Beth Moore et al and Contemplative Prayer

By Lighthouse Trails Research Editors

In the August 2010 cover story of Christianity Today, the magazine has brought out two things that the major Christian media has thus far ignored – one, that Beth Moore, described as “the most popular Bible teacher in America”  by CT is a proponent of contemplative prayer, and two, that there is a debate over whether contemplative meditation is of Eastern religious origin or not. This Lighthouse Trails special report will look at both of these facets, Beth Moore’s contemplative propensities (incidentally, she is noted in CT  for influencing “millions” of women) and the vital question as to whether contemplative prayer is indeed rooted in Eastern mysticism.

Christianity Today hit the nail right on the head when it informed its readers that:

“Critics argue that contemplative prayer is rooted in Eastern mysticism and thus not a practice that Christians should engage in.”

Lighthouse Trails has always warned that contemplative prayer is in fact rooted in Eastern mysticism, with a heavy emphasis on the word “rooted.” In Ray Yungen’s book, A Time of Departing, Yungen brings out that contemplative prayer was created by the Desert Fathers, a group of monks who lived in the desert during the early middle ages. Quoting Ken Kaisch, A Time of Departing reveals:

It was a time of great experimentation with spiritual methods. Many different kinds of disciplines were tried, some of which are too harsh or extreme for people today. Many different methods of prayer were created and explored by them. (Finding God, p. 191).

At the time, the city of Alexandria, close to where the Desert Fathers existed, was a stronghold of Eastern mysticism through the connection of King Alexander’s link to India. It is believed that the Desert Fathers utilized Eastern style meditation practices (i.e., mantra meditation), but instead of using Hindu or Buddhist mantras, they tailored this Eastern style prayer to their Christian beliefs, using “Christian” mantras. As an early treatise on contemplative prayer written by an anonymous monk, The Cloud of Unknowing, describes:  ”Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two . . . With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting.” This is why all the major icons of contemplative prayer (Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, Henri Nouwen, etc) echo the same spiritual perceptions as Eastern meditation practitioners. Thomas Merton said as he was leaving on a trip to South Asia to address Hindu and Buddhist monks: ” We left the ground– I with Christian mantras and a great sense of destiny, of being at last on my true way after years of waiting and wandering … I am going home, to the home where I have never been in this body. ” (Merton’s Asian Journal, pp. ). Henri Nouwen echoed this when he said that Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Muslim (i.e., Sufism) religion offered many treasures for the spiritual life of the Christian (in the foreword of Thomas Ryan’s Disciplines for Christian Living). 

For those who are still skeptical, the co-founder of one of the largest centers for teaching contemplative prayer, Tilden Edwards of The Shalem Institute, said that contemplative prayer is “the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality” (Edwards, Spiritual Friend, p. 18). How much more clear can this be? We could go on and on to verify the link between Eastern religion and contemplative spirituality. We have documented over 200 pages in A Time of Departing, not to mention article after article with continued documentation.

Returning to Beth Moore, while it may come as a surprise to many Christianity Today readers that Moore is being identified with contemplative “mysticism,” it is no surprise to Lighthouse Trails because in the spring of 2006, Moore was included in our coverage of a Fox Home Entertainment film titled Be Still,* an infomercial for contemplative spirituality.  Shortly after the DVD was released, Lighthouse Trails spoke with Moore’s personal assistant who said that Moore did not have a problem with Richard Foster or Dallas Willard’s teachings. To reiterate this, Living Proof Ministries issued a  statement a few weeks after the release of the DVD that stated: “[W]e believe that once you view the Be Still video you will agree that there is no problem with its expression of Truth.” Living Proof offered to send a free copy of the DVD to anyone who receives their email statement and wishes to view the DVD, saying that, “[I]t would be our privilege to do this for you to assure you that there is no problem with Beth’s participation in the Be Still video.” This statement was issued because several women contacted Moore’s ministry after reading the Lighthouse Trail report on the Be Still DVD.

