Overview of Hinduism

Our final world religion is the 3rd largest in the world with around 900 million followers.  You probably haven’t encountered too many of them in the United States because there are only about 1.5 million here.

Though you haven’t encountered a Hindu person, you are probably very familiar with some of their practices.  Reincarnation, yoga, and a pagan form of meditation.

All concepts that have influenced our culture.  In the 1960’s, the Beatles helped spread the acceptance of Hinduism in America when they endorsed a man named Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  Yogi was a spiritual guru. 

Later on the Beatles distances themselves from Yogi after allegations that he had made inappropriate advances towards some of their wives.  However, they did not abandon their belief in the practices of Hinduism.    Jon Lennon once said “while we no longer count Maharishi Yogi a friend, we DO believe in yoga and meditation.

They have a song entitled “My Sweet Lord”.  That song is not singing about Jesus Christ, it is a Hindu prayer set to praise the Hindu deity Krishna.

(I)    History –

It is hard to trace its origin to one specific person.  There really isn’t a particular founder or anything.  We do know that it originated in the Hindus Valley which is located in modern day Pakistan more than 3,000 years ago.  Next to Christianity, Hinduism is the 2nd oldest religion in the world.

Hinduism encompasses a wide view of varied beliefs.  This is one of the reasons why its history is difficult to piece together.  It is thought that it is a blend of a nomadic “Aryan” Indo-European tribes that invaded Northern India from Russia and Central Asia.

(II)     How It Works –

The Hindu society operates on a “caste” system, which ranks people according to their occupational class.

-    Brahmins – priests
-    Kshatriyas – soldiers, king-warrior class
-    Vaishyas – merchants, farmers, laborers, craftspeople
-    Harijahns – the “untouchables”

The higher your caste level, the more blessed you are with the benefits and luxuries of life.  The caste system was outlawed in India in 1948, however, it is still employed in India and used by many unofficially.

(III)    Beliefs –

Chiefly, they believe that all paths lead to God.  I would agree with that statement.  All paths DO in fact lead to God.  BUT, one of those paths leads to God as Savior, that is through Christ alone (John 14:6), all the rest lead to Him as JUDGE. 

Karma – Karma is a guiding principle.  It is known as the law of cause and effect in which each individual creates his own destiny through his thoughts words and deeds.

Where it differs from Buddhism is that Buddhism teaches Karma has no impact on this life, only the reincarnated life.  In other words your sins don’t affect you no, just later in Buddhism. Hinduism teaches that it affects your life now and the reincarnated life.

Good actions lead to good consequences and bad actions will have the opposite effect.  Sometimes a life ends before all the Karmaic consequences are felt and so it carries over.

Those who have lots of negative Karma when they die the will be born into a lower caste system or even as an animal or worse, our insect.

Depending on the Karma you may have to endure several lifetimes of suffering to absolve all of your negative Karma and are again born as humans.

Selfless acts and thoughts and devotion to god help you to be reborn at a higher level.  One question, how does an animal or an insect do that?  This vicious circle of birth, death, and rebirth is known as Samsara.

(IV)     Scriptures –

The Hindu would appeal to a number of sacred texts as Scripture, but they don’t have any one single authority to go to.

Among them;

The Vedas – These 4 “books of knowledge” are considered the most authoritative. Compiled over a 1,000 year period with no known author.  They are really a collection of hymns to various Hindu gods.

Upanishads – Discusses the idea that behind all gods is the one ultimate reality known as Brahman (the ultimate), but Brahman is not an authoritative deity.

Ramayana & Mahabharata – Two Hindu literature epics.  One tells of the Hindu god Vishnu and the other is a 100,000 verse poem, the most popular part you are likely familiar with is the Bhagavad Gita.  It explains how to reach Nirvana.

Puranas – Myths, lore, and legends of other Hindu gods.

(V)    God –

Hinduism does teach that all paths lead to God, however, god to them is not a deity, god is Brahman the ultimate reality.  Brahman is the universe and all it contains.  In other words, God is everything and everything is God.

