from The Last Crusade:

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school
of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly
searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with
Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across
a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short
version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece
and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution;
it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and
became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19
years old–barely out of diapers–and I wanted them to understand
and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding,
“An enterprise. That’s a business.” After a few moments Martha,
the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not
imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was
self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless,
I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked
such a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be
a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was going,
and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued,
“But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or
spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were
on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was,
“Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought
aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about
her question at least once every day. “When a body becomes a
business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her
question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically,
is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we
love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

… I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not
know God–much less love Him. The root of this condition originates
in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what
we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would
bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him
for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we
can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded
to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ–that’s pretty
intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love
someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone,
is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or
prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha’s question again one day, and considered
the question, “What’s the difference between a lover and a prostitute?”
I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does
what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but
only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, “What would
happen if God stopped paying me?”

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover
my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of
God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He
never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please
understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The
issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is
the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings
in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any
conditions? It took several months to work through these questions.
Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by
my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed
with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in
my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved,
but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute?
There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for
that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both
places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no
substitute or unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I
mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another
look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

-Dr. David Ryser.

The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,”

Daniel 2:40-43:

Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.  Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

from Bloomberg:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”

“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”

The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.

The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”

Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.

from zombietime:

Forced abortions. Mass sterilization. A “Planetary Regime” with the power of life and death over American citizens.

The tyrannical fantasies of a madman? Or merely the opinions of the person now in control of science policy in the United States? Or both?

These ideas (among many other equally horrifying recommendations) were put forth by John Holdren, whom Barack Obama has recently appointed Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology — informally known as the United States’ Science Czar. In a book Holdren co-authored in 1977, the man now firmly in control of science policy in this country wrote that:

* Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not;

* The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation’s drinking water or in food;

* Single mothers and teen mothers should have their babies seized from them against their will and given away to other couples to raise;

* People who “contribute to social deterioration” (i.e. undesirables) “can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility” — in other words, be compelled to have abortions or be sterilized.

* A transnational “Planetary Regime” should assume control of the global economy and also dictate the most intimate details of Americans’ lives — using an armed international police force.

Impossible, you say? That must be an exaggeration or a hoax. No one in their right mind would say such things.

Well, I hate to break the news to you, but it is no hoax, no exaggeration. John Holdren really did say those things, and this report contains the proof. Below you will find photographs, scans, and transcriptions of pages in the book Ecoscience, co-authored in 1977 by John Holdren and his close colleagues Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich. The scans and photos are provided to supply conclusive evidence that the words attributed to Holdren are unaltered and accurately transcribed.

This report was originally inspired by this article in FrontPage magazine, which covers some of the same information given here. But that article, although it contained many shocking quotes from John Holdren, failed to make much of an impact on public opinion. Why not? Because, as I discovered when discussing the article with various friends, there was no proof that the quotes were accurate — so most folks (even those opposed to Obama’s policies) doubted their veracity, because the statements seemed too inflammatory to be true. In the modern era, it seems, journalists have lost all credibility, and so are presumed to be lying or exaggerating unless solid evidence is offered to back up the claims. Well, this report contains that evidence.

Of course, Holdren wrote these things in the framework of a book he co-authored about what he imagined at the time (late 1970s) was an apocalyptic crisis facing mankind: overpopulation. He felt extreme measures would be required to combat an extreme problem. Whether or not you think this provides him a valid “excuse” for having descended into a totalitarian fantasy is up to you: personally, I don’t think it’s a valid excuse at all, since the crisis he was in a panic over was mostly in his imagination. Totalitarian regimes and unhinged people almost always have what seems internally like a reasonable justification for actions which to the outside world seem incomprehensible.

from The Guardian:

Africans are in love with him because he has an African pedigree: a Kenyan father and a humble, poor background. He is very well liked in Nigeria. You see people wearing t-shirts with his name and photograph, and some call their children Obama. When George Bush invaded Iraq people were very angry, but for the first time ever people are now in love with America. Obama is a saviour. . . . . .