In the Be Still DVD, countless enticements, references, and comments clearly show its affinity with contemplative spirituality. For instance, Richard Foster says that anyone can practice contemplative prayer and become a “portable sanctuary” for God. This backs up other statements by Foster over the course of the past thirty years in which he believes that even a non-believer in Christ can participate in the “spiritual discipline” of silence and have an encounter with God. The assumption by all mystics is that God dwells in all people, and meditation will help them to realize their own Divinity. This panentheistic view of God is very typical for contemplatives. As Ray Yungen points out, those who practice contemplative prayer begin to view God through panentheistic (God in all) and interspiritual (all is united) eyes. Thomas Merton, whom Foster has admired publicly for many years, believed that all human beings have divinity within, and this divinity can be accessed through contemplative prayer, thereby making the Cross of Jesus unnecessary for union with God. We believe that the reason for this change in spiritual outlook for those who continue practicing contemplative meditation (i.e., mantra-like meditation) is that these altered states of consciousness actually engage the practitioner with demonic realms leading to spiritual deception.

The underlying theme of the Be Still DVD is that we cannot truly know God or be intimate with Him without contemplative prayer and the state of silence that it produces. While the DVD is vague and lacking in actual instruction on word or phrase repetition (which lies at the heart of contemplative prayer), it is very misleading, to say the least. What they don’t say in the DVD is that this state of stillness or silence is, for the most part, achieved through some method such as mantra-like meditation. The purpose of the DVD, in essence, is not to instruct in contemplative prayer but rather to make you and your family hungry for it. The DVD even promises that practicing the silence will heal your family problems.

The thoughtful and discerning Christian needs to ask whether the Be Still DVD is an accurate “expression of Truth,” as Beth Moore says it is, and is there truly “no problem with Beth’s participation” in this project? Considering the fact that Christianity Today calls Moore “the most popular Bible teacher in America,” these are fair questions to ask. Moore has the potential of leading  millions of women in a spiritually dangerous direction. Those women in turn will bring this mystical teaching home to their husbands, children, and churches. In the Be Still DVD, Moore states: “[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There’s got to be a stillness.” Moore says that it is not possible to “truly know” that He is God without “a stillness.” She is not talking about a quiet place to pray and spend time in God’s word, but rather she is talking about a stillness of the mind – this is what contemplatives strive for – unless you practice this stillness of the mind, your relationship with the Lord is inadequate. According to Beth Moore, you don’t even know Him in the way you should.

Many reading this may be asking, is there any other evidence as to where Moore really stands with regard to contemplative. The answer to that may at least partially be found in a book she wrote in 2002 called When Godly People Do Ungodly Things. In a section about “Unceasing Prayer,” Moore states:

I have picked up on the terminology of Brother Lawrence [a Carmelite mystic who said he "cried out, singing and dancing  violently like a madman" when he went into the "presence"1], who called praying unceasingly practicing God’s presence. In fact, practicing God’s presence has been my number one goal for the last year. (p. 109)

Moore says: “A head full of biblical knowledge without a heart passionately in love with Christ is terribly dangerous–a stronghold waiting to happen. The head is full, but the heart and soul are still unsatisfied” (p. 60). This language is very indicative of contemplatives and echoes Richard Foster who said we have become barren within or Rick Warren who says the church is not fully mature without spiritual formation ala Foster and Willard (i.e., contemplative prayer)  (The Purpose Driven Church, p. 126-127 ). However, all of this talk leads one to think that the Word of God is little more than a philosophy and needs the help of contemplative prayer to be effective at all. The insinuation is that the Holy Spirit is dormant and ineffective without this vital stimuli.  Contemplatives are making a distinction between studying and meditating on the Word of God versus loving Him, suggesting that we cannot love Him or know Him simply by studying His Word or even through normal prayer–we must practice contemplative to accomplish this. But the Bible makes it clear that the Word of God is living and active, and it is in filling our minds with it that we come to love Him and know Him, not through a mystical practice that is never once mentioned in the Bible, except in warnings against vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7) and Old Testament warnings against seeking to make contact with the spirit world or going into altered states of consciousness (Deuteronomy 18:11).

