Hungry Hearts Ministries

Blind Bald Christians

2010-07-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

What if we began drinking from polluted wells and began eating exotic foods that caused our eyesight to fail, hair to fall out and a host of other problems? What if it was brought to our attention that drinking from these wells and consuming these foods was causing us harm and could possibly lead to our deaths if we did not make an immediate change? What if we simply could not or would not give these things up in spite of the warnings?

We would eventually go blind and bald wouldn't we? We might even die.

This is happening to Christians in alarming numbers. They are going blind (their discernment has become seriously distorted). They are going bald (their spiritual, and even physical, health is adversely affected). And some are even dying (departing from the faith), because after joyfully receiving the truth about the dangers of their various watering holes and favorite exotic foods, they make no real change in their drinking and eating habits.

We have received a number of correspondences from those who thank us, profusely, for warning them about the unscriptural, dangerous, nature of certain beliefs and practices in their lives (they confide they picked up these erroneous ideas not only through the churches they attend but through television/radio ministries and online discussion groups as well). They joyfully embrace the scriptural truth about these things and experience immediate improvements in their vision. Their hair begins to grow back. They loudly praise God for their deliverance and begin contending for the faith… for a time.

We then watch helplessly as some slowly slip right back into the same mire they were recently so loudly and publicly praising God for pulling them out of.

How does this happen?

It happens because they refuse to stop drinking from polluted wells and they refuse to give up exotic foods. They stay in churches they know promote error. They continue tuning in to television and radio ministries and online discussion groups that subvert their faith. They continue reading authors who promote error.

Before we know it, they seem to be gone—given over completely to a lie—or at the very least remain in a state of confusion—constantly challenging us to prove and re-prove the thing they publicly renounced just a short time before.

What if Jesus told us something and we then ran to Satan to hear his side of things? In addition to endangering ourselves, we would become seriously confused wouldn’t we? Do the scriptures teach any such method for determining truth? Everything we say may not be truth. But God forbid anyone go to Satan to find out what he thinks about it—better go to the scriptures.

Let's make up our minds. The Bible says a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Instability is nothing to be taken lightly. If the scriptures convince us we are drinking from polluted wells and eating poisonous exotic food. Abandon those wells and give up that food immediately! Do not take another sip. Do not take so much as another nibble.

Find another church. Turn off the television and radio—better yet, throw them out completely. Throw away books, tapes, cd’s and music that serve as conduits for polluted water sources. Leave discussion groups that engage in profane and vain babblings that only lead to subversion of faith.

Immerse ourselves in the word of God. Listen only to wholesome words. In the power of Jesus Christ (only do this if you know that you belong to Christ) bind, rebuke and renounce spirits of rebellion, greed, covetousness and whoredom that cause us to be dissatisfied with the simplicity of Christ and seek after things He has not given.

Allow our hearts to become good ground where the word of God can flourish, grow and bear fruit—not rocky or thorny ground where the enemy can easily steal it from us or bog us down with the cares of this world.

Hungry Hearts Prayer Exchange

2010-06-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

We have re-opened the Hungry Hearts Prayer Exchange. Visit the link below to enter your prayer request or to pray for the needs of others
http://hungryheartsministries.com/id305.html

Seneca Falls 2 Christian Conference What About It?

2010-05-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

Instant in Season and Out

2010-05-14T04:01:00.000-07:00

Why did Jesus curse a fig tree that was fig-less when it was not the season for figs? What did the tree do that was wrong? It was not the season for figs. The tree was exactly as it should have been. Yet Jesus cursed the tree and it withered and died in short order. Why?

Our Lord obviously meant this as an object lesson of some sort.

Compare Jesus’ interaction with the fig tree to Paul’s admonition for Christians to be instant in season and out of season. This is obviously an important concept for God’s people to grasp and implement if we are to be effective in reaching people for Christ.

Instant in season and out…Be ready—for what? Be ready to give an answer to all who ask of the hope that is in us. This suggests, not just prayer, but preparation and study. Study to show thyself approved…and don’t forget to pray.

Micro-wave Faith

2010-05-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Quick fixes are in. As little effort as possible and instant gratification are the in-things these days. We have remote controls to operate almost anything we own, microwaves to heat our food in seconds and cook it in minutes. We have hi-speed internet that eliminates almost all waiting when we sign on or go from website to website. Due to impatience, the roads are becoming more and more hazardous. Waiting has almost become the ultimate sin (except in Doctor's offices, but that is only because physicians are elevated to God status--by themselves and almost everyone else).

Due Time...?!!! When exactly is that?

There are things that simply will never occur at the high speeds our technological society has conditioned us to expect. Babies will not grow or mature any faster (although modern parents are doing everything in their power to transform toddlers into miniature geniouses before age three). There is no short-cut to growing from a baby to an adult Christian either.

Spiritual growth requires a healthy diet of the Word of God, along with gaining the experience to know how to handle the Word. And that requires nothing less than . . . time.

Most of us come to the Lord with baggage in one form or another: wrong ideas, unhealthy mental/emotional defenses, impaired emotional development due to attempting to deal with life's problems our way, or the way our parents taught us, or the way the popular culture teaches us. Oprah and Dr. Phil do not have all the answers you know.

Some of us come to the Lord with physical health problems, financial difficulties, relationship or marriage problems. God is able, even willing, to give us miracles in all these areas. That is always a possibility, and we should never--ever--rule that out.If we truly need a miracle--ask for one. But the probability is, that, in most things, God will allow us to work out our own deliverance-- with fear and trembling the Bible says (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom).

Now we are not talking about self sufficiency, or the, "God helps those who help themselves", sort of thing. We are talking about acknowledging God in all of our ways, so that he can direct our paths--that means obedience to everything we understand about the Word of God (and if we don't understand much of it--to make it a priority to get understanding--Proverbs 4:7).

We are talking about "prospering our souls" (3 John 1:2).

Jesus said, "be doers of the Word and not hearers only. "When he said that, he was clarifying the fact that he is no prescriber of quick fixes.There is no such thing as remote control, hi-speed or microwave faith. God moves fast. He travels on the wings of the wind, but faith must be developed. And that takes . . . time.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But if we are hearers only and not doers, we cannot expect faith to grow . . . No matter how much time we give it.

Get Out of Your Judgmental Rut!

2010-04-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

The church today cries, "Don't judge! Don't judge!" more than at any other time in history. Why?
Is it because there is more open sin among professing Christians today more than at any other time in history, and no one wants their sin exposed?

This trend is reinforced, no doubt, by those who make merchandise of the church (sadly, the church loves to have it so...after their own lust, they heap to themselves....

And as the watchmen warn, these clouds without water cry, "Don't Judge!" Wolves in sheep's clothing carefully train the sheep they are fleecing to believe that using Biblical discernment is being critical and judgmental. The fleeced sheep, who have rejected the covering of the Holy Spirit in exchange for the emperor's new clothes parrot their predators in crying, "Don't judge!"

We once had the unmitigated gall to tell a Christian "sister" that planning "Christian" sacred circle meetings around the cycles of the moon and honoring the four directions was occult activity--not Christian--and that circles most certainly are not sacred (she claimed that God lived in her because she, within her physical self, was a sacred circle). When she was informed that God lived only within those who belong to Jesus, this love-everybody-don't- judge-anybody, woman immediately turned ugly and said we needed to get out of our judgmental ruts.

This response is quite typical among the peace-peace-love-love-dont judge crowd. The arguments of ecumenical professing Christians are thin, worn, out of context and repetitious. Don't judge, Judge not that ye be not judged, he who is without sin, cast the first stone.... That's about it.

But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are commanded by the scriptures to judge all things by the Word of God. We are commanded to deal with sin within our ranks both privately and publicly. This is not optional to the true Christian, and the protocol on how to go about this is clearly laid out in the scriptures. The warnings are there as well, on the importance of keeping our hearts right in the process.

Do ye not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?(1 Corinthians 6:2).

Blessed are ye when men shall hate you and when they shall separate you from their company... (Luke 6:22-23)

We Have No King but Caesar

2010-02-05T04:31:00.000-08:00

But they cried, “Away with Him, crucify Him! ...and the Chief Priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!

That is the moment the Jews, as a whole, and just a few days after rightfully hailing Jesus as their Messiah and King, made the tragic decision to trade God’s best for Caesar’s best. And even though the crucifixion of our LORD was in the plan of God from before the foundation of the earth, those who participated in the deed were held personally responsible for their choices in the matter.

How often, on some level or another, do we do the same? How often do we reject the marvelous provision God has for us in every area of our lives by forgetting His precious promises and running to Caesar, first, before running to our Savior, who says He is our provider, our healer, our comforter, and our avenger?

Before visiting the food stamp office, are we on our knees, first, acknowledging our LORD as the real source of all our material provision, asking our LORD, who promises to bless our food and water (If we love and serve Him) to provide that need in His abundance?

Before turning to health care providers, are we first taking our requests for healing to our God who says that His words are life to us and health to all our flesh (if we attend to His words)?

These are conditional promises. Are we reading our Bibles daily to learn of these things and to feed our minds and spirits with the Word and will of God which alone tends to life?

Before seeking to psychologists or anti-anxiety meds for mental health and emotional comfort, are we first running to the one who gives the Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind... are we willing to forsake anger, bitterness, self-pity, and a host of other sins which all take their toll on our general outlook on life and mental health? Are we willing to believe the promise that all things work together for good to who love the LORD? Are we, first, running to the comforter Jesus promised will be with us forever?

Before engaging attorneys to convince judges to avenge us legally, are we first bombarding Heaven and the Righteous Judge, our father, with our requests for judgment, or, as the apostle admonished, are we willing be defrauded rather than to take fellow Christians to court over material things?

A well respected, 19th century, preacher once asked if the Bible text means everything it says, he concluded that it never means less than what it says but always means more than what we understand it to mean.

While reading our Bibles every day… always picking up today where we left off yesterday, let us meditate on these things and develop the habit of running to our King, first, before considering what Caesar has to offer.

Caesar has his limitations, our King has none.

The WHOLE Armor of God

2009-12-23T23:39:00.000-08:00

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (not natural weapons--not of the flesh), but mighty through God (powerful spiritual weapons) to the pulling down of strongholds....

The scriptures tell us the only way defeat powerful spiritual opponents (principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness... and spiritual wickedness....) is by putting on the whole armour of God.

And we are given no option to using every spiritual weapon at our disposal.

The "whole" armour means wearing every piece of it... at all times.

The defensive weapons of our warfare is the armour of God which consists of: Truth, Righteousness, The preparation of Gosel of man's Peace with God, Faith and the helmet Salvation (deliverance).

The only offensive weapon we are given is the spoken Word of God (an utterance which must always be in line with the written Word of God applied under the direct leading of the Holy Spirit of God). Jesus gave us a perfect example of this in Matthew chapter four, when he stuck stubbornly to his iteration and re-iteration of, "It is written...."

The prophet Isaiah also confirms this when he wrote that those whose words didn't line with what was already written had, "No light in them."

(Isaiah 8:20)

How do we apply the armour? How do we wield the weapons? For a comprehensive study, visit our main website at: http://hungryheartsministries.com/id353.html

How Important are Our WORDS?

2009-06-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

The words we speak are very important. It was words spoken from our hearts that first brought us into the kingdom of God (Romans 10:10,13).

What if our response to that all important invitation from God had been, "Oh, if it is God's will, he'll save me," or "Well, I can ask him to save me, and he'll answer my prayer, but sometimes he says no, so I can't say for sure whether he'll save me or not."

I can see many of you rising to your feet right now crying out, "No, no! The Word of God says he WILL save ALL who call on his name through belief in his risen son. So you can't possibly use this as a scenario. You've missed it badly!"

Well, doesn't the Word of God say he WILL do other things as well. So why can't we take him at his Word for more than salvation? Why must he stop there at keeping his Word?

