Monday, October 13, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Eyes Opened.....Coming Out of the Prosperity Gospel
Continued from Part 1....
When my husband and I became members of Mikel Brown's church, Christian Joy Center, three years ago we had never heard a pastor say that God wanted us healthy, wealthy, and full of life. We watched TBN every so often but we never heard anyone describe what was being taught on TBN as the "prosperity gospel". Truthfully, I had never heard anyone speak against prosperity preachers so I assumed that they were teaching the gospel. My husband was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and we had recently gotten orders to Hawaii. We had left our previous church of two years and were searching for new church.
We saw an ad for Mikel Brown's church in the local Alamogordo news paper and decided to visit the church. Our first impression of the church was very positive. The people there were very welcoming, loving, and there seemed to be a different type of excitement in the air that we had never experienced before. The members seemed to be overly excited about God and the gospel. We quickly realized there was something different about this church when everyone began to recite a declaration of prophetic words in unison. It was awkward to say the least but we liked what we heard.
We joined the church the first day we visited; we had been looking for a church for about two or three months. We were advised to take a foundation class before becoming official members of the church. The class included a history of the church, the vision the pastor had for the church, what they believe biblically, and a class on money and tithing. The latter part was new to us. We were asked to fill out a form stating our income and told that in order to be involved in ministries you had to be a consistent tither. You couldn't lie about it cause once you filled out the form stating your income the pastor and his administration would know how much your 10% amounted to. I guess this was a new way of holding each other accountable.
Things began to get interesting after we joined the church. The first sermon we heard that initially moved us to join the church was on faith but we soon began to see a shift in the message. The pastor did use scripture but the messages were more on the motivational side; all topical sermons of course. I had never heard the gospel taught like that before. God seemed to be a very generous God who wanted to bless me with money and possessions if I'd only seek Him first. That is what Mikel Brown taught. He taught us that Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor that they didn't have to be poor anymore. It all sounded good to our flesh at the time. We were very business minded and wanted to have the American Dream God's way. Mikel Brown seemed to know how to get wealth God's way but we would later learn that our money equaled wealth for him.
For what it is worth we were happy to be apart of the church and felt that we were going to get rich if we followed the "principles of increase" that Mikel Brown was teaching. I became apart of the children's ministry and sang with the praise and worship team. All seemed good. We were convinced that God wanted us healthy, wealthy, and full of life. We were sowing seeds and waiting for our harvest. While we waited for our harvest we were told to have faith and keep believing because it was coming. So we keep sowing seeds. We kept tithing. We would tithe first when my husband was paid even if we had bills that needed to be paid. We were taught to give God what is right and not what is left. We were taught to tithe off of our gross income not our net. We were introduced to first fruit offerings. Money became more and more of an issue.
We started giving above and beyond our means and would constantly overdraw our account believing that this was God's will and that he would provide. We survived by shuffling bills around,robbing Peter to pay Paul, and by pawning things. Mikel Brown was constantly asking for money and making us feel ashamed if we weren't giving God our best. If we didn't tithe then we were robbing God and would be cursed with a curse; he believed it would be a financial curse.There was a tremendous amount of stress on us to give money all of the time. Mikel Brown also talked about business a lot. It seemed that his passion was really for business more than it was for teaching God's word. He told us that God had called him to make millionaires.
All of his websites online were about business and money. Mostly all of his speaking engagements outside of church were on business and money. They were advertised in church and were pretty expensive and really no different than what he taught during church services. Success is never free or discounted he would say. Most of his books and CD series were about business or money or prosperity. Business and money began to become more of our focus as well. We knew that if we were going to be able to give as much as Mikel Brown wanted us to we had to start a business to create an abundance of wealth.
We were amazed that 90% of the people in the church had some sort of business; most weren't successful but everyone always had something going. If someone started a business and it wasn't successful they would try something else. The idea was to create wealth so we could be a blessing to others. Mikel Brown talked a lot about his dreams and the possessions that he was believing God for and encouraged us to do the same thing as well. He quoted a lot of secular millionaires and often said that these secular people were millionaires because they were using God's principles of increase.
The other members worshiped Mikel Brown and so did we. He, as well as other ministers and members, taught that the pastor is the mouthpiece of God and that he had wisdom concerning our lives and we were to submit to his authority. God had supposedly given him special revelations concerning the word and the lives of those in his church. Blessings would come to those who submitted to the authority of the man of God. We now see that these were signs of an abusive church.
As I mentioned earlier, we had received orders to Hawaii prior to our joining Christian Joy Center. So eventually the pastor asked us to see if we could turn down our orders and stay in New Mexico to be apart of the church. Our first response was that we could come back to New Mexico after my husband got out of the military since his enlistment would be up after our tour in Hawaii. Mikel Brown cleverly said that we should make up our minds now and that things could change once we left and moved to Hawaii. He didn't pressure us but he believed that we would really prosper the way God wanted us to if we stayed apart of his church; it was very conniving.
We didn't make a decision that day but because there were other ministers in his office when he asked us to stay we immediately began to get pressured after that. Some of the other members began to tell us of there stories. There were a a lot of members who he had convinced to get out of the military and stay apart of the church; some who had planned on starting ministries back in their home town. There was a couple who had bought a house in New Mexico and the pastor asked them move to Texas where the mother church was located and be apart of the ministry there full time. This couple moved out of their house and rented a house in Texas all the while driving back and forth (two or more times a week) to be apart of the church in New Mexico. The commute between the church in El Paso and New Mexico were about an hour and a half.
There were numerous members , whom he had asked and whom had volunteered, from his church in El Paso that drove back and forth during the week to be apart of the leadership of both churches. They were and are very dedicated to Mikel Brown and will do whatever he asks of them. The members began to tell us that the pastors' instructions were from God and we should follow them. I remember so vividly, after a Wednesday night service, we asked one of the elders of the church if he had gotten out of the military and stayed in New Mexico because he felt led by God to do so or because the pastor asked him and he said he did so because the pastor had asked him to.
During this time we were so confused. We had prayed about the orders and gotten them but we were feeling pressured by the church members to stay because the pastor was the "mouthpiece of God". We wanted to go to Hawaii but we wanted to stay in New Mexico if that was God's will for us. We didn't want to be out of God's will; we believed that was possible at the time. One night while we were at the local Walmart we ran into four members from the church and they began asking us if we had decided rather we were going to turn down our orders and stay. We told them that we hadn't decided yet. We all ended up joining hands in the middle of the store and praying about it. We eventually gave into the pressure and turned down our orders to New Mexico. We let the pastor know and everything seemed great. We were one big happy family.
Everything was okay until we began to realize what we had done and we couldn't shake the uneasy feeling we had about the decision to stay. My husband came home one day and said I am going to see about taking those orders to Hawaii and boy was I relieved. We had been praying about it together and individually and we felt that we were making the right decision. By the grace of God God, the military allowed my husband to recant the decision to turn down his orders. My husband announced in front of the church the next Sunday that we had changed our minds and were going to accept the orders to Hawaii. Once everyone was aware of our decision we began to be treated like we were the evil stepchildren. Mikel Brown seemed the same but everyone else just began to turn their backs on us.
I don't know if the pastor encouraged them to treat us this way but we were very hurt.The tension in the air became so thick that one Sunday after the pastor preached my husband stood up and confessed that he had some ill feelings toward the members in the church for how we were being treated since we accepted the orders to Hawaii. He asked that everyone forgive him. After my husband's confession the pastor stood up and said that he had no ill feelings about us leaving and that he had wanted us to stay but respected our decision. Members of the church began to come to us and confess that they had cut us off because they were mad that we had decided to go to Hawaii. They all asked for our forgiveness and we forgave them though the closeness we had once felt was no longer there.
Some of the members continued to say that we did not adhere to the instructions by the man of God and that we are out of God's will. Eventually we left for Hawaii and the pastor sent his blessings with us and told us to make sure we sent our tithes to the church until we joined another church in Hawaii.