In Moore’s book, she makes frequent references to contemplative pioneer Brennan Manning, stating that his contribution to “our generation of believers may be a gift without parallel” (p. 72). This is indeed a troubling statement made by “the most popular Bible teacher in America.”  No doubt, many of the women who follow Moore, in reading her comments about Manning and her quoting of him have turned to the writings of Manning for further insights. Why wouldn’t they when their favorite Bible teacher speaks so highly of him? When they do turn to him, they will find that Manning is a devout admirer of Beatrice Bruteau, founder of  The School for Contemplation. Bruteau wrote the foreword to a book called The Mystic Heart by New Age mystic Wayne Teasdale, a book that actually lays out that contemplative prayer will unite Christianity with all the world’s religions at a mystical level. And yet, in Manning’s book, Abba’s Child, he says that Bruteau is a “trustworthy guide to contemplative consciousness.”  Manning  backs his love for “contemplative consciousness” by stating the following:

[T]he first step in faith is to stop thinking about God at the time of prayer. (The Signature of Jesus, p. 212)

Choose a single, sacred word or phrase that captures something of the flavor of your intimate relationship with God. A word such as Jesus, Abba, Peace, God or a phrase such as “Abba, I belong to you.” … Without moving your lips, repeat the sacred word inwardly, slowly, and often. (SoJ, p. 218)

When distractions come, … simply return to listening to your sacred word…. [G]ently return [your mind] to your sacred word. (SoJ, p. 218)

[E]nter into the great silence of God. Alone in that silence, the noise within will subside and the Voice of Love will be heard. (SoJ, p. 218)

This is the contemplative prayer that Beth Moore is promoting – Manning’s contemplative prayer. Furthering Beth Moore’s great admiration for Manning, she quotes him from his book Ragamuffin Gospel calling the book “one of the most remarkable books” (p. 290) she has ever read. But it is this very book that reveals Manning’s true affinity with contemplative spirituality. In the back of the book, Manning makes reference to Catholic priest and mystic Basil Pennington saying that Pennington’s methods will provide us with “a way of praying that leads to a deep living relationship with God.” However, most assuredly Pennington’s methods of prayer draw from Eastern religions. In his book, Finding Grace at the Center, Pennington says:

We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and “capture” it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible. Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices. (from A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., p.64, quoting Finding Grace at the Center, pp. 5-6)

Pennington also says that the Holy Spirit is the soul of the human family (Centered Living, The Way of Centering Prayer, p. 104).

In Ragamuffin Gospel, Manning cites Carl Jung as well as interspiritualists and contemplative msytics, Anthony De Mello (see note below), Marcus Borg (denies the Virgin birth and Jesus being Son of God), Morton Kelsey, Gerald May, Henri Nouwen, Annie Dillard, Alan Jones (who denies the atonement), Eugene Peterson, and goddess worshipper Sue Monk Kidd. This is a list of mystics that any discerning Bible teacher would never point followers to either directly or indirectly!

For Moore to call Manning’s book “remarkable” and to say his contribution to this generation of believers is “a gift without parallel” leads one to conclude that Beth Moore has absorbed Manning’s spirituality. And if that is the case, which we believe it to be, then Moore, as nice and well intentioned as she may be, has become another conduit for a panentheistic spirituality.

 What makes the Christianity Today’s August issue noteworthy is that this is the first time to our knowledge since the beginning of Lighthouse Trails in 2002 where a major Christian media has publicly recognized that there is a “debate” going on about contemplative spirituality (i.e., spiritual formation). While they did not identify  Lighthouse Trails as one of the “critics” of this debate, nevertheless they have  helped to bring it to the table and give it a broader platform. We would like to note here that over the past eight years thousands of believers have contacted Lighthouse Trails and do see what is taking place. This is not just something that only a handful of people see, albeit a minority in the church.

