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Tag: Evangelical Christian Quotes

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: My Wife Prayed With Her Head Uncovered by Jeremy Gardiner

Bruce Gerencser 11 Comments

jeremy gardinerRead I Corinthians 11 if you are not familiar with what the Bible “says” about women covering their heads.

Our church recently had a “week of prayer” and on one night they had child care to make it easier for the parents to come out and pray. We took advantage of this and came out as a family. I was in the prayer room a little early while my wife was downstairs getting our children settled away. When she came upstairs to the prayer room, I noticed she didn’t have her covering on. For those who don’t cover all day, it’s an easy mistake to make. So I quietly got up to let her know she had forgotten. She placed a hand on her head to confirm and said “oops”. We’re prepared for situations like this, and store a couple extra coverings in the glove box of our minivan, so she headed out to grab one. A few minutes later she came back to let me know, the back-up coverings were gone. I figured they were as the previous week we had forgotten as well. So on Sunday we used the back-up coverings in the glove box and forgot to replace them. So here we are, at church, about to spend some focused time to prayer and my wife doesn’t have her covering. What should we do? I’ve thought about this situation before, but this is the first time it wasn’t just hypothetical. There are two options 1) My wife sits in the foyer and doesn’t join us for prayer or 2) she comes in and joins us uncovered.

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Now once my wife came in, the first thing I did was intercede on her behalf. I confessed my failure to God to prepare my family for this prayer meeting. I apologized and took responsibility for not having the back-up coverings in place and I asked God to forgive us for not praying in the way he prescribed. I also asked Him to help my wife to not be self-conscious and to enjoy her time of prayer with Him.

The major takeaway for me in this situation, was about being prepared. If you cover all the time, this is not a problem for you. That’s one of the benefits of that practice. But for those of us like my family, who covers only in certain situations, being prepared is vital.

Here are a few tips:

  1. Back-up coverings: Keep extra coverings wherever you’ll have easy access to them if you forget. Some suggestions including your vehicle glove box, your purse, or leave one at a place you frequent (school, work, church).
  2. Wear a neck scarf: Another option is to introduce scarves (like an Infinity Scarf) into your wardrobe. That way you can slip it over your head as your covering, or as a backup if you forgot your regular covering.
  3. Reminders/notifications: One of the best ways to not forget is to add it to your task list, schedule, or to set a mobile reminder. For example you could add it to your list of things to lay out on Saturday night in preparation for the morning or you could set a reminder on your phone to alert you just before you leave for church to ensure you have it.

— Jeremy Gardiner, The Head Covering Movement, My Wife Didn’t Wear a Head Covering to Our Church Prayer Meeting, February 17, 2017

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Marijuana is a Gateway Drug by Paul Chappell

Bruce Gerencser 10 Comments

paul chappell

Even when initially used with a medical prescription, marijuana is a gateway drug. As a pastor, I often counsel people who have had major life difficulties because of drug use that began with marijuana. Even recently, I have counseled someone who began using medical marijuana that was prescribed by a questionable doctor in Los Angeles. This man became deeply addicted and relationally incapacitated toward his family. For the past year, his life has been out of control. His story is one of many similar I could give.

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The greatest concern for our city should be the effect that our making marijuana more accessible would have on the next generation. The damaging effects of marijuana are not theoretical only, nor are they simple “community percentages.” They are life altering to the young people who become addicted.

Adolescent user addiction rates are high—as high as 50 percent. (That exceeds the rate of cocaine addiction.) Additionally, the risk of psychotic episodes is 40 percent greater for marijuana users than for non users, and the risk of schizophrenia is higher among teens who smoke it than those who do not. One study reported that “adolescents who used marijuana regularly were significantly less likely than their non-using peers to finish high school or obtain a degree. They also had a much higher chance of later developing dependence, using other drugs, and attempting suicide.”