After we left, God began to work on our hearts and open our blinded eyes from the deceit of the prosperity gospel. We began to hear people speak out about it and say that it wasn't the gospel. It all started when we bought an album called, If They Only Knew by Trip Lee. Trip Lee had a song on his album called, Cash or Christ, when we first heard the song we hated it; if you are in the prosperity gospel you will too; cause it made us question everything we had been taught. We begin to feel very convicted about our constant pursuit of money and we couldn't pretend that we hadn't heard the message of the song. That one song shook our foundation. After that, we learned about a pastor by the name of John Piper through another Reach Records artist by the name of Tedashii. John Piper spoke a lot about finding infinite joy in God and his sermons and resources were very God centered.
I cannot stress how grateful we are to God for John Piper's ministry. John Piper truly spreads, "a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ." Life has truly changed for us and God is doing amazing things in our lives in many different ways. First, we are learning what it means to treasure Christ above everything and we are experiencing the infinite joy of being satisfied in God alone. We reduced God to a servant by coming to Him for riches now we humbly submit to the Lordship of Jesus. Thanks to Randy Alcorn and his book, The Treasure Principle, we have a biblical perspective on how we are to use our money to glorify God. In his book we learned about why it is wiser to store our treasures in Heaven and not on earth. We can now give knowing that our treasures in Heaven will never be destroyed.
It is very man centered to think that God just wants to dish out money and blessings so that we can feel loved. John Piper said it best in his book, Don't Waste Your Life, when he said, "Being loved does not mean being made much of. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that we could spend forever making much of Him not so that we can make much of ourselves". God is the gospel and He is the gift not money or possessions. Don't settle for fleeting pleasures let your joy be in Jesus.
When my husband and I became members of Mikel Brown's church, Christian Joy Center, three years ago we had never heard a pastor say that God wanted us healthy, wealthy, and full of life. We watched TBN every so often but we never heard anyone describe what was being taught on TBN as the "prosperity gospel". Truthfully, I had never heard anyone speak against prosperity preachers so I assumed that they were teaching the gospel. My husband was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and we had recently gotten orders to Hawaii. We had left our previous church of two years and were searching for new church.
We saw an ad for Mikel Brown's church in the local Alamogordo news paper and decided to visit the church. Our first impression of the church was very positive. The people there were very welcoming, loving, and there seemed to be a different type of excitement in the air that we had never experienced before. The members seemed to be overly excited about God and the gospel. We quickly realized there was something different about this church when everyone began to recite a declaration of prophetic words in unison. It was awkward to say the least but we liked what we heard.
We joined the church the first day we visited; we had been looking for a church for about two or three months. We were advised to take a foundation class before becoming official members of the church. The class included a history of the church, the vision the pastor had for the church, what they believe biblically, and a class on money and tithing. The latter part was new to us. We were asked to fill out a form stating our income and told that in order to be involved in ministries you had to be a consistent tither. You couldn't lie about it cause once you filled out the form stating your income the pastor and his administration would know how much your 10% amounted to. I guess this was a new way of holding each other accountable.
Things began to get interesting after we joined the church. The first sermon we heard that initially moved us to join the church was on faith but we soon began to see a shift in the message. The pastor did use scripture but the messages were more on the motivational side; all topical sermons of course. I had never heard the gospel taught like that before. God seemed to be a very generous God who wanted to bless me with money and possessions if I'd only seek Him first. That is what Mikel Brown taught. He taught us that Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor that they didn't have to be poor anymore. It all sounded good to our flesh at the time. We were very business minded and wanted to have the American Dream God's way. Mikel Brown seemed to know how to get wealth God's way but we would later learn that our money equaled wealth for him.
For what it is worth we were happy to be apart of the church and felt that we were going to get rich if we followed the "principles of increase" that Mikel Brown was teaching. I became apart of the children's ministry and sang with the praise and worship team. All seemed good. We were convinced that God wanted us healthy, wealthy, and full of life. We were sowing seeds and waiting for our harvest. While we waited for our harvest we were told to have faith and keep believing because it was coming. So we keep sowing seeds. We kept tithing. We would tithe first when my husband was paid even if we had bills that needed to be paid. We were taught to give God what is right and not what is left. We were taught to tithe off of our gross income not our net. We were introduced to first fruit offerings. Money became more and more of an issue.
We started giving above and beyond our means and would constantly overdraw our account believing that this was God's will and that he would provide. We survived by shuffling bills around,robbing Peter to pay Paul, and by pawning things. Mikel Brown was constantly asking for money and making us feel ashamed if we weren't giving God our best. If we didn't tithe then we were robbing God and would be cursed with a curse; he believed it would be a financial curse.There was a tremendous amount of stress on us to give money all of the time. Mikel Brown also talked about business a lot. It seemed that his passion was really for business more than it was for teaching God's word. He told us that God had called him to make millionaires.
All of his websites online were about business and money. Mostly all of his speaking engagements outside of church were on business and money. They were advertised in church and were pretty expensive and really no different than what he taught during church services. Success is never free or discounted he would say. Most of his books and CD series were about business or money or prosperity. Business and money began to become more of our focus as well. We knew that if we were going to be able to give as much as Mikel Brown wanted us to we had to start a business to create an abundance of wealth.
We were amazed that 90% of the people in the church had some sort of business; most weren't successful but everyone always had something going. If someone started a business and it wasn't successful they would try something else. The idea was to create wealth so we could be a blessing to others. Mikel Brown talked a lot about his dreams and the possessions that he was believing God for and encouraged us to do the same thing as well. He quoted a lot of secular millionaires and often said that these secular people were millionaires because they were using God's principles of increase.
The other members worshiped Mikel Brown and so did we. He, as well as other ministers and members, taught that the pastor is the mouthpiece of God and that he had wisdom concerning our lives and we were to submit to his authority. God had supposedly given him special revelations concerning the word and the lives of those in his church. Blessings would come to those who submitted to the authority of the man of God. We now see that these were signs of an abusive church.
As I mentioned earlier, we had received orders to Hawaii prior to our joining Christian Joy Center. So eventually the pastor asked us to see if we could turn down our orders and stay in New Mexico to be apart of the church. Our first response was that we could come back to New Mexico after my husband got out of the military since his enlistment would be up after our tour in Hawaii. Mikel Brown cleverly said that we should make up our minds now and that things could change once we left and moved to Hawaii. He didn't pressure us but he believed that we would really prosper the way God wanted us to if we stayed apart of his church; it was very conniving.
We didn't make a decision that day but because there were other ministers in his office when he asked us to stay we immediately began to get pressured after that. Some of the other members began to tell us of there stories. There were a a lot of members who he had convinced to get out of the military and stay apart of the church; some who had planned on starting ministries back in their home town. There was a couple who had bought a house in New Mexico and the pastor asked them move to Texas where the mother church was located and be apart of the ministry there full time. This couple moved out of their house and rented a house in Texas all the while driving back and forth (two or more times a week) to be apart of the church in New Mexico. The commute between the church in El Paso and New Mexico were about an hour and a half.
There were numerous members , whom he had asked and whom had volunteered, from his church in El Paso that drove back and forth during the week to be apart of the leadership of both churches. They were and are very dedicated to Mikel Brown and will do whatever he asks of them. The members began to tell us that the pastors' instructions were from God and we should follow them. I remember so vividly, after a Wednesday night service, we asked one of the elders of the church if he had gotten out of the military and stayed in New Mexico because he felt led by God to do so or because the pastor asked him and he said he did so because the pastor had asked him to.
During this time we were so confused. We had prayed about the orders and gotten them but we were feeling pressured by the church members to stay because the pastor was the "mouthpiece of God". We wanted to go to Hawaii but we wanted to stay in New Mexico if that was God's will for us. We didn't want to be out of God's will; we believed that was possible at the time. One night while we were at the local Walmart we ran into four members from the church and they began asking us if we had decided rather we were going to turn down our orders and stay. We told them that we hadn't decided yet. We all ended up joining hands in the middle of the store and praying about it. We eventually gave into the pressure and turned down our orders to New Mexico. We let the pastor know and everything seemed great. We were one big happy family.
