Bethel, Again

I don't want to sound like I am complaining again. Sorry if it comes off that way. Lately, I have seen a lot of blogs and articles on the Internet slamming well known churches and Bible teachers.

Tonight, I went to one of those pages, posted by a friend on Facebook. The article is intended to discredit Bethel Church, in Redding California.

I'm not going to copy and paste the article here because of space, but, I do want to note what the problems could be. You see, I keep going to these pages finding out what in the world is the beef these people have with this churches and other people they are criticizing.

First of all, I noted that there seems to be a assuredness that it is ok for us to call a church either false, false teachers, heretics, or non-believers. In the article I read tonight, the author said that he or she had prayed about this subject, and does not feel the need to contact Bethel because Bethel is not made up of true believers. Is this right to do? I think not.

Secondly, I notice that there is a foundational belief that is erroneous in these critical people, and that erroneous belief seems to be one of the things they spring out of in supposedly exposing the error of the church they are criticizing. The critical people do not believe there are apostles today, because apostles lived on during Jesus' time on earth and during the early church age. So, if a church such as Bethel is expressing the fruit of the gift to the church of apostleship somewhere, Bethel is in error, according to the critics. Anything that springs out of that action is considered heretical.

But what does the Bible say? In Ephesians 4:11-13, we read these words, penned by Paul to the Ephesian church, "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." (ESV))

Here is a passage from 1 Corinthians 12. "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.  And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?  But earnestly desire the higher gifts." (ESV)

Are we going to argue with Scriptures? Are we going to reinterpret them? Just because someone doesn't have the spiritual gifts doesn't give that person the right to make Scripture out as if the gifts no longer exist.

Why do we have the spiritual gifts? The Bible is clear that they are for the edification of the body of Christ. What if a group of professing Christians is using the gifts in a wrong way? Does that invalidate the fact that God gives spiritual gifts today to those who are in the church? In no way does that mean that the spiritual gifts aren't real or genuine. 

The Corinthian Church is a perfect example. Paul never said that they should stop using the gifts. Neither did Paul every insinuate that the Corinthians were false converts. He treated them like Christians who were astray. He rebuked them, not for using the spiritual gifts, but for using them in a selfish way. What the Corinthians did was not honoring to God, nor was it benefitting those who were in the church at Corinth. In fact, Paul encouraged them to continue to use the gifts, but he made sure that they used the gifts out of the basis of love (see 1 Corinthians 13). 

Also, though there is the gift of apostleship taught by Paul, this gift is not the same thing as the Apostles in the New Testament who knew Jesus personally. There were 12 original Apostles, which had a specific calling and function during a specific time. This fact, in no way, violates the truth that God gives apostles to churches. The two are just not the same thing, although there are some similarities. 

Thirdly, when I read these blogs from the critics, they take things out of context. Here is a quote from Vallotton, one of the chief leaders at Bethel. (Note: this is just one of many paragraphs where I see this taking out of context action.) 

"We certainly have made our share of mistakes, both as a leadership team and those who follow us. And we have such a high value for freedom and risk that it has created a kind-of research and development culture where people are encouraged to take risks. I think this stems from the fact that we view ourselves much more as pioneers than settlers. Therefore, we celebrate creativity, revelation, invention and innovation above comfort, safety and security.” – Vallotton

Here is the author's response to Vallotton's quote: 

"After reading over his comments, I did not laugh nor mock, but more than anything shed tears. It appears that Bethel desperately desires to “mainstream” their church but cannot synthesize Scripture with their ministry. Their words display a desire to be spiritual but it is quite apparent they have no systematic interpretation process for the Scriptures they attempt to use. Therefore, not only are the positions false, they are theologically immature."

Sorry but I don't see the connection, or maybe I just don't understand what this critic is saying in relation to Vallotton's quote. My guess is that Bethel uses 'creativity, revelation, invention, and innovation' and I guess, just maybe, Scripture does not allow for that?