Although I am aware that the current topic of discussion for our city relates to cultivating medical marijuana, I believe it is naïve to suggest that even if the conversation regarding marijuana licenses were to stop here, there would be no immediate effect on the young people of our community. Again, in my recent conversation with Sheriff McDonnell, he told me how medical marijuana wrappings have been found in middle schools. People are absolutely buying medical marijuana and reselling for profit—including to teens. I prefer that our city have nothing to do with underage people gaining access to marijuana, even if it’s by our second-hand association through this industry.

While I commend the city for proposing distance requirements prohibiting cultivation facilities within one thousand feet of schools, it is unrealistic to think that this alone will keep marijuana out of the hands of minors. The reality is that licensing cultivation will make marijuana more accessible to young people. And it makes me question, beyond the financial concerns to our city, what moral liability comes to us by entering into this trade?

I am, of course, a pastor, and so I am taking the liberty to share biblical principles related to this issue as well.

The Bible references the use of drugs in Revelation 9:21 as it speaks of people involved in “sorceries.” Interestingly the word translated from Greek (the original language of the New Testament) is pharmakeia and relates to “the use or administering of drugs.” In our biblical opinion, people who take recreational drugs are opening their minds to wickedness and the occult. (And I think police reports could substantiate that concern, by volume if not by verbiage.)

Another Scripture verse passes judgment on those who aid in the dissemination of intoxicating substance: “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also…” (Habakkuk 2:15). Basically, the Bible is saying that when we encourage someone to partake in a substance that brings them under intoxicating influence, we become responsible for what happens in that person’s life as a result of the substance they consume. I believe Governor Jerry Brown and the liberal leadership of our state will be held accountable for their decisions on matters ranging from abortion to releasing violent criminals to legalizing marijuana. I prefer that our city not posture itself similarly by joining in these decisions.

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Our city has been willing in the past to take a stand against prevalent culture where it was harmful to our residents. I am deeply grateful for the way, in the 2000s, our city stood against gangs and gang-related drug dealing. I remember in the 1990s when our city council passed ordinances against “sex shops.” More recently, our city stood to protect the right to open city council meetings in prayer, including praying in Jesus’ name. God has blessed us since we have taken these stands, and I believe He will bless again for choosing to stand against opening our community to marijuana cultivation.

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Over the years, there have been other government-passed decisions that our ministry has opposed when these related to moral issues and opposed biblical principles. Should the city pass this ordinance and enter the marijuana trade, our church will continue to teach against using mind-altering substances and will stand against the distribution of such substance outside of a legitimate prescription and medicinal use of truly needed pain medicine. (While there may be a legitimate medical use, I have no assurance that there is a safe and proven process for legal distribution to and through legitimate medical outlets at this time. I think we should also remember that medical marijuana is still not approved by the FDA. Insufficient research and inability for quality control are among their reasons.)

— Paul Chappell, The Pastor’s Perspective, The Marijuana Mistake, February 11, 2017

Note

Paul Chappell is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) pastor. Chappell pastors Lancaster Baptist Church, a megachurch located in Lancaster, California.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Women Are ‘Hosts’ for Fetuses by Oklahoma State Representative Justin Humphrey

Bruce Gerencser 5 Comments

justin humphrey

I believe one of the breakdowns in our society is that we have excluded the man out of all of these types [abortion] of decisions. I understand that they [women] feel like that is their body. I feel like it is a separate — what I call them is, is you’re a ‘host.’ And you know when you enter into a relationship you’re going to be that host and so, you know, if you pre-know that then take all precautions and don’t get pregnant. So that’s where I’m at. I’m like, hey, your body is your body and be responsible with it. But after you’re irresponsible then don’t claim, well, I can just go and do this with another body, when you’re the host and you invited that in.