Everything was okay until we began to realize what we had done and we couldn't shake the uneasy feeling we had about the decision to stay. My husband came home one day and said I am going to see about taking those orders to Hawaii and boy was I relieved. We had been praying about it together and individually and we felt that we were making the right decision. By the grace of God God, the military allowed my husband to recant the decision to turn down his orders. My husband announced in front of the church the next Sunday that we had changed our minds and were going to accept the orders to Hawaii. Once everyone was aware of our decision we began to be treated like we were the evil stepchildren. Mikel Brown seemed the same but everyone else just began to turn their backs on us.
I don't know if the pastor encouraged them to treat us this way but we were very hurt.The tension in the air became so thick that one Sunday after the pastor preached my husband stood up and confessed that he had some ill feelings toward the members in the church for how we were being treated since we accepted the orders to Hawaii. He asked that everyone forgive him. After my husband's confession the pastor stood up and said that he had no ill feelings about us leaving and that he had wanted us to stay but respected our decision. Members of the church began to come to us and confess that they had cut us off because they were mad that we had decided to go to Hawaii. They all asked for our forgiveness and we forgave them though the closeness we had once felt was no longer there.
Some of the members continued to say that we did not adhere to the instructions by the man of God and that we are out of God's will. Eventually we left for Hawaii and the pastor sent his blessings with us and told us to make sure we sent our tithes to the church until we joined another church in Hawaii.
After we left, God began to work on our hearts and open our blinded eyes from the deceit of the prosperity gospel. We began to hear people speak out about it and say that it wasn't the gospel. It all started when we bought an album called, If They Only Knew by Trip Lee. Trip Lee had a song on his album called, Cash or Christ, when we first heard the song we hated it; if you are in the prosperity gospel you will too; cause it made us question everything we had been taught. We begin to feel very convicted about our constant pursuit of money and we couldn't pretend that we hadn't heard the message of the song. That one song shook our foundation. After that, we learned about a pastor by the name of John Piper through another Reach Records artist by the name of Tedashii. John Piper spoke a lot about finding infinite joy in God and his sermons and resources were very God centered.
I cannot stress how grateful we are to God for John Piper's ministry. John Piper truly spreads, "a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ." Life has truly changed for us and God is doing amazing things in our lives in many different ways. First, we are learning what it means to treasure Christ above everything and we are experiencing the infinite joy of being satisfied in God alone. We reduced God to a servant by coming to Him for riches now we humbly submit to the Lordship of Jesus. Thanks to Randy Alcorn and his book, The Treasure Principle, we have a biblical perspective on how we are to use our money to glorify God. In his book we learned about why it is wiser to store our treasures in Heaven and not on earth. We can now give knowing that our treasures in Heaven will never be destroyed.
It is very man centered to think that God just wants to dish out money and blessings so that we can feel loved. John Piper said it best in his book, Don't Waste Your Life, when he said, "Being loved does not mean being made much of. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that we could spend forever making much of Him not so that we can make much of ourselves". God is the gospel and He is the gift not money or possessions. Don't settle for fleeting pleasures let your joy be in Jesus.
"Now that my vision's clear, Oh Lord we sing your praise
And pray that those in the world would turn and seek your face
Father we thank you for eyes to see so we can know you and love you forever"
-Eyes Open, Trip Lee 20/20
And pray that those in the world would turn and seek your face
Father we thank you for eyes to see so we can know you and love you forever"
-Eyes Open, Trip Lee 20/20
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Eyes Opened.....My Vision is Clear
I knew it would be inevitable that once I started a video on the prosperity movement exposing my former pastor, Mikel Brown, some of his members would be upset. My mind was at ease though because I had prayed about doing the series and I knew God could use my testimony to open the eyes of those blinded by the prosperity gospel. I've lost some friends but what I have gained is of infinite value.... finding my treasure in Christ and finding satisfied in God alone.
I am sure that those of you who have been members of a cult or an abusive church know how hard it is to speak out about the experience; especially when you are warning people out of a love for God and the gospel. Let God tell them some may say. However, if you saw someone poison the food of a legally blind person would you warn them? or would you let them find out for themselves? We must warn others when they are being poisoned by a false gospel. How can we say that Christ is in us when we are afraid to stand up for the true gospel just because we may loose some friends or even family members? Did Christ not say he didn't come to bring peace but a sword?
There are many of you who believe that your pastor or the televangelists you see on TV aren't false teachers because they are so nice, quote scriptures, or because they attribute what they are doing and what they have to God...but that is why they deceive so many of you. Satan's agents will always come as angels of light. They will lead you on a path that seems right but in the end will lead to destruction....those aren't my words that's the bible folks. Even when I was apart of Mikel Brown's church I was never the type of person who would write someone off because they questioned my pastor. If someone were to say to me today that my current pastor was a heretic based on him teaching x, y, and z...then I would look at what is presented to me and match it with the word to see if he is teaching heresies. Some of you defend your pastors before you defend what you believe to be the gospel. Yeah, I said it but it's the truth! Some of you worship your pastors and these televangelists you see on TV. You have become so blinded by the affections that you have for them that you don't search and test their teachings.
I am sure that those of you who have been members of a cult or an abusive church know how hard it is to speak out about the experience; especially when you are warning people out of a love for God and the gospel. Let God tell them some may say. However, if you saw someone poison the food of a legally blind person would you warn them? or would you let them find out for themselves? We must warn others when they are being poisoned by a false gospel. How can we say that Christ is in us when we are afraid to stand up for the true gospel just because we may loose some friends or even family members? Did Christ not say he didn't come to bring peace but a sword?
There are many of you who believe that your pastor or the televangelists you see on TV aren't false teachers because they are so nice, quote scriptures, or because they attribute what they are doing and what they have to God...but that is why they deceive so many of you. Satan's agents will always come as angels of light. They will lead you on a path that seems right but in the end will lead to destruction....those aren't my words that's the bible folks. Even when I was apart of Mikel Brown's church I was never the type of person who would write someone off because they questioned my pastor. If someone were to say to me today that my current pastor was a heretic based on him teaching x, y, and z...then I would look at what is presented to me and match it with the word to see if he is teaching heresies. Some of you defend your pastors before you defend what you believe to be the gospel. Yeah, I said it but it's the truth! Some of you worship your pastors and these televangelists you see on TV. You have become so blinded by the affections that you have for them that you don't search and test their teachings.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Don't Waste Your Love
Most people strongly believe that love means being made much of. We believe that God's love means he makes much of us. That, my friends, is far from the truth. God's love, which is what we should follow, means sacrificing. True love means doing what is best for someone else. God did what was best for us in sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins...not to make much of us but so that we can spend eternity making much of Him. Love means pointing people to Christ. Not to aim to show God is not to love, because God is what we need most deeply.
Don't waste your chance to love!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Psalms 51
Psalm 51
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
“Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
“Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Prosperity Movement: Bishop Mikel Brown
I am releasing a series of videos exposing false teacher, Mikel Brown, pastor of Christian Joy Center. When a person teaches a doctrine other than what the apostles taught, this a greater threat to unity than the disunity caused by avoiding such people. The true believers must defend the gospel! The bible warned us of false teachers and we must expose them.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Am I A Soldier Of The Cross?
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith’s discerning eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.
Words: Isaac Watts, appended to his Sermons, published 1721-4; Watts wrote this hymn in conjunction with a sermon he was giving on 1 Corinthians 16:13.
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith’s discerning eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.
Words: Isaac Watts, appended to his Sermons, published 1721-4; Watts wrote this hymn in conjunction with a sermon he was giving on 1 Corinthians 16:13.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The True Measure of Success
By John MacArthur
If we judged success by worldly standards, some might be inclined to assess Paul’s leadership career as an abject failure and a bitter disappointment.
In the closing days of his life, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy, Luke was virtually his only contact with the outside world (4:11). Paul was confined in a Roman dungeon, dreading the savage cold of coming winter (vv. 13, 21), and without any hope of deliverance from the death sentence that had been imposed on him. He suffered because of the sadistic contempt of his enemies. He was even abandoned or disavowed by some of his closest friends. He wrote, “This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me” (2 Timothy 1:15). “Asia” refers to Asia Minor, where Paul had focused his missionary work. Ephesus, where Timothy pastored, was the capital of that region. So Paul wasn’t telling Timothy anything Timothy didn’t already know firsthand. In that time of fierce persecution, association with Paul had become so costly that all but a few of the apostle’s own spiritual children had in effect disowned and abandoned him.
