As the politicians continue in their daily tasks of stealing election and perpetuating their positions of power, we are reminded that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. How sad it will be when those who spend their lives in the endeavor of accumulation, stand before the Great White Throne and say themselves, "Now I'll get what I deserve!"

They sure will.

“What are you under earth are you possibly talking about?” asked Satan.
“Well Sir, you are aware of our plan to destroy souls via “facebook, twitter” etc…., well Sir, it seems to have backfired.”
James Clapper and FBI Director Comer almost choked on their “leg of demon.”
“WHAT? Tell me Screwtape, and make it short and accurate! Do you hear me?”
“Yesl Sir, it seems all the real Christians that we thought we had trapped, have taken a pledge to not post any more messages on facebook, twitter or ANY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITE, unless they also say “I pray God will be able to Bless You’ and quote at least ONE verse of Scripture!”
Now the Devil choked. He threw down his fork and threatened to order nine demons to grab Screwtape and throw him as close as possible to the Pending Lake of Fire that was waiting out back!
“How under earth did you let this happen???  Tell me, you miserable little piece of cinder-to-be! WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP IT?” Did you say ALL of the Christians?”
“NO SIR! Just those who are real, and not just pretending to be Christians!”
“It seems some fanatics out there in New Mexico were the first ones to take the PLEDGE and now millions and millions of them are doing it! Our prize project is being flooded with ‘the Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ!’ And there’s not a thing we can do about it except send out more demons to sit on their shoulders and whisper, “Don’t do that! Don’t do that! It’ll make you look like a fanatic and your ‘friends’ will laugh at you! Don’t do that!”
“Every last one of them (the hated Christians) have pledged,
“LORD give me_______ __________ the courage to stand up for You. Remind me dear Lord, that every time I post ANYTHING on Social Media to always say ‘I pray God will be able to Bless You’ and ALWAYS post at least one verse of Scripture!”
“We have tried ridicule by ‘friends’ that don’t believe, but it looks like not even that is working. BUT I HAVE A PLAN! Please don’t throw me near the Pending Lake of Fire….!”
“What’s your plan???” Screamed Lucifer. ‘Tell me if you can, you miserable little scoop of ashes!’”
“Sir!” trembled Screwtape, “The only solution is to shut it all down and come up with something else. Yes, I know Mark Zuckerberg and the others will be disappointed but there are more out there that will do our bidding.”
Satan held his head in his hands and lamented with flaming hot tears,
“My greatest brain-storm tuned against me! Who would have thought the very tool I planned to use to take over the world and keep all of them away from Jesus, will now be used against me? Curses! Curses! Curses! Laments, Laments, Laments!”
Clapper, Comer and the other appointed trolls and all the “mainstream media” present fainted dead away, and as the “legs of demon” landed on the hot coals. Ninety-nine demons were sent to haul the “smoking big-shots” all out and deposit them out back near the hot pond. As that happened, a terrible moan was heard rising from the Prince of Darkness, pleading,
“Somebody, somebody, please, please help me, please, I’m having heat-stroke.”
 
THE PLEDGE“
LORD give me_______ __________ the courage to stand up for You. Remind me dear Lord, that every time I post ANYTHING on Social Media to always say ‘I pray God will be able to Bless You’ and ALWAYS post at least one verse of Scripture!”

 
DAVID AND GOLIATH - An End-Time View
by Hadyn Olsen

Recently, after reading the account of this historic meeting between David and Goliath, I was struck by the significance of it's message concerning the end time period that we are entering into.

Far more than a children's story, this account speaks of the collision of two kingdoms. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.

There are a number of times in the Scriptures that we witness such a dramatic encounter between these two kingdoms. We may think of the time of Moses and the
exodus from Egypt, the plagues and the Red Sea. We may think of Joshua and Jericho - or Elijah on Mt. Carmel. Then of course there is the Lord Jesus Himself and the many occasions of His demonstrating the kingdom.

In all these events we see something of the nature of these two opposite kingdoms, and of the superiority of God's kingdom over Satan's. We may also learn something concerning our own lives and of the conflict we face from day to day. Each of these historic events may teach us of the things God wants us to know and the victory He wants us to share.


