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The Chosen Devotional Book I Examined

  Since The Passion of Christ (2004) film there has been memorabilia releases to go along with the the Christian media. I remember there was screenshots from the film with Bible verses framed, Nine Inch Nails necklaces, and so forth. The Chosen has done the same, releasing devotionals that are aimed to reach the audiences of the show. I picked up one of these because I am always looking for devotionals and I wanted to see how those involved in series would present Scripture.  The copy I picked up is called “The Chosen Book I, 40 Days with Jesus” which has trio of authors Amanda Jenkins, Kirsten Hendricks, and Dallas Jenkins. Dallas Jenkins is the creator, and director of the Chosen, and Amanda is his wife, so this devotional lends light on their beliefs and what they endorse, since there has been controversy not only on the liberties Dallas is taking with Scripture in the Chosen Series, but his closeness with Mormons, who are not Christian, but have another book written by Jos...
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Repentance and What It Really Means

  In Seeker Friendly Churches we have become accustom to every comfort, coffee, cool air conditioning, contemporary Christian worship songs that sound like secular bands, and more. We have been groomed to want what is easy, and enjoy what gratifies our flesh. In contrast, the Scriptures urge us to repent, “Those I love I discipline, so be zealous and repent,” (Revelation 3:19). Repent means to turn from sin. That means to change the behavior and cease practicing it. When people confess their sins to the Lord, He does forgive them, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9), and the Sin was forgiven at calvary when Jesus Christ our Lord died on the cross. However, repentence is a life long struggle, like Jacob and the angel, it is us wrestling with who will be our master, the flesh or the Spirt, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For t...

Soul Ties

  A soul tie happens when you form a bond with a person that is so strong that effects your emotions, your spiritual life, and even corner of your being. Typically you feel a pull, a knot in your soul to this person, and no matter how many times you try to not think of them or even cease communication, you feel yourself as if on a fishing line, pulled right back to them.  A healthy soul tie is in a marriage with another follower of Christ. In that case you will benefit from it, as your emotions are connected to someone seeking to conform to Scripture, and your spiritual wellness is well, because they love the Lord. However, most soul ties are not healthy, they are formed through emotional attachment with someone, and if they have a different spirit, that can be detrimental because if they are not Christian they belong to Jesus, “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work ...

How Good Works Are Measured

  Art from Gospel Coalitiom As Protestants we tend to have an uneasy relationship with good works because the Church of Rome uses them for salvation, when it is the finished work of Jesus and believing in Him and it that saves us (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-6, Acts 15:7-11). We often have to recite to our Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cousins, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ,  not by works, so that no one can boast.,” (Ephesians 2:8-9) and thus are compelled to downplay works lest they be used erroneously for merit and penance. And yet Martin Luther and many fear that this can lead us to an apathy towards doing good. We struggle because we must remove good works from salvation, and must get into a the vein of doing good works because we are saved, and Christ lives in us, from whom alone we can bear fruit, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remai...

The Alternative to Gregorian Chant

  Gregorian Chant has had a resurgence in popularity as a calming music in these stressful times. For many that were not in Catholic circles, the first encounter would have been with Halo Combat Evolved, and the chant in the opening menu and game. While it is a beautiful form of music, one of the problems is that the theology and doctrine is Roman Catholic in nature, with many Reginas and Ave Marias in there that give idolatrous worship to Mary and saints. For this reason recommending Gregorian Chant is akin to recommending arsenic laced chocolates, because music passes the frontal lobe of the brain. Our enemy, the devil has pipes and lyres coming out of him, “The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.” (Ezekiel 28:13, NKJV). Thus it is no superise that he seeks to seduce people with music.  Finding an alternative to Gregorian Chant can be very difficult. The Eastern Orthodox Chants are as riddled with errors and toxic doctrine...

The Cult of Charlie Kirk

  The death of Charlie Kirk, the Founder of Turning Point, a Conservative Movement to get young people in America to adopt conservative values such as faith, family, and right wing politics has dominated the news. Today, they had a heavily televised and scripted memorial with much of the US Administration giving speeches.  I want to say that I do not know what St. Charlie Kirk (as he is presented now) really intended. Was his preaching genuine or merely a political smoke screen? The apostle Paul says, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” (Philippians 1:15-...

The Age of Every One Is An Expert

  We are living in an age where every person feels they are the expert and will denounce any facts giving to them as “fake news” “not accurate science or cannot be trusted,” and “false spirituality.” I was in a debate over the Behemoth in the Bible with an Atheist who said that because it says it has a navel, where an umbilical cord, it is false, and yet I showed them latest findings according to BBC reports from Paleontology is that some dinosaurs (non Avian) had navels, and so now they cannot definitively say Bronotsaurus and its relatives did not have them like the passage in Job. He told me I could not trust modern scholarship, when last week he debated me and said modern scholarship says Velociraptors and its relatives have feathers. So when he wants facts to support his argument, modern scholarship and findings are valid, but not when I used my to support the Bible. What tis tells me is Selectivism is the method, you cherry pick facts and ignore other ones that could unravel ...