Lighthouse Trails sincerely implores Beth Moore and all Christian leaders going in the contemplative direction to take an honest look at the evidence that contemplative prayer IS rooted in Eastern mysticism. Nothing else explains the affinity that so many practitioners have for Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism. As Merton told a Sufi teacher, “My prayer tends very much to what you call fana” (Thomas Merton, My Brother, Pennington, p. 115). Fana is the same as Hindu Samadhi and Buddhist nirvana. Merton went on to explain how mystical meditation even eclipses the need to believe in Jesus’ atoning and saving work on the Cross. To the Sufi teacher, Merton stated:

Personally, in matters where dogmatic beliefs differ, I think that controversy [“the doctrine of atonement or the theory of redemption,” said the Sufi teacher] is of little value because it takes us away from the spiritual realities into the realm of words and ideas . . . . But much more important is the sharing of the experience of divine light, . . . It is here that the area of fruitful dialogue exists between Christianity and Islam. (Merton and Sufism, p. 109)

It is essential to grasp the significance of what is being said here: Merton believed that the doctrines that are the essence of Christianity (such as atonement and salvation) were irrelevant and actually, if taken seriously, were an  impediment to religious unity. The complete union of all the world’s religions cannot be accomplished  without a form of mysticism within Christianity-that form is contemplative prayer, the very thing that a growing and large number of Christian leaders are propagating today!

It is this that motivates Lighthouse Trails to continue issuing a warning. We are not haters, as some have supposed; in fact we love people,( including those who promote contemplative prayer) and feel compelled to warn them about the spiritual land mines buried within the mystical paths on which they have embarked.

Footnote:

1. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, translated by John Delaney, Image Books, 1977, p. 34

---

Note: The writer of the Christianity Today article, “First Came the Bible,” is Halee Gray Scott, a writer and a faculty member at Wesley Seminary and A. W. Tozer Theological Seminary. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Talbot School of Theology, where her research interests include leadership development and spiritual formation.

Many of the quotes in this report are taken from A Time of Departing. Click here for information on A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen.

Also read: Richard Foster and the Be Still DVD
*To view a transcript of the entire Be Still DVD, please contact us.

Quote by ANTHONY DEMELLO ON CONTEMPLATIVE SILENCE:

To silence the mind is an extremely difficult task. How hard it is to keep the mind from thinking, thinking, thinking, forever thinking, forever producing thoughts in a never ending stream. Our Hindu masters in India have a saying: one thorn is removed by another. By this they mean that you will be wise to use one thought to rid yourself of all the other thoughts that crowd into your mind. One thought, one image, one phrase or sentence or word that your mind can be made to fasten on. Anthony de Mello, Sadhana: A Way to God (St. Louis, the Institute of Jesuit Resources, 1978), p. 28.

(HT: Lighthouse Trails Research)

Israel at the Rubicon

By Sean Osborne

After years of endless debate, delayed decisions, additional deliberations, bald-faced lies and disinformation, followed by economic sanctions packages piled upon other ineffective economic sanctions packages, coupled with incessant Iranian and Western bellicose rhetoric which would have been considered casus belli in years gone by, the announcement made on Friday by Sergei Novikov, the spokesman for the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), that the fueling of the Iranian Bushehr nuclear plant will commence on Saturday, 21 August has left the State of Israel standing on the southern bank of a literal River Rubicon.

In the absence of a decision by Western governments, the United States of America in particular, to back up its own rhetoric with concrete actions, Israel has been left holding the baggage containing approximately 144 hours of time. At the conclusion of those 144 hours it will have become irreversibly too late for military action to halt Iran and its current apocalyptic regime's nuclear weapons program. This is the conventional wisdom being related by many subject matter experts in the past 36 hours, experts such as former Ambassador John Bolton. Bolton's comments to Fox News last Friday speak of just such a window of time remaining.

However, there's another window no one is openly considering, a window that may likely already have closed. The name of this window is "Russian nuclear technicians at Bushehr." Those Russian technicians effectively constitute a "human shield" guarding against a pre-emptive Israeli strike on the Bushehr reactor complex. Not to mention the Russian VIPs who will begin arriving on-site at the Bushehr complex for the opening ceremonies prior to the end of the 144 hours.

