Protestant Doctrine – Page 8 – The Gospel Light And Truth Crusade

Resurrection Day 2015: Christ is Risen Indeed!

Grace and peace, Saints!

Resurrection Day 2015 is upon us, and what a great day it is indeed! I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful to be alive today and to be able to say “Thank You” to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the Sacrifice He made on the Cross at Calvary for you and me.

Saints, if you are in the West, then you probably take for granted the awesome blessing it is to be able to say “Jesus is Risen!” without fearing for your lives. Those in other parts of the world are not so fortunate.

I want to apologize to my persecuted brothers and sisters in countries that are hostile to Jesus Christ and the gospel. I made a podcast for today and my persecuted brethren didn’t even enter my mind until now as I write this. We should never forget our persecuted brethren all over the world living in places where they commemorate Christ’s Resurrection at great peril. Let us pause and take a moment to say a prayer for the Persecuted Church.

“Lord Jesus I would like to pray for your persecuted children all over the world who commemorate your resurrection at great risk. I pray, Lord Jesus, that it be your will to give them rest today from their persecutors.

“I pray that you will give them the opportunity to fellowship with one another and remember that great sacrifice you made for us at Calvary by the shedding of your precious blood, without coming into any harm. In any case, Lord Jesus, let them be of a good courage and preserve their good testimony.

In this, as in all things, let your will be done.

“It is in the name of Jesus that I pray. Amen.”

As you celebrate our Lord’s resurrection, be sure to think of the persecuted church and pray constantly for their safety today. The enemy knows better than many of us how important this day is for the Body of Christ.

Another thing: do not get into senseless arguments over the subject of Easter vs. Resurrection Day. In the final analysis, the important thing is that Jesus rose: for if He had not risen, you and I would be “most miserable.”

Our special Resurrection Day 2015 podcast is available for those of you who have subscribed to our podcast. If you haven’t subscribed yet, why don’t you do it today?!

If you listen in, you get to hear me read the entire story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection from the Gospel of John!

For those who haven’t yet subscribed, it is available for download below.

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Have a blessed and safe Resurrection Day!

The Still Man

The Shocking Testimony of Sister Charlotte

Grace and peace, Saints.

Back in 2013, we posted the testimony of former Roman Catholic nun, Charlotte Wells (a pseudonym), who spent 22 years in a cloistered convent hidden away from public scrutiny. Ms. Wells’ testified to regular physical abuse and torture, psychological trauma, rape, and even murder perpetrated by priests and nuns alike upon the young girls in the cloistered convent where she lived. Wells also said that babies were frequently born from liaisons between priests and nuns, and that these babies were murdered after birth and buried in tunnels located beneath the convent.

When I first heard Wells’ testimony, I was not only shocked, I was amazed. This is because ever since I was a child, I have never seen nuns portrayed in the media as anything other than happy, encouraging, and moral people. I remember, for instance, a television series I used to watch as a child starring actress Sally Field called “The Flying Nun.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjoRLe4aNzQ&list=PLmPJOdB2fruJYNRMMlrQMPu51-5CyfXYl

I can also remember watching the movie, “The Singing Nun,” and singing the catchy tune “Dominique,” made famous by the movie.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nwwn9vie-4&list=PL8D54B664A33F9EC4

And just about everyone remembers the happy nuns in the movie, “Sister Act,” starring actress Whoopie Goldberg.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPpd-6X3tEo

All these movies portrayed nuns as happy, jovial, upbeat, albeit sometimes a little nerdy or quirky. So imagine my horror and surprise to learn that many of those saintly old nuns may not be very saintly after all, and that many of the younger nuns may be harboring a secret dread that they never belie in public. Of course, Charlotte Wells’ testimony concerns the cloistered convents, but who’s to say that something isn’t also awry with the “open orders?”

I posted Ms. Wells’ testimony at the Gospel Light and Truth Crusade’s YouTube channel over a year ago, and it has garnered well over 20,000 views and dozens of comments. Though many believe or at least sympathize with Ms. Well’s testimony, the majority of Roman Catholics who have commented believe her testimony is a fabrication and that she was never a Roman Catholic nun to begin with.

Sister Charlotte’s testimony is not the first of its kind, nor is it the most notorious. The book, The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk, published over a century ago, presents a similar depiction of convent life. Again, most Roman Catholics reject these testimonies and categorically deny that such things go on in Roman Catholic convents.

Former Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, Dr. Alberto Rivera, however, would disagree. In the “Alberto” series of Crusader Comic tracts, published by Chick Publications, Rivera testified that in the early 20th Century, in several regions in Spain, in Italy, and in other parts of the world, several convents were found to have tunnels connecting them with monasteries, and that in these tunnels were discovered graves containing the corpses of babies. This resulted in the government going into some of the convents and what they discovered caused them to close the convents down. In Spain, the people in one town burned a convent to the ground. This also happened in Mexico.

Rivera said that the vow of chastity Roman Catholic priests and nuns are obliged to take is a constant source of frustration. He added that while in the confessional box, he heard the confessions of many nuns and priests who admitted to being lesbians and homosexuals, respectively.

Other aspects of Ms. Wells’ testimony can be corroborated by other former Roman Catholics, including former Roman Catholic priest, Charles Chiniquy, author of the book, Fifty Years in the Church of Rome; and former Roman Catholic turned Christian evangelist, Monica Farrell, author of the books, Ravening Wolves and From Rome to Christ.

For the edification of the Body of Christ and to provoke further reflection on these matters, especially by sincere Roman Catholics, I have produced another version of the testimony of Charlotte Wells, this time including my own commentary. In it, I include quotations from Dr. Rivera, Evangelist Farrell, and Pastor Chiniquy that confirm the various claims Ms. Wells makes in her testimony.

Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 24:24 that the hallmark of the last days would be deception so complete, so insidious, and so convincing that it would fool all but the very elect: that is, true Bible-believing Christians. Roman Catholicism is the mother of deceptions. Many sincere Roman Catholics have been deceived into believing that the church of Rome is the true Church of Jesus Christ, and that by blindly following the commands of the priests and bishops of Rome, the Roman Catholic devotee is more certain of doing the will of God “than by obedience to Jesus Christ, should He appear in person.”

By this effort, we hope to convince the sincere Roman Catholic that this is a lie: one of many propagated by the church of Rome.

I hope to one day post a written transcript of Charlotte Wells’ testimony at the Gospel Light and Truth Crusade website. In the meantime, I present the entire testimony of former Roman Catholic nun, Charlotte Wells, along with my commentary. I pray that you will listen to it with an open mind.

The testimony of Charlotte Wells, with commentary, is available at the iTunes Store. If you haven’t subscribed to our podcast, do it today! For your convenience, you can also listen to it below.

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A somewhat condensed version of my commentary follows, addressing some of the more controversial points of Ms. Wells’ testimony.

BEGIN COMMENTARY

Confession

Charlotte talks about the importance, at seven years of age, of making “a good confession,” holding nothing back and telling everything.

Monica Farrell, in From Rome to Christ, on p. 23, says:

“Seven years of age is a most important time in the life of a Roman Catholic. Seven years is the age of reason. Roman Catholics believe that from then upwards a child is capable of going to hell; hence the necessity for children of seven years to make their confession.

Charles Chiniquy, on p. 10 of “50 Years,” says about Confession:

“No words can express to those who have never had any experience in the matter, the consternation, anxiety and shame of a poor Romish child, when he hears, for the first time, his priest saying from the pulpit, in grave and solemn tone,

“This week, you will send your children to confession. Fathers and mothers, if, though your fault, or his ownm, your child is guilty of a bad confession—if he conceals his sins and commences lying to the priest, who holds the place of God Himself, this sin is often irreparable.”