If George Bush had said “Africa arise”, we’d have said, “What?” But Obama is like the Messiah. We’re in awe and we’ll listen. . . . . .

from Gay Christian Movement Watch:

I just learned of this curious oddity today from Alétheia Blog.

Caedmon’s Call lead singer, Derek Webb has penned a new Christian song where he expresses his anger over what he calls the church “obsession” with homosexuality and not with feeding the hungry and taking care of the poor. CC and Webb are under the Christian rock genre and its not Webb’s first time spewing out ugly lyrics which edify no one. This one sounds like like a  freakish attempt to ape Marvin Gay’s “What’s going on?”

Webb was so angry he used triple X language in the unhinged “song” titled “What Matters more?”

You say you always treat people like you like to be
I guess you love being hated for your sexuality
You love when people put words in your mouth
‘Bout what you believe, make you sound like a freak
‘Cause if you really believe what you say you believe
You wouldn’t be so da** reckless with the words you speak
Wouldn’t silently conceal when the liars speak
Denyin’ all the dyin’ of the remedy

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

If I can tell what’s in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
Then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it’s about
It looks like being hated for all the wrong things
Like chasin’ the wind while the pendulum swings
‘Cause we can talk and debate until we’re blue in the face
About the language and tradition that he’s comin’ to save
Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a sh**
About 50,000 people who are dyin’ today

So Mr. Webb, you can tell what’s in a person’s heart by what comes out of their mouth? Can we apply that line to you and your song? Besides obvious hypocrisy, the problem with people like Webb is after they’ve milked the church for fame and money, their pride and arrogance comes out of the closet in their trashy music.

Webb’s philosophy resembles the gay christian/political movement’s claims about the bible and homosexuality.  While screaming loudly that homosexuality isnt important, they berate, sue and threaten people who wont accept it. Why doesn’t Webb write a song about that?  His ideology is a rehashed version of gay lie “Jesus said nothing about homosexuality”.  He accuses the church of obsessing over homosexuality, but neglects acknowledging the severe assault the church is under RIGHT NOW from homosexual activists within and without.

Same gender sexual sin was important enough for God to have it written into the holy Word 18 times in the Old Testament and 10 times in the New Testament in one way or another. Im not sure what church Webb attends, but we arent spending nearly enough time fighting the growing heresy. Most churches are so  engrossed in their next building fund goal or endless “anniversary” programs, they dont address the thousands of people who sit in their pews struggling with homosexuality. AB said he believes Webb took some of the lyrics

Webb, in a word, is deceived. Although I’ve never listened to Caedmon’s Call or Webb before, his nasty mouth and false worldview is enough to never even consider the possibility.

Even if Webb was right, what does using profanity in a so-called Christian song really accomplish?

If  95 percent of “Christian music” was rounded up and burned today, we might be able to hear God’s truth over the noise of these pied pipers.

from Lighthouse Trails Research:

This 2004 UK article predicted that Christianity was going to be replaced by mystical spirituality. Today, five years later largely because of the spiritual formation movement, the Purpose Driven movement, and the emerging church, this is exactly what is taking place! The words of Karl Rahner are ringing true when he said the Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will be nothing at all. Are we witnessing the great falling away?

The Times
England
“Spirited away: why the end is nigh for religion”

Christianity will be eclipsed by spirituality in 30 years, startling new research predicts. Our correspondent reports on the collapse of traditional religion and the rise of mysticism.

Study after study appears to prove that people are increasingly losing faith in the Church and the Bible and turning instead to mysticism in guises ranging from astrology to reiki and holistic healing. The Government, significantly, said this week that older people should be offered t’ai chi classes on the NHS to promote their physical and mental wellbeing….

Twice as many people believe in a “spirit force” within than they do an Almighty God without, while a recent survey hailed a revival of the Age of Aquarius after finding that two thirds of 18 to 24-year-olds had more belief in their horoscopes than in the Bible. …

So what does meditation have that conventional worship does not? Neutrality, suggests Elizabeth Forder, who runs the centre. “We are not affiliated to any religion and there is no belief system imposed on anybody here,” she says. “I was brought up a Christian, but it held no real meaning for me. I would class myself as a universalist, believing that all religions offer the same end.”