The really big issue I struggle with when reading these critical blogs is that they take the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy, and make it into something it is not. For example, if someone uses this gift, even if it is done correctly, these critics will say that it can't be from God because prophecy is adding to Scripture. This makes no sense at all. Yes, prophecy is a revelation gift. God still does reveal Himself to people. God is not silent. He is actively involved in the lives of those who are trusting in Him and they do hear His voice. I know this is uncomfortable for some people to hear because perhaps they do not hear from God and assume He doesn't speak to us today? I don't know, but one thing I see in common in all their criticisms is that they think that those who use the prophetically gifts are adding to Scripture. Scripture is the only revealed word of God and the canon is closed. But if prophecy is adding to Scripture, then there were a lot of people in the early church who were adding to Scripture, but what they received from God never got put into Scripture. (Think of Phillip's 4 daughters, the Corinthians, Timothy, to name a few). If God only gave prophetical words to make up what we have as the Bible today, then a lot of those prophetical words were never canonized. 

Here is another quote from Vallotton. I get what he is saying. I will post the critics comment after the quote.

"A supernatural lifestyle is articulated, demonstrated and replicated by Jesus and the apostles, as well as everyday believers from the book of Matthew to the book of Revelation…Yet some Christians choose to live with less than Jesus paid for, and that is their prerogative…” – Vallotton

Critic's response-"Finally, the statement that, “Some Christians choose to live with less than Jesus paid for” is the quintessential line of a False Prophet. It assumes that there is, “Hierarchy” in faith and that some Christians receive the “In” on God’s blessing while other are “stuck out in the cold of their faithless existence.” It assumes that this leader with the “In” can help others get “In”. Peter explained that it is greed which drives such teaching (2 Peter 2:3, Jude 1:16). To state that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is more meaningful for one than another, based on earthly profit or benefit, is to diminish the very substitute itself. How dare any man say such a thing?"

Does this response make sense? Jesus died for our sins, and we are very grateful for that. When Jesus died, many things were accomplished. For example, Jesus disarmed the powers of darkness when He died. We can now have all the benefits that a son has, with God being our Father. It is not a matter of being 'in' or being higher up spiritually. But, I guess if you believe that God does not give anything else besides salvation, then that would make sense. 

I have to believe that there are many who profess faith in Jesus Christ who have no idea how great and powerful God really is. They render themselves powerless and ensure that others who profess faith in Christ are rendered powerless as well. They act like Christian 'Deists' who believe God is really out there, but almost as if He is impersonal. 

What is interesting is that these people believe God did wonders in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament as well. I'm sure they believe that God will do many wonders in the future and throughout eternity. But for now, we are living in the 'church age' and God has taken a vacation from being Himself, glorious in power and might. He no longer works in supernatural ways, nor does He perform wonders, at least not through His people today. Does this make sense?

Do churches like Bethel need correction? Absolutely. Any genuine church should be related to other churches. But do you see the problem here? Christian critics will not become related to churches like Bethel, for they do not consider churches like Bethel genuine churches. Bethel either is or isn't a church. If professing Christians decide whether someone is a true believer or not, based on their belief system concerning the use of spiritual gifts today, then we have missed the Gospel. We need to look at our own hearts and see what it is in us that is off. Then we can deal in a better, more effective way with Bethel and other churches that operate like they do. 

Source: https://equipthesaint.com/2014/07/14/the-theological-errors-of-bethel-church-and-jesus-culture/

I could go on and on with examples like this, but I would like to make my blogs a little shorter and more easy to read.

I think Driscoll was right on in his quote (when referring to those who are fans of 'Strange Fire'). He was talking about the 'New Trinity' that seems to be prevalent today. The New Trinity is made up of 'God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible'.

(I am not writing this blog in defense of Bethel. I am writing it in response to the fact that we as believers in Jesus Christ think we are helping the church by 'warning' or 'exposing' people who are evil. But the problem is, we are really just warning and exposing those who we fundamentally disagree with. This is not what the Bible tells us to do. This is not how we handle a situation like Bethel or any of the others who have been criticized recently.)