On p. 20, Chiniquy says,

“By the confession, the priests poison the springs of life in our children.”

On p. 19, Chiniquy quoted one speaker at a meeting held in Canada on the subject of the scandalous lives of the RC priests there, who said:

“The reign of the priest is the reign of ignorance, of corruption, and of the most barefaced immorality, under the mask of the most refined hypocrisy. The reign of the priest is the death of our schools; it is the degradation of our wives, the prostitution of our daughters; it is the reign of tyranny—the loss of liberty.”

Charlotte also said that the RCC “gets its material from the Confession.”

This agrees with this statement of Chiniquy, who, on p. 20 writes:

“By means of the confessional the priest is more the master of the hearts of our wives than ourselves. The husband belongs no more to his wife as her guide through the dark and difficult paths of life: it is the priest! In a word, it is the priest who is the real husband of our wives! It is he who has the possession of their respect and of their hearts to a degree to which no one of us need ever aspire!

“In the confessional, a girl’s thoughts are polluted, her tongue is polluted, her heart is polluted–yes, and for ever polluted! The confessional is a place where one gets accustomed to hear, and repeat without a scruple, things which would cause even a prostitute to blush!

“Why are Roman Catholic nations inferior to nations belonging to Protestantism? Only in the confessional can the solution of that problem be found. And why are Roman Catholic nations degraded in proportion to their submission to the priest? It is because the oftener that individuals composing those nations go to confession, the more rapidly they sink in the scale of intelligence and morality.”

Lying

Charlotte says, “A Roman Catholic can lie to you and doesn’t have to confess it, because he is doing it to protect his faith.”

Chiniquy, on p. 77, quotes one of the Roman Catholic “church fathers” St. Alphonsus Ligouri as saying:

“Notwithstanding, indeed although it is not lawful to lie, or to feign what is not, nevertheless it is lawful to dissemble what is, or to cover the truth with words, or other ambiguous and doubtful signs for a just cause, and when there is not a necessity of confessing. It is the common opinion.” (Moral Theology, t.ii. , lib. 999. Cap. Iii. P. 116.)

Regarding lying to defend Rome’s errant doctrines, Monica Farrell says this on p. 11:

“One more incident happened in that school, which greatly influenced my future life. As a result of Marjory’s (her Protestant schoolmate) truthfulness, I was led to see the wrong in telling lies, and I made a promise to God that I would never tell another lie if only He would help me. From then on I refused to tell lies for anybody or anything.

“The first result of this decision was that I found it impossible to defend the Church of Rome against attacks of Protestants, and only now did I realize how freely I had been having recourse to lie to defend “Mother Church.”

On p. 78, Chiniquy says this:

“When you are not asked concerning the faith, not only is it lawful, but often more conducive to the glory of God and utility of your neighbor to cover the faith than to confess it; for example, if concealed among heretics you may accomplish a greater amount of good; or if, from the confession of the faith more of evil would follow…” (Moral Theology, t.99. p. 817, n. 14.)

Stealing

Charlotte says, “You can steal up to $40 without having to confess it.”

Chiniquy, again quoting Ligouri, says:

“If any one on an occasion should steal only a moderate sum either from one or more, not intending to acquire any notable sum, neither to injure his neighbor to a great extent y several thefts, he does not sin grievously, nor do these, taken together, constitute a detaining it, he can commit mortal sin.

“But even this mortal sin may be avoided, if either then he be unable to restore, or have the intention of making restitution immediately, of those things which he then received.” (Moral Theology, t.iii, p. 257, n. 533.)

Sexual Sin

Charlotte says that the mother superior told her “it was no sin to give her body to the priest and bear his children,” just as it was no sin for Mary to bear God’s child.

Chiniquy, on p.p. 70-71, quotes a book by Ligouri entitled The Nun Sanctified:

“The principle and most efficacious means of practicing obedience due to superiors, and of rendering it meritorious before God, is to consider that in obeying them we obey God Himself, and that by despising their commands we despise the authority of our Divine Master.

“When, thus, a religious receives a precept from her prelate, superior or confessor, she should immediately execute it, not only to please them but principally to please God, whose will is made known to her by their command. In obeying their commandments, in obeying their directions, she is more certainly obeying the will of God than if an angel came down from heaven to manifest His will to her.

“Bear this always in your mind, that the obedience which you practice to your superior is paid to God. If, then, you receive a command from one who holds the place of God, you should observe it with the same diligence as if it came from God Himself…

“It may be added that there is more certainly of doing the will of God by obedience to our superior than by obedience to Jesus Christ, should He appear in person and give His commands.”

Purgatory

Charlotte said that through a nun’s suffering, her relatives would be released sooner from a “priest’s purgatory.” It is the unbiblical fear doctrine of Purgatory that holds Roman Catholics in bondage. Charlotte also said that in one November, the RCC made 22 million dollars saying masses for the dead. She also added, “take away Purgatory, and the RCC will starve to death.”

Monica Farrell, on p. 6, says of Purgatory:

“The very best Rome can offer to a departed soul is Purgatory, and the torments of Purgatory are supposed to be as bad as hell. The only difference is that the soul in Purgatory eventually gets out of the flames and into heaven: but this may not be for hundreds of years, and in the meantime the only relief or comfort to the Roman Catholic is to have masses said for the repose of the soul of the loved ones.

“These masses cost money. There is a common saying among Romanists (Roman Catholics): “High money, high mass; low money, low mass; no money, no mass.”

Charles Chiniquy, on pp. 26-28, recounts the story of how after his father died, their priest shows up at their door demanding his mother pay money for masses to be said. When the young widow replied that all she had was a cow, the priest swiftly departed with it.

Murdered babies

Charlotte said that babies are born in the convent from sexual relations between priests and nuns, and that these babies are most often killed, most having been born premature and abnormal.

Alberto Rivera testified to this very thing in the Jack Chick comic tract, “Alberto.” Rivera said that as a young boy, after falling into a hole on the Catholic school grounds, he discovered a rolled up carpet containing the corpses of babies. Rivera said he later discovered that many convents and monasteries are connected by an underground tunnel, wherein is usually located a secret grave for burying babies born to nuns.

END COMMENTARY

The Roman Catholic church is not what it purports to be. The Bible calls it “the Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” Jesus Christ is calling those who truly want to do His will out of that system of darkness.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

The Healing Stream

Grace and peace, Saints!

The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade is pleased to announce its new counseling ministry, The Healing Stream. We began this ministry to help those who have reached out to us for counseling and prayer, with thoughtful, Bible-based solutions.

It is no secret that people everywhere are hurting. It seems like Satan is throwing everything at us–including the kitchen sink–in an all-out effort to destroy our marriages, our families, our friendships, our peace, and even our lives. And this is exactly the case: he knows that his time is short.

Enter The Healing Stream. Many on the front lines know that I have been involved in serious spiritual warfare for the past ten years. And though it has been very difficult at times, it has not been in vain. I have paid my spiritual dues, so to speak, and the result is that my senses have been duly exercised, by reason of constant use, to discern good from evil. I have gained a level of understanding of spiritual things that allows me to bring the full force of the Holy Scriptures to bear upon many of life’s toughest challenges.

So please subscribe to The Healing Stream on iTunes (soon to be on Stitcher and other services), and see if doesn’t bless you.