That’s why people who see things superficially might think the end of Paul’s life was tragic. At first glance, it might even seem as if his enemies had finally defeated him.
A failure? Actually, the apostle Paul was not a failure as a leader by any measure. His influence continues worldwide even today. By contrast, Nero, the corrupt but powerful Roman emperor who ordered Paul’s death, is one of history’s most despised figures. This is yet another reminder that influence is the true test of a person’s leadership, not power or position per se. In fact, a careful look at how Paul’s life and ministry came to an end can teach us a lot about how to gauge the success or failure of a leader.
Paul’s first long imprisonment and trial before Nero apparently ended in the apostle’s release sometime before AD 64, because he wrote the epistles of 1 Timothy and Titus as a free man (1 Timothy 3:14-15; 4:13; Titus 3:12). But that liberty was short-lived. In July of the year 64, seven of Rome’s fourteen districts burned. When the original fire was nearly extinguished, another fire, fanned by fierce winds, broke out in another district. Rumors circulated that Nero himself had ordered the burning of the city to make room for some ambitious building projects, including a golden palace for himself.
Trying desperately to deflect suspicion, Nero blamed Christians for starting the fires. That began the first of several major, aggressive campaigns by the Roman government to destroy the church. Christians in Rome were rounded up and executed in unspeakably cruel ways. Some were sewn into animal skins and ripped to death by dogs. Others were impaled on stakes, covered with pitch, and burned as human torches to light Nero’s garden parties. Many were beheaded, fed to lions, or otherwise disposed of at Nero’s command in equally ruthless ways.
During that persecution, Paul was again taken prisoner by the Roman authorities, brought to Rome, subjected to persecution and torment (2 Timothy 4:17), and finally executed as a traitor because of his relentless devotion to the lordship of Christ.
Throughout his first imprisonment at Rome, Paul had been kept under house arrest (Acts 28:16, 30). He was allowed freedom to preach and teach those who visited him (v. 23). He was under the constant guard of a Roman soldier but was treated with respect. The influence of his ministry had therefore reached right into the household of Caesar (Philippians 4:22).
Paul measured his own success as a leader, as an apostle, and as a Christian by a single criterion: He had kept the faithPaul’s second imprisonment, however, was markedly different. He was virtually cut off from all outside contact and kept chained in a dungeon (2 Timothy 1:16). He was probably held underground in the Mamertine Prison, adjacent to the Roman forum, in a small, dark, bare stone dungeon whose only entrance was a hole in the ceiling scarcely large enough for one person to pass through. The dungeon itself is not large; about half the size of a small one-car garage. Yet it was sometimes used to hold as many as forty prisoners. The discomfort, the dark, the stench, and the misery were almost unbearable.
That dungeon still exists, and I have been in it. The stifling, claustrophobic confines of that dark hole are eerie and depressing even today. It was there (or in a dungeon just like it) that Paul spent the final days of his life.
There is no reliable record of Paul’s execution, but he obviously knew the end of his life was imminent when he wrote his second epistle to Timothy. Evidently he had already been tried, convicted, and condemned for preaching Christ, and perhaps the day of his execution was already scheduled. He wrote to Timothy, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6).
Naturally, there are notes of profound sadness in Paul’s final epistle. But its dominant theme is triumph, not defeat. Paul wrote that last letter to Timothy to encourage the young pastor to be bold and courageous and to continue following the example he had learned from his apostolic mentor. Far from writing a concession of failure, Paul sounds a clarion note of victory: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Facing his own imminent martyrdom, Paul had no fear, no despondency, and no desire to stay in this world. He longed to be with Christ and eagerly anticipated the reward He would receive in the next world. Therefore, as he reviewed the course of his life, he expressed no regret, no sense of unfulfillment, and no feeling of incompleteness. There was not the smallest duty left undone. He had finished the work the Lord gave him to do, just as in Acts 20:24 he had hoped and prayed he would do: “so that I may finish my race with joy.”
Paul measured his own success as a leader, as an apostle, and as a Christian by a single criterion: He had “kept the faith”—meaning both that he had remained faithful to Christ and that he had kept the message of Christ’s gospel intact, just as he had received it. He had proclaimed the Word of God faithfully and fearlessly. And now he was passing the baton to Timothy and to others, who would be “able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Therefore, Paul faced his own death with a triumphant spirit and with a deep sense of joy. He had seen the grace of God accomplish all that God designed in him and through him, and now he was ready to meet Christ face-to-face.
Excerpted from The Book on Leadership, 181-84.
© 2004 by John MacArthur.
If we judged success by worldly standards, some might be inclined to assess Paul’s leadership career as an abject failure and a bitter disappointment.
In the closing days of his life, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy, Luke was virtually his only contact with the outside world (4:11). Paul was confined in a Roman dungeon, dreading the savage cold of coming winter (vv. 13, 21), and without any hope of deliverance from the death sentence that had been imposed on him. He suffered because of the sadistic contempt of his enemies. He was even abandoned or disavowed by some of his closest friends. He wrote, “This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me” (2 Timothy 1:15). “Asia” refers to Asia Minor, where Paul had focused his missionary work. Ephesus, where Timothy pastored, was the capital of that region. So Paul wasn’t telling Timothy anything Timothy didn’t already know firsthand. In that time of fierce persecution, association with Paul had become so costly that all but a few of the apostle’s own spiritual children had in effect disowned and abandoned him.
That’s why people who see things superficially might think the end of Paul’s life was tragic. At first glance, it might even seem as if his enemies had finally defeated him.
A failure? Actually, the apostle Paul was not a failure as a leader by any measure. His influence continues worldwide even today. By contrast, Nero, the corrupt but powerful Roman emperor who ordered Paul’s death, is one of history’s most despised figures. This is yet another reminder that influence is the true test of a person’s leadership, not power or position per se. In fact, a careful look at how Paul’s life and ministry came to an end can teach us a lot about how to gauge the success or failure of a leader.
Paul’s first long imprisonment and trial before Nero apparently ended in the apostle’s release sometime before AD 64, because he wrote the epistles of 1 Timothy and Titus as a free man (1 Timothy 3:14-15; 4:13; Titus 3:12). But that liberty was short-lived. In July of the year 64, seven of Rome’s fourteen districts burned. When the original fire was nearly extinguished, another fire, fanned by fierce winds, broke out in another district. Rumors circulated that Nero himself had ordered the burning of the city to make room for some ambitious building projects, including a golden palace for himself.
Trying desperately to deflect suspicion, Nero blamed Christians for starting the fires. That began the first of several major, aggressive campaigns by the Roman government to destroy the church. Christians in Rome were rounded up and executed in unspeakably cruel ways. Some were sewn into animal skins and ripped to death by dogs. Others were impaled on stakes, covered with pitch, and burned as human torches to light Nero’s garden parties. Many were beheaded, fed to lions, or otherwise disposed of at Nero’s command in equally ruthless ways.
During that persecution, Paul was again taken prisoner by the Roman authorities, brought to Rome, subjected to persecution and torment (2 Timothy 4:17), and finally executed as a traitor because of his relentless devotion to the lordship of Christ.
Throughout his first imprisonment at Rome, Paul had been kept under house arrest (Acts 28:16, 30). He was allowed freedom to preach and teach those who visited him (v. 23). He was under the constant guard of a Roman soldier but was treated with respect. The influence of his ministry had therefore reached right into the household of Caesar (Philippians 4:22).
Paul measured his own success as a leader, as an apostle, and as a Christian by a single criterion: He had kept the faithPaul’s second imprisonment, however, was markedly different. He was virtually cut off from all outside contact and kept chained in a dungeon (2 Timothy 1:16). He was probably held underground in the Mamertine Prison, adjacent to the Roman forum, in a small, dark, bare stone dungeon whose only entrance was a hole in the ceiling scarcely large enough for one person to pass through. The dungeon itself is not large; about half the size of a small one-car garage. Yet it was sometimes used to hold as many as forty prisoners. The discomfort, the dark, the stench, and the misery were almost unbearable.