Familiar Spirits And Open Doors To Satan

   OK where am I going with this one? This has been on my heart for a long time. But first, let me explain a few things. I don't believe there is a demon under every rock, and I also do not have answers to the problems I am seeing and analyzing right now. But I  will share with you some things on my heart concerning this issue.

   I see a lot of problems in homes. In fact, most homes have a touch of the problems I am going to be writing about. Granted, some have serious problems with this issue.

   Let me go through a true story, that might help us understand what is at stake. When I was in my 20s, my husband led a fellowship group at out house. Our group had mainly young people, like us. A new couple started coming to our group. I got to know the woman through many conversations, which were 99% one way conversations. Through the conversations, this woman expressed a lot of bitterness toward her husband. The husband really was very patient with her though, which was amazing. They seemed to be committed to marriage, no matter what. But the woman continued to pick her husband apart continually. She was bitter toward others as well, but mostly toward her husband.

    Through the course of getting to know them, I learned a little bit about the woman's background. Her parents were not Christians, and her father was very controlling. He expected her to have a college degree in a specific category. The woman's mother let this man walk all over her. She never responded, which made my friend angry. At one point, the woman actually said, 'No man is ever going to treat me like that!".

   I get it. She had a father who was controlling her and making her life's decisions. In her mind, men were tyrants. Sadly, when a parent treats their child as this man did, the child will respond. If the child is mature enough spiritually, he or she can usually be patient and see that there is a problem. But most children are not mature spiritually and do not understand what is going on. So, they react to the problem.

   In my friend's case, she had to protect herself from the tyranny of her father. When she married, she assumed her husband was the same person and in order to protect herself from him, she degraded her husband. People tend to think that the sex of the person they are violated by is represented by all who are that particular sex.

   Imagine years down the road. Her sons will grow up. She will respond to them in a way that is similar to the way she responds to her husband. "No man (this includes her sons) will ever treat me like that." How do you think the sons will turn out when they are adults? How will they look at women? They will have been degraded by their mom because she has to protect herself from all males who are a perceived threat to her dignity.

   People don't have to respond this way to life's situations. But most people are not even aware of what is going on around them. This is reality to them. People will instinctively protect their dignity. The parents' responsibility is to protect the child's dignity and to set accurate boundaries for them. But some of these parents, probably many of them, were treated this way when they were children. It goes back many, many generations.

   When we respond to life in such a way as my friend did, we open the door to Satan. We believe the lies he tells us, and the garbage he throws at us. We assume these lies are true. For example, let's say a parent is very critical of their child. Or even worse, let's say a parent calls his child, 'stupid' or other choice names (I am not talking about a one time incident, but a continual repetition of name calling and criticizing). The child will grow up thinking he or she really is stupid. God, of course, does not want people to think that way about themselves, but how can you not believe the words of a parent?

  We give Satan a foothold, then we build a stronghold around us to protect us from perceived danger.

   I think we can even cast spells on people by the way we respond to our children. I remember my mom telling me about her mom's grandmother. She was a perfectionist. Sometimes, you would do something that didn't please her and she would give this glaring look. Whenever someone was a recipient of that look, it meant trouble, and those who were the violators had to respond. What is another name for this? Could it be.... manipulation? Manipulation is another word for witchcraft.

   We can also lead people to believe things about us that are not true. The Enemy loves to lie to us and make us believe things that aren't true at all, even concerning other people. The Enemy plays the divider in many families. Rumors appear to be true, and someone is sure that another family member is really doing things that are suspicious or has traits that the person really doesn't have. The Enemy may even whisper that one family member hates another one. We need to be ahead of the game and see through the schemes of the Enemy.

   So, what is the answer to all this? I don't know. I do know that praying is effective. Praying is one of the spiritual weapons God gives to believers. Praying can also help disarm the Enemy.

