“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched,…
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 I was a false prophet. There is no joy in making such a statement, but there is…
There is a popular saying incorporating a well-known Bible verse: I can do all things through Scripture out of context. Though this is comical, there is a seriousness to the issue of misusing Scripture for personal purposes and for creating aberrant doctrine. One of the things I can personally relate to is my former way of decreeing and declaring in prayer. Have you ever heard any of these phrases: Call those things that aren’t as though they were? Decree a…
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water…
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 Esther 4:14 is a well-known verse, quoted by many and viewed as even personal encouragement today. Many people have a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves, and the thought that we…
The modern deliverance movement rests on the premise that born-again believers in Christ are in need of demonic expulsion. Leaders holding this to belief teach people that deliverance maintenance every few months is necessary, which is sometimes referred to in these circles as a “tune up”. Generational curses are a commonality, and numerous spirits are on the rampage, from Leviathan to Jezebel. There seem to be growing facets of this movement, and now there is a teaching and practice emerging…
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore…
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 1 Timothy 3:1-3 It was a subject and belief I avoided tackling. After all, I had been permitted to minister and to preach on a handful of occasions to a…
This week, I recorded an episode answering listener’s questions concerning some beliefs of the New Apostolic Reformation. Some of these questions also included personal elements of how to navigate coming out of this movement and unlearning much of the teaching while also dealing with loved ones and family members still entrenched in it. Here was one of the questions from this week’s episode. “My husband and I were in an NAR based church for 12 years. As you can imagine,…
Have you ever looked back on something you said or did and thanked the Lord for correcting you in your sin and error, when you rightfully deserved judgment? We all have moments, even on a daily basis, where we thank God for His grace and mercy toward us, and many of us could say that such sin and error are not available for public scrutiny. Over the past several years, one of the things that became painfully clear personally was…