This wrong view of God is known as pantheism.  That “everything” includes you and me.  As a part of Brahman you are also god.  In Hinduism there is no personal knowable God who is sovereign over but separate from His creation.

Because there is no ultimate god, Hinduism is full of the worship of many deities and idols.   All of them are manifestations of the ultimate reality.

Brahma – The Creator
Vishnu – The Preserver
Shiva – The Destroyer

Most Hindus worship Krishna and Rama, two of Vishnu’s ten incarnations.  Additionally, forces of nature, animals, and humans can all be deified giving Hindus a selection of about 330 million known gods and goddesses to worship.

(VI)     Jesus –

Jesus is simply one of many avatars, incarnations, of the impersonal Brahman.  But they reject Him as being the only incarnation of God.  In no way is He the unique Son of God, part of the Triune Godhead of Scripture.

(VII)    Heaven and Hell -

In Hinduism there is no literal Heaven or Hell.  The closest belief they have to that is the suffering endured through numerous lifetimes on earth.  The closest thing to Heaven is not to cease to exist like the Buddhist but rather to lose their self-identity and be absorbed into universal oneness.

(VIII)    Sin and Salvation –

Hinduism has no concept of sin against a Holy God; instead it teaches that man’s greatest problem is his ignorance that he is god.  Since Brahman is all that exists all else in an illusion.  Your physical body, the physical world, your existence, even the chair you are sitting in is an illusion.

So you goal is to admit that and then work to erase Karmaic debt.  There are 3 paths to this liberation.

1.)    The Way of Works – Liberation can be obtained through social and religious obligations.

2.)    The Way of Devotion – This is the most popular way and includes acts of worship to the numerous gods of Hinduism.

3.)    The Way of Knowledge – This way attempts to reach a higher consciousness until one finally realizes his identity with Brahman.  This is achieved through study of philosophical writings, yoga, and deep meditation.

 
(IX)    Reaching the Hindu –

Well, as in all religions Hinduism is based on works.  They must be warned of the Judgment Day that is coming (Hebrews 9:27).  Further, we are not God.  We do not become God, and everything is not God.  Thus saith the Lord (Isaiah 45:5). 

Christ has come to pay the debt we owe.  It is a sin debt from this life time.  That we have accumulated by our intentional disobedience against a Holy God.  Judgment looms for our sin, BUT Christ has died and been raised to pay the debt for all who will repent and believe on Him (Mark 1:15; John 3:16, Romans 10:13).

When God LITERALLY puts the opportunity on your doorstep...

This past Saturday our neighborhood was visited by a local group of Jehovah's Witnesses.  I was excited because the last couple of times they had been through our community my family and I were not at home and so we only knew they had been there by the pamphlet left on the door.  But this day we were home.  I spent probably the better part of an hour speaking with a young man named Taylor.  We spent a very short amount of time in debate and I quickly tried to move to addressing his conscience.

All the while I'm praying in my mind, 'God please, please save this man.'  He was not at all receptive to the Gospel as one would obviously expect, he would not take a Gospel tract from me nor consent that he would even consider the claims I'd made in our conversation.

My heart was hurting for him, and then, seeing that he was making no progress in converting me, he was preparing to leave when he made a comment that sent my flesh raging but has since turned to sorrow and now conviction. (Hence the writing of this post)

Taylor said to me, "Sir, you seem fully convinced of the faith you hold." To which I replied, "I am, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."  Taylor smiled and somewhat smugly said, "Well I live in Duncanville and if you are truly convinced that what you have told me is true, then start knocking on door sharing your message until you find me."

With that he promised to return some time in the future to speak with me again.  I know not whether I will ever see Taylor again at my door or whether I will ever find him in town to speak to him about the true Gospel again.  I can, at this point, only continue to pray that whether I ever see him again or not that God will save him and I will one day see him in Heaven.

My flesh was sent raging by his comment... my immediate thought was... how dare he suggest such a thing to me... that I have prove something to him...  I was enraged and because God has graciously given me opportunities and strength to witness on the streets I wanted to launch into a barrage of boasting of what I had done and planned on doing and so on... I wanted to shout at him, 'You foolish man!  REPENT!'