That dungeon still exists, and I have been in it. The stifling, claustrophobic confines of that dark hole are eerie and depressing even today. It was there (or in a dungeon just like it) that Paul spent the final days of his life.
There is no reliable record of Paul’s execution, but he obviously knew the end of his life was imminent when he wrote his second epistle to Timothy. Evidently he had already been tried, convicted, and condemned for preaching Christ, and perhaps the day of his execution was already scheduled. He wrote to Timothy, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6).
Naturally, there are notes of profound sadness in Paul’s final epistle. But its dominant theme is triumph, not defeat. Paul wrote that last letter to Timothy to encourage the young pastor to be bold and courageous and to continue following the example he had learned from his apostolic mentor. Far from writing a concession of failure, Paul sounds a clarion note of victory: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Facing his own imminent martyrdom, Paul had no fear, no despondency, and no desire to stay in this world. He longed to be with Christ and eagerly anticipated the reward He would receive in the next world. Therefore, as he reviewed the course of his life, he expressed no regret, no sense of unfulfillment, and no feeling of incompleteness. There was not the smallest duty left undone. He had finished the work the Lord gave him to do, just as in Acts 20:24 he had hoped and prayed he would do: “so that I may finish my race with joy.”
Paul measured his own success as a leader, as an apostle, and as a Christian by a single criterion: He had “kept the faith”—meaning both that he had remained faithful to Christ and that he had kept the message of Christ’s gospel intact, just as he had received it. He had proclaimed the Word of God faithfully and fearlessly. And now he was passing the baton to Timothy and to others, who would be “able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Therefore, Paul faced his own death with a triumphant spirit and with a deep sense of joy. He had seen the grace of God accomplish all that God designed in him and through him, and now he was ready to meet Christ face-to-face.
Excerpted from The Book on Leadership, 181-84.
© 2004 by John MacArthur.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Why God Doesn't Fully Explain Pain
By: John Piper
One of the reasons God rarely gives micro reasons for his painful providences, but regularly gives magnificent macro reasons, is that there are too many micro reasons for us to manage, namely, millions and millions and millions and millions and millions.
God says things like:
* These bad things happened to you because I intend to work it together for your good (Romans 8).
* These happened so that you would rely more on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1).
* This happened so that the gold and silver of your faith would be refined (1 Peter 1).
* This thorn is so that the power of Christ would be magnified in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12).
But we can always object that there are other easier ways for God to accomplish those things. We want to know more specifics: Why now? Why this much? Why this often? Why this way? Why these people?
The problem is, we would have to be God to grasp all that God is doing in our problems. In fact, pushing too hard for more detailed explanations from God is a kind of demand that we be God.
Think of this, you are a blacksmith making horseshoes. You are hammering on a white hot shoe and it ricochets off and hits you in the leg and burns you. In your haste to tend to your leg you let the shoe alone unfinished. You wonder why God let this happen. You were singing a hymn and doing his will.
Your helper, not knowing the horseshoe was unfinished gathered it up and put it with the others.
Later there was an invasion of your country by a hostile army with a powerful cavalry. They came through your town and demanded that you supply them with food and with shoes for their horses. You comply.
Their commander has his horse shoed by his own smith using the stolen horseshoes, and the unfinished shoe with the thin weak spot is put on the commander’s horse.
In the decisive battle against the loyal troops defending your homeland the enemy commander is leading the final charge. The weak shoe snaps and catches on a root and causes his horse to fall. He crashes to the ground and his own soldiers, galloping at full speed, trample him to death.
This causes such a confusion that the defenders are able to rout the enemy and the country is saved.
Now you might say, well, it would sure help me trust God if he informed me of these events so that I would know why the horseshoe ricocheted and burned my leg. Well maybe it would help you. Maybe not.
God cannot make plain all he is doing, because there are millions and millions and millions and millions of effects of every event in your life, the good and the bad. God guides them all. They all have micro purposes and macro purposes. He cannot tell you all of them because your brain can’t hold all of them.
Trust does not demand more than God has told us. And he has given us immeasurably precious promises that he is in control of all things and only does good to his children. And he has given us a very thick book where we can read story after story after story about how he rules for the good of his people.
Let’s trust him and not ask for what our brains cannot contain.
One of the reasons God rarely gives micro reasons for his painful providences, but regularly gives magnificent macro reasons, is that there are too many micro reasons for us to manage, namely, millions and millions and millions and millions and millions.
God says things like:
* These bad things happened to you because I intend to work it together for your good (Romans 8).
* These happened so that you would rely more on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1).
* This happened so that the gold and silver of your faith would be refined (1 Peter 1).
* This thorn is so that the power of Christ would be magnified in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12).
But we can always object that there are other easier ways for God to accomplish those things. We want to know more specifics: Why now? Why this much? Why this often? Why this way? Why these people?
The problem is, we would have to be God to grasp all that God is doing in our problems. In fact, pushing too hard for more detailed explanations from God is a kind of demand that we be God.
Think of this, you are a blacksmith making horseshoes. You are hammering on a white hot shoe and it ricochets off and hits you in the leg and burns you. In your haste to tend to your leg you let the shoe alone unfinished. You wonder why God let this happen. You were singing a hymn and doing his will.
Your helper, not knowing the horseshoe was unfinished gathered it up and put it with the others.
Later there was an invasion of your country by a hostile army with a powerful cavalry. They came through your town and demanded that you supply them with food and with shoes for their horses. You comply.
Their commander has his horse shoed by his own smith using the stolen horseshoes, and the unfinished shoe with the thin weak spot is put on the commander’s horse.
In the decisive battle against the loyal troops defending your homeland the enemy commander is leading the final charge. The weak shoe snaps and catches on a root and causes his horse to fall. He crashes to the ground and his own soldiers, galloping at full speed, trample him to death.
This causes such a confusion that the defenders are able to rout the enemy and the country is saved.
Now you might say, well, it would sure help me trust God if he informed me of these events so that I would know why the horseshoe ricocheted and burned my leg. Well maybe it would help you. Maybe not.
God cannot make plain all he is doing, because there are millions and millions and millions and millions of effects of every event in your life, the good and the bad. God guides them all. They all have micro purposes and macro purposes. He cannot tell you all of them because your brain can’t hold all of them.
Trust does not demand more than God has told us. And he has given us immeasurably precious promises that he is in control of all things and only does good to his children. And he has given us a very thick book where we can read story after story after story about how he rules for the good of his people.
Let’s trust him and not ask for what our brains cannot contain.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Modesty: The Attitude of the Modest Woman
The second of seven excerpts from C.J.’s chapter on modesty in the forthcoming book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (Crossway, Sept. 2008).
Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline. We must start with the attitude of the modest woman.
This emphasis on the heart is front and center in 1 Timothy 2:9. Note the phrase “with modesty and self-control.” All respectable apparel is the result of a godly heart, where modesty and self-control originate. Your wardrobe is a public statement of your personal and private motivation. And if you profess godliness, you should be concerned with cultivating these twin virtues, modesty and self-control.
Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.
Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.
Self-control is, in a word, restraint. Restraint for the purpose of purity; restraint for the purpose of exalting God and not ourselves. Together, these attitudes of modesty and self-control should be the hallmark of the godly woman’s dress.
In Paul and Timothy’s day, modesty and self-control were foreign to many women walking through the local marketplace, just as they were to Jenni and are to the majority of women at the local shopping mall today. And these concepts are certainly foreign to modern fashion designers, whose goal in clothing design is sensual provocation.
But for godly women, modesty and self-control are to be distinctly present in the heart. The question is, are they distinctly present in yours?
Such an attitude will make all the difference in a woman’s dress, as pastor John MacArthur has observed:
How does a woman discern the sometimes fine line between proper dress and dressing to be the center of attention? The answer starts in the intent of the heart. A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses. Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood?.... Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God? Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her…beauty? Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually? A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed, because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance.*
Any conversation about modesty “starts in the intent of the heart.” So consider for a moment, what is the intent of your heart in purchasing clothes to wear? Does a humble heart and a servant’s heart dictate your wardrobe and appearance? Is your shopping informed and governed by modesty and restraint? Or is your dress motivated by a desire for attention and approval from others? Does your style reflect a lack of self-control?
