News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

--"Be the Faithful, Not the Fallen"
--[Abiding Word Ministries / The Vine and the Branches]

---"KISSED CHRISTIANITY GOODBYE"~~

~~~Recently, several individuals who are well known among various Christian circles have come out publically and very vocally say that they are no longer Christians, or that their faith is in the least "on incredibly shaky ground." One of them is a pastor in his mid-40s named Joshua Harris. He was the senior pastor of a large church for 11 years. Joshua made a huge impact on a generation of young Christians when he wrote the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Whether or not you are familiar with his book or agree with the viewpoint he espoused in it, the fact that the difficulties and struggles of his life led him to the decision to leave the wife of his youth, along with the faith he once preached, is a great disappointment. Such a decision by any leader in the body of Christ can only produce a wave of sadness among those who love the One he has denied. His statement "I'm no longer a Christian" is one of the most heart-breaking statements I think a person can make.-- -- 2 Peter 2:21 says, "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."

Not knowing the inner workings of his heart, I can only imagine how he came to his current conclusions. We pray for his faith to be restored! But we ask--what happened in his life that opened the door to doubt and unbelief, allowing his relationship with Jesus to be dwarfed by the ideas and arguments inside his head? One Christian leader made the point that Joshua Harris can at least be commended for being bold about his departure from Christianity. At least he has not attempted to redefine his Christianity as so many in this generation are doing by watering down the Gospel until it's so weak you can see right through it. Rather, he has openly admitted that he simply no longer believes the Bible to be true.

My question is how did he come to his conclusion? At what point did he begin to measure the Bible by his beliefs rather than allow his beliefs to measured by the Word of God? How are people deceived in the first place? What is it that opens up a person's heart to not only embrace false teachings but, as Joshua, to depart altogether from Christianity? We must not think that we are more righteous or faithful than the next guy to the point that we are immune to deceptions and apostasy. The phrase "But for the grace of God, there go I" seems appropriate, but what is it that differentiates the faithful from the fallen? It is very important that we know how to avoid being led astray and what safeguards God has given us to remain true to our faith and to His Word. ~~
Let us pray for our fellow Christian brothers and sisters, that the Lord would guard their (and our) hearts and minds from deception. ~~

["The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
"The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD
are true: they are righteous altogether.--(PSALM 19: 8-9 NASB) ]
~~~~~~~~~~

--Everyone Will See Him ~~

"After I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with
Me so that you may be where I am."
--(John 14:3) --

~~~Someday, according to Christ, He will set us free. He will come back.

In the blink of an eye, as fast as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, He will come back. And everyone will see Him--you will. I will. Bodies will push back the dirt and break the surface of the Sea. The Earth will tremble, the sky will roar, and those who do not know Him will shudder.

But in that hour you will not fear, because you know Him. "Even so, Come Lord Jesus."
--
--Grace For The Moment/ML~ --"Even So, Come" / Chris Tomlin ~<https://youtu.be/gw5Fq-svvQ8>
~~~~~~~~~

--BUILD YOURSELVES UP ~~

~~JUDE ends his letter with a short list of admonitions to help the saints be kept in faith: "But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen".-- --(Jude 1:20-25)

--The Vine and The Branches~~/ Abiding Word Ministries~--"Holy Spirit"/ Francesca Battistelli ~<https://youtu.be/s4i3K1gbGV4>
~~~~~~~~~~

--INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH~~

---ACTS & Facts / November 2019

---'STIRRING THE POT' ~~~

--ICR recently had the opportunity to place messages on billboards in the Dallas area. We prepared the artwork and crafted the wording to inform drivers about the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History and the work of the Institute for Creation Research. One of our billboard designs prominently displayed a tooth T. rex image with our logo, website, and the question "Dinosaurs and the Bible?" But soon after we submitted the ad, we were surprised to get an email from the sales rep that said two of the billboard owners wouldn't run it. The message was too "divisive."

Which part did the billboard sales rep object to? You got it--the Bible. More specifically, the Bible being included in the same context with dinosaurs. Here's the complete explanation we received: "It's controversial to have a statement that may challenge local beliefs. Saying 'Dinosaurs and the Bible?' may stir the pot in that area and cause problems for the sign in that area."

There you go. We stirred the pot with four simple words. We made people think about something that might be outside their paradigm. We encouraged them to consider that what they'd been taught all those years in school might not be based on truth. We challenged local beliefs, and we were censored.

It's hard to imagine that sharing the message of Genesis 1:1 is considered divisive to local citizens. This is a conservative area--the Bible Belt, even. And we can't associate the word "Bible" with the word "dinosaurs"?

This censorship underscores how far our culture has moved from embracing the Bible's teachings. And it even more emphasizes the need for ICR's message--that a Creator created everything from nothing, and science backs it up. He completed His work in only six 24-hour days. Each creature was created after its own kind, and He made people for the world's stewardship and His glory. Jesus was not only present at Creation, He was the Creator, and He became our Savior.~~ That's the message the world needs to hear. ~~

With groundbreaking research and creation-based analysis, our scientists are changing the conversation. But it doesn't take a Ph.D. to make a difference. When you consider that just four words were considered a challenge to cultural beliefs here in the Dallas area, think about what impact your words can have on a daily basis. How can you start a conversation with the people in your circle? How can you point them to the truth of God's Word? You might be accused of stirring the pot. But that's okay--your life is your billboard. And every day you can choose the message you display.

--Jayme Durant/ Executive Editor/- ICR~
-------------
Our Lord and Savior Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
"But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." --[Matthew 10:32-33 / NASB] ~~

--PARENTS BEWARE OF YOUR TEENAGERS!
--Bible & Culture ~