— Justin “JJ” Humphrey, Oklahoma State Representative, The Intercept, February 13, 2016

Note

“Since 2011, lawmakers in Oklahoma have passed 20 such measures, a number of which have been blocked by the courts or are tied up in litigation.” Jordan Smith, The Intercept

Representative Humphrey introduced HB 1441, a bill, if enacted, that would give fathers (sperm donors) the final say on whether a woman could have an abortion.  The bill summary states:

The introduced measure prohibits the performance of an abortion without the written informed consent of the father. The pregnant woman seeking an abortion will be required to provide in writing the identity of the father to her physician. A person who contests paternity may demand such a test be performed. The measure would not apply in cases of rape, incest, or if the woman’s life is in danger.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: How to Shield Yourself From Porn and Sexual Excitement

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments

satans fiery darts

The enemy’s formidable weapon against men are enchanting women to entice you into adultery. According to Ephesians 6:10-18, demons are behind these women, they not being aware are being used to cause Jesus’ followers to sin against Him.

We men must keep our eyes pure because that is the entry way into our souls. This is Satan’s primary attack for entrance. How do we protect our eyes from letting darkness creep in?

  • Don’t watch anything that has women wearing almost nothing as to entice your minds.
  • Don’t read anything in WordPress that’s sexual in nature because your mind have eyes as well and will convert the sexual words into images.
  • Don’t look at porn magazines which is a landmine, throw it away immediately.

— Spiritual Minefield, How to Shield Yourself From Satan’s Arrows of Porn and Sexual Enticement, January 31, 2017

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Don’t Trust Your Intellect by Bert Farias

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments

bert-farias

Most Christians have a difficult time distinguishing their spirit from their intellect. Your conscience is the voice of your spirit. The Holy Spirit is more closely associated with your conscience than your intellect. As you pray in tongues, you are praying from the channel of your conscience through which the Holy Spirit speaks.

Our problem is that we are more accustomed to looking for God’s voice in our intellect. Our intellect is generally an unsafe guide because it is usually clouded with a mixture of the world’s thinking, where much of our decision-making is based on our best interests. Most Christians have a difficult time hearing from God, because their soul which comprises much of their intellect, is clouded with self, mingled with the world and yet has some Word in it.

— Bert Farias, Charisma News, Why Every Preacher Should Embrace Praying in Tongues, January 31, 2017

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Women Who Marched in Protest of Donald Trump Are Bimbos, Dykes, and Hussies by Tim Bayly

Bruce Gerencser 6 Comments

tim bayly

Some things are so shameful you hate to comment on them because doing so calls attention to them, and thus the shame multiplies.

A pair of bull-dykes protested our pro-life march at the county courthouse last Sunday afternoon and it was exceedingly hard even to look at them. The stomach churned, the face blushed, and eyes were averted as the crowd of fathers, mothers, children, and babes-in-arms walked by them as these women spewed blasphemies and obscenities.

This is our reaction to the bimbos, dykes, and hussies who marched in pink last week and shrieked on cue for their media pimps. We avoid the news. We turn away from the ugly. We cover our ears. To say these females are shameful doesn’t begin to…touch it. They trample the commons and no one tells them to shut their mouths and go home.

So what should the nation’s men do? Or rather, how should Christian men respond?

Thinking about it, at first I fell into my old habit of wishing Christian women would rebuke them. If there’s public dirty work to be done today, women can get away with it a lot easier than men can.

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When women need to be told to be quiet and sit down—when women are flagrant in their trashing of God’s Creation Order of sexuality—what man wants to assert the privileges of his sex? What man wants to remind women that the “weaker” sex is commanded by God to have a “gentle and quiet spirit” (1Peter 3:1-7)?

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The Christian men of our nation owe our wives and children the public rebuke of female immodesty, whether it’s the nakedness of the internet, the obscenity spewing bull-dykes on our courthouse square, or the shrieking shrews on our National Mall.

To my family and congregation, I try to explain it this way. Imagine standing in line at Sam’s Club and having a man who is stark naked come up and stand in line behind you and your family. Would you simply avert your eyes?

No, of course not. You would call the manager and demand the man be removed from the store so your children didn’t have to submit to his sexual assault.

So then, what if it was a pair of bull-dykes who took their place in line behind you? Would you call the manager? Would you demand they be arrested?