   We can't do the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's heart, nor can we open their eyes to things unseen. Most people who are operating in response to how they were treated by a parent have no clue what they are doing to their families. The key for all of us is to be open to the fact that we really could have faults and issues that we are not aware of. We have to humble ourselves  and look at our own hearts first. Not to condemn ourselves or make us feel less than human. But we must look for any blind spots that we have so that they can be dealt with. We are primarily responsible for ourselves, not for everyone else. As we look at the issues in our own hearts and as we deal with them, others may want to do the same.

  As with anything in life, humility is the key. God will respond to us when we can be honest with ourselves and not try to hide our faults or pretend they don't exist. Humility, honesty, and a praying spirit are needed for change. There are probably many more ways we can respond, but for now, I will leave it here. Maybe in a couple of years, Lord willing, I will have more clarity and direction with all this. When that happens, I will post it.

   And remember, humility is not the same as humiliation. Humiliation destroys the dignity of people. Humility recognizes what is true about us and about God. It is an honest evaluation of who we are before God and it provides the means for us to ask for help.

  I hope this is helpful for my readers. I pray that this blog will serve many. We cannot be ignorant of the devil's devices. We need to be spiritually equipped to fight the Enemy and serve the King of Kings.

Can We Call Outreaches and Service Events Evangelism?

   I have struggled with this subject because there are so many angles to it, and if we don't clearly define the fine lines, this could be misunderstood.

    This subject is hard to tackle, in some ways. It ties in with 'friendship evangelism' which many throw the baby out with the bath water.

   Let's start with some questions first. Is it wrong to have a Thanksgiving outreach from your church where you serve food to needy people? Of course it isn't. The Bible tells us to do this. We are to take care of those in need (This is different than allowing needy people to manipulate the church. Another subject for another time)

   Is it wrong to have an event where elderly people are served by those in the church taking the task of fixing up their homes and repairing or upgrading their houses, where the owners are not capable of doing? Nope. It is a good thing to help those who are older, especially widows. Again, we are to help those in need.

   What is the problem then with doing these types of activities? There is nothing wrong with them and Scriptures tell us to help those in need.

   The problem comes when we call these types of activities 'evangelism'. Where do I begin in explaining this?

   Evangelism is the work of those in the church who share the Gospel message with others. Evangelism is related to preaching the Gospel to those around us. A couple of problems exist with evangelism. One is, that many times, we know the seriousness of doing evangelism. But we lack the power to do evangelism, or, we do evangelism in our own strength without the right motives.

    First, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to correctly do evangelism. That doesn't mean that God can't use someone's message if it comes out of Scriptures, but God will come upon us and give us the power to evangelize properly. He will give us the words to say. He will give us wisdom as we dialog with people about the Gospel. I believe this is seriously lacking in our churches today. We see people try to do the work of the Holy Spirit by coming down hard on sinners or people making themselves out as if they are God Himself. Some of this is unintentional. Some is ignorance. A lot of this is due to the fact that pastors are just not teaching their people the need to trust God's power for evangelism.

    Second, our pride is in the way, many times. God gives boldness to those who ask for it. There are professing Christians who admire those who do evangelism. They try in their own strength to do evangelism and it just doesn't work. They do not have a bigger picture of the kingdom of God and the real reasons why we do evangelism (or why we should do evangelism). Many of these people simply have not encountered God in a strong way. They have a shallow view of who He is. But they want to be credited in doing evangelism. This is what I think is the main crux of the problem. They want to be known by others as evangelists, yet they have no depth in their spiritual understanding of the greatness and majesty of God. So, they resolve themselves to doing works of service and participating in church outreaches in order to tell themselves (and others) that they are involved in evangelism. It is a form of pride, and it is deceptive as well.

   Church leaders, as well, need to be careful to not call these acts of service 'evangelism' as well. Sometimes, terminology gets mixed up and church outreaches and acts of service can end up in the same category as evangelism, when they are really acts of service (which are necessary) and should be in the category of service.

   If we are not careful, doing evangelism can lead to pride. Even in some churches today, people are still patting themselves and others on the back when someone 'wins' another person to the Lord. Somehow, in some evangelism circles, this is a badge of honor that should be recognized. But really, it is not us who lead people to the Lord, ultimately. It is the Holy Spirit who makes God real to people and brings them to Himself. Only God can bring a person to Himself. No human being has the capability to do this.