~~~~~'TEEN PROSTITUTION IN VOGUE'~~

~~~A popular magazine for teenage girls now promotes prostitution as a positive career option. In April, Teen Vogue published the article "Why Sex Work is Real Work." The piece made international news when the tweeted the article.

In an opinion piece, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, a South African reproductive specialist, argued that prostitution should be legalized and that it's just like any other career. She said, "The idea of purchasing intimacy and paying for the services can be affirming for many people who need human connection, friendship, and emotional support."

The piece fails to mention that many females entering the sex trade are children and victims of human trafficking, who face a lifetime of trauma.

Lauren Hersh, a former Brooklyn special victims' prosecutor, criticized Teen Vogue for publishing the article: "As the mother of a daughter, I feel sick that your magazine is selling our daughters the regressive belief that...exploitation and trauma should be empowering for them."

Our modern culture's rejection of the Creator's standards of morality, clearly stated in Exodus 20 and other passages throughout the Bible, leads to such foolishness. In the name of empowerment, medical caregivers foster exploitation and harm. ~~

--ANSWERSMAGAZINE.COM/ (November-December 2019)
--[AnswersinGenesis--Ken Ham/Founder CEO ~]

~~~~WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE ~~

~~~“Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.”
---- (Psalm 119:129)--

---Modern liberals may ridicule Bible-believing Christians as bibliolaters, but the fact is that it is not possible to place the Bible on too high a pedestal. “Thy testimonies are wonderful,” the psalmist says, for “his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor” (Isaiah 9:6), whose testimonies they are.

Consider just how wonderful are the Scriptures. They were written in the heart of God even before the creation. “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). Then, “at sundry times and in divers manners,” this eternal Word of God was conveyed to men, as God “spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). Finally, it was complete, and the last of the prophets concluded it with an all-embracing warning: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Revelation 22:18-19). Critics who tamper with the words of the Bible are on dangerous ground, the psalmist said: “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Eternal in the past; inviolable in the present; forever in the future! All we shall ever need for our guidance is to be found in God’s wonderful testimonies: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable. . . . That the man of God may be perfect” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

It is not possible to have too high a view of Scripture, “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138:2).

---ICR/HMM
[Friends, I know this is not the place nor time to speak of politics. But one thing we can be certain of, "GOD'S WORD WILL NOT RETURN UNTO HIM VOID." ~~ We can certainly see and read of the many people on the left that want to change the Bible. GOD'S WORD IS SURE! BEWARE!]

---JOHN 1 Verse 14 ~~ "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." ~~ JESUS CHRIST IS THE WORD OF GOD~~

--MERRY CHRISTMAS! JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!--

Because it is Christmas time, we will try to get the blog video from Ken Ham/ 'Answers In Genesis'.
"Sneak Peek of Christmas Town @ Creation Museum" / (North Kentucky)
Hope you can see and hear as Ken and wife Mally give a walk-through CHRISTMAS TOWN / (December 14, 2019)--(Approximately 25 minutes)
--[You will need to scroll down a little way, to follow the video.]
<https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/...;mc_cid=861fc11eae&mc_eid=e7dfb61724>
~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~THEOLOGICAL LIBERALISM IS NOT CHRISTIANITY~~
--[A Conversation with R. Albert Mohler, Jr.] (Decision 2020)
--[Most informative and Biblical ~ Share please~]

The pervasive indoctrination we see today is largely secular, but when religious views are given attention, often they are the views of theological liberalism. Decision recently spoke with Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and soon-to-be nominee for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, about the role liberal theology plays in leading people away from saving, Biblical faith.

Q} Why is it that liberal theological views are still the most likely ones to be quoted in news articles and documentaries, even though liberal churches have been declining for years?

A: The cultural elites are sold out to moral liberalism and to the idea that human progress and human liberation mean abandoning the doctrine s of Christianity. And by and large, they are the people who make the documentaries. They're the people who control Hollywood. They're the people who are steering the engines of cultural production in this country.

Q: What does liberal theology teach, and how did it become so influential?
"The liberal denominations have been abandoned by their members, and it's easy to understand why. There's no power of God unto salvation where the Gospel is denied."

A: A kind of theological liberalism is now very much in the air that most Americans breathe. The movement didn't start here; it's traceable to Germany and Great Britain in the 19th century. It quickly came to the United States, and we can see Protestant liberals in 19th century America who were beginning to deny the revealed teachings of Scripture and especially who were trying to reduce the supernaturalism of Scripture.

Some of the doctrines that were most offensive to the modern mind we re the virgin birth of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead and, of course, the Biblical teaching that Christ is the only way of salvation. All of these came to be denied, but at the center of it was the denial of the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Denial of these doctrines went hand in hand with the denial of the verbal inspiration of Scripture.