Our words are very powerful. The fact that our initial access into the presence and power of God (by becoming his child) comes through heart-spoken Words is proof of that.

Our words affect those around us--either positively or negatively. They affect all of our relationships either positively or negatively. They affect us, and our mental, physical and spiritual health, either positively or negatively.

But there are those who will take the scriptural truth concerning the importance and power of our words, and twist it to suit their own self-centered, ungodly purposes.

There are those who take the scripture, that says Abraham called those things that be not as though they were, and twist it into a useless denial of reality.

Abraham was absolutely right to call those things that be not as though they were, because he had God's promise, but there is certainly no record that he ever called those things that be as though they were not. Abraham never denied reality, and that is a subtle difference that many get confused about.

But it is true that the Word of God should always be in our mouth concerning any and all circumstances that may arise in our lives.

We are taught in scripture to "gird our loins with the TRUTH"—which is the Word of God—and it should be always be in our mouths as well as in our hearts.

Are you sick? What does the Word of God say? It says to go to the elders of the church, admit that you are sick and in need of prayer, and have them anoint you with oil and pray the prayer of faith over you.

What is the prayer of faith (faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God)? And what does the Word of God say? It says that God is our healer. It says that when we love him and are doers of the Word and not hearers only—it (his Word) is life to us and health to all our flesh (Proverbs 4:22). And I want to know that whoever is anointing me with oil and praying over me believes that—In fact, I don’t let just anyone pray for me with the laying on of hands.

These are just a few (of many) examples in scripture of what the Word of God says, about how to deal with whatever ails our bodies.

How about gossip? That involves words. Is it going to benefit us at all to go around "confessing" our healing while at other times we are indulging in the sin of gossip? Probably not.

The scriptures command us to let no corrupt communication come out of our mouths. Corrupt communication includes all ungodly speaking—not just cursing. Gossip is a sin. What is gossip? Gossip is discussing (without permission) the personal details of anyone's life who is not us.

The scriptures say our whole body can be defiled by what comes out of our mouths.

Scripture does teach that our physical health can be affected by our words—both positively and negatively. There is a very strong connection between the Spiritual and the physical.

Our words, actions, thoughts and attitudes all work together in affecting our physical bodies.

The scriptures say the curse causeless does not come (Proverbs 26:2). That is why it is so crucially important to acknowledge HIM in all our ways, so HE can direct our paths (proverbs 3:6 kjv).

It is doubtful that the majority of us are afflicted because we are so righteous that a "Job" situation is going on in our lives. But we cannot rule that possibility out, so we need be careful about passing judgment on anyone simply because they may be afflicted. But generally, that is not the case, and if obvious sin is present (all sin is not obvious to the casual observer), it is definitely a loving thing to confront it. Someone's physical life just might be saved. And wouldn't that be a good thing?

Jesus is the high priest of our profession (confession), and there is a reason for that piece of information being included in the Holy Scriptures. In light of that, is it a godly thing for our profession to be dismal, negative and unbelieving?

There is only one thing that limits God and that is unbelief: Psalms 78:40-41, How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
Matthew 13:58, 58: And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

And the scriptures do say, "From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks...."

Relief From the Days of Adversity: http://hungryheartsministries.com/id154.html

What's In It for Me?

2008-11-05T04:02:00.000-08:00

Why are we Serving the Lord?

That's a good question for all Christians to ask ourselves from time to time.

In Malachi 3:14, we read about people being confronted with sinful, self centered motives for serving the Lord.

They are asking, "What "profit" is there in serving the Lord? It is clear that what they really care about is, "what's in it for me?"

In 2 Timothy 4:3, we read the apostle's warning to Timothy of the skewed motivations he will encounter in those who claim to follow Christ but in reality only follow their own lusts.

God's people would not be heaping teachers to themselves who lead them into deception, doctrines of devils, error, apostasy (and they are presently doing just that in record numbers), unless there was something in it for them.

Paul spoke of the time when many who profess Christ would cease to endure sound doctrine. Are we living in that time now?

Why are we serving Christ? Is it time to pray the prayer found in the Psalms, "Test my thoughts. Search my heart...?

Joyce Meyer Needs to Practice What She Preaches

2008-10-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

Joyce Meyer says we need to be "governed by the TRUTH." Jesus says His Word is TRUTH. Yet Joyce Meyer says the Word of God is a lie and "doesn't work." Joyce Meyer, therefore, rejects the TRUTH. That makes her a liar and a hypocrite of the highest order.

Example of Joyce Meyer Saying the Bible is a Lie ("Yea hath God said...?"):
“Several years ago I found myself completely worn out from trying to fight the devil. I learned many ‘methods’ of spiritual warfare; however, they did not seem to be working ... I had fallen into the trap that many Christians fall into. I had the right teaching, but the wrong order ... I was feverishly applying methods I had learned — like fasting and prayer ... rebuking and resisting evil spirits ... empty formulas which wear us out and produce no results except maybe a sore throat” (The Word, The Name, The Blood, pp. 28, 32, 33).

Did she really write that we should not believe what the Bible says concerning fasting and prayer, resisting and rebuking?

In penning the words , "Fasting and prayer, rebuking and resisting evil spirits are empty formulas..." Joyce Meyer identifies herself as an enemy of the Word of God, the Bible, which specifically instructs those who belong to Jesus Christ to (in the power of, and by the leading of the Holy Spirit) fast and pray, resist the devil, and even rebuke him at times.

She calls Bible instructions empty formulas which do not work. That is why we find her speaking and writing is peppered with the phrase, "you won't find this in the Bible. You have to get this by revelation." Joyce Meyer is an enemy of the Gospel.

Meyer attempts to use our Savior and His Living Word as servants, "methods and formulas," in order to accomplish her own will and do her personal bidding. That amounts to nothing short of witchcraft.

Here is an example of some of the "methods" Meyer applied that "didn't work." In an audiotape series called "How to Fight the Devil and Win," Meyer said: "I had every person, I think, anywhere within 10 miles who had a demon come knocking at my door wanting deliverance...And I was staying up half the night, almost every night, Dave and I were, casting out devils...I mean one woman came to my house, and me and my pastor literally rode her piggyback all over my house"

She said she got on people’s backs and rode them piggyback all over the house...?? I say Joyce Meyer is full of devils herself.

Joyce Meyer is one of Satan's ministers who appears (to many) as if she were a minister of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Although listening to her teachings may make one feel good while listening, her teachings are a potent blend of rat poisen. They are unscriptural and, to date, I have met no one who has been set free from anything by listening to her or by reading her books (learning to love ourselves--which is a huge part of her false gospel--is not evidence of being set free. Jesus said we love ourselves just fine. It's just the opposite that we need to learn. We need to learn to love our neighbors as ourselves).

The most evident fruit of Joyce Meyer ministries, that I have observed, is a cult-like loyalty to JOYCE MEYER herself (holding men's persons in admiration [Jude 16]) and an addiction to the "feel good and false hope" that comes from listening to her.

Just this morning I was sitting quietly thanking God for all the goodness and mercy He has shown towards me and Butch. We have written about some of it--a mere fraction. God has quietly and consistently worked wonders, healings and miracles in our lives.. all without hoopla or help from televangelists who claim to have all the answers when really all they have is lots of money--which comes from people who have lots less in hopes they will get more by giving to these rich charletons (the Bible warns about giving to the rich).

I have little faith in Televangelists of any ilk, and consistently warn people to avoid "Christian" TV altogether. It is pure rat poisen (some good stuff mixed with the stuff that kills you). The Bible is clear that just because some good stuff might be in the mix is not a good reason to expose ourselves to it. The result can be fatal.

Someone once said that you can sell a lie, but you can't give the truth away. In my experience that has held true all too often. Jesus made it so simple, yet it is too simple for those who lust after signs, wonders and the supernatural to be interested in. Jesus said be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Read it, believe it, obey it. There is nothing dazzling about the simple Word of God, or complicated about understanding and obeying it. But Oh how powerful....

Jocelyn Andersen

http://www.hungryheartsministries.com/

The File Has Been Corrupted

2008-08-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

In exodus 32, Moses is instructed by the LORD to get down from the mountain because the people had “corrupted themselves.” What exactly does it mean to be “corrupted?”

To most of us, corruption means filth, vice and perversion. So if we don’t fit into those categories, we feel quite safe from corruption, don’t we. But are we really?

The following example comes to mind:
As I was working on my computer, I recently received a message from my anti-virus program that said, “RISKWARE. HIDDEN INSTALL.” That was alarming. I was informed that there were a couple of programs installed and running on my computer without user interaction. In other words, these programs were just doing their own thing without my permission or knowledge.

They had somehow managed to slip by the security systems I had in place and were now writing their own files in my system, while, at the same time, were altering other files. Healthy files on my computer were becoming corrupted.

Listen to this commentary here, or scroll down to continue reading:

How could that be, when, on the surface, everything appeared normal?

I called my PC tech and was told that although things appeared normal, and my computer seemed to be functioning just fine at the moment, the RISKWARE, unless gotten rid of, would continue to write its own files, while altering others. And one day, when enough critical files were altered, my computer would be effectively destroyed. How long would that take? It depends, he said, on how fast the RISKWARE worked.

Even though a computer can function with some corrupted files, it is not something that can usually be ignored indefinitely.

What happens when a file is corrupted?
1.) It loses functionality. It no longer executes commands correctly
2.) It becomes utterly useless—destroyed

But isn’t it interesting, that the results of corrupting a file are not always immediately apparent? Things can roll happily along for quite some time…until the file that has been corrupted is needed. Then, it will either zig when it should zag, or it simply will not respond at all.

RISKWARE. HIDDEN INSTALL! How in the world does that happen? In my case, something harmful had been injected into my system through something which appeared to be safe (remember the story of the Trojan Horse? The gift that rolled through the gate of the city, that was, in reality, a hidden bunker harboring enemy troops?). I had downloaded a program that was acting as a hidden bunker for this RISKWARE, a malicious virus, that had now made my healthy system its home and was working stealthily at corrupting it—writing its own files (one right after another), and altering others. My system was slowly but steadily changing—for the worse.

And I was assured by my tech support, that the situation would continue to deteriorate, until one day, my computer would lose functionality altogether. It would become completely corrupted…and crash.

Aren’t people like that? Can’t we function, apparently quite normally (sometimes for a very long time), even with a few corrupted files? But even so, it is a serious thing when we allow the situation to continue without intervention.

Through His risen son—Christ Jesus, His Holy Spirit, and His Word—the Bible, God has given us all things that pertain to LIFE and to godliness. But we are the keepers of the gate. Jesus said we must be DOERS of the Word and not hearers only.

If we are hearers only, and not obedient to the word of God, RISKWARE will infest our lives and spirits—writing files on our hearts that oppose God, His word and His Spirit, altering our attitudes until we are changed—for the worse, no longer responding to the Spirit of God, or to others, as we should—as He intended. We become hardened to selfishness, pride, materialism, blatant sin and destruction. Our conscience no longer bothers us. We become comfortable inviting even more RISKWARE into our lives by watching things on television (movies or DVD’s), listening to things on radio (CD’s or MP3’s), or participating in activities that once we knew were wrong and would have made us feel badly—but no longer. We are headed for destruction and don’t even know it. Our lives, and the lives of those closest to us, are adversely affected. Our relationships are damaged or ruined. Our physical, mental and emotional health is adversely affected. Our faith is eroded and headed for shipwreck.

Without intervention, we are on a collision course with utter destruction—we are going to crash. And Jesus said when the crash comes, it will be a big one.

But if we hear His word and act on it (are you reading your Bibles every day, always picking up today where your left off yesterday?), our system defenses will work properly. The RISKWARE will be detected and gotten rid of before we become completely corrupted. We will respond to the Spirit of the Lord, and to others, as we should. We will function properly as our creator intended. We will walk in the peace and the victory that Jesus promises to those who love and obey Him.