As I said, that was my flesh speaking and not the Spirit.  But I said nothing.  I smiled and shook his hand, thanked him for the polite conversation and left him to his way.

Since Saturday I have lost much sleep thinking about his words.  The question I posed to myself has been, do I excuse away a lack of witnessing often simply because I do it on occasion?  Do I feel that what time I do spend in evangelism is a cause for boasting in myself?  I'm afraid it often is, or at the least it is a temptation.  My wise friend, Rick, once told me that the heart of a legalist beats in us all.  How true that is.

His comments quickly moved me to sorrow.  Here he is, this man who is pushing a false gospel that does not save (Galatians 1:6-10) and he is hitting the streets under the conviction that what he believes is true.  Yet here we are with the truth (John 14:6) and we scarcely speak of Christ with friends let along strangers.

Christians, are we failing in our calling to fulfill the Great Commission (Mark 16:15).  Where are we?  I realize that the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses have made "door knocking" much more difficult and I realize that many people do not want to be bothered at their home.  Fine, get on the streets in the public parks and plead with sinners to turn from sin and find forgiveness in Christ Jesus who has died for them!

I am not being the best steward of the commission to witness that I ought to be and so I am asking you to pray for me and in turn I would love to pray for you.  That God would increase our boldness and shake us to the core with a passion for sharing His Gospel with every person we come in contact with.

And so the conviction, I'm praying God present me with more opportunities to share the Gospel and that when that time comes that I will not shirk away but be emboldened by His Spirit to plead with sinners to repent and turn to Christ (Mark 1:15).

“If every one of your Christians would every day make known Christ to somebody, what a missionary organization we should be!” -- Charles Spurgeon

-- Find out more on the beliefs of a Jehovah's Witness.

An Overview of Buddhism

Our next cult finds itself with 375 million adherents that include such famous people as George Lucas, Goldie Hawn, Tina Turner, Jim Carrey, and Richard Gere.  It is the 4th largest religion in the world and it is the dominant religion of the Far East and is becoming increasingly popular in the West.  In America, it is really catching on in Hollywood.

We most likely associate Buddhists with monks in orange robes, the little Buddha statues with the large bellies, and the Dalai Lama.  The appeal of Buddhism is its stress on gaining wisdom and also pressing the idea of non-violence and tolerance. 

It offers the followers a moral life of peace with all without any accountability or obligation to the person for their sins.

What is it?

Well, they would contend that it is not a religion because there is no specific deity.  They would say that Buddhism is understanding that is beyond the confinement of religion and deity.  It is a philosophy… a way of life.

The word ‘Buddhism’ comes from the word ‘buddhi’ that means “to awaken”.

They summarize the path to Buddhism in 3 points.

1.)    To lead a moral life
2.)    To be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions
3.)    To develop wisdom and understanding

This from “A Basic Buddhism Guide”.

“There is no almighty God in Buddhism.  There is no one to hand out rewards or punishments on a supposed Judgment Day.  Buddhism is strictly not a religion in the context of being a faith and worship owing allegiance to a supernatural being.”

Let’s do some deconstruction shall we?  If I were to say to you, please come and be a Buddhist because we will help you lead a moral life, to be mindful and aware of your thoughts and actions, and we’ll help you develop wisdom and understanding.

And you come on board and the first thing I tell you is that there is no god, no higher being, etc.  Your first question should be, well, then, if there is no god, by what standard do you use to define these moral values I am to lead my life by?  Wisdom and understanding?

They will have an answer that is bankrupt of validity.  They have a set of moral values, but it may or may not be the same as this person’s values, which is different from someone else’s.  For that matter I guarantee that while most of us in this room would agree on 99% of what is or isn’t moral, there would no doubt be some small area that we disagree on. 

The question is, whose moral values to we follow?  Mine, yours, the Buddhist’s?  To define morality in this way you must have a concrete standard.  The Christian understands that to be God’s Word.

Where did Buddhism come from?

Well, it was founded around the 5th century BC by an Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama.  He lived a wealthy and comfortable life.  Sheltered for the most part until once, on one of his adventures, he saw an old man, a sick man, a poor man, and a corpse.