The episode “A Letter to ‘V'”, is from our old podcast, These Last Days (now The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade). It was this episode that was the impetus for The Healing Stream, so we have included it here. It is very informative. The official first episode of The Healing Stream is entitled “Relief From Witch Attack.” If it does not yet appear on iTunes, you can find the downloadable file at The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade website, by clicking here.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Cult of Mary: New Photos

Grace and peace, Saints.

We have added a whopping thirty + photos to our running collection of goddess worshippers we call The Cult of Mary. Some of the new luminaries in our montage may surprise you, while others, when you think about it, won’t surprise you at all.

When will we stop worshipping people?

The Still Man

New Podcast

Grace and peace, Saints.

We have completed the podcast to our article entitled, Band of Brothers. It should be available soon at the iTunes Store. It is also available for download on the article.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Status Update

Grace and peace, Saints!

Please forgive me for not posting any new content, but I’m currently laid up with the flu, and haven’t been up to writing or podcasting. I’m slowly recovering, but I don’t plan on going back to work until next week. I just wanted to keep you in the loop.

God bless you all, and I’ll see you next week, God willing.

The Still Man

A Letter To Jack

Grace and peace to those who have the blessed hope, and greetings to those who have no hope at all.

As you may recall, we wrote an article a couple of years ago entitled, Man You Don’t Know Jack! wherein we reveal the fact that a few of Jack Chick’s tracts depict characters clearly displaying Cult of Mary hand signs.

Occult hand sign in Chick tract, Why is Mary Crying?

Cult of Mary hand sign in Chick tract, Why is Mary Crying?

The above image was the first such image that I found with this occult imagery. Because it was just the one tract, I decided not to write Jack concerning it, and opted to just write the article concerning this issue for the edification of the Body of Christ and to warn soul winners who use Chick tracts to carefully consider before using them in their evangelism efforts toward Roman Catholics.

Unfortunately, however, to date, I have found three Chick tracts containing Cult of Mary occult imagery:

Cult of Mary hand sign in Chick tract, “The Choice.”

Cult of Mary hand sign in Chick tract, “The Storyteller.”

At this point, I believe it is safe to conclude that something is desperately wrong at Chick Publications.

The most troubling aspect of this affair is that two of the three tracts containing these images target Roman Catholics and Muslims, and both Roman Catholics and Muslims revere “Mother Mary,” as the Roman Catholic “Virgin Mary” is called. If these tracts are used to evangelize Roman Catholics and Muslims involved in the occult, it is possible that our witness to these people will prove fruitless, as they will doubtless believe that the true Christian Church is as steeped in occultism as are their religions.

For this reason, I was compelled to write Jack Chick a couple of days ago and bring this issue to his attention. Below is an image of the letter that I wrote him.

I have asked Jack to publicly address this issue, and explain how occult imagery made it into Chick gospel tracts. It is my hope that he will do so, and that he will then take the appropriate measures to eradicate all occult imagery from Chick gospel tracts.

Let me say, for the record, that my intention in bringing this issue to the fore is not to malign Chick Publications. As one will read in my conversion testimony, a Chick gospel tract was instrumental in bringing me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. My purpose in doing this is to ensure that, by policing ourselves, we avoid giving the enemies of Christ the ammunition they need to further demonize the Christian Church and to blaspheme the worthy name of our Lord Jesus. I also want to alert both Chick Publications and soul winners everywhere with a burden for Roman Catholics and Muslims that they should avoid using these particular tracts in their evangelism efforts, and that they should henceforth carefully examine each tract they use to ensure that there is no occult imagery in them.

In that Chick Publications is arguably the best known Christian Publication house in the world, then one would think that they are ordained of God to equip the saints for Kingdom work in these last days. It is imperative, therefore, that we hold them accountable.

So let us pray that Jack Chick will acknowledge this grievous error and take the necessary actions to correct it; for judgment must begin at the house of God.

“For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?” (2 Corinthians 5:12).

Update: Click here for Chick Publications’ response to my letter.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

What Is The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade?

Grace and peace, Saints.

For those of you who may be wondering what our ministry, The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade, is really all about, we have completed a podcast that explains it all: how we started, why we started, our mission focus, and the inspiration for the name–it’s all in this podcast.

We also explain why we have twice changed the name of our podcast, so you will understand that we are not confused or anything.

The podcast should be available at the iTunes Store by tomorrow, but, as usual, it is available for download below.

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Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man.

Charlie Hebdo And What It Really Means

Grace and peace, Saints.

We have completed a podcast on the significance of the Paris terrorist attacks of last week. If you are a Bible-believing Christian, then you must listen to this podcast; for this event has farther-reaching implications than you can possibly imagine.

I have uploaded the podcast to our media server, but it may not show up on iTunes until tomorrow. It is available, however, as a download below.

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The article: that is, the written version of the podcast, will be available in place of this infobrief as soon as possible, God willing. Please check back from time to time.

Prayerfully listen to this podcast and weigh it in the balance of your heart. Dark days are a-coming.

The Still Man

OOOPS!

Grace and peace, Saints.

It was brought to my attention today that the last twenty-five minutes of our podcast entitled A God Whom His Fathers Knew Not was missing. And that last twenty five minutes is a very important part of the program.

So, we’ve fixed the problem, and the program is now available in its entirety. If you are a Bible-believing Christian or a Roman Catholic who wants to know if his religious traditions are biblical, then may I highly suggest you download and listen to the program.

It may be available as early as tomorrow morning at the iTunes Store for download and playback on your favorite audio device. It is also available for immediate download on the actual article when you click the link above.

We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced, and we thank you for your understanding.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

We’ve Moved!!!

Grace and peace, Saints!

I pray everyone is having a blessed New Year.

Next month, this blog will be four years old. It’s hard to believe that what started out as me just wanting to find a way to glorify the Lord Jesus with my testimony and also hone my writing skills has turned into a ministry that has been so mightily used of God to edify the Body of Christ and to bring many others to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Hallelujah!

In 2013, I founded an organization called The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade, loosely based on an organization founded by Christian evangelist, Monica Farrell, author of the book Ravening Wolves. The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade consists of The Still Man blog; The Fifth Seal, a website that reports on Christian persecution; our YouTube channel; and two podcasts: The Gospel Light and Truth Crusade and The Fifth Seal. Both podcasts can be found on iTunes and soon will be available on Stitcher and other podcast aggregates.

A few months ago, we started a website for the Gospel Light and Truth Crusade, and we have moved The Still Man blog over to this website, including all the content from the previous four years. The website went live on January 1, 2015, but I made a lot of mistakes, and you probably noticed a few problems in the last couple of days when you tried to access this site.

The first mistake was that we did not inform you, our readers, of the transition. Had we done so, it probably would not have been necessary for us to have made the second mistake, which was to try to redirect web traffic automatically from this website to the new one. I had envisioned our readers coming to the website on January 1, and finding that it had relocated and had a brand new look to match the New Year. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Man proposes, but God disposes.

Moreover, technical glitches made when I created this blog have made it difficult to update the links on the new website. The result is that all the links in our articles still point to content from this blog, rather than point to the duplicate content on the new website.

To make a long story short, we will have to leave this website up for a time until we get the new website running smoothly and problem-free. We are looking at about three months to accomplish this.

Until then, be advised that after today there will be no new content posted on this website. All new blog posts as well as any other new content will take place at the new website, which you can find here.