We are coming to a time when we shall witness another great collison between God's kingdom and Satan's. No doubt it shall be as great, if not greater than all the others that have preceded it. And it shall be a time when once again, God displays His all-surpassing greatness and dominion over Satan.

To this end our spirit's cry, 'Come Lord Jesus'.

Just want to say, the insights in this article are intriguing and inspire me to look deeper into all texts that we sometimes just skim through.  Thank you.  Dick Carmack

Jesus Plus Nothing
May 3, 2013
Charles Elliott Newbold, Jr.

​A preacher once boasted, “I preach faith, and it works.” I wanted to respond. Perhaps I should have said, “I preach Christ crucified, and He works.” In 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Paul, the apostle, made this claim, “I preach Christ crucified.” He was arguing against the teachings of a sect of Jewish converts to Christ who had wormed their way into the belief system of new Gentile believers. They were preaching Christ plus circumcision—proclaiming that the non-Jewish believers had to first be circumcised as Jews in order to be of Christ. These false teachers were referred to as Judaizers, or the circumcision party. Paul lamented, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” Galatians 3:1.

​This is the trend if we do not carefully guard the truth of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ: When we preach “Christ plus something,” it soon reverses into “something plus Christ.” Left unchecked, it becomes “something plus nothing.” The “something” else becomes another gospel. Christ is omitted altogether. That is not good news! Ultimately, though, when we come to understand the fullness and sufficiency of Christ in us, we will resolve to preach Christ plus nothing.

The “something else” we tend to add to the good news of Jesus Christ may be the outgrowth of a true revelation or teaching that the Holy Spirit has given. It usually has an element of truth in it. Certainly, we may receive divine and up-building revelations that need to be preached, believed, and practiced. There is always a bit of truth in most everything we camp around.

Yet, when we legalize it, preach it as essential to our salvation, and make it the gospel we preach, we are preaching another gospel, thereby making the word of God of no effect through our traditions. Mark 7:13.

These streams of thought stretch across the spectrum of our religious traditions, rituals, doctrines, codes of dress and behavior, and supposed revelations. You who are spiritual have been around long enough to know what these are: our brand of denominationalism, rapture, prosperity, faith confession, Jewish roots, ultimate reconciliation, King James only. What’s yours?

The list is extensive! The deception is subtle! The consequences are enormous. These are the issues that divide us, enslave us, harden us, and lure us away from our first love—Jesus. 

Jesus plus something is why we have a New Hope Church on one corner and an Old New Hope Church on the other. That is why we have Southern Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Reformed Baptist, Missionary Baptist, and numerous other Baptists on the list. That is why we have two churches of the same denomination in a small town with one believing it is scriptural to have a kitchen in their building and the other believing it’s not, damned you are if you go to the wrong one.

We veer off the narrow way that leads to life onto the broad way that leads to destruction once we embrace one of these “somethings.” The contemporary seeker-friendly churches have gone so far around the mountain that they can no longer see Calvary from where it all began.

Think about the last religious argument you heard. The issues being argued were most likely over one of those “plus something” things. Both sparring partners were in error if they were contending for something other than the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus. Have you ever fallen out with another believer over your love for Jesus?

Here are some markers to tell if we are in a “Jesus plus something:”  

• When we camp around it and fail to get up and follow the Holy Spirit when the cloud moves. · When it sparks a movement that evolves into a new church group, denomination, or cult with an authoritarian charismatic personality in at the top.  
  
• When it is taught at the exclusion of other biblical truths, resulting in imbalance.
  
•  When it fails to take in the whole counsel of scripture.
  
•  When many scattered and isolated verses are used as proof texts though the doctrine itself is not specifically taught in scripture.
  
•  When it garners a label.
  
•  When it stirs up carnal controversy.
  
•  When it makes you angry if challenged.
  
•  When one doctrine leads to another deception that becomes a further departure from orthodoxy.
  
•  When it is exaggerated and becomes the Gospel we preach.
  