What he realized was that nothing lasted.  People tried desperately to hold on to or acquire life, health, possessions… but try as they might all these things passed away, this loss caused suffering.

This picture of suffering bothered him and so on his 29th birthday he left his wife and infant son to go on a search for truth and the meaning of life.  After wandering for 6 years and experimenting with yoga, asceticism, and near starvation he sits down under a tree and vows not to move until he gains total enlightenment.

Well, several days pass and he finally feels he has attained this “understanding” that he sought.  He stood up as the “Buddha” which means “the enlightened one”.  He spent the remaining 45 years of his life teaching the path to liberation from suffering (the dharma) and establishing a community of monks (the sangha).

Here we are over 2,500 years later since Buddha’s enlightenment and Buddhism has spread and like any religion it has split into a few different branches.  While practices and ceremonies vary the teachings are fundamentally the same.

There are 3 main schools of Philosophy:

Theravada – (The “Doctrine of Elders”) – represents approximately 38% of the Buddhist population.  Theravada is the closest to the original atheistic philosophy.

Mahayana – (The “Greater Vehicle”) – represents about 56% of Buddhists.  Over the years, Mahayana has accommodated many different Asian beliefs and now worships Buddha as god.

Vajrayana – (“Lamaism” or “Tantrism”) – represents the remaining 6% of Buddhists.  It has elements of shamanism and the occult. 

Some groups are more superstitious than others but most do things like idol worship, veneration of the spirits of the dead and ceremonial rituals to appease evil spirits.  Particularly one of the idols you’ll find in all forms of Buddhism is the chubby Buddha statue.

They would say that they don’t worship Buddha.  But let me read to you a description of the Buddha statue’s use. 

“A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves.   Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching.”

Sounds like a form of worship to me.  Worship is giving your chief devotion to something.

What do they believe about the Scriptures?

Well, there are a large number of religious texts and scriptures in Buddhism.  The Sutras are considered to be the actual sayings of Buddha.  The Tripitaka is one of the earliest compilations of Buddhist teachings.  Over the years, many new observations were added until today it consists of up to 50 volumes and it is 10x larger than the Bible.  By some it is considered sacred.

Who is God?

All branches of Buddhism agree that “the world is not created” or “ruled by a God”.  The idea of a loving Creator who interacts with His Creation is foreign to Buddhist practice.  How tragic!  It really seems that Gautama rejected theistic beliefs simply because he couldn’t reconcile pain and suffering in the world with a loving God.

Today, the Tibetan Buddhists believe in a large number of “divine beings”.  Buddha never taught or believed himself to be a god or anything, but after his death many of his followers declared him to be “Bodhisattvas” which means a savior-like god and that he can be called on for help.

Who is Jesus?

Well they really just view Jesus as an enlightened master, but definitely not the Son of God.  The Dalai Lama believes Jesus to be a “fully enlightened being”. 

“If Jesus is fully enlightened, wouldn’t he be teaching the truth about Himself?  Therefore, if he is teaching the truth, then he is the Son of God, and there is a God, and Jesus is the Savior.  If he is fully enlightened, he should teach the truth.  If he is not teaching the truth, he is not that enlightened.”

The Dalai Lama believes that Jesus lived previous lives and that his goal was to teach a message of tolerance and compassion to teach us to be better human beings.

Soul, Sin and Salvation

There is no such thing as original sin.  In fact, that belief has no place in Buddhism whatsoever.  Because of this there is no need for salvation.

Buddhists don’t even believe that we have an individual soul.  They are made up of 5 elements.

1.)    Physical form
2.)    Feelings
3.)    Ideations
4.)    Mental developments
5.)    Awareness

All of those things combine to form a human being at the time of birth.  And there is no eternal soul to continue after death.

Buddhism teaches the belief of Karma and reincarnation.  A person who dies is reborn (reincarnated) as someone else and your achievements from previous lives (your karma positive or negative) carry forward. 