Do you know Jesus as your savior? Are you absolutely certain that you have eternal life that only he can give? If not, open your Bible and begin reading at the New Testament Book of John. We recommend a King James Bible with no chapter headings or study notes.

For more Christian Grown resources, visit our main website at www.HungryHeartsMinistries.com

Extreme Spirituality

2008-08-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

SERVANTS IN THE PROMISED LAND

2008-07-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Why? Click this link...
http://hungryheart100.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/01track1.mp3

Book of Revelation Chapter Three Recap (pt 4): Days of Elijah

2008-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Who Are the Dry Bones?

Book of Revelation Chapter Three Recap (pt 3) Luke Warm? Learning the Way of the Heathen? Left Behind!

2008-07-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

How To Meditate

2008-07-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

Sharecropper Christian Radio Short Segment Video Playlist

2008-06-19T07:48:00.001-07:00

Segments added regularly, so this playlist will grow

Sharecropper Christian Radio Random Segment 3

2008-06-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Listen to a segment of Sharecropper Christian Radio while watching newly-weds, Mr and Mrs Jonah (They need prayer. They are terribly unequally yoked and not getting off to a good start), a Bible Reading, a commentary, Testimony of Butch Watkins miraculous healing when he destroyed his kidneys by drinking anti-freeze in a suicide attempt, and the anointed music ministry of Tom Beam.

Meat -Vs- Milk

2008-06-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Audio Commentary / Discipleship / Christian Growth

Contemplative and Prophetic Video Library

2008-06-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

New studies added to this playlist regularly

Book of Revelation Video library

2008-06-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

New studies added to this playlist daily

Rapture and 2nd Coming Video Library

2008-06-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

New studies added to this playlist regularly

Book of Revelation Video Study

2008-05-21T05:11:00.000-07:00

New articles and video posts are being added daily to our Book of Revelation Blogspot
http://the-bookofrevelation.blogspot.com/

Living Faith -Vs- Dead Works

2008-05-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

What is the difference Between being religious (full of dead works) and having a living faith?

In Matthew 23, We find Jesus preaching hard and having a regular hissy fit with the religious leaders of his day.

But before he started rebuking them, he was careful to instruct his followers not to rebel against the "God-instituted" authority of that day (whose leadership was admittedly flawed and coming to a swift end). After that, he proceeded to flail that authority for all it was worth--publically.

He pointed out that even though they said the right things, they did not do the right things.

In chapter 23, Jesus warned his followers to, "do what they say (speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, but do not do what they do."

So, from this, we know that it is possible for a person to say all the right things and still be wrong.

In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus did not say, "Ye shall know them by their words." He said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits."

**Although the scribes and the pharisees were in a place of legitimate authority and were not false prophets, per se, the things Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7, can be very valuable in identifying the false prophets Jesus warned about in that chapter.

Having said all that, let's look at Dead Works -Vs- Living Faith.

Living Faith is rooted entirely in love and relationship. The Bible says living faith works by love, while being "religious" is always rooted in dead works.

It is possible to be saved and at the same time have our lives filled with dead works?which almost certainly choke out the living faith we should be growing in.

When Jesus swung his spiritual 2x4 at the religious leadership of his day, he pointed out how beautiful their outward appearance of holiness was.

Dead works are seductive. They appear beautiful. They feel good (read Proverbs 14:12).

They are very deceiving. Dead works can cause us to adopt a form a godliness while missing the real thing entirely.

Jesus said those who appeared to be so holy and spiritual, were nothing more than elaborately, beautifully "decorated" grave sites. They were walking dead men. Their faith was not alive. Under the lovely veneer of religion, they were full of putrefication and stunk to high heaven.

That is the case with all dead works.

And what was worse, those who looked to them for instruction in the ways of life--became like them--putrefied, stinking, children of hell. Read Matthew 23:15.

Jesus called those who depended upon adherence to rituals and the visual reinforcements of religion "blind fools."

Jesus did stress that obeying the written Word of God?the scriptures?was always
the right thing to do, but he clarified that by saying that it is the spirit?not the letter?that gives life (23:23).

The spirits, those personal non-benevolent entities, that deceived the blind religious fools of Jesus' day are still alive and well today. And they still
produce only dead works and death.

In seeking to establish their own righteousness, many, along with the scribes and the Pharisees, have rejected the righteousness that comes only by faith in the shed blood, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ?without rituals, works or visual reinforcements. Read Romans 10:2-3, then proceed to 9-13.

Blind, religious fools do not believe they have rejected God's righteousness. There is no way we could convince most them that they are not?of all people?most holy--definitely most spiritual.

But too much of their faith is rooted in ritual, in visual reinforcement, in their own works, activities, will-power and ability.

Because of that subtle deception, many are deceived into thinking they have living faith, when in reality they are keeping company with the scribes and the Pharisees?the very ones Jesus called the walking dead.

Don't we want every part of our faith to be living?

If anyone one feels they can connect with Jesus better through any religious ritual, ceremony or by adhering to a set of activities, rules and regulations (even ones we establish for ourselves), this is not living faith. This is being religious. All such things are dead works. They are useless.

In God's eyes they are worse than useless?they stink.

Does the presence of religious pictures, symbols, images such as Jesus, crosses, so-called angels or icons of any sort give you comfort and help you feel holier and closer to God?

The Bible forbids such things and makes very clear that those who resort to visuals do not possess a living faith.

Such practices are merely religious, providing a façade of faith toward the true and living God, and a façade of spirituality, i.e., dead works.

Jesus, the Creator, is not revealed in icons, images or symbols. He is only revealed in things that were made without human hands.

Jesus, the Living Word, is revealed within the pages of the God breathed, written Word of God?the Holy Scriptures.

Jesus, the only way, the only truth and the only life, resides within those who belong to him. He is always there. He requires no ritual or visual reinforcement-beyond faith and obedience to the scriptures, in order to activate his presence and power in our lives.

In reality, these visuals detract from his presence, which needs no help from us besides a surrendered life.

We are commanded in the Word of God, the second commandment found in Deuteronomy chapter five, verse eight, not to provide ourselves with any
image.

The scriptures say, "Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed." Faith without visuals is the purest faith.

It is a spirit of idolatry which drives people to desire visuals. We need to "see," but our sight must come only through eyes of faith.

And faith is what...?

The substance of things hoped for?the evidence of things "not" seen.

The scriptures are clear that it is sin to provide ourselves with visuals intended to reinforce our faith or to advertise our beliefs to others. Using visuals to advertise our beliefs to others is not being a witness. That is also a dead work... Not a living faith.

The religious leadership of Jesus' day did all those things?and taught others to do them as well...

And Jesus exposed them?publicly and undiplomatically?for the blind, fool hypocrites that they really were... (Matthew 23:5).

Let's All Be Positive and Just Get Along Shall We?

2008-04-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

We hear the word "Pharisee" being tossed around quite liberally these days.

Many Christians today define "Pharisee" as someone who is always "finding fault" with others. We recently heard one pastor use the scripture passage in Mark 7:1-15 (where Jesus called the Pharisees "God hating hypocrites") as a basis for coming to the conclusion that we should always say positive things and that we should never say negative things. We had a difficult time understanding how this conclusion could be reached in light of Jesus' accusations against the Pharisees recorded in that same chapter. Rather, the focus was only on the “negative” words and “fault finding” of the Pharisees themselves without regard for the absolutely evil intentions which lay behind them—which was to gather evidence they could use in order to have Jesus, the Lord of Glory, put to death.

Does Mark chapter seven really teach that everything that comes out of our mouths should be "positive" and that we should never be like the Pharisees and say things that are "negative?" Can “positive” be defined as always being good? Can “negative” be defined as always being wicked? Many, in these last days, say the answer to these questions is, yes. But does the Bible teach that this is so? Can the Pharisees in Mark chapter 7 honestly be cited as biblical examples of these false definitions of the words positive and negative? Can we stay true to scripture while minimizing and transforming the hypocritical, extremely dangerous, God-hating, scripture hating, murderous Pharisees into simply being "negative, fault finders" who could not "get along" with others?

How about the fact that in that same passage of scripture we read that Jesus made no effort whatsoever to "get along" with the Pharisees? What about the fact that he also "found fault" with them and said "negative" things to them by calling them God-hating hypocrites?

Can anyone argue that calling someone a "hypocrite" is a negative statement? So how do we reconcile that with being told to never say anything negative? Was Jesus being "wicked" when he attached such a non-affirming label to the Pharisees and negatively accused them of secretly hating God (drawing near to him with their mouths but their hearts were far from him)?

We have heard Christians minimize and transform the scripture that commands us to "love the brethren" into one that simply tells us to always "get along" with everyone. One pastor said that if anyone could not "get along" with people, then the Bible says they are not saved.

Always "getting along with everyone" is an extremely shallow and utterly false interpretation of the biblical command found in 1 John to "love the brethren"—especially so if one observes that the passage in question, which tells us that we can know we have passed from death into life if we love the brethren, is dealing with the example of one man, Cain, who hated his brother, Abel, so much that he murdered him.

Is there any way this verse can be used as a good example of simply "not getting along?"

No, there is not. It is possible to “not get along" with someone without hating them. And it is possible to hate someone while putting on a very convincing public show of “getting along” with them. The example given in 1 John, is an example of one man who was in total rebellion against the Word and will of God and absolutely hated his brother who was completely submitted to the will and word of God.

Cain obviously considered the blood sacrifice offered by Abel to be undesirable, "negative," i.e.—bad. With his offering, when he brought the beautiful life-affirming fruits of his labor before the Lord, Cain certainly kept everything on a very upbeat, "positive," level. He obviously could not see the sense in killing an innocent animal (The sacrifice of Christ is called obscene by some who profess to be Christians). But God rejected Cain's "positive" life-affirming offering. God did, however, accept Abel's "negative" bloody (Christ representing) offering. This enraged Cain to the point where he murdered his brother.

In light of this scenario, which is the background for John’s statement about loving the brethren, can we honestly say that not "getting along" is evidence that we are not saved? No, that is definitely a shallow minimization and entirely inappropriate definition for 1 John 3:14.

The Bible is clear that we should always speak the truth in love. But can speaking the truth appear to be "negative" and even be the cause of conflict? Jesus said that he would pit mothers against daughters, sons against fathers and brothers against brothers. Jesus said that he did not come (the first time) to bring peace but rather a sword. Jesus made it obvious that speaking and standing for the truth, contending earnestly for the faith, as the Bible commands us to do, will cause conflict. Jesus identified Abel as a prophet. Abel spoke the truth. Abel became the first martyr. And he died at the hands of his brother for standing for the truth--not because they simply could not "get along."

Can we unequivocally say speaking the truth will always sound positive? There are many examples in scripture where the truth, even where spoken in love and compassion, does not sound up-beat or optimistic, and indeed can be very bad news. Read Luke 23:28-31.

We are commanded in scripture to confront sin among the "brethren." That is a loving thing to do although as first it may seem very "negative," (not up-beat and optimistic--gloomy?) even when confronting the brother or sister in meekness and love as we are commanded to do. We are commanded to confront the sin of teaching false doctrine as well as sins of immorality. In fact, the sin of teaching false doctrine—heresy—is so serious, that we are commanded in scripture to admonish a heretic only once or twice before separating him from our company altogether. Could anyone misconstrue that as a negative (offensive) action? Sure they could. But they would be wrong.

Many Christians today are refusing to contend for the faith by taking up the centuries old mantra of, "In essentials Unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things charity." It is a serious mis-application of the meaning of this saying, which can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation, if it is being used in regards to doctrine. The reformers never compromised on matters of clear biblical teaching. They allowed themselves to be imprisoned, tortured and killed before they compromised the clear teachings of scripture. The Bible says the world is not worthy of these Christians, yet who can say they were always careful to say only “positive” (optimistic) things and worried about “getting along” with everyone?