Short of starting a war with Russia, the physical presence of Russian technicians at Bushehr affords Israel no option but to focus its contingency plans against deeply buried Iranian enrichment cascades, weaponization plants and delivery systems as well as the suppression of Iran's military retaliation capabilities. The Iranian response to an Israel air assault also includes thousands of missiles, some of them likely tipped with biological or chemical weapons in Lebanon (Hezbollah) and Syria, as well as an Iranian assault against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Have I just described a recipe for an armageddon-like scenario to unfold in the Middle East? No doubt about it. This is precisely the type of scenario the leaders of apocalyptic Iran want more than anything. Great chess players those Iranians. So here stands Israel on the southern bank of the River Rubicon with virtually no time left to ponder her next move. Irregardless of the next action taken this world will never be the same, and only the ancient Biblical prophets have told us what lies ahead.

(HT: BPT)

The Express Image of God

By Mike Ratliff

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2 ESV)

I heard a sermon once a long time ago in which the preacher defined a cult as any religious group that called itself Christian but denied the orthodox view of any person of the our Triune God. That means that those who deny the Doctrine of the Trinity, according to that definition, are not Christians, but heretics. The man-centered part of each of us, that is the flesh, rebels from such a strict “legalistic” view, but as our faith becomes more and more God Centered in all its aspects, that view becomes entirely justified in our hearts because as we come to know God as He reveals Himself to His children, we will not doubt His Word nor will we attempt to overlay His truth with “altered” truth nor will we add to it nor subtract from it nor take it out of context in order to make it more man centered. If we compromised and did those things we would do so in order to become more acceptable to the majority and not be excluded and hated by the world and those who call themselves Christians, but who are really just part of the world system.

᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. (John 1:1-2 GNT)

Above is John 1:1,2 from the Greek New Testament. I placed the ESV version of this passage at the top of this post. I remember writing a post once in which I exegeted this passage, focusing primarily on the Apostle John’s use of Λόγος or logos here, which the ESV translates as “Word” to refer to our Lord Jesus Christ. The discussion was very good, but I was amazed at the contact I received from so many who were upset that we were focusing on our Lord Jesus Christ this way as being eternal and God even though there was absolutely no way they could refute the exegesis of the passage without doing serious damage to context. The reason I brought this up before we go to our primary text for this post is that we must understand that not everyone who claims that they are Christians or Christ followers or whatever they call themselves nowadays, is truly in Christ because in their theology, He is not God.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

In the first four verses from Hebrews 1 in order keep v3 in context. I wanted to make sure that everyone would understand who the “He” is that the writer of Hebrews is referring to. As we can see, it is the Son, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is v3 from the Greek New Testament.

ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ καθαρισμὸν ποιησάμενος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, (Hebrews 1:3 GNT)

The ESV says that our Lord is, “the radiance of the glory of God” this is wonderful and we have already looked at this. The Apostles witnessed this when our Lord was Transfigured before them just prior to His crucifixion. In any case, let us concentrate on the next phrase, “and the exact imprint of his nature.” This is a translation of the Greek words, “καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως.” The KJV translates this as “and the express image of his person.” Of course the “his” there is referring to God. The ESV’s rendering of “exact imprint” and the KJV’s rendering of “express image” are attempts to translate χαρακτὴρ or charaktēr. I am sure you can see that our English word “character” is a direct transliteration of χαρακτὴρ. This word is used in the Bible only here in Hebrew 1:3. The history of this word’s development in Greek tells us that it always referred in some way to an engraving process or the impression made by a carver or the stamp for making coins or a character in writing. However, eventually it came to refer to the basic bodily and psychological structure with which one is born, which is unique to the person and which cannot be changed by education or development. Of course, the Word of God is telling us here that our Lord Jesus Christ is the χαρακτὴρ of the person of God and as we see in John 1, He was not created or born, but was there as God in the midst of the creation of the Universe. Jesus Christ is God because His the χαρακτὴρ of the person God.

