Passion 4 Him

  When Pope Benedict XVI's successor, Jorge Bergoglio, was announced as the new Pope, the one word that many used to describe him was "humble." The Italian pope, born in Argentina, is of the Jesuit order which is known for their vows of poverty and work among the poor. Pictures and articles have surfaced revealing that as an archbishop, Bergoglio took the public bus and cooked his own meals. When it was announced that he would be known as Pope Francis, the connection was quickly made to St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced his wealth to live a life of poverty and service to others. Many have rejoiced that this is just the kind of humble leader that will further ecumenical relationships and win greater favor for Roman Catholicism. There is great irony however with the premise of a humble Pope. The papacy overseeing and affirming the teachings of Roman Catholicism has long been anything but humble. In the 14th century, Pope Boniface VIII was so bold as to claim in his papal...

FREQUENTLY the fine shades of meaning in the Greek bring out wonderful truth. In Hebrews 5:7 our  Lord is referred to as the One "who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears unto him that was able to save him from death." The preposition "from" in the Greek is the key to the understanding of this passage.  There are two prepositions which mean "from," one, "from the edge of," the other, "out from within." The first one could be used when one goes from the building, having stood outside against its wall. The other would be used when one is inside of a building and goes out from it. The second is used here. Our Lord prayed to be saved from the Cross if there was such a possibility and it was within the will of God. Not that He was unwilling to suffer for lost sinners, but His holy soul shrank very properly and naturally from the terrible ordeal of being made sin and of having...

Those who profess to be Christians quite often have ideas about Jesus that are just as wrong as those people who are not Christians. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus is a created god and that He is also Michael the Archangel. Mormons believe Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer and that He was married and had children. The followers of Christian Science and the Religious Science religions believe that Jesus was simply a man upon whom the “Christ empowerment” came. Roman Catholics believe that the bread and wine of the Eucharist can be transubstantiated, or changed, into the literal body and blood of Jesus, who is then ingested into one’s stomach. Lutherans believe that Jesus “is consubstantiated, or present, “in, with, and under” the bread and wine of communion. Such unbiblical beliefs are a mere handful among hundreds promoted by various Christian denominations and cults. Yet what is even more appalling is that an inquiry about Jesus today among those who call the...

  Knowing that we are in the last of the last days, with an imminent Rapture a very real hope, our thoughts often (and indeed should) turn to the signs that Christ said would herald the nearness of His return. The signs that are most widely cited include “wars and rumours of wars...[when] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...and...famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes...these are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:6-8). Unquestionably, these specific “sorrows” have been both prominent and accelerating since  Israel  again became a nation in 1948. Since that time, the intensity and frequency of these signs have increased like the birth pangs of a woman approaching her time of delivery, exactly as Christ foretold. However, the first sign that Christ gave has been largely overlooked and His solemn warning neglected: And Jesus answered and said...Take heed that no man  deceive  you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; an...

There are seasons in life when we feel set aside, left out, or even forgotten. We watch others move forward, succeed, or remain in the spotlight, while we sit quietly in the shadows — hidden, waiting, and wondering. If that’s where you find yourself today, take heart. The pages of Scripture are filled with people who experienced the same. Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison. Once favored in his father’s house, he found himself in the depths of a dungeon, abandoned by man. Yet Scripture says, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love” (Genesis 39:21). God hadn’t forgotten him. He was preparing him.  Moses, once a prince in Egypt, spent forty long years in Midian tending sheep — his dreams buried under desert sand. But it was in that obscurity that God refined his character and prepared him to lead a nation. The Lord spoke to Moses not in a palace, but from a burning bush in the wilderness (Exodus 3:1–2). David, who would one day be anointed as king, s...

  Similar to the idea of  Seven Mountains Dominion theology that guides some Faith Movement churches, Muslims have Five Arms, to establish the rule of Allah on Earth. 1. MILITARY ARM: - Liberate occupied Muslim lands from non-Islamic governance.  - Rule Islamic territories through force-backed Sharia implementation. - Expand the borders of Dar al-Islam by conquest, terror, and warfare. - Strike fear into the hearts of disbelievers. - Destroy minorities, punish apostates, and dismantle any resistance to Allah’s law. - Obey the divine call to wage jihad until all religion is for Allah. 2. POLITICAL ARM: - Control parliaments and city councils.  - Infiltrate Western legal and democratic systems using rights language and civil liberties against themselves. - Write, influence, and lobby for constitutions aligned with Islamic values. - Push blasphemy and hate speech laws to criminalize criticism of Islam. - Weaponize identity politics (race, gender, post-colonial guilt) to...

Could God impart knowledge so we immediately know things when we get to Heaven: Certainly. Adam and Eve didn't go to school. They were created, it appears, with an initial vocabulary. But Adam and Eve are the exceptions. Every other person has learned by experience and study, over time. And Adam and Eve were learners the rest of their lives. Nothing ever came automatically again. When we enter Heaven, we'll presumably begin with the knowledge we had at the time of our death. God may enhance our knowledge and will correct countless wrong perceptions. I imagine he'll reveal many new things to us, then set us on a course of continual learning, paralleling Adam and Eve's. Once we're in resurrection bodies with resurrected brains, our capacity to learn may increase. Perhaps angel guardians or loved ones already in Heaven will be assigned to tutor and orient us. We will also study. Martin Luther said, "If God had all the answers in his right hand, and the struggle...