If a brother or a sister is blatantly practicing sin and refuses to repent of and forsake that sin, we are commanded in scripture not to even sit down and take a meal with that person—does this sound "positive?" (affirming) No, it does not sound positive. But it is scriptural and good fruit always comes of being obedient to scripture. The Bible instructs us to openly rebuke those that sin so that others may fear the consequences of sinful behavior. Does this sound positive (affirming)? Hardly. And, sadly, this command is being disregarded on a wholesale level within churches today. Ironically though, even though those in the church who practice sin are routinely ignored and treated “positively,” (in a manner which affirms their sinful choices) those who are contending for the faith, as the scriptures command, are being openly rebuked...so that others may fear the consequences of dissenting when false doctrine is being taught. This is wrong and it is wicked.

This business of positive, negative and always "getting along" with people is not about true, biblical, Christian unity. It is Satan’s counterfeit of biblical Christian unity. The definitions of "positive and negative" (which refer to energy or electricity—not to good or bad) have absolutely nothing to do with biblical concepts but have everything to do with psychological / New Age concepts of positive and negative which denote optimistic, pessimistic, good, bad, affirming or non-affirming or offensive.

The New Age / psychological concept of always being positive and never being negative cannot be found in scripture. Indeed, the language is loaded, and the way we currently use the words, "positive and negative," cloud understanding, shrinks vocabulary, reduces capacity for critical thinking, and turns us into mindless automatons spouting propaganda using slogans such as, Always be positive! Never be negative! What in the world does that mean anyway? The word "positive" has simply become a slang term for several different words that have completely different definitions—and the same goes for the word "negative."

Examples:
Positive = CERTAIN: "I feel certain..." -Vs- I am positive..."
Positive = OPTIMISTIC: "keep an optimistic outlook..." -Vs- "positve attitude"
Positive = UPBEAT: which would be very similar to Optimistic

Negative = PESSIMISTIC, looking at the what can go wrong (not to be confused with trouble-shooting, which is a good thing if not taken to extremes)
Negative = OFFENSIVE

Suggestion: Consciously choose words which clearly describe what we are attempting to say rather than inserting all purpose slogans which are not true to the meaning of what we are trying to commnicate and that narrow our thinking and cloud our understanding and perceptions.

On the subject of "always getting along," scripture does not teach that everyone should always "get along." If that was the case, then Jesus, our primary example, would have been a dismal failure as a Christian. He never attempted to “get along” with everyone, but always spoke the truth. And what about the prophets? How many of them made certain their words always sounded "positive" and made certain they "got along" with everyone?

The concept of everyone "getting along" simply cannot be found in scripture either. It can, however, be found in interfaith ecumenism. Interfaith ecumenism is Satan’s counterfeit of Christian unity, a reverse, demonic, unity based on rejection of scripture as our final authority for faith and doctrine. In fact, interfaith ecumenism, the goal of which is a one world religion, operates on the basic concept that holding to any doctrine—at all—is divisive and therefore should be rejected in favor of "unity-at-any-cost." Sadly, many Christians today are falling for this counterfeit and promoting a sinful, compromising, unity which does not tend toward life.

At the tower of Babel, God made very clear what he thinks about the concept of unity at any cost—which is Satan's and the coming world leader's, the anti-Christ's, goal. God deliberately caused division at Babel in order to stop the evil of unity-at-any cost from progressing. However, in these last days, God is permitting interfaith ecumenism, unity-at-any-cost, Satan's counterfeit of biblical unity, to progress. A shaking is taking place within the Body of Christ, and God is allowing this shaking to happen. In fact, the Bible tells us that He is the one who is doing the shaking. This is happening in conjunction with the apostasy that is sweeping the Christian church at this time. Many are falling away—being shaken loose, just as is prophesied in 2 Thessalonians chapter two. Only those who refuse to be shaken loose will receive a kingdom which cannot be moved. The great apostasy, the falling away, predicted in 2 Thessalonians chapter two, is going on right now, and those who are sounding the alarm, contending earnestly for the faith, and plucking brands from the fire, are being libeled as divisive, hard to "get along with,” and negative.

The Word of God clearly predicted the flood of lies and deception that is being spewed from the mouths and pulpits of what, at one time, were Bible believing pastors, churches, and denominations. And the Bible tells us that the coming of Christ, and the revelation of the anti-Christ, will be preceded by a time in which many will "fall away.” We know that we are no longer looking forward to that time but are now living in it.

Too many pastors are entertaining their congregations so well, that Christians are not catching on to the fact that, in between and through the jokes, they are being deceived. Even congregations that have not, as yet accepted the mystical, contemplative spirituality, or the false Prophetic Movement (both movements are sweeping through the church at lightning speed) are being spoon-fed ecumenical, purpose driven lies, and are being indoctrinated into—and accepting—the most basic concepts of the coming global religion of the anti-Christ which will consist of exactly the things being promoted so aggressively in almost all churches these days.

Things such as:
• Always be positive. Positive is always good
• Never be negative. Negative is always wicked
• Never criticize. Criticism is always bad
• Never Judge (even though we are commanded in scripture to judge)
• "Get along" with everyone (If you don't, it is sign you are not saved)

These things are not biblical. What ever happened to Christians "trying the spirits" by comparing what is being said from the pulpit with what the Word of God actually says?

Many pastors deliberately frame blatantly false statements with humor. This is a common and very effective maneuver used by those who know they are making statements that cannot be backed up by scripture and that would be offensive to and challenged by Bible reading listeners if not sugar-coated and camouflaged by cheap, comical words and antics.

Many pastors are still holding onto a few things that are good, but our hearts are grieved by what we are seeing and hearing almost everywhere we go these days. We are also convinced that there are many Christians who are still holding fast to the faith delivered once for all, but they do not seem to be contending for the faith as the Bible commands.

Why?

Are they simply not catching the deception spewing from their pastor's mouths? Or have the false definitions that positive is always good, negative is always wicked, and that loving the brethren simply means everybody "getting along" succeeded in intimating them into holding their peace for fear of being labeled "Pharisees" or even worse, "not being saved at all?"

The type of leadership employed by pastors who are attempting to execute a paradigm shift within their congregations is one that uses dialectics well. Dialectics, when facilitated skillfully, produces "group think." People tend to have a herd mentality anyway, but group think is a much more insidious form of this mentality. Group think deliberately and aggressively pits the GROUP against the ONE who would dare to think for his or her self. This concept is used successfully by all totalitarian governments(of which the government and religion of the anti-Christ will be) in silencing dissenters. But this type of leadership is not for the Church of the Living God and is certainly not taught in the Holy Scriptures nor inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.

Yes, we hear the word "Pharisee" being tossed around quite liberally these days...

And it is an unfortunate shame that it is almost always used in reference to those who love the written Word of God, read it daily, are willing to contend earnestly for the faith, and believe that the scriptures are the final authority on all doctrinal issues rather than someone's opinion, feeling, or extra-scriptural revelation.

The sad fact is, that it is usually the one's using the word "Pharisee" to begin with, who fit the description Jesus applied to them in Mark Chapter seven, verses 1-15.

To listen to an enlightening and very relevant interview on this subject, visit http://hungryheart100.tripod.com/sharecropperradio to hear an interview with James Sundquist, author of, WHO'S DRIVING THE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH.

http://HungryHeartsMinistries.blogspot.com
http://HungryHeartsMinistries.com

DEFINITIONS of Contemplative Spirituality and Spiritual Formation

2008-03-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

Contemplative Spirituality: A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology; the premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).

Spiritual Formation: A movement that has provided a platform and a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every case you will find contemplative spirituality. In fact, contemplative spirituality is the heartbeat of the spiritual formation movement.

More Information:

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/

http://hungryheartsministries.com/

Chrysalis Walk to Emmaus

2008-03-14T01:57:00.000-07:00

What is Chrysalis?

Chrysalis is the youth and young adult version of its parent movement, Walk to Emmaus. Chrysalis walks (or retreats) are called “flights” for 10th through 12th graders and “journeys” for young adults ages 19 through 24. Participants in the 72 hour retreats must be sponsored by alumni of previous retreats.

Walk to Emmaus is an adaptation of a Roman Catholic movement, Cursillo de Cristianidad, which means "little course in Christianity." This movement, designed to empower persons to “Christianize their environment,” originated in Spain in 1948.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s Episcopalians, Lutherans and several non-denominational groups offered Cursillo. The first Cursillo weekend in the Episcopal Church was conducted in the early 1960's with help from Roman Catholic sponsors in the Diocese of Iowa. The doctrine taught in Cursillo was traditional Catholicism. In 1978, The Upper Room, which is the Spiritual Formation unit of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church, adapted the program for a primarily Protestant audience and began to offer it under the name The Upper Room Cursillo. The name was later changed to the more ecumenical Upper Room Walk to Emmaus.

The Upper Room of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church sponsors both Chrysalis and Walk to Emmaus and offers them through local Emmaus groups around the world. Although connected through The Upper Room to The United Methodist Church, The Walk to Emmaus is ecumenical.

Most Christians believe the ecumenical movement is simply a movement for more unity among believers. That is not the case. The ecumenical movement was spawned in the Vatican with the express purpose of returning the separated brethren (Protestants) to the Roman Catholic fold. Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis groups contribute to this purpose by introducing protestant believers to spiritual disciplines which include meditation techniques that have been, until more recent times, uniquely eastern and Roman Catholic in nature.

Before leaving for home, participants in the Chrysalis and Walk to Emmaus three day retreats are introduced to the concept of the Fourth Day. Fourth Day living includes follow-up with ongoing small group get-togethers and resources that Upper Room Spiritual Directors hope will continue to provide “spiritual guidance and nurture” to Chrysalis and Walk to Emmaus initiates. Recommended resources include authors who are Roman Catholic mystics such as St. Teresa of Avila and the Desert Fathers who are the Fathers of Contemplative Prayer. Books by Evelyn Underhill are also recommended as nurturing and guiding resources. Underhill was an Anglican mystic who believed that mysticism (meditation/contemplative prayer also known as “The Silence”) was the vehicle in which all religions could come into contact with the "Absolute" (God) however one perceived him to be—clearly not a concept found in scripture nor compatible with the exclusive gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father and to eternal life.

All denominations are participating in Walk to Emmaus retreats which are extremely seductive. Participants leave them claiming to be completely renewed, committed to Christ and on a spiritual high. It is difficult to argue with such lofty concepts as Emmaus walk initiates are encouraged to pursue—concepts such as piety (giving our hearts to Christ), study (giving our minds to Christ), and action (giving our hands to Christ). But we must remember that Satan can and does appear as an angel of light. His ministers masquerade as ministers of righteousness.

These Chrysalis and Emmaus Walk spiritual renewal retreats are nothing less than a potent blend of rat poison. Rat poison is 98-99% good stuff. And the higher the percentage of good ingredients the poison contains the more of it the rats are likely to ingest. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how good the good stuff is, it’s that tiny 1% of bad stuff that kills the rat.

For more information on Walk to Emmaus see:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/walktoemmaus.htm

The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning

2008-03-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

A Review of Brennan Manning's The Signature of Jesus
by John Caddock

The teachings of Manning are very dangerous. There is a seductive quality to his writings. He reports grappling with and overcoming fear, guilt, and psychological hang-ups and difficulties, including alcoholism. He gives the impression that he has a very intimate relationship with God and that he has insight to a superspirituality. He regularly meditates and reports having many visions and encounters with God. He is an extremely gifted writer who is able to tug at the emotions of the reader while at the same time introducing ideas that the reader would immediately reject if they were not cloaked under this emotional blanket...

He promises readers that if they apply his teaching they too will gain this same intimacy with God as well as freedom from fear, guilt, and psychological hang-ups and difficulties. This is very attractive. Manning's prescription to achieve this is not by traditional prayer and by the reading and application of the Bible. Rather, the means to this end is a mixture of Eastern mysticism, psychology, the New Age Movement, liberation theology, Catholicism, and Protestantism.

