Thursday, June 18, 2009
Young Mother with terminal cancer - Rachel's Faith that Saves
I just saw an incredible testimony of a young mother who is coming to grips with terminal cancer - I was overjoyed at her incredible faith and emphasis on "Jesus is God"! It's about 50 minutes but well worth anyone's time....CLICK HERE.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Yoke that is easy...The burden that is light.
God gives many gifts to His children, I’m sure most would agree. Do any of His gifts need to be actively received or are they passively bestowed? How about the gift of the Holy Spirit? When we believe in Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit – the Spirit is bestowed upon us. We need not believe this in order for it to be true. We need not believe in the gift in order to receive the gift. We need only believe in Him.
In the same vein, eternal life is not something we need to understand or believe to receive – it is bestowed upon us the moment we believe in Jesus, whether we fully understand/acknowledge it or not. So what does it mean to “believe” – so many verses point us to the fact that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. It is the “heart” of who He is and therefore, I would posit, what one must believe in order to have the gift of eternal salvation bestowed upon them.
It gives me comfort to know that this encompasses all of Christendom, with its differences regarding fellowship, faith, Christian life, doctrines, dogmas and theological deviations – the tie that binds the church universal is Jesus Christ. I look forward to the day when Catholics and Protestants, Lordship adherents and Free Grace adherents, Calvinists and Arminians bask in the light of the Way, the Truth and the Life before the one true God forever. His yoke is easy…His burden is light.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Peace found only in Grace
Through the back and forth in the Free Grace camp, I have really been trying to understand something that is truly incomprehensible to the human mind, the Grace of God.
My soteriology has been refined and I’ve formed some very strong convictions about saving faith. I believe most definitely that the work of God through Christ and the promise of God are the two most prominent vehicles He uses to bring people to saving faith. I still hold to all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are saved – believe (or trust) in Him, who he is rather that what He’s done, what He is doing or what He will do. Pondering Grace I’ve come to the conclusion that the Grace of God, while incomprehensible in it’s entirety, is not something that is easily discerned at the level of saving faith, even within Christendom. So many walls are put up to keep “them” out and keep “us” in. Many of these walls were built, I believe, during and after the reformation and certainly have as their foundation both anti-Catholic and anti-protestant sentiments. I know many Catholics, even while adhering to the teachings of Catholicism are saved. I know many protestants, even while adhering to the tenets of their denomination are saved.
I adhere to a slightly revised evangelical sentiment of faith alone in Christ alone – one must trust (faith) in Jesus Christ alone as God. I’m not undermining the Trinity or becoming a modalist – simply stating the truth that God is one, Jesus Christ is God and saving faith comes solely through belief in Him.
I’m starting to see that God’s grace escapes the human mind by way of its exceeding richness and the sheer magnitude of its bounty. I’m at peace and happy to call most Catholics my brother or sister in Christ based on the simple profession that Jesus Christ alone is God and there is no other. This will undoubtedly have many of my Evangelical brothers and sisters crying heresy and I’m alright with that as long as I’m standing on the Word of God….I’m alright. I rejoice at having a spiritual family much larger than I ever imagined.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Bread Franchise
Just an update on our specialty bread franchise. To view a video by the local NBC station CLICK HERE.
I thought some of you might like to see what we do and get a glimpse at what a specialty bread franchise might look like.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Bread Poets Franchise
Juanita and I have been blessed in many ways with our business, Bread Poets Baking Company, it’s been an incredible ten years (we celebrated our tenth anniversary on September 15th). Looking forward to the next ten years, we are extremely excited – we have refined (sound familiar?) our systems and recipes to the point that they are easy to replicate. We truly feel we can duplicate what we’ve been doing in
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Converting from Islam
I've been somewhat "absent" from the blogosphere as of late. Our business has grown quite rapidly and so has our baby - now 4 months old and 18 pounds!
I came across a great story and just wanted to share it with everyone....CLICK HERE.
I came across a great story and just wanted to share it with everyone....CLICK HERE.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Church of Oprah
I've been following Harpo Studio's entrance into the ring of religion and found this article from www.gotquestions.org very good:
Question: "What is the "church of Oprah
Answer: Oprah Winfrey is arguably one of the most influential women in the world. With a daily viewership that has peaked at around 10 million, the Oprah Winfrey Show definitely has the potential to impact the lives of many people. The Oprah Winfrey Show definitely promotes much that is good. However, there is another side of Oprah that has only recently become an integral part of her show—and that is her rejection of biblical Christianity. Oprah has made statements on her show in the past that have given a small glimpse into her personal spiritual beliefs, speaking mostly about her belief that there are many ways, millions even, for a person to "get to what some call God."