•  When it appeals to something for Self. Seeking something for self is contrary to the call of Jesus to deny self, take up your cross and follow Him. Self-denial is merely a heart decision to pray, “Not my will, Lord, but Yours.”
  
•  When it becomes the abundance of our hearts and all we talk about. We can know what is in our hearts by what comes out of our mouths.
  
•  When we find ourselves going after revelation (or revelations) instead of the Lord Jesus—seeking more revelation of the revelation for the sake of knowing more revelation.
  
• When we try to convert others to our way of thinking instead of to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
  
•  When it points to itself and not the Lord Jesus.
  
•  When it holds believers hostage to it rather than liberating them.
  
•  When what we preach is an “IT.” Jesus is not an “IT.”
  

Many demonically inspired false teachings are blindsiding seasoned teachers and well-meaning believers today. We want to be discerning, remembering that in the last days “there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies…” 2 Peter 2:1. Remembering also that the time will come when believers “will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 2 Tim. 4:3-4. Is this that time?

​We are in safe harbor when we stick to preaching Jesus Christ crucified. Jesus plus nothing else! “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1.

I'm new to these postings but the more I read, the better I like it.
Dick Carmack

1.  "For God . . .   Joseph recognized that true forgiveness comes from God, not natural man's heart.  Forgiving is one of God's basic characteristics, as the Bible tells us repeatedly (e.g., Exodus 34:7; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 31:34).  Jesus, as God, forgave as well (e.g., Matthew 9:6; John 8:3-11).  It is God who empowers forgiveness, and not man's own efforts.
2.  Has caused me . . .  God's action in forgiveness is very specific; it comes through me.  It is not for someone else; I must respond to God, even ask Him, to cause me.
3.  To forget . . .  What happens when we forget something?  Webster's says, "be unable or fail to remember" or "to be unable to think of or recall."  Things we forget are simply gone from our minds.  That's a tall order for an offense against us.  But it's God who can cause me to forget!  What is too hard for Him?
4.  All my toil . . .  What did God cause Joseph to forget?  Obviously not his brothers, as he instantly recognized them when they came before him for food.  He forgot the difficulties and the consequences - the pain and humiliation - of the wrongs done against him.  Once those are forgotten, once again a God-thing, the offense can vanish or be minimized.
5.  And all my father's house."   What was Joseph speaking of here?  He did not forget his father or his brothers, so what was his "father's house"?  I believe he was talking about the setup in his home which led to the wrong against him - his brothers' jealousy and his favoritism from his father and his own innocently prideful behavior which led to his brothers' hatred of him.  All of those things were simply taken from his mind.

So the formula for forgiveness seems to be:  God, as He wills in time and/or I request, accomplishes in me the removal from my mind of the painful consequences of what offended me, along with the situation which set up the episode which must be forgiven.  Forgiveness then flows through God.
But there is one more step by Joseph's lesson, isn't there?  Joseph named his second son:
     Genesis 41:52    And the name of the second he called Ephraim,  "For God has caused me to
          be fruitful in the land of my affliction."
So step 6 in the forgiveness formula becomes:
6.  "For God has caused me to be fruitful . . ."  The final step in forgiveness is to allow God to make through me the offending, afflicting episode fruitful.  The words 'forgiveness' and 'fruitful' are rarely mentioned in the same breath, but the idea brings to mind the fruit of the Spirit, as described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23.  If the episode then grows in me and/or the forgiving relationship the "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" of which Paul wrote, then that is the true heart of forgiveness.  And amazingly, Joseph finished his act of forgiveness of his now-fearful brothers by saying this:
     Genesis 50:20-21    "But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in
          order to bring about as it is this day, to save many people alive.  Now therefore, do not be
          afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones."
Once again, Joseph's focus was on God, and what He can do in evil and unhappy circumstances.  If I allow Him to do His full work in circumstances requiring my forgiveness of someone, then the salvation of, and provision for, the forgiven person may be completed.  What an exciting and powerful concept of forgiveness!  May the Lord teach us and help us to forgive like Joseph!
Harv