Surely you recognize their sexual assault is every bit as serious and shameful as a naked man, right? So why do you leave their trashing of the commons without rebuke? Why do you allow them to assault the modesty and innocence of your wife and children without the slightest protest?

The reason we allow these obscenities without rebuking them is two-fold.

First, we don’t realize public nakedness and public repudiation of one’s sexuality are equally scandalous and shameful. It is God who commands man not to wear woman’s clothing and woman not to wear man’s:

A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 22:5)

Like nakedness, women playing the man and men playing the woman are sins against the Seventh Commandment, “thou shalt not commit adultery.” Calvin comments:

This decree [Deut. 22:5] also commends modesty in general, and in it God anticipates the danger, lest women should harden themselves into forgetfulness of modesty, or men should degenerate into effeminacy unworthy of their nature. Garments are not in themselves of so much importance; but as it is disgraceful for men to become effeminate, and also for women to affect manliness in their dress and gestures, propriety and modesty are prescribed, not only for decency’s sake, but lest one kind of liberty should at length lead to something worse. The words of the heathen poet (Juvenal) are very true: “What shame can she, who wears a helmet, show, Her sex deserting?”

Bull-dykes and flaming gays trampling the grass of the commons should be rebuked whether that commons is the National Mall, the courthouse square, or Sam’s Club.

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— Tim Bayly, BaylyBlog, Bimbos, dykes, and hussies polluting our National Mall, January 27, 2017

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Women Who Marched in Protest are Loud, Undisciplined, and Without Knowledge by Anne Graham Lotz

Bruce Gerencser 8 Comments

anne graham lotz

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10).

My oldest granddaughter, Ruth Bell, just turned 15. She is spectacularly beautiful, with a sweet, strong spirit. One of the birthday traditions in our family is that each of us gives the one who is being celebrated a Bible verse.

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My selection of the verse I felt led to choose for Bell this year was affected by what I saw on news reports the day after the Inauguration of the 45th president of the United States.

Various news outlets played video and audio reports of hundreds of thousands of women all over the world marching in protest of President Trump. It was an incredible sight to see women flooding the streets, not only in Washington, but also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, London and dozens of other major cities. They were peaceful, vulgar, at times obscene—marching for what? They claimed to represent all women, yet a common denominator seemed missing, unless it was fear of President Trump and the possibility that he may interfere with their right to easily accessible abortion for anyone and everyone, at any time and for any reason.

When I opened my Bible the morning following the march of women, this is what I read in my previously scheduled devotions for the day: Proverbs 9:13-15, 18 (NIV): “The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, [wives, mothers, soccer moms] on a seat at the highest point of the city [in the workplace, in leadership positions], calling out to those who pass by … But little do they know … that her guests are in the depths of the grave.”

My heart aches for many of the women I saw marching, women who have joined a “movement” that is deceptive and in the end, will be destructive and lead them to a spiritual and moral “grave” (see 2 Tim. 3:6-9). I pray earnestly for them to turn to the one, true, living God, who is the only One who can give them the deep, permanent peace, love, hope, and security we all long for.

With these sights and sounds still fresh on my mind, the verse I have chosen for our beloved Bell is one I share with you, too: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Prov. 31:30)…

— Anne Graham Lotz, Charisma News, What the Bible Has to Say About Last Week’s Women’s March, January 27, 2017

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: “Real” Women Marched in Right to Life March by Matt Walsh

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments

matt walshFirst, there won’t be nearly as many news cameras.

Second, there won’t be any vagina costumes or vagina signs or vagina hats. There won’t be any reproductive organs on display at all, except perhaps by the counter protesters. The participants will be putting their message — not their genitals — forward.

Third, the speakers won’t be going on any vulgar or profane tirades. The march will be family friendly.

Fourth, there won’t be any discussion of blowing up the White House.

Fifth, the marchers will not be demanding any special entitlements. They will not be looking for free birth control, or free tampons, or free anything. They will not be making any personal demands, because this march is not about them. The people who make their voices heard today do so not for their own sake. They do so for the sake of those who cannot speak for themselves.