The next part of the phrase “ὑποστάσεως” or hupostasis speaks of that which stands under something else, that is, the foundation of something, the true essence and substance of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the express image of God and of the exact same essence and substance as Him. Our Lord is not a created being. He is not a glorified angel or man. He is God. He and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are the Triune God whom genuine Christians love and worship and serve daily with their all. Jesus Christ became incarnate as a man and when we go to be with Him in eternity, we will be with Him and He with us forever. This is what I live for now. Do you?

Soli Deo Gloria!

(HT: Possessing the Treasure)

Fighting Sin

By Ken Silva

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey its passions. (Romans 6:12)

Sin is not to be king over your mortal bodies. Sin is not to be obeyed. Your body is to be used for righteousness since you have been brought from death to life. Sin must not be allowed to be king, because grace reigns in the believer. You are not to take orders from sin any longer, but rather sin has been dethroned and grace has been enthroned. The believer’s life must be a demonstration of victory over sin through the grace of our Lord.

Sin is evil no matter where it is found, but it is even worse when it is found in the life of the believer. Why is sin worse in the believer than in the unbeliever? First, the believer has the Spirit of God to restrain him from sin and is without excuse. Second, the believer sins against great mercy. The unbeliever who sins has not yet experienced mercy, but the believer has and he ought to know better than to sin.

Third, the believer sins with a clearer view of sin. The unbeliever does not see sin to the degree that the believer does. Fourth, the believer sins against sweeter experiences. The believer has walked with the Lord of glory and experienced his power, love, and beauty where the unbeliever has had none of these experiences. Fifth, the believer sins against his own family. The believer has been adopted into the family of God and he sins against his heavenly Father. The unbeliever simply sins in agreement with his hellish father.

Sixth, the believer sins against his confession. The believer has verbally acknowledged his allegiance to the Lord where the unbeliever simply lives in agreement with his nature. Seventh, the believer’s sins bring a greater blight upon the church. When unbelievers sin it is simply what is expected. However, when the believer sins; it causes the world to look upon the church as a bunch of hypocrites. Lastly, the sins of believers harden the wicked even harder.

The unbelievers revolt more and more against grace when they see such unrighteousness in the lives of those who confess Christianity. Sin in the believer has tremendous effects upon the world and it sullies the name of the Lord. Dearly beloved, sin must be fought against every day for the rest of your life. Do not submit unto the kingship of sin and do not obey its commands.

Sin is a wicked taskmaster and will destroy your life. Submit yourself unto King Jesus daily and present your body to Him as an instrument of righteousness.

J. Randall Easter, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Briar, Azle, TX.
II Timothy 2:19

“He who sells cheapest shall have most customers; the devil knows that it is a cheap and easy doctrine which pleases the flesh, and he doubts not but he shall have customers enough.” (Thomas Watson)

(HT: Apprising Ministries)

Eternally Sealed - That Means Now and Forever

By Justin Edwards

A brief survey of Scripture, not exclusive by any means, reveals that those who have been justified by faith, who have been born again, who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who have been chosen by God, who have been promised the inheritance, who are kept by the right hand of God, who are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God, who have been saved by the mercy and grace of the Sovereign Creator over all creation, who have been imputed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who have been perfected forever - are eternally sealed with the Holy Spirit until the Day of Redemption and will reign with the Lord of Glory for life everlasting.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who does everything for His glory and His glory alone!

Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Jude 1:24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,25 To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Romans 8:33-34 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Titus 3:3-7 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

John 6:39-40 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

What is Ramadan?

By Dr. David Hocking

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is considered to be the month of fasting. Muslims are to refrain from eating, drinking, and sexual activity from dawn until sunset. Muslims believe that fasting teaches them about patience, humility, and spirituality.

Muslims are encouraged to pray more than usual during this month and to ask forgiveness from Allah (the name of their god) for past sins and to purify themselves through self-restraint and good works.

Muslims believe that the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the prophet Muhammad at Ramadan, and all Muslims are encouraged to read through the entire Quran during this month.