There’s something else. This blog is actually located at www.thestillman.com/stillmanfiles. I had a 301 redirect in place on the server, so that www.thestillman.com would automatically redirect to www.thestillman.com/stillmanfiles. I have removed the redirect, so that www.thestillman.com no longer points to this blog, but to what will ultimately be a place where I will post samples of my writing, for those who wish to retain me as a copywriter and editor. I also plan to put links there to my upcoming books.

So, please update your bookmarks to reflect our new location at www.gospellightandtruthcrusade.org.

As you can see, we have been very busy. We are working feverishly to get the gospel message out to a lost and dying world while it is still day, for the night cometh wherein no man can work.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

The True Meaning of Christmas

Grace and peace, Saints.

Well, another Christmas is upon us, and, again, millions of people will be spending money they don’t have to buy presents they can’t afford for people who neither appreciate nor need them. The line between the haves and the have nots will become broader and bolder, and children all over the world will remember why they always hated Christmas, as, arguably, no other time reminds people just how poor they really are like Christmastime.

I can remember when I first came to Germany (as a civilian) back in December 1998 about a month before Christmas and about a week before the birth of our first child. My wife and I had gone to the shopping mall to “window shop.” The mall was teeming with cheery people and screaming children and the smell of cookies, cakes, and pies, and other baked goods filled the air. I was more grateful about being reunited with my then girlfriend than I was about the approaching Christmas season, because she and I had been separated for about six months prior to this. As we walked hand in hand, perusing all the beautifully decorated confectionaries and stores and bakeries with all their cakes, chocolates, pies, cookies, on display for all to see, it suddenly dawned on me that as beautiful as all of this was, none of it was free. Everything these stores had to offer cost money. And if you didn’t have the money to buy any of these things, then you were out of luck.

That was my situation: my wife and I were flat broke. And the better the food smelled, the more beautiful and sparklier the decorations were, and the happier the people looked, the broker I felt. And the fact that my wife was with me did not help matters at all. In fact, it made things worse.

To her credit, my wife is a very cheap date. She just doesn’t ask for much. But one thing she loves is roasted walnuts. And the time my wife most loves roasted walnuts is during the Christmas season. Now, roasted walnuts are always available somewhere in Munich year-round, but during the Christmas season, roasted walnuts are prolific. Everywhere you turn, there is someone selling roasted walnuts. Everywhere you walk, there are bags of roasted walnuts somewhere on display. And every five minutes, you are bumping into someone eating roasted walnuts. AT Christmastime, roasted walnuts are literally everywhere.

So you can probably appreciate my chagrin as we passed store after store, confectionary after confectionary, and nut stand after nut stand, while the smell of roasted walnuts wafted through the air. But the only thing I have in my pockets is lint. My wife, as I said, is a cheap date, and she is understands that if I don’t have the money to get her what she wants, there is nothing I can do. But, like me, she also understands that she is a cheap date. And she knows that as a woman, she deserves a lot more than I offer her. So, when my wife wants roasted walnuts, she gets roasted walnuts.

This day, however, there was absolutely nothing I could do. I was flat broke. So broke, in fact, that I couldn’t even pay attention. So broke, that if it weren’t for the lint in my pockets, they would have been completely empty. So broke, that if I had passed one of those Santa Clauses on the street corner ringing his bell asking for donations, he might have had a problem. Yes, I was that broke. And that wan “That’s OK baby” smile on my wife’s face didn’t help matters at all.

All this came back to me a couple of weeks ago, when I went to the mall and saw all the beautiful decorations, nativity scenes, and all the candy and baked good vendors situated in the center of the mall thoroughfare. And again this week, as I watched a news story on “Christmas stress,” and the fact that most people are highly relieved when Christmas is over, with its hustle and bustle of shopping for presents, decorating the house, and sweating over a hot stove cooking dinner for dozens of family and friends, not to mention the traffic jams and crowded airports that characterize the Christmas travel season.

When I considered this, I realized that Satan was at the bottom of it. Who else, but Satan, that old serpent and the father of lies, would take Christmas—the greatest day in the history of the world—and twist it, pervert it, and profane it, by turning it into a day that poor people dread, “middle-class” people regret, and rich people profane. Satan hates Christmas, not because the name of Jesus is glorified that day, because you and I know that that is certainly not the case. Satan hates Christmas because Jesus was born that day. And if Jesus had not been born, then Jesus could not have died. And it was Jesus’ death and the shedding of His blood that set you and me free from the curse of sin. The Bible says:

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, [Jesus] also Himself likewise took part of the same; that though death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil;

“And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).”

Satan is a defeated foe. He has been conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I, as Christians, are also conquerors through the blood of Jesus. Satan has no power over us except that which has been granted him by the Lord Jesus, and that for our perfection and His glorification. Satan is not happy about this at all. Of all days, Satan hates Christmas more than any other day. He would like nothing more than to wipe that day from history and from memory forever. He cannot, however, so he ops for the next best thing: to profane Christmas; to twist it, pervert it, and, above all, commercialize it. Christmas, for most, is not a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior, but a day to celebrate wealth. If you have money, you celebrate Christmas. If you don’t have money, you dread Christmas. This should not be.

To illustrate how perverted Christmas has become, I ask you a question: Where did Christmas presents come from? Did you know that the practice of giving and receiving presents is Satan’s perversion of the story of the wise men of the East, who came to visit the family of our Savior and gave presents to the young child Jesus? Listen to Scripture:

“And when [the wise men] where come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

Did you see that? The wise men gave gifts unto Jesus. Why? Because they knew that Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh, and that He was born for one reason and one reason only: to die for the sins of the world. That’s why.

Why, then, do we give each other gifts? Did any of us die for the sins of mankind? No, we did not. Then we ought not to be giving each other gifts, should we?

We don’t give gifts to each other in our house. That’s for birthdays.

Let me ask you another question: Where did the custom of Christmas trees come from? Did you know that it is an ancient pagan custom? Hear what the Bible says:

“For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

“They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

“They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” (Jeremiah 10:3-5).

Of particular interest is verse 5, which addresses the fact that the Christmas tree cannot speak nor move, and that one must not be afraid of it. This would appear a very strange thing to say, unless you understand that, in those days, the Christmas tree was an idol. It represented Nimrod, who was called “The Oak” (because of his great stature and strength) and was symbolized by trees. Silver and gold are representative of the sun and the moon, which represent Nimrod and Semiramis, who were both deified as the Sun God and the Moon Goddess, respectively.

People would erect the tree in their homes, deck it with silver and gold, and make their petitions of it. If they wanted something, they would write their petition on a piece of paper and attach to the tree, or, in the case of material things, they would fashion a model of the desired object and set it under the tree.

And get this: the star, which people set on top of the Christmas tree, represents Semisramis, in her aspect of the ancient Phoenician fertility goddess, Ashtoreth, who, according to the Bible, was symbolized with a star. Listen to this:

“Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god, Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them” (Acts 7:43).

Moloch is another name for Nimrod, and Remphan is an “Egyptian goddess of the moon.” That would identify Remphan with Isis, who was also the Egyptian goddess of the moon. By now, you should know that Remphan is really Ashtoreth, who is really Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod.

We don’t have a Christmas tree in our house: that’s for idolaters.

And by now everybody knows that Santa Claus or Sankt Nikolaus, is an old European folk character, which went house-to-house accompanied by a demon called Krampus (sometimes there were two such creatures), of which elves are merely a symbol. And everybody was scared of him.

We don’t recognize Satan Claus in our house: that’s for pagans.

See what Satan has done? He has completed perverted and distorted the true meaning of Christmas and turned it into something that only the rich and pagan can relate to. What a shame!