   This whole subject is interesting because everything ties in together. We have people who are called to share the Gospel message. Some are called to serve. Others are called to do both. (Actually, we are all called to share the Gospel, and we are all called to serve). Some will be more focused on evangelism, while other are called to specific serving tasks.

   Our church has a program called, 'Neighbor to Neighbor' where volunteers go to specific homes of elderly people and widows who need home repairs done. They spend time in the homes of these people. Some are people in the church, while others are names given by the county, of people whose houses need repair work or lawn care that they are no longer able to do themselves. This is a great service of the church. Those who do this are to be commended. But, this is not evangelism. This is serving. But how this can work with evangelism can be very effective.

   Let's say that one of the families whose house is being repaired is an elderly couple. If the church has been doing evangelism as the Bible commands, then hopefully this elderly couple has heard the Gospel somewhere. The people who come to their house to serve, by painting or fixing broken windows, are demonstrating the Gospel. This will be an open door for people who are being served to have an inroad to a safe place called the 'church'. Perhaps they heard the Gospel, but never had anyone to ask further questions. Now is their chance to learn that there is a safe place they can be part of where they can learn the most important things to know; how to have a relationship with God, and, how to grow spiritually in a dark and dying world.

   This is how the body of Christ works. There are different parts to a human body, and there are different parts in the body of Christ. The arm is not the same as the eye. To call the arm, the eye, is wrong. To call people to serve in the church, evangelists, is not correct. But both are important. We need a demonstration of the Gospel and a declaration of the Gospel. People can serve in both capacities but they are still two different categories.

Dealing With So Called 'False Teachers' -- Again

OK I am really irritated. I'm irritated enough to write a blog about what I am irritated about.

Everything seemed to be cooling down from what I can tell concerning the slander in the body of Christ. But, I found a post slamming Beth Moore again and totally taking out of context something she said.

If I am to read this correctly, I believe Beth Moore is basically trying to say that we cannot contain the Holy Spirit (in other words, we cannot put God in a box). I would agree with her on this, as Jesus explains that the wind blows where it wishes, and that you hears its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes (referring to the ways of the Holy Spirit).                                

Her second statement, "Where He's carefully managed and coolly controlled, He's quenched." makes sense as well. Many professing believers today do not acknowledge the spiritual gifts as being available to the church (at least the revelatory gifts). We are ok with the serving gifts and the gift of helps, but when it comes to actually hearing from God, many shudder. They give the excuse that God doesn't speak to our hearts today, because if He did, that would be revelatory and the only revelation God gave us is in His word. That is an interesting concept, but if you look at the whole context of Scripture, you will see that this is not valid. 

Like it or not, the gift of prophecy is a revelatory gift, but when a person receives an impression or word from God, it is not equal with the Scriptures. I don't know of anyone who uses the spiritual gifts or is in circles where the gifts are used, who actually believes that prophecy is equated with new revelation that is equal to Scriptures. In the Bible, Paul encourages his disciples and those in the churches he started to use the gift of prophecy. Yet, we do not see the results of these gifts of prophecy as part of the canonical Scriptures. We don't see whatever Philip's 4 daughters received when they prophesied, in the Scriptures. We do not see whatever Timothy received as prophecy as part of Scripture. None of the prophetical words from these disciples or churches were put into Scripture, so to say that the gift of prophecy was used by the first believers to create what we have as our Bible today, is not accurate. 

I know there are abuses with the spiritual gifts, but that is not a reason to slander people who use them. My point is that many professing Christians today do quench the work of the Holy Spirit because they put Him in a box, and if something happens outside of that box, it is either recognized as the work of a false teacher or worse, the devil. It seems like we should be more careful on what or who we attribute the spiritual gifts as being operated from. 