Peace is a great thing.  But the peace of the Bible is the Hebrew peace, which is far more than the definitions of peace in English and the Greek.  Webster's says that peace is "calm and quiet" or harmony and/or lack of hostilities between peoples.  But in Hebrew, peace, which is the well-known word "shalom," is much deeper and much more.  "Shalom" is defined as "completeness, good welfare, wholeness in every aspect of life."  Nothing more is needed.  Something that has such peace has been made whole or is completely finished.  We don't have a single word in English that describes the perfect essence of Hebrew peace.  That perfect wholeness was what Jesus had brought for Israel, but the people did not know.  (Now think of what we pray for when we "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps 122:8).  It's a little different, isn't it?)
How about us as Christians?  How many of us have that perfect peace in Jesus?  Remember, He told us, His disciples, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you" (John 14:27), and "that in Me you may have peace" (John 16:33).  That is "shalom"-peace.  And Jesus came to bring us the Kingdom of God which He told us was "within you" (Luke 17:21).  Paul elucidated this by saying that the Kingdom of God is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rom 14:17).  Hebrew peace is ours in Jesus; do we know?  Remember, Jesus said, "It is finished." as He died on the cross (John 19:30); that was His final gift of peace to us from His life on earth.
So Jesus' peace is a gift He gave us with His Kingdom.  It is the "shalom"-peace of Israel, ready for us to accept at any time through faith in Christ.  It is a peace from God that truly "surpasses all understanding" (Philip 4:6-7).  We must let go of everything, and give it all to Jesus.  Then His peace will fill us with wholeness and completeness.  "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." (Ps 23:1).  His peace gives everything.  Once we have experienced that, there is no turning back; we will never let it go.  Jerusalem missed its peace from Jesus, and fell into ruin.  We must not do the same! 

The apostle Paul gave us a crash course in leadership in his second letter to the Corinthians. While studying that epistle recently, I identified four of the biggest mistakes we made during the charismatic revival. I pray we've learned our lesson so we can avoid these flaws in the next season.

1. Charlatanism. We charismatics lost our credibility during the past 30 years because certain greedy preachers manipulated their audiences to pad their own pockets. Just as a little leaven spreads
to the whole lump of dough, the charlatans ruined it for all of us.

The apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "For we are not like many, peddling the Word of God" (2 Cor. 2:17, NASB). The Greek word for peddling, kapeleuo, means "to make money by selling; to
corrupt; to get gain by teaching divine truth." How many well-known charismatic preachers started out well but ended up as pitiful peddlers, begging for dollars to pay for luxury cars and mansions
they felt they needed to prove their importance? (And now some of these guys have their own reality show, The Preachers of L.A., which airs in October and features Noel Jones and Clarence
McClendon.)

2. Entitlement. Paul continually reminded the Corinthians that he was a servant: "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus´ sake"
(2 Cor. 4:5). Servanthood is the most fundamental requirement for any leader. Yet in our movement, we celebrated the opposite attitude by allowing leaders with out-of-control egos to demand
special treatment.

I know of one conference speaker who routinely sends a 23-page list of requirements to churches that want her to speak! In the past, some charismatic preachers have demanded shopping money (in
addition to their honorariums) and luxury accommodations; others insist they can´t travel without their "armor bearer"-basically a minion who carries a preacher´s briefcase, handkerchief and water
bottle to make him look important.

News flash! Paul did not have an armor bearer, and he would have rebuked any minister who insists on acting like a fat cat.

3. Arrogance. The apostle Paul modeled teamwork. When he went to Corinth, Thessalonica or Crete, it was not The Paul Show. He traveled with Luke, Silas, Timothy and many others. He told the
Corinthians, "As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you" (2 Cor. 8:23)-and Paul exhorted the church to view Titus with the same respect they showed him.

Yet in our movement, we put men on pedestals and under spot-lights. We created a culture of preacher worship. Leaders began using titles. Then came the limousines and private jets. Some high-profile speakers went so far as to promote the use of bodyguards.  And I know of at least one preacher who demanded that a church fly special beef to his hotel so he could have the steak he required.  Pride turns men of God into monsters.