I said all that to say this: What people call Christmas is not really a celebration of the birth of our Savior. Christmas, as the world celebrates it, does not glorify God: it glorifies Satan. Satan hates Christmas, so he does his level best to destroy what should merely be a day of gratitude and joy that Jesus came into the world to take away our sins.

So, If you are not where you would like to be financially this Christmas, don’t worry. If you have not been invited to Christmas dinner with friends or family, don’t worry. If you don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend with whom to cuddle up in front of a Christmas fire, don’t worry. If you are in a tent in Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, or any of the other trouble spots in the world, far away from family, don’t worry. If you don’t have a “Christmas tree,” don’t worry. If there is no snow where you live, don’t worry. If you are just plain alone this Christmas, don’t you worry. Christmas is about none of these things.

Christmas is not about those who have; Christmas is about those who don’t have. Christmas isn’t about the rich; Christmas is about the poor. Christmas isn’t about those who have many friends; Christmas is about the friendless. Christmas isn’t about the ‘beautiful people”; Christmas is about the unlovely. Christmas is not about the popular; Christmas is about the unpopular.

Though Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, it was the poor, the unloved, the downtrodden, the outcast, the unpopular, the friendless, the lonely, and the unlovely that he most had in mind when He died. For if look at the people with whom Jesus most identified during His earthly ministry and whose houses He frequented, you will find these people. That’s why Satan most hates these people, and seeks most to destroy Christmas in their minds.

Remember: Christmas is not about you. Christmas is not about me. Christmas is not about your family. Christmas is not about my family. Christmas is not about Santa Claus, nor is it about Christmas trees and presents. Christmas is about one thing and one thing only: Jesus Christ.

Now, if you don’t know what Jesus did for you on the cross at Calvary, you cannot truly appreciate Christmas. Therefore I urge you to take a few minutes and learn something about the Man Jesus and what He did for you. Then, if the Spirit moves you to do so, consider making Jesus your personal Savior. Then you can celebrate the precious few Christmases we have left to honor the birth of our Savior and Lord.

Have a blessed, safe, and grateful Christmas!

The Still Man

Buffalo’s Snow “Woes”: Is Somebody Angry?

Grace and peace.

Buffalo, NY is digging out from under a ton of snow that was dumped on it and the rest of New York and much of the Northeastern United States earlier this week. As I watched CNN’s coverage of the event, I could not help but ponder its significance in light of Scripture and the Roman Catholic Takeover of America. For, you see, the RC T of A is supposed to culminate in a colossal “triumphal” Marian arch, which, it just happens, is scheduled to be built in Buffalo, NY. I use the term marian, because the arch is to commemorate the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of the Roman Catholic Virgin Mary over the former bastion of Protestant Christianity, the United States of America.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVCI7KSBkOc

You may read more about the Marian Shrine here.

Extreme weather events, like this one in New York, have become so commonplace that they go largely unnoticed by all but those who experience them. But for those of us who know our God, the significance of such events is not lost on us. We know that God is in total control. So, when floods, drought, earthquakes, landslides, tornadoes, and severe snowfalls occur, we know that it is not “nature run amok,” but “God is angry at somebody.” And that somebody is us. God is angry that America is giving Him her back and embracing idols of stone.

So, while we should feel sorry for those who are going through this and pray for them, we ought not miss the spiritual significance of this event. God is angry. And the residents of Buffalo should be on their knees praying to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness, not to the Virgin Mary, as most are likely doing.

This is especially important given that they are not completely out of the woods yet, as a warm trend is predicted, and severe flooding may follow as a result of the melting snow.

Read more about the Roman Catholic Takeover of America here.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Was It Worth It?

Grace and peace.

I haven’t said anything about the purported beheading of Peter Kassig, a former Army Ranger and aid worker in Lebanon, by ISIS. But when I learned he had converted to Islam, changing his hame to Abdul Rahman, I was somewhat saddened, because I know that, unless Kassig accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, he died in his sins. And that is a shame. I was, therefore, moved to write this.

Kassig’s parents are comforted by the fact their son died caring for the Syrian people he had grown to know and love. But I am not comforted at all knowing that he, in all likelihood, died a Muslim, not knowing the Lord Jesus and accepting the great sacrifice our Savior made for him on the Cross at Calvary. Instead, he died at the hands of one of his fellow Muslims. What a tragedy!

Islam is growing in leaps and bounds in the United States, for those of you who didn’t know. Just this past March, as a matter of fact, while visiting my oldest child in North Saint Louis, I noticed that there was a large mosque on the corner of her street. I should have taken a picture of it, but I had left my camera at home.

I just found out that, according to Wikipedia, St. Louis “has one of the largest numbers of Mosques in a city in the Americas.”

I never thought I would see a mosque in the neighborhood where my daughter lives. It looked very strange, indeed.

Friends, Muslims are quick to say they worship the same God Christians worship, the only difference being that they call him Allah, while we call him God. But this is not the truth. The Christian God is named Jesus the Christ, and this same God has been demoted in the Islamic faith to the status of a mere human prophet. Moreover, God the Father of the Christian faith sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, into the world to die and shed His blood for our sins. Yet, the Allah of Islam is said by Muslims to have no son.

So, on the one hand, Muslims say (to Christians) they worship the same God we do, but on the other hand, they say that “Allah had no son.” Therefore, the Muslim who says he worships the same God as Christians is either:

1. confused as to who our God really is

2. confused as to who his God really is

3: lying.

Regardless of which scenario is the case, would you trust your eternal soul to the god of Islam, if its devotees fall into either of the above groups? I hope your answer is no, because the god of Islam did not die for our sins. He therefore, cannot offer you salvation from your sins.

If you have a friend or relative who is a Muslim, you should be concerned for their eternal soul, because, make no mistake about it: there will be no Muslims in Heaven, and we should all want our friends and relatives to go there.

Peter Kassig died doing what he believed in. He no doubt knew and accepted the risks involved with his choice, and I respect that about the man. But, if Kassig died a Muslim, then he is not resting in peace, even though he paid the uttermost farthing. And that should trouble you as much as it troubles me.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Beware The Smoking Gum

Grace and peace, Saints.

It is no secret that Satan is after our kids, and that is why it is important that we, as Christian parents, keep our antenna up for the slightest hint of trouble. Most of us are aware of the various methods Satan uses to gain an avenue into our children’s spiritual lives, and we take steps to protect our children from his influence through these mediums. But we often fail to consider that something as innocent as candy–yes, candy–can be used as a weapon against our children.

Case in point: Last year, I allowed my two youngest daughters to hang out at the mall with their two best friends. Now, I would normally not have let them do this, because they are too young to go to the mall alone (I’m very old school). But, I know my wife, and I know that, being unsaved, and not having the discernment that she should, she had, on occasion, allowed my children to do things that I would not. Going to the mall is one of those things.

You may recall that my wife and I have only just gotten back together after being separated for over four years. My children are saved, thank God, but they had been living with their unsaved mother for the last two and a half years without the benefit of godly counsel. Now, Satan would have loved for me to have come in and put my foot down and become a “holy tyrant,” because he could use this to turn my children off to the Christian way of life and to Jesus Christ. All too often, well-meaning Christian parents have been too heavy-handed in their attempts to sanctify their homes and insulate their children from satanic influence, only to drive them away from Jesus altogether.

I decided, therefore, that, under the circumstances, it would be better to let them go, making sure to take the proper security precautions. It would also be a great opportunity to see where my children were maturity-wise.