Under karma there is no mercy to be sought from a savior.  No escaping your sins.  You just work to become better with each life.  Through countless lifetimes Buddhists go through an endless cycle of continuous suffering and their goal is to break free from this cycle by finally extinguishing the flame of life and entering a state of pure non-existence (Nirvana).

Their ultimate goal is not life, but death by releasing their attachment to desire and self.  Their reward is that one day they will hopefully stop reincarnating and cease to exist.

Buddhist Teachings/Customs

Buddha taught many things, but the basic teachings of Buddhism come down to:

The Four Noble Truths

1.)    Life is full of suffering (dukkha) – Life includes pain, getting old, desires, and ultimately death.  Also we endure things like loneliness, frustrations, fear, embarrassment, disappointment, and anger.  So Buddhism’s goal is to teach you how to avoid sufferings like those.

2.)    Suffering is caused by craving (samudaya) – We will suffer if we expect others to conform to our expectations, if we want others to like us, if we don’t get what we want.  Cravings like those deprive us of happiness.  So rather than struggling, you should modify your desires.  Ultimately you are trying to eliminate the desire to even exist.  Craving leads to suffering because it leads to being reborn. (reincarnation)

3.)    Suffering will cease only when cravings cease (nirodha) – Suffering can be overcome by happiness and true happiness can be obtained.  If we give up careless and useless cravings, then we can be happy and free.

4.)    Suffering can be eliminated by following the Noble 8 fold path –

1.)    Right understanding – Seeing reality as it is, not as it seems
2.)    Right thought – Change in the pattern of thinking
3.)    Right speech – One speaks in a non-hurtful, non-exaggerated truthful way
4.)    Right action – Wholesome action, avoiding action that would do harm
5.)    Right livelihood – One’s way of livelihood doesn’t harm in any way oneself or others directly or indirectly
6.)    Right effort – One makes an effort to improve
7.)    Right mindfulness – Mental ability to see things for what they are w/clear consciousness.
8.)    Right concentration – Being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion (which involves deep meditation)

These are just practical guidelines to live by.

They also hold to 5 Precepts

1.)    Abstain from harming to living beings (humans-insects).  Buddhists can only eat meat if it wasn’t killed for them specifically.
2.)    Abstain from stealing
3.)    Abstain from sexual misconduct
4.)    Abstain from false speech
5.)    Abstain from intoxicating drinks & drugs, except those taken for medicinal purposes

Buddhism thrives on teaching that if you don’t work to attain righteousness you are doomed to repeat life over and over again until you get it right.

They are under a yoke.  They are striving for righteousness when Jesus says “Come to me and I will give you rest”.

Matthew 11:25-30 - [28] Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Reaching them with the Gospel

To reach them with the Gospel we must show them that their suffering is not caused by cravings so much as their cravings and suffering in the world is all caused by sin because we are sinners by nature and live in a sin cursed world. (Psalm 51:3-5; Romans 3:23, 6:23)

But though they’ve sinned against God, God offers mercy and hope in Jesus Christ! (Romans 10:13)  The hope isn’t in ceasing to exist but rather in turning from their sin and receiving true life and forgiveness by trusting in Jesus Christ.

You have to be careful telling them to be born again without defining it because to them being born again is a very bad thing.  Point them to the One who will give them rest for their soul through forgiveness of their sins, not the ending of their existence.

God's providence, Pastor Scott Rodriguez, Dayna Muldoon, and Ezekiel 23

You have probably already seen the video of Pastor Scott Rodriguez confronting the Word Faith heretic Dayna Muldoon and the non-sense that ensued by her followers afterward.  I hope that you have also taken time to read the previous blog post on this site from Pastor Scott pertaining to why he was compelled to do what he did and say what he said. If not, you it would be helpful for you to read that here first.

Before moving on I might just point out what a few others have already noted.  That is that just prior to Pastor Scott's remarks, Dayna was "prophesying" over him that God had given her this message about him and such.  However, she was visibly shocked when he rebuked her the way that he did.  One has to wonder, if she were truly "prophesying" why didn't she know what he was going to do?  I do believe that is the smell of lies and deception folks.