My concern about calling people false teachers/heretics is that we are coming into a time when we really will have to deal with false teachers subtly coming into the church. If we want to pick out people and pick on them so we can feel good about calling someone a false teacher, we need to realize the price we are going to have to pay. We will be like the boy who cried 'wolf' and no one will be paying attention to us when we will really have to be dealing with false teachers. We lose our credibility with others and we are not representing the Lord accurately. This kind of attitude is actually very much like the attitude the Pharisees had when they encountered the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be discerning and deal with the real false teachers in a Biblical way. Attacking a person because we glee over being better than they are is not dealing with a false teacher accurately. It is nothing more/less than slander. The Bible has a lot to say about slander, and God is opposed to it.

"For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." Galatians 4:14, 15 ESV

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34, 35 ESV

" Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." 2 Peter 2:1 ESV

"You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am theLord." Leviticus 19:16 ESV

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." Matthew 15:19 ESV

A personal thought: I loved the movie "War Room" and thought it was a major encouragement on prayer. Prayer can seem monotonous or dutiful if we do not have the right vision for it. Beth Moore had a part in this movie. All of the movie was excellent. I am sure that there are parts that I don't fully agree with, but that can be found in all of us with everything. Here's the catcher though; the devil really does not want any of us to be prayer warriors. He hates our praying. When we pray, it is a weapon used against him. Is it any wonder that he wants the reputation of someone who strongly believes in prayer (and teaches on prayer) to be ruined? Of course he does. He knows that if you watch the 'War Room', you will be inspired to pray. I don't know enough about Beth Moore to defend what she teaches, but I have heard from many that she is a strong believer in prayer and does teach people on praying. She has been highly recommended up until the point where she has been slandered. I have listened to some of her teachings and I have found them very good. I have not heard the things people are accusing her of, and I feel bad for her that her name is being slandered so much. I will continue to investigate her and her teachings, and if I do see anything false coming out of her writings or teachings, I will share my thoughts on that. Even if she is teaching questionable things, I do not have the right to slander her and show hatred toward her. My responsibility will be to tell people what it is that she is teaching that is in error, and to pray for God to help her to see what it is that is wrong that she is teaching. 

What Would A Boundary-less Corporation Look Like?

How does a Post Modernist live in a real world? Think about it. A Post Modernist believes he or she can set their own boundaries, whatever they want them to be. But, how does that work when it comes to getting a job, for example? If you want a job, you have to apply for the job on the terms of the employer. Whatever the rules are, you have to comply. This doesn't work for Post Modernists unless they change their mind about what they actually believe in.

Or, perhaps a better understanding of this applies to the response I have gotten from a few people when sharing the Gospel. I asked one man who believed that you can make up the rules when it comes to your relationship with God, if he believes that if the light is red, then you have to stop. He thought that was a no brainer. He told me that this rule only applies in the spiritual realm.

What do you think? Do Post Modernists only believe that the boundaries apply in the spiritual realm or do they apply to all of our worlds? What will it look like in the future if young men and women are being trained to create their own boundaries according to their own desires? What kind of bosses would we have? What would corporations look like or could they even exist without boundaries or with boundaries that conflict with other people's boundaries?

Scams and Satan's Schemes and How Easily We Fall For Them - Warning on Scams

A couple of years ago, before I had my Mac computer, I joined Facebook, and it wasn't too long after that that I fell for a plot that cost me $200 to get rid of a virus on my computer.

In spite of the fact that I learned how I got the virus, I was still susceptible to falling for Internet hacker schemes.

One time, I clicked on a link, because it looked so strange and supposedly a couple of my conservative friends on Facebook had comments with it, saying how cool this post was. Someone contacted me saying "I don't think you would be posting this kind of stuff'. It was the suspicious video that I clicked on and as a result, it reposted it from my account, probably with some positive made up comments along with it.