There’s an inseparable link between your heart and your clothes. Your clothes say something about your attitude. If they don’t express a heart that is humble, that desires to please God, that longs to serve others, that’s modest, that exercises self-control, then change must begin in the heart.
For modesty is humility expressed in dress.
-----------
Taken from C.J. Mahaney’s chapter “God, My Heart, and Clothes,” in the book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, © 2008. The book will be available from Crossway in September. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.
-----------
* John MacArthur, 1 Timothy, The MacArthur New Testament Commentaries (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 80–81.
Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline. We must start with the attitude of the modest woman.
This emphasis on the heart is front and center in 1 Timothy 2:9. Note the phrase “with modesty and self-control.” All respectable apparel is the result of a godly heart, where modesty and self-control originate. Your wardrobe is a public statement of your personal and private motivation. And if you profess godliness, you should be concerned with cultivating these twin virtues, modesty and self-control.
Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.
Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.
Self-control is, in a word, restraint. Restraint for the purpose of purity; restraint for the purpose of exalting God and not ourselves. Together, these attitudes of modesty and self-control should be the hallmark of the godly woman’s dress.
In Paul and Timothy’s day, modesty and self-control were foreign to many women walking through the local marketplace, just as they were to Jenni and are to the majority of women at the local shopping mall today. And these concepts are certainly foreign to modern fashion designers, whose goal in clothing design is sensual provocation.
But for godly women, modesty and self-control are to be distinctly present in the heart. The question is, are they distinctly present in yours?
Such an attitude will make all the difference in a woman’s dress, as pastor John MacArthur has observed:
How does a woman discern the sometimes fine line between proper dress and dressing to be the center of attention? The answer starts in the intent of the heart. A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses. Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood?.... Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God? Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her…beauty? Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually? A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed, because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance.*
Any conversation about modesty “starts in the intent of the heart.” So consider for a moment, what is the intent of your heart in purchasing clothes to wear? Does a humble heart and a servant’s heart dictate your wardrobe and appearance? Is your shopping informed and governed by modesty and restraint? Or is your dress motivated by a desire for attention and approval from others? Does your style reflect a lack of self-control?
There’s an inseparable link between your heart and your clothes. Your clothes say something about your attitude. If they don’t express a heart that is humble, that desires to please God, that longs to serve others, that’s modest, that exercises self-control, then change must begin in the heart.
For modesty is humility expressed in dress.
-----------
Taken from C.J. Mahaney’s chapter “God, My Heart, and Clothes,” in the book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, © 2008. The book will be available from Crossway in September. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.
-----------
* John MacArthur, 1 Timothy, The MacArthur New Testament Commentaries (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 80–81.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Puritan Rappers?
Okay so I am a huge Christian rap fan so I had to blog this. If you don't know now you know. Check out www.lampmode.com, www.reachrecords.com, and www.crossmovementrecords.com enjoy!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Sovereignty of Satan?
Charismatics and the Sovereignty of Satan
by John MacArthur
I received an interesting letter the other day. It came from some people who came to Grace [Community] Church from a Charismatic church – a very large, prominent Charismatic church.
That’s quite a jump — to leave there and come to Grace Church. The only thing they knew in their church about me was that I didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s all they knew — that I didn’t believe [in the continuation of the gifts], so I didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit.
They didn’t know much else [about our church], but as circumstances indicated they came to Grace, on a visit, and they never left. . . . There are a number of people who were in this group that came, and one of the ladies wrote a really interesting letter to me. It is an amazingly well-written letter. . . [And] in the letter, this is what was laid out. When you think of the [broader] Charismatic movement, you think of speaking in tongues, or healings, or Benny Hinn knocking people down, and things like that. But there are some underlying things in the Charismatic worldview that are really very, very terrifying. And she pointed out this in the letter. She said:
You know we lived all our life in this movement and one thing dominates that movement, and it is that Satan is sovereign. If you get sick, it was the devil. If your child gets sick, it was the devil. The devil made your child sick. And even if your child dies Satan somehow got the victory. If your spouse, your husband or your wife gets cancer, that’s the devil that did that. If you had an accident, the devil did that. If you lost your job, the devil did that. If things didn’t go the way you wanted them to go in your company or your family and you wound up with a loss of job or a divorce — the devil did all of that. The devil has to be bound and so you have got to learn these formulas, because you have got to bind the devil or he is really going to control everything in your life.
The devil dominates everything, and he is assisted by this massive force of demons who also have to be dealt with, and you have got to do everything you can to try to overcome these spiritual powers, and they are invisible and they are fast and they are powerful, and they are really impossible for you to deal with on any permanent basis, so it is an ongoing, incessant struggle with the devil.
And the lady in the letter just basically said, “We lived our whole lives thinking that everything that went wrong in the entire universe was basically because of the devil. The devil is really sovereign in everything and even God, along with us, is really struggling like crazy to overcome the devil.”
She said:
I lived with heart palpitations, panic attacks, anxiety, frightening dreams — waking up in the middle of the night terrified that the devil might be doing something to my child while he’s lying in his bed. Just living in this constant terror of what Satan was doing; that when the wrong guy gets elected — Satan put him there. That when the society goes a certain direction it is all under the control of Satan. Satan is really the sovereign of everything and it is really difficult to get control of him — even God is up there wringing His hands trying to get control of this deal.
I lived with that fear and that terror because I took my church seriously.” And she said, “I came to Grace [Community Church] and one thing just totally shocked me. You said that:
The fact is, God is in control of everything! . . . When you get sick, or when somebody gets cancer, or when something goes wrong in the world, or when you lose your job, that is not outside the tolerances of God, that is not outside the purposes of God, in fact, God works all things together for good.
This was absolutely earth shaking. This was a total change for us, and the difference we found was so powerful that it totally changed the way we think about life.
That is the issue. We do not believe Satan is in charge of history; we believe God is in charge. That changes everything. That takes all the panic out. I can honestly say that I have never had a panic attack. I have never awakened in the night worrying what the devil might be doing, because God has not only conquered Satan, but God has put Satan under our feet it says, and, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” [1 John 4:4]. So we know God controls history. And this might surprise you, the devil is God’s servant. If you want to read a great book, read, Erwin Lutzer’s book on Satan, in which he points that out so capably.
by John MacArthur
I received an interesting letter the other day. It came from some people who came to Grace [Community] Church from a Charismatic church – a very large, prominent Charismatic church.
That’s quite a jump — to leave there and come to Grace Church. The only thing they knew in their church about me was that I didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s all they knew — that I didn’t believe [in the continuation of the gifts], so I didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit.
They didn’t know much else [about our church], but as circumstances indicated they came to Grace, on a visit, and they never left. . . . There are a number of people who were in this group that came, and one of the ladies wrote a really interesting letter to me. It is an amazingly well-written letter. . . [And] in the letter, this is what was laid out. When you think of the [broader] Charismatic movement, you think of speaking in tongues, or healings, or Benny Hinn knocking people down, and things like that. But there are some underlying things in the Charismatic worldview that are really very, very terrifying. And she pointed out this in the letter. She said:
You know we lived all our life in this movement and one thing dominates that movement, and it is that Satan is sovereign. If you get sick, it was the devil. If your child gets sick, it was the devil. The devil made your child sick. And even if your child dies Satan somehow got the victory. If your spouse, your husband or your wife gets cancer, that’s the devil that did that. If you had an accident, the devil did that. If you lost your job, the devil did that. If things didn’t go the way you wanted them to go in your company or your family and you wound up with a loss of job or a divorce — the devil did all of that. The devil has to be bound and so you have got to learn these formulas, because you have got to bind the devil or he is really going to control everything in your life.
The devil dominates everything, and he is assisted by this massive force of demons who also have to be dealt with, and you have got to do everything you can to try to overcome these spiritual powers, and they are invisible and they are fast and they are powerful, and they are really impossible for you to deal with on any permanent basis, so it is an ongoing, incessant struggle with the devil.
And the lady in the letter just basically said, “We lived our whole lives thinking that everything that went wrong in the entire universe was basically because of the devil. The devil is really sovereign in everything and even God, along with us, is really struggling like crazy to overcome the devil.”