4. Professionalism. Somebody got the bright idea a few years ago that churches should be managed like businesses. So pastors became CEOs, and ministry was put on an assembly line. 
Congregations became franchises competing with each other to see who could offer the coolest music, the hippest sermons and the best lobby coffee bar. But a funny thing happened on the way
to the megachurch: We lost the relational touch.

I´m not against big churches, cool music or coffee bars. But my fear is that leaders today might assume they can buy success by copying the style of this month´s most popular rock-star preacher.
I don´t care if you have strobe lights, fog machines, killer musicians and a home-run sermon every week. If people don´t see true brokenness in the pulpit and experience real pastoral care, they
will never grow into disciples. Shallow, professional leaders produce shallow Christianity.

Leaders must be real. Our ministry must flow out of passionate love for God and genuine love for people. The apostle Paul never wore a mask. He was touchable and affectionate. He never went
through the motions. He was broken. He knew he was nothing apart from Jesus. He told the Corinthians, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of
Christ may dwell in me" (2 Cor. 12:9).

Paul told the Corinthians he was careful not to offend in any area "so that the ministry will not be discredited" (2 Cor. 6:3). I wish we had been that careful to guard what God gave us in the charismatic revival. Our flaws have grieved the Holy Spirit. Let´s trade in charlatanism for financial integrity; entitlement for servanthood; the celebrity syndrome for teamwork; and professionalism for
touchable authenticity. Let´s become leaders who act like Jesus.

-Source-

http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/18703

Years ago I was part of a group of men who spent several years together praying, seeking the Lord and studying piles of books and literature (and the Word) believing that if we got all the New Testament patterns and procedures down that our church would be in a position to be able to demonstrate the fullness of NT church life.  We diligently studied the first century church, church fathers, the pre-Constantine church history, Catholic church, Reformation church, and every other historical or traditional movement we could find.  I have to say that I learned a bunch in that time, but that much of it had little to do with spiritual life.  Of course God used it to change and form my Christian paradigm and, hopefully, to contrast the difference between Christianity the religion and Christianity the life.

The scripture above is the only New Testament window that we have where we see what a NT meeting looks like.  Seems strange that the Holy Spirit would only describe such a meeting once in the entire book, leaving so much to be speculated on.  But I believe that this was entirely by design.  If God had described it in detail, most of us would cast it in concrete and make THIS meeting the standard for every meeting of His church!

So... what does the New Testament meeting look like?  Let's move through this scripture and make a few notes:

1. First, most of 1Corinthians is a message of correction to the wild and wooly church in Corinth, which consisted mostly of non-Jews (so they didn't have a knowledge of Old Testament scripture) and was very immature and self-willed, even though they were experiencing an abundance of spiritual gifts.  Paul indicated that they were "out of order."
2. Second, Paul is explaining to them how to function in the various gifts, without the disorder and confusion.
3. So... let's start with "when you assemble."  This does not say if you assemble, so it's assumed that the body of Christ meets together regularly as a normal ongoing part of its life.
4. Paul goes on to explain that "each one" has something to contribute.  This is NOT a meeting where someone delivers a lecture and everyone else sits in a pew.  This is an interactive meeting where "each one" is expected (or at least free) to have something to contribute.  
5. Each one has a psalm (song), has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.  This meeting is NOT to share information... it is a meeting to share spiritual life that each member has a part in.
6. "Let all things be done for edification."  Every aspect of the meeting should be about edification.  Edification in NT means "to build the house" or "housebuilder" depending on the form of the word.  This is not specific to meetings, but is part of the call to every aspect of Christian life.  We are to "build one another up in love."  

CONCLUSION--- The ecclesia (church or called out ones) is a collection of broken vessels that are filled with the life of God (Holy Spirit.)  When they come together (even 2 or 3) there is a mutual sharing of this life of God that results in the edification of everyone involved.  This "builds the house of God."  Remember, we're not talking a church building or edifice... YOU are the temple of the Holy Spirit.   So... let's build the house of God today as we move around and share the precious life of God by His Holy Spirit.  Be blessed, Grover