Read entire review here: http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1997ii/Caddock.html

Contemplative Spirituality Defined

2008-02-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

Contemplative spirituality (also known as Paschal Spirituality) is the teaching that spiritual growth and true spirituality occur by contemplation not of Scripture or even of scriptural themes, but contemplation of God through emptying your mind.

This movement began in the Roman Catholic Church

Contemplative prayer, Centering Prayer and Soaking Prayer are all the same thing. Those who practice such things are called mystics.

Contemplative prayer is a practice derived from Eastern mysticism. More and more Christians are turning to Mysticism.

The desert fathers (Roman Catholic monks) are the fathers of contemplative prayer in the west.

Mantra meditation is the basis for contemplative prayer.

Francis Schaefer defines Mysticism as nothing more than a faith contrary to rationality, deprived of content and incapable of communication. You can bear witness to it but you cannot discuss it."

Mystics claim that God cannot be defined by systems of doctrine. They maintain that western rationalism has crushed the knowledge of God and that we must return to a more intuitively (non-biblically) received knowledge.

The New mystics maintain that all religions should immerse themselves in the myths of their tradition because there is power in the "collective unconscious"

For the New Mystics, the use of biblical language bears no resemblance to the faith taught in the Bible. For example, the call to salvation is actually a call to a transformation of consciousness to be psychologically awakened to the unity and oneness of all creation.

Contemplative Spirituality Promotes Universalism and emphasizes ecumenism

Those who embrace contemplative spirituality eventually graduate to ecumenism which deepens over time to an extreme ecumenism which includes non-Christian religions and all "faith groups." The gospel of Scripture is ultimately rejected and a view that all are saved (universalism) is adopted.

The New Mystics frequently use the phrase "unconditional love" to express universality.

Thomas Merton (popular among protestants) a roman catholic contemplative author, says one can work within the Christian traditions but view universalism as the broader truth

Brennan Manning (popular contemplative author) in his Ragamuffin Gospel teaches that the life, death, and resurrection of Christ mean that all are redeemed. I. E. no one needs to get saved—all are already saved because of what Christ did.

Brennan Manning understands the deeper issues of contemplative spirituality. He writes: It is important to realize that when contemplatives speak of knowing God as your Father/Abba, they are not referring to regeneration. They are referring to achieving a level of intimacy with God, "intimacy with Abba." They view all people as heaven bound. The issue for them is becoming a mystic whose experience of God transforms the life and hence the world. Their ultimate aim is to usher in a new world

Manning's attitude toward the Bible: “I am deeply distressed by what I only can call in our Christian culture the idolatry of the Scriptures. For many Christians, the Bible is not a pointer to God but God himself. In a word-bibliolatry. … I develop a nasty rash around people who speak as if mere scrutiny of its pages will reveal precisely how God thinks and precisely what God wants (pp. 188-89).

http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1997ii/Caddock.html

Spiritual: Define It

2008-02-15T03:08:00.000-08:00

Over the past 12 months, I have heard more people describe themselves as "spiritual" than at any other time in my life. And the interesting part is, that those describing themselves as such do not even claim to be saved--although one did admit to carrying a Bible while traveling (sort of as a good luck charm?).

How do we define "spiritual?"
Are we aware that there is more than one spirit and more than one kind of spirit?
Do we know that it is the Spirit of God that is making us "spiritual?"
How do we know?

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 tells us that we, as Christians, have not received the spirit of the world, but rather, the spirit which is of God. 1 John 2:15-17 tells us that the world (the kosmos) and things that are of the world, the people, the earth itself as it presently stands, the system of the world, and the spirit of the world, are all living under the shadow of a death sentence. In light of that knowledge, can we say that simply being "spiritual" is necessarily a good thing?

According to 2 Corinthians 2:12-16, being spiritual is defined as having the mind of Christ and being taught by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.

1 John 1:1-4 informs us that there is certainly more than one spirit we can be influenced by and instructs us in the only way to tell the difference between the Spirit of God and spirits of the world who counterfeit the spirit of God. 1 John 4:3-4 goes into great detail in identifying the spirit of antichrist, which is the spirit of the world, and verse 4 clearly states that anyone who denies that Jesus Christ is come is not of God.

This verse is not as simplistic as it appears on the surface. Verse 4 is written in the imperfect tense [in Greek], which is synonymous with the perfect tense in English. It is not written in a simple present tense. The imperfect tense indicates ongoing action—permanence.

Because of the tense this verse is written in, it makes very clear the fact that Jesus not only came, but when he arrived, he was already the Christ. This rules out the concept of many Christs in conjunction with what is known as the "Christ Consciousness. It is very important to understand this fact as there are many who teach that Jesus was not the only Christ. Jesus himself warned that many false Christ’s would come. Fortunately the scriptures give a foolproof method for identifying the true Christ among the plethora of false Christs.

Jesus did not become the Christ as some claim. He was born the Christ. The phrase “is come,” being framed in the imperfect tense, tells us there never was a time when Jesus was not the Christ, and there never will be a time when he will not be the Christ.

Jesus, the only Christ, was born in the flesh, died in the flesh, rose in the flesh, ascended in the flesh, lives continually (remains perpetually) in the flesh, and will return to this earth in the flesh (Luke 2:11, 1 John 4:3-4, 2 John :7).

So believe not every spirit! But test the spirits to see whether or not they are of God.

Part of this article was excerpted from the book, REDEMPTION: Bible Prophecy Simplified, which is free for download at www.Lulu.com/JocelynAndersen Print copies for your reference library or to be used as gifts are also available at Lulu.com. To read more articles by Jocelyn Andersen, visit www.HungryHeartsMinistries.com .

The Inerrant Holy Scriptures

2008-02-10T05:20:00.001-08:00

It may surprise modern-day Christians to know that the Holy Scriptures are inerrant. Below is a statement found in the majority of Statements of Faith these days:

The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God....

Is anyone aware that if a statement like this is true, then we would all do well to trash all of our Bibles. At the very least, regulate them to the, "Confucius Says..." category. Because, according to this statement, only the original autographs are inerrant, and there are no original autographs in existence today.

Thank God those who write such blasphemous nonsense into their statements of faith are wrong. The scriptures are clear that God promised to preserve his word to every generation. That means that the generation of today still has the inerrant Word of God.

Even though none of the original autographs have survived the centuries. The infallible, indestructible Word of the God--The Bible--has.

For details visit www.Lulu.com/JocelynAndersen and read Bible Version Debate: Why? The book is offered free for download. A print copy is available to share with your friends and family.

The Church is Selling: Who's Buying?

2008-02-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Money, Money, Money, Money ...Money!

Money is the bait. Ancient, "historic," Christian traditions is the hook. Contemplative spirituality is the line. And a paradigm shift straight into panentheistic hell is the sinker.

I had been really stumped as to how certain blatantly unbiblical heresies have managed to take root within the evangelical Christian Church to the alarming degree that they have, until I stumbled upon [at least part of] the answer while researching something else entirely.

I was following the money trail on some interfaith organizations that put on a big show of being "Christian" (but are certainly not the brand of Christianity we find in the Bible), and to my amazement, I found that a common denominator in many of the financial grants, bestowed upon so-called "Christian" outreaches, included a stipulation that the grant recipient commit to the restoration of ancient, historical Christian traditions.

For those who do not know what ancient, historical Christian tradition means, allow me to interpret. In general, ancient, historical Christian tradition means mystical, contemplative, Roman Catholic, Christian traditions. It has no relation to anything protestant, evangelical or biblical whatsoever. In particular, it means the tradition of a Christianized form of eastern meditation called contemplative prayer (also known as centering or soaking prayer).

In application and experience, there is little to no difference between transcendental meditation and contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer is transcendental meditation. But instead of repeating "ooom," or whatever, the "Christian" meditator might repeat the name "Jesus" or one of the various names of God (or a short Bible verse). The end result for the Christian however, is identical to that of the Hindu or any other practitioner of eastern mysticism. If the Christian mystics get it just right, they will achieve a state of altered consciousness. And if they get it really right, they might even experience a good high. They eventually become awakened to the unity and oneness of all creation, and come to the lofty [though unbiblical] understanding that God is in every one and everything (would that understanding facilitate an acceptance of a one world religion?).

Back to the money, since the Bible obviously does not support "Historic Christian Traditions," and is not a major, or even minor, component in leading protestant evangelicals down the contemplative path to mystical oneness. It seems there are those with deep pockets willing to take a crack at buying out evangelical Christianity. And they do not seem to be hurting for sellers.

Take, for instance, The Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program which has at its core, a committment to recover the wisdom of the Christian tradition for our contemporary situation (that's code for contemplative). The foundation boasts of investing more than $29 million dollars into more than 700 congregations since the year 2000. The Lilly Endowment also feeds other grant foundations which are "enriching contemporary religious life by an appreciative recovery and critical re-appropriation of the riches of the Christian tradition."

Congregations are being paid handsomely, through grant monies, to allow their pastors the "privilege" of attending clergy renewal retreats where they can travel, worship, explore their faith, and recover the wisdom of historic Christian traditions together with leaders from many denominations and quasi-Christian religions. The hopeful result of these retreats is of course to bring Christian leaders into a more ecumenical and universalist mindset, which would logically be the first step to ultimate acceptance of a one world religion (which would conceivably include all faiths and religions).

In looking at the retreat rosters for the year 2000, I expected to see Universalists, Unitarians, Roman Catholics and some of the more ecumenical protestant congregations participating in the clergy renewal programs. And I did see them. But I was shocked to see that, from the very beginning, traditionally conservative Christians such as Baptists and Mennonites were among grant recipients and retreat participants as well.

What is worse, the number of conservative congregations selling out by sending pastors on these heretical retreats has been steadily increasing, with each passing year seeing more and more denominations participating. Among grant recipients for the year 2007, there were many more Baptists than were represented in the year 2000. There was more than one Mennonite congregation, a Moravian congregation, and a Church of God. All of these received upwards of $37,000 in exchange for sending their pastors on an extended sabbatical which included a clergy renewal retreat.

This is frightening. And the Lilly Endowment is not the only philanthropist organization buying out the Christian Church. There are many organizations bestowing big bucks in the form of grant money on Christians willing to sell their birthrights for bowls of pottage.

The church is selling, the philanthropists are buying. Do we even want to know who is behind the philanthropists? Who do we know of who might have a vested interest in promoting a one world religion?

It is as our Lord said the love of money truly is the root of all evil.

Five Small Stones...Five Rules for Fighting AND WINNING in the Promised Land

2008-02-06T04:23:00.000-08:00

David went up against Goliath in the name of the Lord, with a sling and five small stones. I believe that David was confident that he would nail the giant with the first stone, but he carefully chose five.

I find it interesting that scripture reveals there are… Five rules for fighting and winning in the Promised Land:

1. Never run from the fight (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
2. Never fight in your own strength (1 Samuel 17:45)
3. Know who your enemy is and is not (Ephesians 6:12)
4. Never try to possess what God has not given (Numbers 14:40-45, Joshua 1:11)
5. Possess your land within the allotted time limit (Numbers 33:55, Judges 2:21-23)

I was given an excellent opportunity not to run from a fight when I felt compelled by the spirit of the Lord to take on a $25,000,000 giant without any resources save my God.

I wanted to run from the fight. I was not at all interested in this particular battle. But I know that God does pick fights. And I felt that he had picked this one. So, in obedience, I forged ahead with God (Him dragging me, kicking and screaming, a good deal of the way).

The fight concerned an unemployment claim that I had no intention of filing, because I did not feel I had a valid claim in the first place (I had been down that unemployment claim road before and lost). But the Holy Spirit reminded me that I did indeed have good reason to file the claim, and that I was to do it.