She said:
I lived with heart palpitations, panic attacks, anxiety, frightening dreams — waking up in the middle of the night terrified that the devil might be doing something to my child while he’s lying in his bed. Just living in this constant terror of what Satan was doing; that when the wrong guy gets elected — Satan put him there. That when the society goes a certain direction it is all under the control of Satan. Satan is really the sovereign of everything and it is really difficult to get control of him — even God is up there wringing His hands trying to get control of this deal.
I lived with that fear and that terror because I took my church seriously.” And she said, “I came to Grace [Community Church] and one thing just totally shocked me. You said that:
The fact is, God is in control of everything! . . . When you get sick, or when somebody gets cancer, or when something goes wrong in the world, or when you lose your job, that is not outside the tolerances of God, that is not outside the purposes of God, in fact, God works all things together for good.
This was absolutely earth shaking. This was a total change for us, and the difference we found was so powerful that it totally changed the way we think about life.
That is the issue. We do not believe Satan is in charge of history; we believe God is in charge. That changes everything. That takes all the panic out. I can honestly say that I have never had a panic attack. I have never awakened in the night worrying what the devil might be doing, because God has not only conquered Satan, but God has put Satan under our feet it says, and, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” [1 John 4:4]. So we know God controls history. And this might surprise you, the devil is God’s servant. If you want to read a great book, read, Erwin Lutzer’s book on Satan, in which he points that out so capably.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Do You Really Know The Gospel?
“The greatest need in the evangelical community today is to learn the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because in simply surveying the sermons and the witnessing techniques and the methodology of Church growth and everything else that I see, I can only come to one conclusion: we know not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
-Paul Washer
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Let No One Despise Your Youth!
Whenever I get a chance to go back home I am always excited to visit my home church and minister to the youth there. My last trip home I had the pleasure of leading the youth in bible study on Wednesdays. When I first took on the task I was a bit nervous about where I should start and what I should talk about. I didn't want to discuss topics that would be fun and interesting. I wanted to challenge the youth to live out the gospel. I wanted them to know that they were more than just our future they are the right now! For so long we have told our youth that they are the future not knowing that what we were really saying is that their lives won't be of substance until they are older. Are we asking our youth too much by challenging them to go beyond what they believe and start living out the gospel with conviction today? I don't think so and neither do these two teens who are starting a rebelution in their generation.
(The information below comes courtesy of www.therebelution.com)
With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.
Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Here is an excerpt from the book, "Do Hard Things"
Most People Don't...
A Different Kind of Teen Book
Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last.
Well, we do.
This is a different kind of teen book. Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You'll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it's like being a teenager. You'll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren't supposed to care much about books, or see any reason to keep them around. And you'll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice--because it's been dumbed down. Like, just for you.
What you're holding in your hands right now is a challenging, hardcover book for teens by two teens who believe our generation is ready for a change. Ready for something that doesn't promise a whole new life if you'll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant. We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming. And we've noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it's also more difficult.
We're nineteen-year-old twin brothers, born and raised in Oregon, taught at home by our parents, and striving to follow Christ as best we can. We've made more than our share of mistakes. And although we don't think "average teenagers" exist, there is nothing all that extraordinary about us personally.
Still, we've had some extraordinary experiences. At age sixteen we interned at the Supreme Court of Alabama. At seventeen, we served as grassroots directors for four statewide political campaigns. At eighteen, we authored the most popular Christian teen blog on the web. We've been able to speak to thousands of teens and their parents at conferences in the United States and internationally, and to reach millions online. But if our teen years have been different than most, it's not because we are somehow better than other teens, but because we've been motivated by a simple but very big idea. It's an idea you're going to encounter for yourself in the pages ahead.
We've seen this idea transform "average" teenagers into world-changers able to accomplish incredible things. And they started by simply being willing to break the mold of what society thinks teens are capable of.
So even though the story starts with us, this book is really not about us, and we would never want it to be. It's about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation. It's about an idea. It's about rebelling against low expectations. It's about a movement that is changing the attitudes and actions of teens around the world. And we want you to be part of it.
This book invites you to explore some radical questions:
* Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we're actually missing out on some of the best years of our lives?
* Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie, and that we are its victims?
* Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments--as individuals and as a generation?
* And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely--a path that required more effort but promised a lot more reward?
We describe that alternative path with three simple words: "do hard things."
If you're like most people, your first reaction to the phrase "do hard things" runs along the lines of, "Hard? Uh, oh. Guys, I just remembered that I'm supposed to be somewhere else. Like, right now."
We understand this reaction. It reminds us of a story we like to tell about a group of monks.
On the outskirts of a small town in Germany is the imaginary abbey of Dundelhoff. This small stone monastery is home to a particularly strict sect of Dundress Monks who have each vowed to live a life of continual self-denial and discomfort.
Instead of wearing comfy t-shirts and well-worn jeans like most people, these monks wear either itchy shirts made from goat hair or chain mail worn directly over bare skin. Instead of a soft mattress, pillows, and warm blankets, they sleep on the cold stone floors of the abbey. You might have read somewhere that monks are fabulous cooks? Well, not these monks. They eat colorless, tasteless sludge--once a day. They drink only lukewarm water.
We could go on, but you get the picture. No matter what decision they face, Dundress Monks will always choose the more difficult option, the one that provides the least physical comfort, holds the least appeal, offers the least fun. Why? Because they believe that the more miserable they are, the holier they are; and the holier they are, the happier God is.
So these miserable monks must be poster boys for "do hard things." Right?
Wrong!
We're not plotting to make your life miserable. We're not recommending that you do any and every difficult thing. For example, we're not telling you to rob a bank, jump off a cliff, climb Half Dome with your bare hands, or stand on your head for 24 hours straight. We're not telling you to do pointless hard things just because they are hard. And if you're a Christian, we're certainly not telling you that if you work harder or make yourself uncomfortable on purpose, God will love you more. He will never--could never--love you any more than He does right now.
So that's what we're not doing. What we are doing is challenging you to grab hold of a more exciting option for your teen years than the one portrayed as normal in society today. This option has somehow gotten lost in our culture, and most people don't even know it. In the pages ahead, you're going to meet young people just like you who have rediscovered this better way--a way to reach higher, dream bigger, grow stronger, love and honor God, live with more joy--and quit wasting their lives.
In Do Hard Things, we not only say there is a better way to do the teen years, we show you how we and thousands of other teens are doing it right now, and how you can as well.
[Excerpt taken from Do Hard Things]
Excerpted from Do Hard Things by Alex Harris and Brett Harris Copyright © 2008 by Alex Harris and Brett Harris. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
(The information below comes courtesy of www.therebelution.com)
With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.
Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Here is an excerpt from the book, "Do Hard Things"
Most People Don't...
A Different Kind of Teen Book
Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last.
Well, we do.
This is a different kind of teen book. Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You'll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it's like being a teenager. You'll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren't supposed to care much about books, or see any reason to keep them around. And you'll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice--because it's been dumbed down. Like, just for you.
What you're holding in your hands right now is a challenging, hardcover book for teens by two teens who believe our generation is ready for a change. Ready for something that doesn't promise a whole new life if you'll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant. We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming. And we've noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it's also more difficult.
We're nineteen-year-old twin brothers, born and raised in Oregon, taught at home by our parents, and striving to follow Christ as best we can. We've made more than our share of mistakes. And although we don't think "average teenagers" exist, there is nothing all that extraordinary about us personally.
Still, we've had some extraordinary experiences. At age sixteen we interned at the Supreme Court of Alabama. At seventeen, we served as grassroots directors for four statewide political campaigns. At eighteen, we authored the most popular Christian teen blog on the web. We've been able to speak to thousands of teens and their parents at conferences in the United States and internationally, and to reach millions online. But if our teen years have been different than most, it's not because we are somehow better than other teens, but because we've been motivated by a simple but very big idea. It's an idea you're going to encounter for yourself in the pages ahead.
We've seen this idea transform "average" teenagers into world-changers able to accomplish incredible things. And they started by simply being willing to break the mold of what society thinks teens are capable of.