A Christian Response: We believe that only the true God, the LORD GOD of Israel and His Messiah, our blessed LORD YESHUA, can forgive the sins of any person. Yeshua (Jesus) died for our sins - paid for them with His own blood, and we are saved from sin, death, and hell, by believing that He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the only One Who can save us! Yeshua arose from the dead on the third day after His death, and ascended into heaven and will soon return for those who believe in Him. John 14:6 quotes Him when He said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” Acts 4:12 teaches that there is no salvation in any other Person or Name!

Bible-believing Christians have a great desire and passion to present the true gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the Muslims of this world.

(HT: BPT)

The Watchtower's Discussion on False Prophets Convicts Itself

By Jason Smathers

The Watchtower Tract and Bible Society, better known as Jehovah's Witnesses, publishes a daily reader for their members. This years reader, Examining the Scriptures Daily—2010, explains it's purpose in the forward on page four: "For each day of the year, it highlights a Scriptural text—a gem of wisdom from Jehovah, who inspired the writing of the Bible. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) Following each text are supporting comments taken from recent issues of The Watchtower."

The reading for today, August 12, 2010, found on page 81, is exceptionally heretical and I feel compelled to bring it into the light:

Thursday, August 12

Do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God.—1 John 4:1.

In harmony with John’s counsel, we always encourage those we meet in the preaching work to test what they have been taught by comparing it with the Bible. That is a good rule for us too. If any statements come to our ears that are critical of the truth or that cast aspersions on the congregation, the elders, or any of our brothers, we do not accept them at face value. Rather, we ask: “Is the one spreading this story acting in harmony with what the Bible says? Do these stories or allegations further Jehovah’s purpose? Do they promote the peace of the congregation?” A sound rule is found in the words of the apostle Paul: “Do not go beyond the things that are written.” (1 Cor. 4:6) Yes, we should not go beyond the things that are written in the Bible or, by extension, beyond the Bible-based counsel written in the publications of the faithful and discreet slave. w08 4/15 1:18, 19

This reading comes from 1 John 4:1 out of the New World Translation (NWT) followed by an excerpt from the April 15, 2008 edition of The Watchtower magazine. The Watchtower magazine is numbered like a Bible, you will find this excerpt from the first article, paragraphs 18 and 19 (w08 4/15 1:18, 19). The Watchtower Tract and Bible Society has their own version of the Bible, the NWT. The NWT isn't a translation at all, as evidenced by the lack of experience in Greek and Hebrew held by the translating team. The NWT is a revision of the Bible done to support the positions of The Watchtower Tract and Bible Society.

It is no wonder they number The Watchtower like a Bible, Jehovah's Witnesses treat The Watchtower equal to the Bible. They admit so much here in this text:

"we should not go beyond the things that are written in the Bible or, by extension, beyond the Bible-based counsel written in the publications of the faithful and discreet slave"

Today, Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the Watchtower organization is the faithful and wise servant of Matthew 24:45, a claim once made by the founder Charles Taze Russell. The claim they are making is that publications of The Watchtower are equally infallible and inspired as the Bible is. They are instructing Jehovah's Witnesses to evaluate statements for truthfulness by examining not only the Bible, but The Watchtower.

This is exactly what John is warning us against!

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1 (ESV)

How are we to test the Watchtower to see if it is from God? According to scripture, we are to compare it with scripture. The Watchtower says differently, The Watchtower says to test against not only scripture but against itself. Indeed, The Watchtower is a false prophet.

The Watchtower has added an additional test, not of the Bible, to determine if something is true. "Do they promote the peace of the congregation?" Calling your elder a false prophet is not going to promote the peace of the congregation, but it is true. This is an example of how The Watchtower trains Jehovah's Witnesses to be loyal to the organization, placing it above God and His Word.

We find some good advice hidden among heresy:

A sound rule is found in the words of the apostle Paul: “Do not go beyond the things that are written.” (1 Cor. 4:6)

Listen to Paul, not the Watchtower. The Watchtower itself goes beyond the things that are written. Paul was talking about the Bible, not The Watchtower.

(HT: Witnesses Unto Me)