At the time that Protestant liberalism emerged, most people did not question the great truths of the Christian faith revealed in Scripture. But we're living in a highly secularized age in which orthodox Christianity is now the outlier.

Q: What's at the root of denying the verbal inspiration of Scripture?

A: All we have to do is look to Genesis 3 to understand how theological liberalism happens-when we hear the serpent ask Eve, "Has God really said?" Questioning the Word of God is not new, but it is clearly revealed to be sin. Indeed, the root of all sin is qu estioning the truthfulness of God and His Word.

And one of the interesting things to note is that wherever theological liberalism has taken hold, the church has gone into a precipitous freefall. The liberal denominations have been abandoned by their members, and it's easy to understand why. There's no power of God unto salvation where the Gospel is denied. There is no theological power or conviction where the Scripture is subverted. But a secular society is insistent that theological liberalism is the only acceptable form of religion because, after all, there's no threat to a secular power structure from liberal theology or liberal churches.

Q: Is there a particular issue that is spurring a strong push toward liberal theology?
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
-John 17:17

A: I think we have to be honest that it's the LGBTQ revolution. Right now that is the greatest engine for theological liberalism because it is coming with such cultural force, demanding that the church reformulate its understanding of human sexuality and gender and marriage. But we have to recognize we can't do that, because God has revealed to us in Scripture exactly what He wants us to know.

We also have to recognize that if you change the morality, you change the theology. I think some Christians are under the illusion that you can reformulate Christian morality without reformulating all Christian doctrine. But that's impossible because, for example, the Bible's doctrine of sin is specific about what sin is. If we declare something the Bible says is sin not to be sin, we've just redefined the Gospel.

Q: Isn't it illogical to take such a selective approach to believing Scripture?

A: Well, in our sinfulness, that's the way we are. We want to be able to go online and pick and choose our beliefs like we would pick and choose our clothing or our tastes in music. But that is not Christiani ty. Christianity is the Gospel of Christ based upon the authority of God's Word, and it comes with an entire structure of belief that is interconnected and interdependent. There is no multiple choice when it comes to Christian doctrine as revealed in Scripture.

Q: What are the consequences of this, both for the theologians themselves and those convinced by their message?

A: With theological liberalism, the world is happy and Christians starve. And eventually, the world ignores you and Christians leave. Look at the liberal denominations. They're being abandoned. They're plotting their own extinction. Look at how many of the denominations that have gone liberal are now just barely skeletons of what had existed before.

We need to recognize that theological liberalism is the message of theological death. And there were those who saw this when the liberals first started teaching and preaching-orthodox Christians who understood that theological liberalism was not a new form of Christianity; it was an entirely new religion claiming to be Christianity.

Q: What Scriptures seem particularly relevant to you regarding this issue?

A: One of the most important texts is Jesus's high priestly prayer in John 17. It's in that passage that Jesus prays to the Father for the unity of the church. But it's not a unity based in having a common mood or some kind of amorphous common discipleship. It is a unity based in truth. In John 17:17, Jesus says, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." Jesus says the true ground of Christian unity is truth.

Then you have a passage like verse 3 of Jude. We are to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." That's really important. We understand that Christianity is not going to be reformulated. That anyone who brings a new Christianity is bringing what the Apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians called "another gospel." And consider what Paul writes to Timothy: "Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me" (2 Timothy 1:13).- The Bible is very clear about orthodoxy.

--Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.

Interviewed by Bob Paulson, Editor./Decision~~ 2/2020 ~~

~~DEDICATION ~~

~~Newsweek (11/19/90) ran an article titled "Letters in the Sand," a compilation of letters written by military personnel to family and friends in the States during the Gulf War.

One was written by Marine Corporal Preston Coffer. He told a friend, "We are talking about Marines, not the Boy Scouts. We all joined the service knowing full well what might be expected of us." He signed off with the Marine motto, Semper Fi, Latin for "always faithful."

The Bible says, "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful" (1 Cor. 4:2)."

~~1001 Quotes/RL ~~

--IN TIMES OF DISTRESS// ~~ Jesus is always as Close as the MENTION of HIS NAME~~

~~EMMANUEL= G-D WITH US~~

~~ELOHIM = The G-D above all gods~~

~~Jehovah JIREH= the G-D who provides ~~

--Jehovah SHALOM= Our G-D of Peace

~~Jehovah YAHWEH= Our loving Covenant Keeping G-D~ YHWH~~

~~El SHADDAI = the Almighty G-D

~~Jehovah Shammah= Our G-D who is present~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--"You are my hiding place;
You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs
of deliverance." --(Psalm 32: verse 7)

-"You are my hiding place and my shield;
I wait for Your Word." --(Psalm 119:114)

~~Let Him be your "HIDING PLACE" ==/ Performed By/ SELAH
--Written by==Michael Ledner
~~~~ "You Are My Hiding Place"// SELAH// --<https://youtu.be/_dR0H0tAYT8>
~~~~~~~