So even though the story starts with us, this book is really not about us, and we would never want it to be. It's about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation. It's about an idea. It's about rebelling against low expectations. It's about a movement that is changing the attitudes and actions of teens around the world. And we want you to be part of it.
This book invites you to explore some radical questions:
* Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we're actually missing out on some of the best years of our lives?
* Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie, and that we are its victims?
* Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments--as individuals and as a generation?
* And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely--a path that required more effort but promised a lot more reward?
We describe that alternative path with three simple words: "do hard things."
If you're like most people, your first reaction to the phrase "do hard things" runs along the lines of, "Hard? Uh, oh. Guys, I just remembered that I'm supposed to be somewhere else. Like, right now."
We understand this reaction. It reminds us of a story we like to tell about a group of monks.
On the outskirts of a small town in Germany is the imaginary abbey of Dundelhoff. This small stone monastery is home to a particularly strict sect of Dundress Monks who have each vowed to live a life of continual self-denial and discomfort.
Instead of wearing comfy t-shirts and well-worn jeans like most people, these monks wear either itchy shirts made from goat hair or chain mail worn directly over bare skin. Instead of a soft mattress, pillows, and warm blankets, they sleep on the cold stone floors of the abbey. You might have read somewhere that monks are fabulous cooks? Well, not these monks. They eat colorless, tasteless sludge--once a day. They drink only lukewarm water.
We could go on, but you get the picture. No matter what decision they face, Dundress Monks will always choose the more difficult option, the one that provides the least physical comfort, holds the least appeal, offers the least fun. Why? Because they believe that the more miserable they are, the holier they are; and the holier they are, the happier God is.
So these miserable monks must be poster boys for "do hard things." Right?
Wrong!
We're not plotting to make your life miserable. We're not recommending that you do any and every difficult thing. For example, we're not telling you to rob a bank, jump off a cliff, climb Half Dome with your bare hands, or stand on your head for 24 hours straight. We're not telling you to do pointless hard things just because they are hard. And if you're a Christian, we're certainly not telling you that if you work harder or make yourself uncomfortable on purpose, God will love you more. He will never--could never--love you any more than He does right now.
So that's what we're not doing. What we are doing is challenging you to grab hold of a more exciting option for your teen years than the one portrayed as normal in society today. This option has somehow gotten lost in our culture, and most people don't even know it. In the pages ahead, you're going to meet young people just like you who have rediscovered this better way--a way to reach higher, dream bigger, grow stronger, love and honor God, live with more joy--and quit wasting their lives.
In Do Hard Things, we not only say there is a better way to do the teen years, we show you how we and thousands of other teens are doing it right now, and how you can as well.
[Excerpt taken from Do Hard Things]
Excerpted from Do Hard Things by Alex Harris and Brett Harris Copyright © 2008 by Alex Harris and Brett Harris. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Don't Waste Your Pulpit
If you didn't know I am an avid John Piper listener/reader. For the past year or so John Piper and Desiring God ministries have embarked on a Don't Waste Your Life campaign derived from a book John Piper wrote titled, "Don't Waste Your Life". The campaign basically gives you different life stories of people around the world who aren't wasting their lives and are sharing their stories to motivate others not to waste their lives. Here is a recent video by John Piper challenging pastors not to waste their pulpits.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Store your treasures in Heaven!
I am ashamed to say I was one of those Christians who fervently believed in the prosperity gospel and thought that I was sowing seeds to reap a harvest (harvest meaning a bunch of stuff that I wanted God to give me). I believed that God wanted his children to be healthy, wealthy, and full of life but boy was I wrong. I was storing up my treasures on earth and not in heaven. What attracted me to the prosperity gospel was my desire to own a business and to "do it Gods way".Though there is nothing wrong with owning a business in and of itself there was a problem with my motivation behind wanting a business, to become rich.
I wanted to make at least $10,000 or more per month so that I could buy my dream house, own a couple of vacation properties, a couple of expensive cars, designer clothes, etc. I even found a church that was preaching everything that I wanted to hear concerning prosperity. The pastor taught that the "good news" that Jesus came to proclaim, first to the poor, was that they didn't have to be poor anymore. Among other things, the pastor's sermons constantly focused on prosperity and very motivational topics which really fed my desire to become rich. I was convinced that God had given me the power to create wealth and that he wanted to bless me so I could be a blessing to others.
I have since dedicated my life to treasuring Christ above ALL THINGS and challenging others to do the same.Paul said, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Randy Alcorn sums it up best in this quote from his book, "The Treasure Principle" :
I wanted to make at least $10,000 or more per month so that I could buy my dream house, own a couple of vacation properties, a couple of expensive cars, designer clothes, etc. I even found a church that was preaching everything that I wanted to hear concerning prosperity. The pastor taught that the "good news" that Jesus came to proclaim, first to the poor, was that they didn't have to be poor anymore. Among other things, the pastor's sermons constantly focused on prosperity and very motivational topics which really fed my desire to become rich. I was convinced that God had given me the power to create wealth and that he wanted to bless me so I could be a blessing to others.
I have since dedicated my life to treasuring Christ above ALL THINGS and challenging others to do the same.Paul said, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Randy Alcorn sums it up best in this quote from his book, "The Treasure Principle" :
"Consider what Jesus is saying: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." Why not? Because earthly treasures are bad? No. Because they won't last. Scripture says, "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle" (Proverbs 23:5) What a picture. Next time you buy a prized possession, imagine it sprouting wings and flying off. Sooner or later it will disappear. But when Jesus warns us not to store up treasures on earth, it's not just because wealth might be lost; it's because wealth will always be lost. Either it leaves us while we live, or we leave it when we die. No exceptions. "
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Any spiritual leader who refuses to answer your questions about their doctrine is not a person you should be learning from. Don't allow your pastor to give you some lame excuse. 1 Peter 3: 15 says we are to always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks us to give an account for the hope that is in us. The English word apologetics comes from the Greek word translated as defense in that verse. Peter is insisting that believers must understand what we believe, why we are Christians, and then be able to articulate one's beliefs humbly, thoughtfully, reasonably, and biblically. If your pastor tells you that he is teaching the full gospel but avoids the scriptures that contradict the prosperity gospel you should be concerned. I know you who are in the prosperity gospel have read scriptures that contradict the teaching that God wants you healthy, wealthy, and ful of life. If you haven't I can show you some.
When a pastor can't and refuses to answer questions regarding what he is teaching this should raise some flags. A lot of you take what these false teachers say as being the gospel truth just because they claim to be called by God and have the title "Dr" or "Bishop" at the beginning of their names.....do some research people! Some of these pastors are lying about their degrees and some of them get these questionable degrees from degree mills or diploma mills (look at links below). You must ask yourself why would a pastor or anyone want to get a degree from a university that is not accredited? Some of these false teachers will also claim to have an undergraduate degree from an accredited university but then claim to have a graduate degree from a non-accredited university but does that make any sense? You be the judge.
Now I am not saying that you must have a degree in order to understand the bible. I am saying that if you are going to spend money on a degree it would be wise to make sure the educational institution is regionally accredited. I am also encouraging you to ask questions about the degrees your pastor or these televangelists are claiming to have. I am close to finishing up my bachelor's degree and with all the work I am putting in for this degree you had better believe I will be more than happy to show it someone should they ask....transcripts and all. Could we say the same for some of the pastors claiming to have all of these degrees? of course not, because they probably aren't telling the truth about their educational backgrounds.
Now I know someone might say well what does that have to do with anything? It is very important when you consider that these false teachers will go to the degree of lying about their educational backgrounds just to deceive you into believing that they know what they are taking about. These false teachers want to give you the impression that they are spirit lead and have studied biblical theology extensively making them more than qualified to teach you. But are they?
Stay tuned for part two..........
Here are some links for those of you interested!
List of Unaccredited Institutions of Higher Learning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unaccredited_institutions_of_higher_learning
Wikipedia Definition of "Diploma Mill":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diploma_mill
Wikipedia Definition of "Honorary Degree":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorary_degree
Friends International Christian University -
http://www.ficu.edu/
Life Christian University-
http://www.lcus.edu/