Well, they did go, and they did a stellar job, calling me when they got there, and remaining in the mall like I asked them to. When it was time for them to come home, they called me, and my wife and I went to pick them up, and we all took the subway home. On the way, there was an interesting development: My daughter pulled out what appeared to be a pack of cigarettes. A bolt of lightning passed through my body. As it turned out, it was a pack of chewing gum made to look like a pack of cigarettes, and each stick of gum was in the shape of a cancer stick.

I asked God to give me the wisdom to explain to my children why this was not a good idea. The Lord instructed me to handle it thus: I asked my daughter if it is good for a person to smoke cigarettes. When she replied that it was not, I asked her why. She told me that it was bad for a person’s health, because a person could get cancer and die. I then asked her if she believed that there is a war going on between Satan and Jesus Christ and between their followers. She responded that there was indeed a war going on. I told her that Satan hates all humanity and is trying to destroy us using every means at his disposal. Substance abuse is one way that Satan is accomplishing this, and cigarette smoking is a form of substance abuse.

I next asked if she ever noticed that people smoke an awful lot, and when she responded, yes, I asked her if she ever saw young people and children smoking. She told me that many of the children in her class smoke. My daughter is 15.

I then asked her if she knew how any of her classmates got started smoking, and she said that one of her classmates had told her that her own mother tried to get her to smoke. As for the rest, she didn’t know how they got started. I then held up the pack of candy cigarettes and asked her if she thought that this might be a way that a young person could get interested in smoking. At that, her eyes got wide, and at the point of tears, she started apologizing profusely. She felt that she should have known better.

I consoled her and told her that it was all right and that this was how Satan works. He always takes something evil and makes it look completely harmless and innocent by turning it into a game, a toy, or, in this case, chewing gum. I explained that candy cigarettes are a way to make cigarette smoking acceptable to children by tempting them with something less lethal. The cigarettes almost look real, and a child who wants to look cool and adult and be accepted, can do so without any perceived ramifications.

At the same time, parents, who allow their children to have candy cigarettes, think that it’s only harmless chewing gum, completely unaware of the subtle suggestion that is working in their children’s minds.

I explained that Satan does the same thing with guns. Guns can kill you, and any thing that can kill you should be taken very seriously, not made into a toy. Yet, this is exactly what happens. Cigarettes, I told her, are, in a way, like guns. They, too, can kill you. They should, therefore, be taken very seriously and the user should be sober and aware of the consequences of misuse and abuse. Guns and cigarettes are serious business and should be treated as such. Making either into a toy or candy minimizes the lethal nature of both in the minds of children and adults.

To further illustrate my point, I reminded my daughter how, often while we are together, I will point out a cigarette machine and tell her that if people were not buying cigarettes, it would not be cost effective for cigarette machines to be so ubiquitous.

But in Munich, cigarette machines can be found most everywhere (Munchners are notorious chain smokers). That means that people are buying cigarettes. And if people are buying cigarettes, then people are smoking cigarettes. And if people are smoking cigarettes, then people are dying from cigarettes.

I have no doubt that for a significant number of those who smoke and have died from smoking, it all started with a pack of candy cigarettes. How do I know? Because my siblings and I used to buy them when we were children. And my brothers and sisters all smoke. By the grace of God, I never have. But, as I told my daughter, both my grandparents and both my parents died of lung cancer. Now if candy cigarettes were around when I was a child, it’s a safe bet they were also around when my parents and possibly even grandparents were children. Only time will tell what the ultimate effect of those candy cigarettes will be on my brothers and sisters. Harmless, right?

Make no mistake: candy cigarettes were “assigned and designed” for one express purpose: to get children interested in smoking at a young age. If you are having problems digesting this, or you think I’m some crazy “conspiracy theorist,” consider that on the side of the package, where the cancer warning label would normally be found on an actual pack of cigarettes, was this label:

The label translates: “Blow into the gum stick and see how the magical smoke rises into the air!”

Can you see that the idea is for children to try to look as though they are smoking an actual cigarette? Is it not obvious that the idea here is to get children interested in smoking? Trust me, this is not a good thing.

Lastly I asked my daughter whose idea it was to buy the candy cigarettes, and she told me that it was her friend. Like my daughter, her friend was born and raised in Germany. And many Germans start smoking openly around twelve or thirteen years of age. Unlike my daughter, however, her friend doesn’t have me as a parent. I don’t smoke and neither does my wife, so we aren’t part of the smoking culture, and, don’t, therefore, regard cigarette smoking as a cool thing. So, no candy cigarettes allowed.

One thing this whole event taught me was that it is crucial that we have a good rapport with our children. They must be able to trust us and our judgment. We must not tell them that they must do what we tell them because they live in our house, but that they must do what we tell them because God says so and God knows what is best for them.

We must also remember that even though the Bible says that children should obey their parents, It also says that as parents we should not provoke our children to anger (Colossians 3:21). We must be careful how we react when they make a mistake, and they must be allowed to make mistakes without us always jumping down their throats. And when we inevitably do jump down their throats, we must not hesitate to apologize to them and to let them know that what we did was inappropriate. Children need to be treated like human beings with feelings and not property to be treated any way we choose.

In closing, it is important to add that, as parents, we need to also check out our children’s friends. What happened with my daughter may very well have been an innocent mistake on the part of her friend. But, then again, it could very well have been intentional. Either way, I am not ignorant of Satan’s devices—and neither should you.

One more thing: If you are addicted to cigarettes, you could very well be under a generational curse, as addictions and substance abuse are a sure sign. Find out how to get free here. This teaching is available at the iTunes Store for playback on your smart phone, ipod, or other listening device. Subscribe to our podcast today!

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Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

He Said/She Said – October 19, 2014

“The man, who knowingly and consistently rejects any truth, will come to reject all truths, and will eventually reject the Ultimate Truth.”

–The Still Man

Band of Brothers?

Grace and peace, Saints.

Last year, publicist Jack Chick addressed the growing hostility toward biblical Christianity in the military. He cited the following examples given by the World News Service that exemplify the military’s growing apostasy:

An Army Reserve training brief on hate groups declares that evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics are extremists as dangerous as al Qaeda.

A commander tells a chaplain to “stay in your lane” when he offers spiritual advice about the military’s exploding sexual assault problem.

A superior tells an Air Force major to remove from his desk the Bible he had kept there for 23 years.

An Army lieutenant colonel instructs his subordinates to recognize the “religious right in America” as a domestic hate group like the KKK and Neo-Nazis.

An Army master sergeant with 25 years of service faces punishment for serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at his promotion party.

Christian prayers banned at veteran funeral services in Houston’s National Cemetery.

Bibles temporarily banned at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

A Christian cross, banned from a military chapel in Afghanistan.

A chaplain called into his supervisor’s office and chewed out for closing a prayer with the words “In Jesus’ name.”

These are just a few of the examples cited in the article. As you can see, the situation is pretty grim. And I can tell you from personal experience that it’s a lot worse than that.

I had forgotten about this issue, until the other day, when, while filing some old magazine articles, I came across the following leaflet I picked up from a U.S. Army installation last year:

iWatch Army is a program that encourages soldiers and their families to be on the lookout for suspicious activity that may indicate terrorist activity. This is a good idea, especially when you consider what happened at Fort Hood a few years ago.

But, while reading the leaflet, I came across this (note the highlighted area):

It is important to note that, according to this leaflet, iWatch Army asks soldiers “to report behavior and activities that are unusual or seem out of the ordinary,” and it lists examples of behaviors and activities to watch out for. But notice that soldiers may also use iWatch to not only report suspicious behaviors, but behaviors and activities “that make you feel uncomfortable.” Given the program is intended to heighten awareness of potential terrorist activity, where does discomfort fit in? Are activities that “make you feel uncomfortable” necessarily terrorist activities? Think about this.