Just before Christmas, I was on the Internet, and got a message saying that my computer now had a virus, and it gave a number to call. I thought that was strange, since I have a Mac, and I shouldn't be getting computer viruses. When I tried to close the page, a voice shouted from the computer saying not to close the page because I had a virus on my computer. Like someone who has already fallen for some tricks, I fell for this one and called the number.*

A couple of hours later, I was charged around $500 for the service of 'fixing' my Mac. I mentioned it to some friends on Facebook and they said it was a scam. I called Apple (which is what I should have done in the first place) and the lady told me I had been scammed. I went to dispute it on my credit card and they recommended that I first try to work it out with the company. So, I called the company and they gave me back $350 of it. I still had to pay for their services, which came to $150.

I still get phone calls from this company wanting to fix my computer. They call and tell me that they have seen some activity and my computer now has spyware on it that has to be removed. I also told the person who supposedly fixed my computer that my computer did not have a virus in the first place. He then agreed with me and said it was malware, not a virus.

Today, I got a friend request from someone who already was my friend on Facebook. I thought maybe the person was closing his old account and starting a new one, or maybe he just couldn't find his account (I have seen this happen with people. They sign up for Facebook, but can't figure out how to find themselves on Facebook, so they start a new account). I 'friended' this Facebook friend, and right away, I received a message from him. He was asking me how my family was doing. This seemed odd because I do not know him personally, although I have sat in a class he taught one time. I asked him how he was doing and if he had moved from the place he used to live. He did not respond, but he did ask me if I knew anything about CFDA Community Financial Domestic Assistance, which I had not ever heard of. He tried to explain it to me. During that time, I did a search on the internet on it and found that people are using Facebook to promote this scam*. Someone took the picture from the genuine person he represented, and used the new account to promote a scam. Somehow, I didn't fall for this and asked others who were his Facebook friend and they received the same message from him. The original person is reporting it to Facebook.

How easy it is to fall for things. Part of this comes from not wanting to offend people. What if the guy above really was the original Facebook friend and not the imposter? Wouldn't that be rude to not listen to him?

We need to be really careful about our contacts with other people. Recently, I heard a horrible story about a woman and her son who were in a store. The six year old was bored and wanted to leave. A man came up to them and befriended them. After a couple of minutes of tactfully trying to appear as a nice person who wanted to help, the woman allowed him to take the child to the video store that he promised he would do to help relieve the mom of the tension of having a whining child while shopping. The mom never saw her son again. She wanted to be kind and did not want to judge the man as a potential criminal. But look at the price she is paying for that mistake. How sad. But I think I am like that too. I don't want to pre-judge people as scammers, but they very well might be. We all need to be careful, especially when someone seems a little too friendly and familiar with us.

I think the devil is like that too. He always comes to us with plausible arguments over what we should or shouldn't be doing. He steals our time with things that seem important, but are not as important as our relationship with God should be. I wonder how many times I fall prey to the devil's schemes? I am sure that many times, I don't even know I have been tricked.

"For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."

1 Corinthians 2:9-11

* https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7240036?start=0&tstart=0

** http://www.iesportsnews.com/internet-scam-thieves-trying-to-use-facebook-to-rip-off-consumers/

No GMOs in Heaven!

Did you know that there will be no GMOs* in heaven? In fact, there are a lot of things we see today that will never be in heaven.

Today, we have many unsolved mysteries when it comes to crime. There are 211,000 unsolved murders since 1980**. Much of the reason for this is due to the fact that there are not enough police to be able to do the work needed to catch these criminals.

The point is, God knows who the murderers are. Nothing is hidden from His sight.

The Bible talks about one day, all these things will be exposed. Criminals are smug in their accomplishments, but one day, their false assurance will disappear as they will be rightfully charged for the crimes they have done. But this time, they will not be put in jail. The intent of prison is reformation. There will be no reformation in hell. This is the place where people will pay for their crimes and sin against God, who is perfect in holiness and justice.

How about abortion? There will be no abortions in heaven. There will be no murders of any kind in heaven. According to Revelation 21:8, no murderers will be in heaven, and that includes those who are abortionists.

In an interesting way, many who are in authority, leading or influencing our country, are doing many things behind our backs, so to speak. Today, many of these things are being exposed. People are scrambling around coming up with faux defenses for what they are doing.