The march participants stand to gain nothing from this. Their motivations cannot be selfish because their demands are not self-serving. Every single person — hundreds of thousands of them — will be marching in the place of someone else. The march last week, and so many others of its type, have been made up mostly of people saying, “Do such and such for me. Give me something. Help me. Me. Me. Me.” But the March For Life is different. The March For Life says, “Do this for them. Give them a chance. Give them their rights. Help them. Them. Them. Them.”

And the “them,” of course, are pre-born children. Whereas the people at the so-called Women’s March said, “Forget them, let them die,” we at the March For Life say, “Remember them, let them live.” These are the two competing points of view. Here is the great dividing line in our culture. The question is asked and must be answered: “Should these children be given a chance to live or not?” How you answer that question will determine on which side of the line you belong.

Our culture has answered with a cruel and callous “no” for the past 40 years. The so-called Women’s March echoed that answer. The feminist movement, liberalism, the media, the Democratic Party, academia — all of these powerful forces join together in shouting “no.” No, give them no chance. Give them nothing. Take everything from them. Take their dignity. Take their rights. Take their lives. And when they are dead, take some more. Take their limbs, their livers, their brains, their hearts, carve them up and make use of the pieces. Take it all. They are nothing to us. They are insects. They are lower than insects because we would sooner acknowledge the life of an insect than the life of this “clump of cells.” They are dirt. Let them die, then. Pick apart their carcasses and throw the rest in the dumpster. This is the answer the pro-aborts shout proudly from the rooftops.

Well, today in Washington DC a great many people will gather to deliver a different answer.

— Matt Walsh, The Matt Walsh Blog, Today is the Real Women’s — and Men’s — March, January 27, 2017

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Atheism is a Denial of Reality by Ewin James

Bruce Gerencser 3 Comments

ewin jamesI don’t believe that there are any true atheists – men who are born without any awareness of the existence of God and who involuntarily sustain that absence of awareness of God throughout their lives. There are only pretenders who, for moral rather than intellectual reasons, profess to be atheists; usually they have the intellect and the vocabulary to verbalise [sic] and record their positions better than most people are able to. It is for this reason than many noted philosophers have professed atheism.

Lesser men, like Mark Wignall, who profess to be atheists, come off looking silly, for we can readily see through their pretence.

In the case of Mark Wignall, his profession of atheism on the pages of this newspaper is a pathetic attempt to serve nonsense on a platter of mawkishness. I will spend no time on his last effort. I will only say this – he should stick to what he does best: ferreting out the machinations of the two political parties and displaying his schoolboy fascination with sex.

The confession of many who profess atheism goes something like this: ‘I once believed there was a God. I went to church as a child, then later something happened, some injustice – to me or in the world – and I asked how could a good God let this happen? And so I no longer believe in the existence of God.’ This confession indicates the existence of God, for those who confess that they once believed in the existence of God, but no longer do so, admit the existence of God.

If there is no God, how at one time did they believe he existed? To say I once believed God exists but no longer do so, says nothing about God, but says something about me.

Where did professing atheists, like all other men, get the knowledge that there was a God whose existence they later came to deny? From God himself who created every man with a knowledge of his existence, however nebulous or precise that knowledge is.

GOD EXISTS

Romans 1 at verse 19: “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” And verse 20: “For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” This says that imprinted on man’s consciousness and displayed in the created order is the evidence of the existence of God.

This is why the above verse say men are without excuse. It is this knowledge which men, for one reason or another, seek to suppress and deny by claiming that God doesn’t exist. They do so usually because they can’t reconcile the innate knowledge of a just, holy and righteous God with Him allegedly doing certain things or permitting certain things to happen. It even goes beyond that. They made God in their image and what they see contradict that image.

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It’s the same with men today who profess that there is no God – they are fighting against what they know in their heart to be true.

— Ewin James, The Gleaner, Atheism-A Denial of Reality, January 23, 2017

Bruce Gerencser