On any given day, the average person is faced with myriad situations that are uncomfortable: Sitting next to a person with a flatulence problem on the subway is uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to be considered terrorism.

Standing on the bus stop with a dog humping your leg is uncomfortable, but not enough to report as terrorist activity.

Your phone bill might make you uncomfortable, but would you consider it terrorism? (Hmmm. Maybe that’s not the best example.)

The point is that what is uncomfortable for one, may be very comfortable or even pleasurable to another. Comfort is subjective. And what does comfort have to do with terrorism? Shouldn’t the litmus test of whether an activity is suspicious be the possibility that the activity could be terrorist related? Should activities that make us uncomfortable be considered terrorist activities?

Whether they should or not is irrelevant. The point is that under the USA Patriot Act, they can be. You see, before 911, Section 2331 of Title 18, United States Code, defined terrorism as “acts that attempt to affect the conduct of a government by assassination, or kidnapping.”

After 911, however, Section 802(A) of the USA PATRIOT Act amended the definition to read: “Acts that:

“involve acts dangerous to human life‚

“appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce,

“influence the policy of a government‚

“affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.”

Note that the USA Patriot Act not only modifies the original definition of terrorism (subsection 4), by adding “mass destruction,” but actually adds three new activities, one of which (subsection 2) is totally subjective in that it is based on an appearance, rather than an action, and neither specifies what actions would be considered terrorism, nor whom or what needs to feel intimidated or be coerced in order for the “appearance” to be considered terrorism!

The second definition is boldfaced, because “activities that make you feel uncomfortable” fall under this. You must understand that under the current definition, Christianity, as a religion, and evangelization, as an activity, can now be considered terrorism. Unlike the prior definition of terrorism, which stipulated that activities had to be directed towards a government to be considered terrorism, the new definition does not make this distinction. This means that any individual, who feels intimidated or coerced in any way by someone else’s actions, however benign, can report that individual and his activities as terrorist.

It must also be noted that intimidation is a feeling, and, as such, is totally subjective. What is intimidating to me may not be intimidating to you.

The truth is that this vague subjective terminology has been included in the definition of terrorism expressly for the purpose of persecuting Christians and to discourage evangelization. And people are taking advantage of it.

I have a personal testimony of this. A few years ago, I went back to college to finish my degree. One of my English professors was a woman who was raised Roman Catholic and hated Christianity, though she embraced every other religion. She even had Buddhist prayer flags hanging on her office door.

Religion was a topic that she loved to talk about, and her literary analysis assignments always included a couple of essays or short stories with a religious theme. I always chose to analyze those types of stories, because it gave me an opportunity to hone my discernment skills, and to learn what all the “great” writers actually felt about the Lord Jesus. I would always break the pieces down to their skivvies, cutting through the twilight language that modernist writers are known for, and exposing the writers’ real motives, which were always anti-Christianity.

This professor absolutely hated me for this: so much so, that on one of my papers, right beneath my grade, she “strongly advised” that I choose something other than a religious theme, for my next essay. I told her that I would stop choosing a religious theme, when she stopped offering a religious theme as a choice. At this, she went to the dean and told him that I intimidated her. Needless to say, I never earned better than a C from this professor. She even failed me once.

But, returning to our subject, it is distressing to see that our military is becoming so godless. And it is becoming godless, as many in our military are into the occult. In fact, the military is rife with witches. In many military bookstores, both in the United States and in Europe, books on witchcraft and the occult outnumber Bibles 10 to 1. Once, about five years ago, I happened upon a website that was exclusively for soldiers who are witches. I found out, through that website, that there are witches’ covens at many military installations, including Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Fort Lewis, Washington. As a matter of fact, back in 2011, at Fort Carson, witches dedicated an $80,000 pagan worship temple.

This is important, because witches hate Christians. And, if there are soldiers who are witches serving in our military, then there are soldiers who hate Christians serving in our military. These soldiers take an oath to protect our country and our Constitution “against all enemies foreign and domestic.” But, if they hate Christians, how can they protect Christians? They can’t, in fact. And that should be a problem for you.

As an aside, the oath of enlistment of the United States Army doesn’t specify who the enemy is. So, what if witches, when they take that oath, are thinking of Christians as the enemy, whether “foreign or domestic?” If that were the case, then they would be in keeping with their oath if (and when) they are deployed to America as a “peacekeeping” force, they regard all Christians as enemy combatants. What a scary thought.

This ought to concern you, because, as we warned in our article, The Roman Catholic Takeover of America, our military no longer belongs to us, but to the United Nations. That means that it will go and will do whatever the United Nations Security Council orders it to go and to do. If our military is anti-Christian, what do you think it is going to do when it is deployed to America as part of Step Four of Phase Three of the Roman Catholic Takeover of America? You should think about this very carefully.

And the military is not only full of witches. Since the ban on homosexuals in the military was lifted, the military is now full of homosexuals. You may be aware that there is an historic enmity between homosexuals and Jesus Christ. Just ask Sodom and Gomorrah. If homosexuals hate Jesus, then it is a foregone conclusion that they hate Christians.

I’m not trying to cast any dispersion upon the United States military. I’m just trying to get you to understand that the military is the policy enforcer for the United States government. And, as the United States government has redefined terrorism, then the military, as the policy enforcer for the United States government, must also redefine terrorism. If under this redefinition, Christian activities–both in and out of the military–could be considered terrorism, then, it stands to reason that, at some point, Christians–both in and out of the military–will be at odds with our military. And this is what we need to remember.

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Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

“Think How Good The Great Soldiers Are”

Grace and peace.

This post doesn’t have any religious significance, but I’m posting it anyway.

SSG Sal Giunta was awarded the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism during a firefight in eastern Afghanistan. But it wasn’t his bravery that got my attention: it was his genuine humility. Check out this video and you will see his obvious discomfort at being singled out and made a hero. His last words are classic and always make a lump in my throat.

What a humble, unpretentious guy.

The Still Man

A Letter To Ms. “V”

Grace and peace.

Earlier this year, a lady wrote me requesting prayer and deliverance. A few days ago, she wrote me again a few days ago to update me on her situation and to ask me a question. Both times she used the prayer request form, which is confidential, so I don’t have any contact information for her, and, thus, no way to get her an answer to her questions or to get her the help she urgently needs.

Because she was clearly in distress and looking for answers, and in the hopes that perhaps I could minister to others who may be in the same predicament, I decided to do a podcast specifically for that purpose. It is my hope that she is at least an occasional reader of the blog, because then the chances would be pretty good that she would find this post and the attached podcast (or the episode at the iTunes Store) and be met at the point of her need.

For the edification of the Body of Christ and to the end that we may minister unto someone else out there who needs it, I present her letters here in their entirety. Ms. “V,” I know you asked me to keep this between you and me, and I did my level best to honor your request. But because I have no other way to answer your questions and to get you the help that you requested, I chose to go this route. As you can see, I didn’t use your name, so no one but you knows to whom these letters and this situation really belong. Please prayerfully listen to the podcast, for I believe the answer to your problems is there.

Following are the letters I received from Ms. “V.”

[First letter]

Good morning.

Please help me turn away from my sinful desires. Please pray for me to turn away from psychics and occult stuff.

I have a hard life. My father is sick, I lost my job, stressed emotionally and psychologically. Every time I meet someone and hope to start a relationship, the same thing happens: they go back to ex girlfriends/wives. I am never left with anyone.