When I was first offered the job in question, I was promised certain conditions of employment. And I accepted the position based on those promises—promises which were never kept. The Spirit of the Lord reminded me that I had approached my employer many times about resolving the issue of the broken promises. I had forgotten that I had documented our communications about this issue, and the results of each.

So reluctantly, in obedience to God, I filed a claim—and I was turned down flat. The claim was denied based on lies my former employer told concerning the original terms of my hire.

I was not upset at all about the denial. I suppose I had not really expected my former employer to do any differently. I was now ready to let the whole thing go and accept that my money (both wages while employed with them and the unemployment benefits that I was rightfully entitled to) had been stolen from me by a $25,000,000 corporation. That was a bit more money and power than I had. And I knew little ole me wasn't up to taking on this Goliath.

I had obeyed the Lord. I had filed the claim. And I had lost. What more could I do? I was relieved the whole thing was over with.

But it wasn't.

The Holy Spirit proceeded to instruct me to write the CEO of this corporation (A man who names the name of Christ often in his public and private speaking) and tell him that God was holding him and his family personally responsible for wages that were held back from his laborers by agents acting on his behalf (in addition to a separate company that handled payroll, most major positions in the company I worked for were held by members of the CEO's family. It had been a family owned business before becoming publicly owned).

Yes Lord, I am now going to become known as a religious fanatic who fancies herself a prophet as well. But, in obedience, I wrote the letter and mailed it.

After sending the letter—which I thought would end my participation in the whole thing once and for all, I was surprised that I felt led of the Holy Spirit to appeal my claim. I did not want to appeal the claim. I was not feeling a great deal of faith concerning an appeal—actually I was feeling no faith at all concerning an appeal, and I hated even the thought of going through the appeals process.

My husband didn’t have any faith concerning this appeal either, but was supportive of my efforts. He said that the emotional closure (my efforts would provide) would be good for me. But I knew I was hearing from God. So feeling no faith whatsoever, I filed the appeal and asked the Lord to count my obedience as faith.

A hearing was scheduled, and I prayerfully participated. I knew I could not win this on my own. My former employer had not only lied about the terms of my employment, my job title, and my position with the company, but unknown to me, had changed my new hire documentation and sent altered information concerning the terms of my employment to the payroll company—terms I had never agreed to.

When the payroll company mailed me their forensic evidence, and I read it, my strength left me. The original documentation that I had filled out, had signed by my supervisor, and had personally faxed into the payroll/staffing company was missing. It had been replaced with falsified documentation that I had never laid eyes on.

I was now faced with the fact that I had no documented evidence to affirm that what I was saying was true. And falsified as it was, my former employers had documentation to support their lies.

Two of my former supervisors promised to testify in my behalf at the hearing—one had been present when I was hired and had heard the promises made to me. The other had been very involved in my efforts to get our employer to stand by the original terms of my employment. But in the end, neither of these supervisors testified at my hearing. Things had boiled down to my word against my former employer’s false documentation.

Amazingly, another hearing was scheduled in order to give my witnesses an opportunity to speak on my behalf (I did not ask for the second hearing and, although they indicated a willingness to speak, each cited scheduling issues and did not speak at that one either).

While I was waiting for the second hearing, I decided to look through my paperwork one last time. I began searching through the employment folder my employer had given me. This folder contained copies of the altered documents—I had never looked through the folder again after filling out the original forms, having them signed by my supervisor, faxing them to the payroll company, and then turning the originals over to my employer. Even worse, I had not taken the time to make copies of the original contents. During my final search through the folder, I found a piece of documentation that I realized was one of my original’s—through some oversight, my employer had neglected to remove this piece of paperwork from my folder!

I now had proof that my employer had never submitted my original paperwork to the payroll company. And somehow that one original source document (containing my supervisor’s signature) had been left in the folder along with all the false documentation that had been added.

Unofficial as it was, this document verified that at least part of what I was saying was true, and in addition to that, one of my supervisors (the one who had signed the document) faxed me an un-notarized written statement backing up my claims (and the claims of that lone document).

I submitted the document and my supervisor’s written statement to the appeals board and requested that (un-notarized as they were) they be entered into evidence. The representative of the payroll company was very experienced at fighting unemployment claims, and of course, requested that the unofficial documents be removed from the record. The request was denied.

Those representing my former employer were ruthless in their efforts to keep from me what was rightfully mine. It would have been easy during the appeals process to have become bitter against them. I was sorely tempted. But I remembered that they were not my enemy.

In the end, all of my former employer's expertise, money, power, and falsified evidence did not gain them a penny. The ruling to deny my unemployment benefits was reversed, and I got my money.

Goliath lost.

God picked the fight. I did not run from the fight. I stayed focused on the fact that this was God’s fight—not mine. I stayed focused on who my real enemy was and refused to become vindictive toward the agents he was using. I did not go after anything that God had not given me and was not rightfully mine. And I respected God’s timing. I acted when he instructed me to.

And mercy of mercies…He won!

www.HungryHeartsMinistries.com

We invite you to listen to the radio voice of Hungry Hearts Ministries:
WWW.ShareCropperRadio.com

The Midnight Cry: Evidence of a Pre-Trib Rapture

2008-02-04T01:21:00.000-08:00

"And at midnight, there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him...and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut...Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour the Son of Man cometh"
Matthew 25:1-13...Read commentary on this passage at:
http://rapturerevelation.blogspot.com/2008/02/matthew-251-13-midnight-cry.html

IS THERE A TRIBE OF JOSEPH? (and why does it matter?)

2007-12-14T04:08:00.000-08:00

New Revelation Study Posted:
Revelation 7:8 IS THERE A TRIBE OF JOSEPH? (and why does it matter?)
http://the-bookofrevelation.blogspot.com/2007/12/revelation-78-tribe-of-joseph.html

Allow Yourselves To Be Defrauded

2007-10-10T03:23:00.000-07:00

The same generation of church-goers whose clarion call is Don't Judge! is the same generation that will bring lawsuit against fellow-church members in a heartbeat.

I am referencing an article published in the October 10, 2007 Church Report about a pastor who punished church members who questioned his authority and who stole church money in order to give his daughter a lavish wedding reception.

Whether he was guilty or not, taking a sinful, money-embezzling pastor before unbelieving, secular courts is definitely in defiance of scripture which clearly instructs not to—to the point of allowing ourselves to be defrauded instead (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).

Of course this same scripture also instructs Christians and church leadership to deal with such a situation—looking at the facts and rendering a judgment—not to sweep it under the rug and move on without missing a beat.

Bringing a lawsuit into the mix made everyone involved wrong.

The church leadership should have stepped in and followed biblical protocol in the situation, which is laid out for us in very clear step by step detail, and gotten rid of that pastor—if indeed he was on a power trip and guilty of greed and theft.

Everyone involved in that debacle needs to repent--the thieving pastor (who needs to be replaced), the church members who brought the lawsuit, and the church leaders who refused to exercise church discipline in the situation (who need to be replaced as well).

But then, the sinful practice of incorporating churches often ensconces—permanently—ungodly leadership, and renders the possibility of having any sort of truly biblical leadership—which includes church discipline—for all practical purposes, impossible.

How Do We Touch the "Hem of His Garment?"

2007-10-08T02:06:00.000-07:00

I just received an email in which a cough remedy was touted as guaranteed to work, every time. The person who wrote the email said, "I can't wait to get another cough so I can try this!"

I was at the gym the other day, and overheard one woman talking to another as they were working out. The woman was explaining that because her doctor forbidden her to do a certain exercise, she could not do it.

I was at church Sunday and the preacher was asked to pray for a sick person. He prayed with the disclaimer that he was urging them to go see a physician as well. He was praising physicians as being great--that God gave us physicians, but of course, he added, God was better.

This kind of stuff grieves me to the core.

When we can't wait to get another cough so we can try a home remedy, what does that say about what we think of God's ability to heal us? He is certainly not first choice is he?
Why don't we obey God as well as we obey physicians? When we turn physicians into our gods. We get only what they can give.
That preacher had to add that disclaimer because he runs to a physician every time he gets sick himself.

I am not hammering on folks just to be mean-spirited. God's people are in a death-grip of infirmity. Look around. Many will struggle with infirmity indefinitely. And what's worse, they expect to...

...in spite of the fact that in their refusal to turn to God first for relief in their infirmity, they whore after televangelists who tell them that God will honor their "faith offering" by healing them or giving them whatever it is they need or are lusting after.

The only thing televangelists have that anyone wants is money! Your money. They don't have divine health themselves. They all seek to physicians.

Send the televangelist money, then run to doctor and give him money as well. It's become a vicious cycle hasn't it? Spend all your living on physicians and insurance supplements, and then turn around and send a "faith gift." Where's the faith in that??

I cannot even begin guess at the numbers of retiree's who have gone to work at some menial job because they "needed the benefits."

What about God's benefits? He tells us he has them. But trust me. We will never fully reap them if televangelists are our idols, physicians are our gods and our Creator is our last resort-when-all-else-fails- last-ditch-effort.

Spirits of infirmity are real. They are non-benevolent, personal beings--devils--dedicated to destroying us through infirmity. How do you think they accomplish that task? If a person is afflicted with a spirit of infirmity, no physician will ever be able to make that person better. Spirits of infirmity are real. They are non-benevolent, personal beings--devils--dedicated to destroying us through infirmity. How do you think they accomplish that task?

If a person is afflicted with a spirit of infirmity, no physician will ever be able to make that person better. It will be one thing after another, after another, after another, so on and on and on….

Good people are often afflicted by spirits of infirmity. We have biblical examples of this. But the biblical example also makes it quite clear that God is willing and able to deliver from spirits of infirmity.

One woman got sick and tired of spending all her living on physicians. She suffered from their treatments, and because of those treatments actually became worse. She finally came to the realization that they would never make her better.

There are two things we can learn from the woman with the spirit of infirmity: 1.) The Bible does not say she had a spirit of infirmity because of sin. 2.) She had lost faith in physicians.

That was a good thing. For only then did she put all her eggs in Jesus' basket and risked trusting him--and he did not let her down. Now, we do not discourage faith, but this is not a prescription for divine healing, so please do not say that Hungry Hearts Ministries is prescribing a medical boycott. We are not. We are simply commenting on the situation of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. To seek physicians or not is always a deeply personal decision based on the individual lifestyle choices of autonomous adults. Look at it this way. If an atheist chooses to live life naturally, accepting their lifespan without prolonging it through medical treatment, no one would fault them. The attitude would be live and let live. People make living wills all the time, and indeed are encouraged to. So no one has the right to persecute competent adults regardless of which choice they make.

We read about what the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment did. We preach about what she did, talk about what she did, and sing about what she did. I dare say just about all of us, at one time or another, have heard someone say or sing, "If I could but touch the hem of his garment..."

But how many of us are willing to do that?

Touching the hem of his garment is not something we can do if we consider it only one option out of many. We only touch the hem of his garment when we know that he is our only hope--whether or not we are currently seeing a physician for the ailment.

We are not saying that God will not show us mercy even in our stubborn faithlessness. There are too many accounts of that happening to deny that he does that. But wouldn’t it be better to simply repent of our faithlessness? The Bible tells us that whatever is not faith is sin.

We are not advising anyone to stop seeing their physician. We cannot do that. But we do know that Jesus is the answer.

Visit our main website at http://hungryheartsministries.com/id154.html

Who is the "Devil" of the Prophetic Movement?

2007-10-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

"We are best known for being a faith that is "against" everything. This has been an effective way the non-believing world has found to intimidate Believers into silence and keep them out of the marketplace. Sadly it has worked!"

The above quote is taken from a Bill Keller "Live Prayer" broadcast in which he referenced his recent televised interview with a Strip Club Owner and a Radical Muslim. Unfortunately, even professing Bible believing Christians use identical methods for intimidating other Bible believing Christians into not standing up for what the Word of God says.