In the weeks that followed I have kept in contact with Pastor Scott as both our schedules allowed.  He and his family have received several threatening emails, one of which is allegedly from an employee of Mrs. Muldoon's ministry.  Pastor Scott has asked that the email be kept private so as to show a Christ-like love towards this individual and also to protect his family and not provoke unwanted controversy.  Trust me when I say though that I've read the email and it was laden with threats and curse words.

Then, on May 24, I received this email from Pastor Scott pertaining to a sermon he delivered on May 23 and the text for which he was scheduled to preach 6 months prior.

"Last night we addressed our congregation concerning Dayna Muldoon. She's decided to stay here across the street a little longer. We cut some of the instruction unique to our assembly so as not to confuse anyone w/o knowledge. What's interesting is that we teach verse by verse, book by book, and we just happened to be on Ezekiel 23. This was assigned to me 6 months ago - Im amazed at the providence of God"

God's providence never ceases to astound me.  Ask yourself, what is most helpful to aid the teaching of your congregation about the dangers of false teachers and how to handle them than actually confronting one who is in your town and attempting to deceive your own people.  A wolf in your midst attempting to put on a sheep's wool in order to wreak havoc.

God, in His perfect will, ordained that this woman would do just as she is doing.  He allowed it.  He did not cause her to sin, but rather, as Pastor Scott points out so well in the sermon, that false teachers are God's judgment against unrepentant people.

That said, I submit to you the sermon by Pastor Scott on Ezekiel 23.  Enjoy, and keep praying for Pastor Scott, his family, his church and community, and most of all, that God would show His mercy to Dayna Muldoon by granting her repentance so that she would turn from her sin and trust in Jesus Christ.

Pastor Scott Rodriguez - The Backstory

Many of you have likely already seen the video that is making it's way around YouTube where Pastor Scott Rodriguez confronts on Word of Faith "preacher" Dayna Muldoon.  Many of you are also applauding Pastor Scott but you are curious as to his motives and whether or not he misled her in why he did what he did.

I had a chance to visit with Pastor Scott via email and he was very gracious to answer those questions.  I was already in full agreement with what he'd done and now I am even more convinced that his actions were both Biblical, needed, and justified.  May God have mercy on those who are deceived by this woman and her un-biblical teachings.

First, here is the video.  I apologize in advance if it stops working.  Mrs. Muldoon's ministry is doing their best to have these videos all removed.

 
Now, here is the email response from Pastor Scott.  Feel free to leave comments below and feel free to disagree with this post or Pastor Scott, however, should the comments include personal attacks that are off topic against Pastor Scott, myself, or even Mrs. Muldoon they will promptly be deleted.