I want to worship God. Why can I not continue on and always go back to bad habits? Please help me. Please pray for my salvation. Please remove this evil generational curse on me.

I have had a hard time. I do pray for deliverance/salvation, but the odd thing is the same thing happens. For example, if I meet someone (because I do want to get married and have a family) they almost immediately after me go back to ex-girlfriends/wives. I am left alone. I try to turn away from psychic stuff / occult every time I say I am turning away I get weak and go back: not like I really want to, but I just do.

Can you please help me and/or guide me onto the proper path? Can this be kept private between us?

Thanks so much.

V.

[Second letter]

I hope this email finds you well. I want to commit and follow the path of the Lord. I have had severe struggles, and sometimes it is hard to remain focused.

I continue to pray to God for salvation. Unfortunately, my life has continued with struggles: I lost my father, which now I see God wanted me to take care of him: that is why I could not find work.

Should I continue to pray for salvation until my praying skills become stronger? I am a believer in God and just need your guidance.

Thank you so much.

V.

This is as much as I have in the way of an article. Normally, I write the article and then do the associated podcast when time permits. This time, however, I felt compelled to do the podcast first, as I there were some things on my heart that I wanted to say to this dear soul, and I didn’t want to forget them.

When time permits (and when I feel up to it), I’ll transcribe the podcast and produce the blog article. In the meantime, if you are so inclined, you may find the article at our podcast, The Gospel Light and Truth Hour. Subscribe to us at the iTunes Store today!

For your convenience, it is also available below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Should A Christian Be Nice, Or Should A Christian Be Good?

Grace and peace to the children of the day, and greetings to the denizens of the night.

Today, a deliveryman for DHS (the European equivalent of UPS) came to my door to deliver me a package (of Gospel tracts. Woohoo!). Before giving me my package, however, he asked me if I would take delivery of a package for someone else in my apartment building, who supposedly wasn’t at home. This is nothing unusual, as neighbors have taken packages for me, in my absence, and I used to take packages for my neighbors. I refused however, and after a subtle attempt to persuade me otherwise, the gentleman delivered my package and then attempted to solicit help from another neighbor.

Now, to the casual observer, my actions may have appeared unneighborly, and even somewhat hostile. But, under the circumstances, believe me: they were totally necessary.

You see, I left off accepting packages for my neighbors (and allowing them to accept them for me) about a year ago, because, as I’ve related in my testimonies Chronology of Joy and God is in Control, my neighbors are active participants in the persecution of my family and me. It is nothing for my neighbors to graciously accept delivery of a package addressed to me, or even hold the door open for me to go through, when I have a handful of groceries. Yet, these same neighbors have no qualms about doing something reprehensible to me or my children.

Now, for someone unfamiliar with spiritual warfare, this type of behavior from an enemy may seem inconsistent and even confusing. But those of us who are involved in kingdom work know that this type of behavior from an enemy is entirely consistent.

You see, the Bible says that the wicked are wise to do evil, but ignorant to do good. If they were able (and willing) to do good, then it would be difficult (or at least hard) for them to do wickedly. However, many seem quite content to do evil. Therefore, to do good is not only something they can’t do, it is something they likely are unwilling to do. In that they are unable to do good, but want to appear good, then they have to settle for the nearest alternative: they have to be nice.

Nice is not good; and, though the two often look identical on the surface, they are not. The difference between nice and good is motive. It is the reason we want to do a thing that differentiates being nice from being good.

To help an elderly person with his groceries, for example, is a nice thing to do. It can also be a good thing to do. What distinguishes the two is whether the person rendering the help does it for himself, or does it for the elderly person. Doing something for selfish motives (to look good in front of others, to make a particular person think you are good, to feel good about yourself, etc.) is being nice. Doing something because the person actually needs it, however, (and when it may even inconvenience you) is being good.

Certainly, for the recipient of the action–the elderly person, for example–whether a person does something to be nice or to be good is inconsequential, because he’s getting the help that he needed. Besides, we oftentimes cannot see the motive, even if we were so inclined. Still, as Christians, we ought to consider the motive. We ought to have at least an idea whether someone is being good or is being nice, even if we stand to benefit from the action.

We also ought to consider our own motives for doing a thing. When we do something for someone, we ought to consider whether we are doing it to be good, or to be nice. This goes especially for our enemies. Jesus never told us to be nice to our enemies: Jesus told us to to be good to our enemies:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Matthew 5:44

I don’t see the word nice anywhere in that statement.

Loving our enemies doesn’t mean that we always have to do what would be convenient for them–like accepting their packages. Loving our enemies means being concerned for their welfare: especially the welfare of their eternal soul. And it means that we never do anything to hurt, harm or inconvenience them.

The stereotypical Christian is always smiling, going out of his way to help everyone (often when they don’t even need it), and telling everyone to “have a blessed day.” He is nice. Thought this may look good, it is not right. As a matter of fact, it could be dangerous. The enemy is counting on us to be nice. He is counting on us caring more for appearances than for what is good, right, and just. He is counting on us to be nice. When you are being nice, you are more concerned with what you appear to be than what you really are, and, in so doing, you are giving up ground to Satan: ground that he will exploit.

Let me illustrate this for you, as I return to the story of the DHL deliveryman.

As I said earlier, I used to accept delivery of my neighbors’ packages, and they would do the same for me. Yet, being enemies, they were, and are, also active participants in my family’s persecution. One of the things they love to do is occasionally ring our doorbell. Sometimes, it is a workman saying that he is painting an apartment upstairs or something and doesn’t have a key. Once or twice it has been a neighbor with a child, saying that the child rang our doorbell by mistake. At times, it has been the person who brings the weekly free paper or another solicitor, who wants us to let him into the building. There has even been no one there at all. But, most often, it has been the DHL deliveryman, saying that he has a package that he wants me to accept for a neighbor who isn’t at home.

Now, there was a time when this was happening more frequently than is common, and I suspected that it was intentional. It was during this time that the doorbell rang one Saturday morning, at about 7 a.m. When I went to the door, a DHL deliveryman, a woman, actually, asked if I would take a package for my next-door neighbor. Because of the hour, I refused, and when I did so, the woman got angry, and said, “Why not? They always take packages for you.” When she said this, the light bulb went on in my mind. You see, they were counting on me being nice, but rather than appreciate me being nice (and why should they, since the whole scenario was contrived?), they were using my niceness against me.

Proof that this was, in fact, the case, is that this same DHL deliveryman/woman once asked my wife to accept a package for a neighbor who lives in another stairwell of the apartment building. To be nice, my wife accepted.

I learned a very important lesson that day. And I’ve taught it to my children. As Christians, we are not supposed to be nice. We are supposed to be good. We are supposed to emulate our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus was not a nice man: Jesus was a Good Man.

Beating people with a whip (unless they ask you to: yeah, there are people like that…) and throwing their money on the ground is not nice. Calling people snakes and hypocrites is not nice. Commanding fig trees to dry up and wither away is not nice. Yet, Jesus did all these things, because He is Good. Clearly, then, what is nice is not always good, and what is good is not always nice. We would do well to remember this.

Enemies are always going to be there. Where there is life, there will be enmity (Genesis 3:14). We therefore have to manage our enemies, just like we manage all the other issues of life. And Jesus told us exactly how to manage our enemies: we have to love them, bless them, pray for them, and, do good to them. If we can’t do it for their sake, we can at least do it for Jesus’ sake.

Be encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man