One Christian recently emailed me stating concerns about a "prophet" and a "dreamer" who had been invited to speak at her church. She had misgivings about this person's ministry and had asked her pastor if he had checked him out thoroughly before inviting him to speak.

The pastor had not and was not the least bit interested in doing so.

Another church member, the one who was responsible for the invitation to begin with (who had recommended this dreamer to the pastor), viciously attacked the Christian who questioned the invitation by telling her that, in simply questioning this "prophet's" credibility she was guilty of "killing the prophets."

That is directly in line with the method used by all leaders of the Prophetic movement (and quite a common term by the way). Shame and ridicule are routinely heaped on Bible believing Christians who gauge the things they see and hear by the word of God.

And it is working!

More and more Christians are either falling for the lie or allowing themselves to be shamed into a deadly silence while these evil dreamers, who are falling into the ditch themselves, take their happily ignorant followers along with them.

This practice of ridiculing those who stand for absolutes is a method that has been successfully used by brainwashers for centuries. It has a name. It is called Dialectics. Dialectic is the theoretical foundation of Marxism . Regular folks know it better as "group think." Yep, the stuff "Big Brother" is made of. It is the practice of pitting the group against the one. It is also where the concept of "there are no absolutes, everything is relative" came from--which our children are programmed to believe from the earliest grades in our public schools.

Bill Hamon, the father of the Prophetic Movement, is a master at using dialectics, as is Rick Joyner , along with every other cult leader (the Prophetic Movement is one of the fastest growing cults in the church today). And their followers also seem to master the skill with amazing speed. They have to, or they would not be permitted to spew their poison so freely in Bible believing Christian congregations.

They are bullies, and a huge segment of the Body of Christ either agrees with them or is intimidated by them. These bullies really do not care which the case may be. Opposition is effectively silenced either way.

I cannot remember who it was who said you can have a successful movement without a God, but you cannot have a successful movement without a devil. Well how true that is! And the devil of the Prophetic movement is the Bible believing sector of the Body of Christ--those who judge all things by the scriptures and the scriptures alone.

Since we are called prophet killers (i.e., devils) whether we speak or whether we remain silent, let us not be dumb dogs who cannot bark. Let's earn that title, and speak up!

You can read more about the prophetic movement and their unscriptural practices and teachings in the book Apostles Prophets and the Coming NEW AGE. The book can be purchased at printing cost only or downloaded free at www.Lulu.com/JocelynAndersen .

Malfunction Junction

2007-09-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have not received any posts from this blog for a week or two. It was because Feedburner went on the blitz. However, it looks as if it may be working again. We had made a decision just before Feedburner malfunctioned to hold onto our Constant Contact account for at least one more month. It looks like that was a good decision. So Hungry Hearts Updates will still be delivered from time to time via that method. In the meantime, subscribing to this blog via email will keep you updated on a regular basis. Thank for subscribing to our blog.

Butch & Jocelyn

In Case of Technical Difficulties With the Main Website

2007-09-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

In Case of Technical Difficulties With the Main Website

If http://www.hungryheartsministries.com/ ever appears to be neglected, updates will be found here. I logged into the sitebuilder recently to update the main website and was unable to. Thank God, the problem was corrected very quickly, but it drove home to me the need to have an alternative way to let folks know what is going on with the site in case something like that every happens again.

Hook, Line and Sinker

2007-09-09T03:30:00.000-07:00

What if a baby formula company announced they had created a baby formula that smelled better, tasted better, and came in a variety of flavors guaranteed to appeal your baby?

What if it was discovered that, in order to make this formula more palatable, critical, life giving nutrients had been deleted and replaced with useless, even harmful ingredients--yet the formula company continues to claim that the most important thing about the formula is that it tastes good? Don't worry, they say, that your baby will be malnourished and not develop properly on this good-tasting formula. Don't worry that your baby may even die. The most important thing to focus on, they insist, is that your baby will like this formula.

This is the bill of goods being sold to Christians today concerning Bible versions. And it seems they are swallowing it--hook, line and sinker.

~~jocelyn andersen

The Wrath to Come 12:12 Revelation

2007-07-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

Revelation 12:12: The Wrath to Come

…Woe to the inhabiters of the earth andof the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

The wrath the inhabitants of the earth will be subjected to during The Great Tribulation will come from more than one source.

In Revelation chapter six, we see a reference to the “wrath of the Lamb.”

In Revelation chapter fourteen, we see a reference to the “wrath of God.”

In addition to these things, each of which in and of themselves, are legitimate things to fear and avoid at all costs, in Revelation 12:12, we see the inhabiters of the earth and sea informed that these woes will be compounded by the fact that the wrath of Satan will be added into the mix.

John the Baptist was prophet who had real insight into, and understanding of, the Old Testament prophecies concerning the events of the “wrath to come.” He understood the almost absolute devastation of the earth and human population it would cause. We see that in Matthew chapter 3 verse 7.

Paul understood these things as well and, in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, was praising God that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not only to saves our souls from hell but also to delivers us from the “wrath to come.”

There is no doubt that Paul and John the Baptist were both referencing the events that are described so vividly in The Revelation.

Jesus confirms this in his statement seen in Luke 21:34-36 where he emphatically gives warning to “…pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Jesus said again, in The Revelation chapter 3 that he would keep those who keep his word from (out of) the hour of temptation (trial) that was coming upon all the world.

Don’t wait, if you know all is not well with your soul, make it right. Turn to Jesus who is reaching out to you. Repent of the unbelief that will steal your soul for eternity. Romans 10:9-10 & 13 promises salvation to all who call upon the name of the Lord believing that Jesus Christ is his risen son.

2 Corinthians 6:2 says now is the accepted time, now is day of salvation.

Acts 2:38 says:.
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus.

Do Not Take Away Even One Word...Revelation 22:19

2007-07-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

22:19 Revelation

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, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This is a verse that warns believers to be very careful about which Bible translation they choose to read. This is a verse that lets us know how very important it is to get educated in this area.

This is a sobering verse that should be taken with all seriousness.

Because of what this verse says, we can rest assured that the 4th century authors of the corrupt Egyptian Minority Texts are roasting right now. We can rest assured that the authors of the 19th century Hort Westcott Greek New Testament, which is based entirely on the Egyptian Minority Texts, are tormented in the same flame described in Luke Chapter 16.

In fact, we have in this verse, Revelation 22:19, an absolute promise that anyone who participates in translating a Bible version which corrupts even one word of The Revelation, has had his or her name taken away from the Book of Life.

How many well known and highly respected Christian leaders today who, indicating their approval, have allowed their names to be printed in the forward of some of the most corrupted Bible versions we have seen to date? These men and women obviously have no fear of God, or respect for his Word.

The Revelation is contained in the New Testament, doesn’t it make sense that we should be very careful about trusting any and every “Modern” version that rolls off the presses?

The New Testament of King James Version is translated from source material that can be traced back to the apostles. It is absolutely reliable. Don’t ever listen to anyone who says differently. It is not true that the Received Text it is translated from is “riddled with errors,” as is falsely stated in the preface of many Bible versions.

The subject of Bible Versions has been research extensively and a book written entitled Bible Version Debate: Why? (link in sidebar). The book is free to download.

The Wedding Supper of the Lamb - Revelation 19:7-9

2007-07-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Revelation 19:7-9

Let us rejoice and be glad and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he saith unto me, write, blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God.

The book of Revelation is a future book, and from chapter 4 on, it is written specifically to those who will be living during the times of The Beginning of Sorrows and The Great Tribulation. At this writing, there is still time to accept the marriage proposal and attend the wedding as the Bride! Missing the wedding could prove to be fatal. Missing the reception (marriage supper) will definitely be fatal.

The message in Revelation 19:7-9 is two-fold. We see the Lamb’s wife who has already made herself ready. And we see a reference to those who are invited to the Marriage Supper.

The wedding takes place in Heaven. The reception takes place on earth.

We know this because see the Lamb’s wife coming out of Heaven with Jesus. In verse :8 she is arrayed in fine linen. Compare that with verse :14 which portrays the armies of Heaven leaving Heaven with Jesus on their way to the battle of Armageddon (see the rest of the chapter). They are arrayed in fine linen. It is obvious the Lamb’s wife is included in the armies of Heaven, and will participate in the battle of Armageddon.

The marriage takes place in Heaven. But when did the Lamb’s wife arrive in Heaven? A couple of passages answer that question for us:
· 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 tells of the dead being raised and the living “caught up.” This clearly depicts what is known as the “Rapture.”
· Revelation 4 & 5 corresponds to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and show the church, those who belong to Christ in this present age of grace as being in Heaven prior to the events of both the Beginning of Sorrows and The Great Tribulation.
· Revelation 11 shows the 2 witnesses who will prophesy during the 1260 days of Jacob’s Trouble.
· Revelation 14 reveals the 144,000 who are sealed with a mark of God’s protection before The Great Tribulation begins and are caught up at some point before the physical return of Christ.

The marriage supper (the reception) takes place on earth—after both the battle of Armageddon and the Judgment of the Nations is completed. Those invited to the reception are a completely different group than those who came out of Heaven with Christ, and comprise those who did not accept the original marriage proposal but endured to the end of The Great Tribulation. They missed the wedding altogether, but survived The Great Tribulation and survived the Judgment of the Nations (which immediately follows the battle of Armageddon).

As the scriptures say… blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb…

Scripture references and further study on this subject can be found at the following websites:
http://hungryheartsministries.com/id3.html Biblical Prophecy Study Center
http://Lulu.com/JocelynAndersen

Four Angels Four Winds - Revelation 7:1-3

2007-07-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Revelation 7:1-3

Four Angels – Four Corners – Four Winds

In Revelation 7:1-3, we see the earth sitting on the brink of devastating judgment. There are four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth. Currently, as concerning the future of this earth, the angels stationed at the four corners of the earth in Revelation 7:1-3, are given tremendous destructive power that will be violently unleashed as soon as the servants of God, 144,000 Jews, are sealed in their foreheads.

These angels are being instructed, by an angel who has the seal of the Living God, not to hurt the earth, sea or trees until the servants of God have been sealed in their foreheads.

Are the angels holding the four winds Holy Angels? Or are they evil angels?

We know from scripture that God is in control of all powers, even Satan’s, and there is scriptural evidence that He does use evil angels to accomplish His purposes. Also, the scriptures do refer to Satan as the prince of the powers of the air. And it is air (wind) that these angels hold in their power.

Think about the consequences of destroying angels that hold power over the wind and the sea: hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, fierce thunder storms, tsunamis… just for starters.

There is a parallel to Revelation 7:1-3 In Ezekiel 9:1-11. In Ezekiel we see a city sitting on the brink of judgment. We see angels with slaughter weapons in their hands. We also see an angel, clothed in linen, with an inkhorn in his hand.

The angel with the inkhorn is commanded to set a mark [of protection] in the foreheads of all the servants of God in the city (them that sigh and cry over the sin surrounding them).

After the righteous are sealed, the destroying angels did their work. They acted upon the direct command of God. But were they Satan’s angels? Or were they Holy angels?

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse--Revelation 6

2007-07-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

Revelation Chapter 6

There is a side by side, parallel chart comparing Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:4-22/Luke 21:25-26 (otherwise known as The Olivet Discourse) with Revelation Chapter 6 located at:
http://hungryheartsministries.com/id459.html . These passages are all describing the same time period:

There is an obvious correlation between Revelation 6 with Matthew 24:4-8, and Jesus’ clear statement with what he described as The Beginning of Sorrows. It is revealed in scripture that The Beginning of Sorrows does not commence until this present age of grace is consummated at the resurrection / rapture of those who are in Christ.

The Beginning of Sorrows is the first 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th week and immediately precedes the last 3 ½ years of “the week” which is The Time of Jacob’s Trouble. For details on these things, see the Revelation Plus group archives and also the Free downloadable book, Redemption: Bible Prophecy Simplified—link in sidebar (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:20, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 4:1, Daniel 9:24-27).