Take the GMO issue, for example. A 14 year old girl chose to do a research paper on genetically modified organisms, and she ended up on a talk show debating an educated adult who supported the work of creating GMOs. The research she had done exposed things that were going on in the GMO world and why this is a disadvantage for us. The man who took the opposite viewpoint could only say, in return, that there is nothing harmful in creating GMOs.

Did you know that research and testing on the safety of GMO products is done by companies who are mutually benefitted from the companies that create GMOs? Do you think that if the companies that create GMOs in the first place use those who work with them in their research, will get an objective reading of the test results? If the truth comes out and is told, both the researching companies and the GMO creating companies will suffer.

Also, the abortion industry has its secrets that it doesn't want the public to know. One thing that has been seen to be helpful in discouraging abortions is to show the mother to be a picture of what the baby inside her looks like. If the mom could only see that her baby is really a baby with body parts instead of a blob of tissue, she may change her mind about having an abortion. The promoters of abortion would try to discourage those who do scans on babies as they know this could hurt their business.

But something interesting happened a couple of months ago. The company that makes Doritos had a commercial that was intended only to be funny and good advertising for them. They used a picture of a baby inside the womb wanting Doritos. I'm sure the picture of the baby inside the womb looked somewhat accurate for Planned Parenthood was in an uproar over this whole thing.

I have had people tell me that Planned Parenthood is a good organization that helps people to plan families and that they don't murder babies. Perhaps they do talk about other types of birth control besides abortion, but the fact of that matter is, they are pro abortion and will support people who want to have their babies aborted.

Margaret Sanger, who is the founder of Planned Parenthood said this, "The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." Margaret Sanger is also known as a eugenics activist, which means that she feels an obligation to sterilize people groups such as those who are retarded, or who may have some other undesirable traits.

Here is another quote from Sanger, "Diplomats make it their business to conceal the facts.". Well, she may have done a good job on earth concealing her 'facts' but they are not going to remain hidden. Matthew 10:26 says, "Have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." (ESV).

Yes, it seems like we can get away with murder these days. But it won't last forever. There will be no murders committed in heaven, nor will there be those who will be angry with others. There will be no sin in heaven. But that leaves us in trouble doesn't it? After all, we are all sinners, right?

We might not have literally killed someone, but our anger against someone is like murder of the heart. Our anger is a heart issue because it has to do with idolatry and wrong affections. We were created to be worshipers of God, and we were created to love Him, more than anything else. But none of us do, and we get angry because we don't get what we want. We have a love for something other than God, and that item of affection is more important to us than God is. That is why we need a Savior from our sins. We need someone to rescue us from ourselves!

You might have killed someone though. Is there no hope for you? There is hope, but the only hope you can have is found in God alone. You cannot atone for your crimes. Someone else did that for you. You can be completely forgiven if you desire to turn away from your sin and if you turn to God, trusting in Jesus as your only Savior from sin.

For more information on this, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com

Murderers who do not repent and turn to God will be thrown in the Lake of Fire. I urge you to get help and seek God for your forgiveness of your sins. Whether you are a literal murderer or not, you need to be cleansed from your sins, and you need a new heart, a heart that loves God and desires to know Him and follow Him in obedience. This new heart loves others too. The only way to receive this new heart is to repent***, turn to God, and trust Jesus as your only Savior from sin.

* GMO stands for genetically modified organisms, which use plants (or animals-even human beings) in a lab and change the DNA structure to create desirable characteristics or traits in the resulting product.
**http://www.thedenverchannel.com/-/how-many-unsolved-murders-are-there-its-greater-than-the-population-of-des-moines
*** Repent means to turn away from sin, selfishness, pride. It involves turning to God. It also involves trusting in the death of Jesus Christ as your payment for your sins. A person who truly repents and turns to God will be made completely clean of sin, and will be given a new heart, and a new power to live a holy life that will be pleasing to God and will bring glory (attention) to God recognized by others.