This more recent exposure of her beliefs revolves around the book "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, which she helped to make a best-seller by promoting it on Oprah's Book Club and on her website. Beyond simply promoting the book, Oprah has partnered with Tolle in presenting weekly online webcast classes in order to explore the ideas and principles expressed in "A New Earth."
Some have gone as far as labeling Oprah a cult leader—and with good reason. She is a figurehead for the promotion and propagation of anti-biblical beliefs which deny every foundational truth of historical Christianity. Her webcasts have attracted hundreds of thousands of participants with the promise of gaining new perspectives on how to live a life of enrichment, peace, newfound self-worth, and spiritual freedom.
Eckhart Tolle, a well-known New Age author and speaker, promotes nothing short of personal divinity in his teachings. In an attempt to deceive people into thinking that his religion is compatible with Christianity, Tolle occasionally quotes from the Bible and refers to biblical principles. The problem is that Eckhart Tolle's book, "A New Earth," is in complete opposition to biblical Christianity from cover to cover. Nearly every reference to, or quote of, Scripture, is twisted by Tolle's consistent misinterpretation and misunderstanding.
Consider what can be found in just the pages of the first chapter: evolution of life over millions of years is accepted, assumed, and understood to be fact; Jesus is misquoted; flowers, crystals, precious stones, and birds are believed to be temporary manifestations of the Universal Consciousness and are themselves considered enlightened life-forms; the definition of sin is misinterpreted; Jesus Christ is thought of as just one of those rare people who, like the Buddha, achieved divine consciousness; other religions, such as Buddhism, are considered just as valid and true as Christianity; an early Christian cult, Gnosticism, is portrayed as one of the few groups who actually understood the teachings of Jesus; original sin was simply a forgetting of the connectedness and oneness with the Source, along with everything else connected with the Source—a delusion of separateness; heaven is portrayed as merely an "inner realm of consciousness."
These beliefs, these teachings, are found in just the first chapter. Obviously, and without a doubt, Eckhart Tolle is promoting a new religion, one which combines the most mystical aspects of every major religion. The first chapter, of course, sets up the tone and direction for the rest of the book. This direction happens to be as far from biblical truth as is possible. If you are concerned at all with whether or not this book is compatible with the Christian faith, you need not read any further than the first chapter to understand what Tolle believes and what Oprah is encouraging others to believe.
Tolle ends the book writing about the new Heaven and new Earth spoken of in Revelation 21. He states near the end of chapter ten:
"The only existence the future actually has is as a thought form in your mind, so when you look to the future for salvation, you are unconsciously looking to your own mind for salvation. You are trapped in form, and that is ego. 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth,' writes the biblical prophet. [T]he foundation for a new earth is a new heaven - the awakened consciousness. The earth - external reality - is only its outer reflection. The arising of a new heaven and by implication a new earth are not future events that are going to make us free. Nothing is going to make us free because only the present moment can make us free. That realization is the awakening. Awakening as a future event has no meaning because awakening is the realization of Presence. So the new heaven, the awakened consciousness, is not a future state to be achieved. A new heaven and a new earth are arising within you at this moment, and if they are not arising at this moment, they are no more than a thought in your head and therefore not arising at all. What did Jesus tell his disciples? 'Heaven is right here in the midst of you.'"
In line and in continued progression with chapter one, chapter ten places the final stamp of approval on a belief system completely void of biblical truth. Salvation is presented as a state of being achieved through one's own power; heaven is referred to as simply a state of consciousness; and Jesus Christ is relegated to a spiritual master who taught that one only need look within oneself to find spiritual release. Scripture is used only out of context and presented as obscurely as possible.