The Revelation is a chronological book. The Church is not seen on earth, at all, after chapter 3. But it is seen in Heaven (Revelation 4:1-4, 5:8-14, 7:9, 14:4).

The Beginning of Sorrows is ushered in by the four horsemen of the apocalypse after the church is caught up and is the official beginning of Daniel’s 70th week.

When Will We Rule & Reign With Christ? Revelation 5:9-10

2007-07-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Revelation 5:9-10

In Revelation chapter 5 verses 9-10 we are presented with a group of blood bought, resurrected and raptured saints.

We know they have already been raised/caught up because we see them in Heaven, before the throne of God wearing crowns of gold (Revelation 4:4). They have already been raised, judged and rewarded.

The chronology of The Revelation is clear that these things occur before any seals of judgment are opened and loosed on the earth initiating The Beginning of Sorrows and The Great Tribulation.

These redeemed people are praising the Lamb for two things. They are praising him for redeeming them with his blood, and they are praising him because they are looking forward to reigning on the earth with him.

Jesus, the only Christ, is God of gods, Lord of lords, and King of kings. And he will have the last word. He that sits in the Heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have his enemies in derision, and Jesus will establish a kingdom that will have no end. But he is not reigning on this earth just yet. With all the filth and unrighteousness we see around us, it is a gross insult to him to even suggest that he is. It goes without speaking that those who belong to him are not reigning yet either, nor will they until Heaven opens and Christ returns visibly and physically to this earth with all his saints.

Those who teach that mere mortal men will be instrumental in “ushering in” the Kingdom of Christ by bringing about conditions on earth which will “release” Christ from Heaven are liars. If they do not repent, they will find themselves turned over to the lie and being thrown into the lake of fire. If those who follow them do not repent, they are in serious danger of sharing that same fate (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12kjv).

In Revelation 5:9-10 we see two things quite clearly. We see the pre-tribulational resurrection of the dead in Christ and the pre-tribulational rapture of the ekklesia—the called out [out of] assembly (i.e., the Church). We also see that any ruling and reigning that will be done, is still a future event and will not take place until after The Great Tribulation is concluded. We know this because Christ will not return to earth with his resurrected and raptured saints until the battle of Armageddon concludes The Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Revelation 19).

Pray That Ye May Escape....Revelation 5:1-5

2007-07-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Revelation 5:1-5

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Who is worthy to open the book of judgment and to loose the seals of judgment?

Just as surely as there is a book of life, there is a book of judgment. And just as surely as that book of life will be opened, so will the book of judgment be opened.

Before Christ can establish his kingdom in righteousness, sin on earth must be judged.

And when the book of judgment is opened, and the seals decreeing the judgments are broken, sudden destruction will descend upon the ensnared people of the earth and, with the exception of the few who are protected by the seal of God during this time, there will be no escape from these judgments.

But who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals decreeing the righteous judgments of God upon a rebellious race of humans and upon an earth corrupted by sin?

Is any angel in heaven worthy to open a book and loose seals which will bring devastating judgments upon a God rejecting race? No, not even one. No angel ever became a man. No angel was ever born in sin and required to strive against sin as a human being. No angel could ever cleanse the sin of man and offer a way for him to be pardoned and attain eternal life. How could an angel do such a thing when angels are beings who cannot shed their blood and die for sin—much less triumph over sin by rising from the dead? Therefore, no angel is worthy open the book or look upon it. The option is not even offered to them.

What about man? Can a man be found who is worthy to open the book and break the seals which decree the judgments? Can a man be found who is worthy to even look upon the book?

In all of recorded history, only one can be found—only one man born without the taint and automatic death sentence passed upon all of Adam’s race.

Only one man can be found who kept himself sinless while enduring every temptation known to man. This man said I will take the punishment for the sins of all men. I will empower mankind to be saved from the taint of sin that now resides in the world and to rise above it. I will make it possible for all men to be able to stand in the presence of God. This man gave his life so all men could live. This man rose from the dead so that sin and death can one day be abolished forever.

This man, Jesus Christ, the lion who is a lamb, is worthy to judge those who reject the way of escape he so freely offers to all who will come to him, now, in the time of favor. But those who reject him during this present time of favor, and are alive when Jesus comes to raise the dead and catch up the living who belong to him, will find themselves utterly ensnared and trapped on earth during the time of the judgments contained within the seven seals of the book that is held in the right hand of him who sits upon the throne.

Jesus Christ is not only worthy to open the book and loose the seals, but he will open the book and loose the seals. And his message to all can be found in the 21st chapter of the book of Luke in the 34th through 36th verses:

“…take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

When We Do Right--But We're Not Right - Revelation 2:1-6

2007-07-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

02:1-6 Revelation-Ephesus

When We Do Right but We’re Not Right

Verse one of Revelation Chapter two makes it clear that Jesus is speaking to the angel, or the messenger (many believe to be the pastor, and I tend to agree) of the church at Ephesus. This letter was written to a specific person. It was delivered and read to the church. It was not written to a spirit being such as a holy angel from Heaven.

The seven stars we see in this verse are defined in chapter 1 verse 20 as being the angels (messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches themselves.

In verse 2, Jesus has some words of praise for this pastor. He acknowledges the hard work this pastor is doing. He acknowledged the perseverance of this person. The pastor had some very praiseworthy things to his credit.

Jesus saw fit to praise the fact that this man did not fall for every wind of doctrine—or new “move of God” by following false apostles, but rather that he tested those who claimed apostleship but in reality were not. This pastor had no problems exposing these liars.

Let me say here that I am not necessarily in agreement with the position that each of the seven churches in The Revelation parallel the church at different points in history. Profane history always validates Biblical history and Biblical prophecy, but should never be used to interpret scripture. The opposite is true, though, scripture can always be used to interpret history. History never has, and never will, contradict scripture.

The seven churches in The Revelation were literal churches that had issues relevant to the church as a whole at that time as well as throughout all history, at any given time.

Today, due to the ease of mass communication through media and technology, and accelerated demonic spiritual activity, we are faced with a proliferation of false apostles that would have sent the pastor at Ephesus into orbit. The numbers are staggering. But the problem of false apostles has been with the church from the beginning. Peter addressed the issue great detail, as did John and Jude.

In verse three of Revelation chapter two, Jesus continues to praise this pastor’s work, his patience, his perseverance for the name of Jesus. There is no doubt that this man contended faithfully for the faith—with accuracy—else the praise would not be there.

Nevertheless, in verse four we see Jesus throwing a big “BUT” in there. In essence, this is what we hear Jesus saying, “In most everything, dear pastor, you are doing great! But we have a problem—a BIG one.”

The man had good works, He was a hard worker. He persevered and did not falter with discouragement in spite of the fact that he lived in an incredibly sinful city. He boldly contended for the faith testing those who made claims to apostleship—then exposed them publicly for the liars they were. Jesus found all of this very praiseworthy. But all of this was apparently not enough for this pastor’s ministry, and his entire church, not to be threatened. We see that in verse five where Jesus threatens to remove not only him but also his church out of his place.

This is a very serious consequence.

The Revelation is a prophecy—all of it. And I believe that one of the reasons it begins with an overview of the church is because the issues the early church dealt with would be accelerated as the end of the age drew near. The church today faces everything the early church faced and to a greater degree. Scripture declares this to be so.

What was this, apparently “good” pastor’s problem—a problem so serious that Jesus threatened to remove not only his personal ministry but also his church (candlestick) out of its place? The Bible says we are the light of the world. That is only because Jesus dwells in us and we are to reflect his light. Our Candlestick is intended to be seen. It is intended to be a beacon of safety in a dark and very dangerous world.

The pastor of the church in Ephesus had a serious “heart” problem that no amount of “good work” could cure. He had left his first love. He was “doing” all the right things it seemed. And no doubt he started off right—the praise he received from the Lord verifies that—but somewhere along the way his motivations had shifted. What caused this shift? Scripture does not say. All it says is that this pastor had left his first love.

His relationship with Jesus had shifted from a relationship of love, loyalty and commitment, to one of simply compliance.

David understood the subtleties of this issue. He defined it in Psalm 51 when he said, “for thou desirest not sacrifice (i.e., compliance to your law); else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Serving God is always a heart thing. It is a love thing. Hating sin always begins with us—with being sorry for our own sin. This pastor at Ephesus was contending for the faith, he could not bear those who were evil. He was working hard and exposing the false apostles among them. This was a good thing. But he was also attempting to remove splinters from the eyes of others while he had a huge log in his own. And Jesus bluntly told him to get his heart right or else….

How many of us have experienced a motivational shift in our relationship and service to the Lord? We started out absolutely in love with Jesus, and our relationship with him was a joy, our work for him was a labor of love. But somewhere along the way something changed?

What could have caused the change? Fear? Do we now work hard “for Jesus” because we are afraid we will lose God’s approval, our salvation or our “ministry” if we do not?

Have we focused so much on “building a ministry” that the thing no longer belongs to God—is no longer a service to God, but the ownership of it has shifted and it now owns us instead, and our lives are spent doing what needs to be done in order to make sure “the ministry” survives? Jesus said, “You have left your first love.”

Do we give tithes and offerings because the Bible tells us too, but are resentful when we give the money? God doesn’t need our money, nor does he simply want our compliance. He wants our hearts. God loves a cheerful giver.

Could lust or ambition for power, money or some spiritual experience have caused a “shift?”

Issues of the heart, and our love relationship with our Savior, are so important to him, that he sees it as the utter rejection that it is when our affection cools and our faithfulness and loyalty shifts. When that happens, we begin to cheat on God. We begin to commit adultery. We take a lover while lying to our spouse. The Bible says our maker is our husband. We lie to our spouse, to ourselves, and to everyone else involved about where our true affections lie.

Jesus says to remember from where we have fallen from. He commands us to repent and do our first works over, or else he will come quickly and remove our candlestick (remember, Revelation 1:20 defines the candlestick as one of the seven churches). When a pastor or minister leaves his first love, it not only has a detrimental affect on him personally, but also on those who follow him. Jesus said so when he said, “The blind lead the blind and they both fall into the pit.”

Pastors, we need to take care that we do not become pied pipers, because that is exactly what happens when our motivations shift and we leave our first love—Jesus removes us, and often, we take the majority of our followers along with us.

The Lord's Day Revelation 1:10

2007-07-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Revelation 1:10

“I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day…”

John was in exile on the Isle of Patmos, and he was in the spirit on the “Lord’s Day.” Exactly what day is that?

Some will say the “Lord’s Day” is the first day of the week—Sunday. Others insist it is the seventh day of the week—Saturday.

What do the scriptures have to say?

That the Church, as early as the days of the apostles, worshipped on the first day of the week (which they called "The Lord's Day") is indesputable.

Acts 20:7 they gathered, had communion and preached on the first day of the week. In 1 Corinthians 16:2 we see them gathering and taking up offerings on the
first day of the week.

These things are still done when we gather together for corporate worship. The scriptures show the first Christians gathering on the first day of the week.

Revelation 1:10 The first day of the week became the "Lord's Day" because that is the day Jesus, The Lord of the Sabbatah, rose from the dead, and the Body of Christ began honoring that day immediately—not, as some so loudly claim, in the fourth century when Christianity became the official religion of Rome.

However, there were disputations about it even then, and Paul assured everyone that which-ever day they preferred to honor was OK—Romans 14:5—as every day should be holy unto the Lord.

In Case of Technical Difficulties With the Main Website

2007-07-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

If http://www.hungryheartsministries.com/ ever appears to be neglected, updates will be found here. I logged into the sitebuilder the other day to update the main website and was unable to. Thank God, the problem was corrected very quickly, but it drove home to me the need to have an alternative way to let folks know what is going on with the site in case something like that every happens again.

Jocelyn