attest a Divine commission (Exod. 4:3–9); or judgments of God, significative of his power and justice (Exod. 10:2); or memorials of something in the past (Exod. 13:9, 16); or pledges of something still future. Signs of this last-mentioned kind might be miracles (Judg. 6:36–40; 2 Kings 20:8–11), or prophetic announcements (Exod. 3:12; 1 Sam. 2:34; 2 Kings 19:29). These last would only have the effect of signs on those who witnessed their accomplishment. (1)

Without spending too much time, on Mary, because let's be real, Advent is about preparing our hearts for the coming Messiah, I would be amiss not to mention Mary. Strictly speaking the word means a young woman of marriageable age. Logic demands one of two options. The almah must be either (1) an unmarried immoral woman; or (2) a virgin. The birth of a child by an unmarried woman is so common it could not be a “sign.” For this reason the Greek translators, long before the time of Christ, correctly determined that only the word parthenos (virgin) was a suitable translation for almah in this context. (2)

His name is not a mere appellation, which neither Isaiah’s son nor Jesus Christ bore literally; but what describes His manifested attributes; His character (so Is 9:6). The name in its proper destination was not arbitrary, but characteristic of the individual; sin destroyed the faculty of perceiving the internal being; hence the severance now between the name and the character; in the case of Jesus Christ and many in Scripture, the Holy Ghost has supplied this want [Olshausen].(3) 

While the name has come to mean "God with us," it should be better understood as "WITH US is God!" To you this may not be significant, but in understanding the name as this, we are able to capture the awe, and wonder of the incarnation, and the fact that the God of the universe, the creator of all things created, came to become one with us.

How undeserving are we that the king of the universe would leave His place in the heaven to join us in the human experience. So as we prepare our hearts for the coming Messiah, let us remember we are not deserving of such an experience; and that it is only through God's desire to relate to us and to be in relationship with us that we are given this child. 

Bibliography: *Accessed from Logos Bible Software*

(1) H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Isaiah, vol. 1, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1910), 127.

(2) James E. Smith, The Major Prophets, Old Testament Survey Series (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992), Is 7:10–16.

(3) Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 437. 

Open Response to Richard Lowell Bryant--Yes, Liberty students should be camp counselors...

My pastor sent me a link to an article written by a UMC minister about camp counselors coming from Liberty to teach at a UMC Summer Camp and the pastor, of course, is angry because of Jerry Falwell's stance on Homosexuality and other things. This same pastor (not mine) states that in another post he's a traditionalist and should keep the language of the Book of Discipline as it is where it pertains to marriage and the ordination of homosexuals. The more I thought about that article the angrier I got. I'll be honest when I read it this morning, I told my pastor, I don't know if I should pray for him, or write him a letter. (I really just wanted to go through the screen and give him a piece of my mind).

So in true Liberty University "Trained Champion for Christ" fashion, I wrote him a comment and spoke about Liberty. I mean after all, as a graduate of Liberty and as a candidate for ministry, I think I can speak to the mindset of some graduates of Liberty. So I formed the following response. Since comments on the original post are moderated, we'll have to see later if it shows up, but in the mean time for your pleasure, my response!

Sir,

There are far worse things than hiring Camp Counselors from Liberty University. Maybe you missed the article put out by one of the many gay students from LU who found love and acceptance at Liberty University. Matter of fact, his professors begged him not to quit school, but he chose to quit attending LU and then came back to the school and graduated from Liberty.

What you may not know is that LU has one of the largest LGBTQA+ communities of any college, not because they want to shake up the school, but because they are accepted as they are, where they are in their walk with Christ.  Even I attended LU as a practicing member of a Jewish Synagogue and found acceptance for my beliefs. Yes, Jerry Falwell, Jr. is outspoken on BIBLICAL standards, which supercede the BOOK OF DISCIPLINE (believe it or not). Deal with it. Embrace students from Liberty, actually get to know them, find out what their exact beliefs are. Oh, and maybe read these two articles. https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/being-gay-at-jerry-falwells-university/274578/ and http://wset.com/archive/coming-out-at-liberty-university-the-story-of-one-gay-lu-grad 

Then maybe, just maybe you can judge Liberty University, the staff and those counselors you refuse to get to know or give a chance to. I find it funny that just in May of 2017 you said "You were a traditionalist." in a post here, and today, you are a progressive. .Do forgive me, Reverend, but can you really have it both ways? Can you really throw away our traditional teachings and embrace hatred? I wonder, often what John Wesley would think if he saw the current standing of our church and I wonder, sir, if he would not give those students/counselors from LU a chance to continue to grow.

For the rest of you who, like this gentleman, who have no understanding of what LU actually teaches, I will tell you it is FAR from Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s current standing. As a matter of fact, I came out of LU (twice) with more parched with thirst for the God I now serve, believe it or not with more understanding of amy homosexual friends, and more acceptance towards their choices. I know you may all think that this crazy that they use counselors from LU, but honestly, you won't find what you think you will--closed-minded people.

The centrist movement in the UMC wants to cry out for tolerance, yet you won't even allow for students from Liberty to come and grow in their faith. Everyone wants to be a liberal or centrist until their feet are stepped on.

Vindicating the Vixens

Not since Liz Curtis Higgs wrote “Bad Girls of the Bible” have I given much thought to what it means to be a bad girl of the Bible. I was completely excited to read this book when the title was released from Kregel! I knew I had to read it because 1) I am female and 2) I am in the process of becoming a pastor and 3) I yearned as a woman to know the stories of these women much better than what I learned in Sunday school. From the first time I read “Sin is certainly an equal opportunity enterprise” I was hooked. 

However, I also expected this to be a book that would be females bashing men for their understanding of the women of the Bible. This, however, certainly wasn’t the case. Instead I found a book that was Christ-centered and within the first chapter the reader is invited to participate by reading with discernment and even given six questions that help us to understand the text better: 

What does the text actually say? What do I observe in and about the text? What did this text mean to the original audience?  What was the point? What truths in the text are timelessly relevant? And how does the part fit the whole?

The great thing about this collection is that it starts to set the record straight of so many women who have a bad reputation in the Bible. Glahn cites as examples blaming Eve for the guilt of the human race, or blaming Sarah for the political tensions in the modern Middle East. Popular preachers can make a great sermon by “maligning” Bathsheba as a “vixen” or the Samaritan women as an adulterer, or Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. Other women are marginalized. Glahn notes the omission of Deborah and Huldah from charts of the prophets in some study Bibles, or (I would add) the translation of “servant” in the ESV instead of “deacon” (NRSV) in Romans 16:1 as well as the always controversial status of Junia in Romans 16:7. The essays in this collection hopes to correct popular misconceptions about some women in the Bible by paying careful attention to the cultural and social context as well as the literary form of the biblical text. For me, I love the fact that his book has a generally conservative view of Scripture, and there is nothing controversial about this. 

If you are looking for a book on the women of the Bible who have been marginalized; then this is a great book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

This book was provided to me for free by the publisher for an unbiased opinion and review.