"Brothers, several have been asking for some backstory/context on these videos. Mrs. Muldoon set her tent up across the street from our church (it is still there until Sunday 5/20.) I received a call from one of our people that some families that attend our church were sitting in her audience. Others were there to pray and share the gospel afterwards with people leaving. They had been accosted by a young man named Devon, (the managers son) on the evening before when he overheard one of our young men talking with someone after the service about the call of Pastor being reserved for men. I came out at the end of her Saturday night service and spoke with her, and her manager Dennis about their perspective on what had occurred. They felt that they were being heckled. I asked what they were preaching in order to get a better idea about their ministry, and explained to them that we, as a Gospel preaching church, would be extremely sensitive to a ministry that came off as strange as hers. She then claimed to be preaching the same message I described to her: that Christ came in the flesh to die upon a cross for the sins of man; that he was buried and rose again 3 days later; and that people are commanded by God the Father to turn from sin and put their faith in His Son's finished work on the cross in order to be saved; and finally that there is no other way of salvation. She claimed that this was her message too, but that she also believed in miracles - which I agreed are still done today according to the will of God. I shared with her that if she would give me some materials to look over to her affirm her claims about her message, I would come back the next day and say a quick word to people from our Church about the need to refrain from being disruptive, disrespectful, and to hold any questions or disagreements until after her service to be voiced with her or her leaders. After some more discussion she said that would be acceptable to her. I came back the next evening. She didn't call me up as we'd discussed. Had she, I honestly don't know what I would have said. I sat through about  an hour of what I'd classify as normal charismatic preaching quite off-base, but nothing overly shocking. However, there was a transition after her message into various fraudulent acts of "ministering in the "Holy Spirit" that range from her laying hands on people who would respond by gyrating, shaking, screaming, flapping arms like being in a strong wind, knocking over chairs, throwing themselves down (not falling) on the floor. She prophesied over 3 girls that she said were seated where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were, that would be getting married in June - she acted as if she knew nothing of their personal lives, but one of them was the attorney for the ministry that I'd met the night before - the other two were her friends. She said angels were there and that there could be voices of angels heard in her music because they followed her wherever she went. Then she scared a 3 year old little girl when she called her mother up - girl in arms, and began laying hands all over her body (the Mom's). Finally, I thought it was over, but she walked up to me where I was seated on the front row, and began "prophesying". She said, "Young man spit your gum out and face me". I got up (probably should have just walked out), and she began telling me how I thought I had come as a peacemaker, but was really there because God had used the hecklers to get me to her tent because He had something to give me through her. Then she went on and on saying all kinds of stuff, including that I said or thought that her ministry was a work of God, and that she was doing good and trying to help people. That was a lie. I never led her to believe any such thing. At that point I felt I needed to make it clear that I didn't agree with her message or ministry, and that's what I tried to do. Sadly I think it appears more as though some guy got in a prayer line or requested prayer and then seized on the opportunity - which isn't true. My greatest desire is to see God's people warned, but I don't feel I did things perfectly. Here's why: I knew the right thing to do was to seek my Senior Pastor's approval, but as a matter of convenience I did not. He is a man of God, and would have helped find a more godly way of approaching this, but in a moment of passion I acted and entrapped myself. Please don't misunderstand, I believe once in the circumstance the worse thing I could have done is simply remained quiet, but I just feel as though Jesus would have done it differently. So while I stand behind my words to Mrs. Muldoon and would plead with people to flee from any ministry that replaces the Blood stained Gospel of Jesus Christ with a pursuit of miracles,  I ask forgiveness of the Lord and my brothers for any way in which I got ahead of the Spirit of God or acted independently. Finally, please know that I'm not the bold man some think I am, I'm a man who is inconsistent and struggles with the fear of man like everyone else - we all desperately need the Cross, myself included.

P.S. I don't use face book - maybe if people know that  my wife can get some sleep."

You can check out the latest in this story here.

Pastor's Bookshelf: Believing God by R.C Sproul Jr

I have had this book on my Kindle for a while now, but between moving and settling in to a new pastorate I simply hadn't been able to complete it.  That said, it couldn't have come at a better time in my life for me to read this book.

I believe that we, or at least I, tend to affirm with my lips the promises of God but at times with my actions I send a very different message.  Sproul really helps bring solid Biblical reminders of who God is and what He has promised, underscored with a reminder of His immutability.  That what He decrees, He will do.

The book was such a sweet reminder to me to trust God at all times, and resist Satan's temptation for me to stop believing God and instead believe my desires are best.

Pick this up today from Reformation Trust.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reformation Trust Publishing through their Blog for a Free Book Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Pastor's Bookshelf: Grounded in the Gospel by J.I Packer

Grounded in the Gospel is a thorough understanding of the Biblical origins of catechizing believers as a part of the discipleship process.  Like many people, I hear the word "catechize" and automatically associate the practice with the Roman Catholic church.  The reality is that catechizing is really a practice that finds its origins in Scripture.  Through this book Packer, and his co-author Garry A. Parrett, trace out the Biblical roots as well as its historical practice in the early church.

What's great about this book?  What's great is that it is very thorough.  Incredibly thorough.  In fact, if one were to desire to do a study on the roots and Biblical origin of catechizing this work would be one of the only needed resources to give you an in depth look at the subject.  What's not so great about the book?  What's not so great is the same as its strength.  It is VERY thorough.  Because it is packed with so much detail it drags a bit and is difficult to keep your focus (or at least mine).

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it.  Just be sure you have your reading decks cleared for a bit...

Pick it up from Monergism Books.