Click here to read this entire article.

from American Thinker:

Intelligent idiots, smart fools, multi-degreed morons – lots of monikers could describe a category of individuals dismayingly prominent in the ruling elites of the West. They are the people so divorced from reality, so engrossed in bookish pursuits that – for all their undoubted intellectual accomplishments and often as a direct consequence thereof – they invariably end up with egg on their faces whenever they try to engage in practical activities.

Worse yet, they idolize each other, sticking up for one another out of class solidarity. Case in point: a few days ago I watched a gathering of noted media intellectuals on C-SPAN.  David Brooks of the New York Times was supposed to counterbalance the four leftist pundits who vigorously extolled Barack Obama’s genius.  But even the token conservative’s criticism was perfunctory. Having poked a couple of holes in the administration’s economic agenda, Brooks waxed lyrical about Obama’s personnel policy. He was struck by the “sheer intellectual brilliance” of the economic team Obama has assembled, people “like Larry Summers” who dazzle any gathering and dominate any discussion.

from asharq alawsat:

Somalia’s hardline Islamist rebels beheaded seven people on Friday for being “Christians” and “spies” in the latest imposition of strict sharia, Islamic law, by the Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, witnesses said.

Al Shabaab, which controls large tracts of south Somalia and parts of the capital Mogadishu, has carried out such executions before, but the beheadings on Friday were believed to be the largest number of killings at one time, Somalis say.

“Al Shabaab told us that they were beheaded for reasons they described as being Christian followers and spies,” said one relative, who gave his name only as Aden, after the killings in the south-central town of Baidoa.

The group, which western security services say is a proxy for Al Qaeda in Somalia, beheaded three people in the same region last month.

Al Shabaab, which means “Youth” in Arabic, has vowed to rule the majority Muslim nation by a hardline interpretation of Islamic law. The group has dug up Sufi graves, forced women to wear veils, closed down movie halls and cut off limbs for theft. “My husband was missing up to 20 days. Al Shabaab confirmed to us that he and six others were beheaded. We are waiting for his dead body,” said Maryan, the wife of one of the victims.

Somalia’s government has been unable to beat back al Shabaab militants who are making guerrilla-style attacks on Somali troops and an African Union (AU) force there.

The government says the insurgency is being led by foreign fighters in al Shabaab’s ranks. The United Nations and the AU say hundreds of jihadists have flocked to Somalia to battle the government led by ex-rebel leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

“The current war is a foreign war led and supported by

outside forces. The money and ideologies are foreign-based.

Somalis all support the government,” Somali Foreign Minister

Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar told reporters in the Ethiopian capital.

“This is not a war between Somali clans. It is a war against foreign forces who come into the country to overthrow the government that has been elected constitutionally by the Somali people and supported by the international community.”

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council warned Eritrea that it would consider action against anyone undermining peace prospects in Somalia, which has been devastated by civil conflict since 1991.

Asmara has repeatedly denied claims that the Red Sea state was providing support to insurgents battling the western-backed government, also supported by Eritrea’s arch-enemy Ethiopia.

The AU, which has 4,300 peacekeepers in the Somali capital, has called for sanctions against Asmara.

Ethiopian tanks and troops crushed an Islamist movement in Somalia in late 2006, but since then a revived insurgency has killed 18,000 civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands.

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay accused al Shabaab on Friday of extrajudicial killings, setting off bombs in residential areas and using civilians as human shields in their fight against Ahmed’s administration.

The insurgents say they are nationalists seeking to rid Somalia of a western-imposed government which has no popular support.

from LifeSiteNews:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has told a non-profit coalition of pro-life groups in Iowa to promise that it would not organize protests at Planned Parenthood abortion facilities before it is granted tax exempt status.