There is no room for Jesus Christ the Messiah, the God-Man, nor His teachings in Oprah's and Tolle's belief system. In fact, they propose that all people free their minds from such beliefs. Truly, deception is the only true thing that Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey offer. They, and those that follow their teachings, have fallen for Satan’s original lie, “you will be like God”
Answer: Oprah Winfrey is arguably one of the most influential women in the world. With a daily viewership that has peaked at around 10 million, the Oprah Winfrey Show definitely has the potential to impact the lives of many people. The Oprah Winfrey Show definitely promotes much that is good. However, there is another side of Oprah that has only recently become an integral part of her show—and that is her rejection of biblical Christianity. Oprah has made statements on her show in the past that have given a small glimpse into her personal spiritual beliefs, speaking mostly about her belief that there are many ways, millions even, for a person to "get to what some call God."
This more recent exposure of her beliefs revolves around the book "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, which she helped to make a best-seller by promoting it on Oprah's Book Club and on her website. Beyond simply promoting the book, Oprah has partnered with Tolle in presenting weekly online webcast classes in order to explore the ideas and principles expressed in "A New Earth."
Some have gone as far as labeling Oprah a cult leader—and with good reason. She is a figurehead for the promotion and propagation of anti-biblical beliefs which deny every foundational truth of historical Christianity. Her webcasts have attracted hundreds of thousands of participants with the promise of gaining new perspectives on how to live a life of enrichment, peace, newfound self-worth, and spiritual freedom.
Eckhart Tolle, a well-known New Age author and speaker, promotes nothing short of personal divinity in his teachings. In an attempt to deceive people into thinking that his religion is compatible with Christianity, Tolle occasionally quotes from the Bible and refers to biblical principles. The problem is that Eckhart Tolle's book, "A New Earth," is in complete opposition to biblical Christianity from cover to cover. Nearly every reference to, or quote of, Scripture, is twisted by Tolle's consistent misinterpretation and misunderstanding.
Consider what can be found in just the pages of the first chapter: evolution of life over millions of years is accepted, assumed, and understood to be fact; Jesus is misquoted; flowers, crystals, precious stones, and birds are believed to be temporary manifestations of the Universal Consciousness and are themselves considered enlightened life-forms; the definition of sin is misinterpreted; Jesus Christ is thought of as just one of those rare people who, like the Buddha, achieved divine consciousness; other religions, such as Buddhism, are considered just as valid and true as Christianity; an early Christian cult, Gnosticism, is portrayed as one of the few groups who actually understood the teachings of Jesus; original sin was simply a forgetting of the connectedness and oneness with the Source, along with everything else connected with the Source—a delusion of separateness; heaven is portrayed as merely an "inner realm of consciousness."
These beliefs, these teachings, are found in just the first chapter. Obviously, and without a doubt, Eckhart Tolle is promoting a new religion, one which combines the most mystical aspects of every major religion. The first chapter, of course, sets up the tone and direction for the rest of the book. This direction happens to be as far from biblical truth as is possible. If you are concerned at all with whether or not this book is compatible with the Christian faith, you need not read any further than the first chapter to understand what Tolle believes and what Oprah is encouraging others to believe.
Tolle ends the book writing about the new Heaven and new Earth spoken of in Revelation 21. He states near the end of chapter ten:
"The only existence the future actually has is as a thought form in your mind, so when you look to the future for salvation, you are unconsciously looking to your own mind for salvation. You are trapped in form, and that is ego. 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth,' writes the biblical prophet. [T]he foundation for a new earth is a new heaven - the awakened consciousness. The earth - external reality - is only its outer reflection. The arising of a new heaven and by implication a new earth are not future events that are going to make us free. Nothing is going to make us free because only the present moment can make us free. That realization is the awakening. Awakening as a future event has no meaning because awakening is the realization of Presence. So the new heaven, the awakened consciousness, is not a future state to be achieved. A new heaven and a new earth are arising within you at this moment, and if they are not arising at this moment, they are no more than a thought in your head and therefore not arising at all. What did Jesus tell his disciples? 'Heaven is right here in the midst of you.'"
In line and in continued progression with chapter one, chapter ten places the final stamp of approval on a belief system completely void of biblical truth. Salvation is presented as a state of being achieved through one's own power; heaven is referred to as simply a state of consciousness; and Jesus Christ is relegated to a spiritual master who taught that one only need look within oneself to find spiritual release. Scripture is used only out of context and presented as obscurely as possible.
There is no room for Jesus Christ the Messiah, the God-Man, nor His teachings in Oprah's and Tolle's belief system. In fact, they propose that all people free their minds from such beliefs. Truly, deception is the only true thing that Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey offer. They, and those that follow their teachings, have fallen for Satan’s original lie, “you will be like God”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