Pro-life lawyers say the organization has steadily kept within the guidelines for non-profit religious, educational and charitable groups. However, several months after the group applied for tax-exempt status, an IRS agent contacted Coalition for Life Iowa president Sue Martinek to inquire as to whether the group engages in any “picketing” or protesting at Planned Parenthood, and questioned the group’s prayer activity outside Planned Parenthood facilities. 

Lawyers with the Thomas More Society say the agent asked Martinek “to have all Coalition Board members sign a statement that the Coalition will not ‘picket’ or ‘protest’ outside Planned Parenthood or similar organizations and will not ‘organize’ others to do so,” and indicated that the IRS “would approve the Coalition’s pending form 1023 application once such statement was submitted.”

The Thomas More Society issued a statement Monday decrying the “prejucidial” questioning and announcing they would take the IRS to court if it fails to grant the group tax-exempt status, apparently solely based upon its religious affiliation and speech.

“The IRS’ requests come perilously close to violating the First Amendment constitutional rights of the Coalition’s supporters,” said the Society.

“The IRS’s delay and questioning of the Coalition’s tax-exempt, legitimate activities constitutes unnecessary and prejudicial interference with the Coalition’s legal right to a tax-exempt determination. Consequently, the IRS should approve the Coalition’s 1023 application without further delay.”

The lawyers point out that many other organizations regularly advocate on both sides of these issues, and they have not been hindered in obtaining or maintaining tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3).

“The IRS not only erroneously forbade the Coalition for Life of Iowa from engaging in ‘advocacy’ as a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; they also never gave any explanation as to why their request was relevant,” said Thomas Brejcha, president and chief counsel for the Thomas More Society.

“The Coalition has clearly and truthfully stated that all its activities fall in line with IRS guidelines. The IRS is protecting Parenthood and harassing the Coalition for Life of Iowa.”

Warned Brejcha, “If the IRS can discriminate against one non-profit based on its beliefs and religious affiliation, then the IRS could regulate the speech of any other non-profit organization.”

Coalition for Life of Iowa president Sue Martinek did not answer LifeSiteNews.com calls for comment as of press time.

“This is the way government oppression creeps into a society,” commented American Life League president Judie Brown. “It starts when the government targets, and attempts to intimidate and silence the grassroots dissenters who will not dance to the tune of the Obama administration’s radically pro-abortion policies.”

“This is not only political intimidation by the Internal Revenue Service but it is a blatant violation of First Amendment rights,” said Brown. “Neither the Coalition for Life of Iowa nor any other educational and advocacy organization should be subjected to such discriminatory scrutiny. This is a clear case of government repression.”

God is faithful and good. He saw Michael’s deep desire to be closer to the Holy Spirit and honored that. God knew what was to happen and prepared Michael for this.

How anyone could still actually believe this man is anything but a False $ profit astounds me!

Jeremiah 14:14:

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

from Kim Clements Website here.

from The Examiner:

Kim Clement is a man who has brought the office of a prophet off the pages of the bible and into the face of the Church/Body of Christ.  Love him or hate him he does not shy away from controversial subjects.  Dressing almost medieval he definitely has character and style.  Clement schedules several appearances yearly at Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in Hendersonville, TN a suburb of Nashville.

Recently Clement has announced a tribute to Michael Jackson that has met up with a whirlwind of disapproval from a portion of the Christian community. 

It is easy to see both sides of the story. The mainstream Christian would rather not glorify the life of someone who never glorified Christ through confession or action, especially someone as famous as Jackson. 

But, that does not stop Kim Clement, he is just not mainstream.  He cares to look past the sin and mistake of a person to the condition of the soul.  Right or wrong Clement says, “I was honored to meet Michael [Jackson] and pray in his studio in 1994, while he was recording the History album. Just recently, it was his desire to make his music more spiritual and he reached out to Andre and Sandra Crouch, who prayed with him.” 

Clement goes on to say, “Michael changed the way people sang and how they danced. He changed the way records were produced and engineered. He changed the music video and how music was marketed and sold. He was undoubtedly one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world.”