The Church Fathers: Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius was born in Syria around AD 50, and died in Rome sometime between AD 98 and AD 117. He was a devoted disciple of the Apostle Paul and nowhere is this more evident than in his responses in regards to the two fronts of opposition which he faced: legalism and Gnosticism.

He served as the Bishop of Antioch in the very same place in which Paul and Barnabas were sent out, the first Jerusalem council had taken place, and the great Apostle Peter had received his rebuke from none other than Paul himself.

He is most famous for writing seven letters addressing the issues of legalism and Gnosticism while on his way to Rome to be martyred. To the legalists, he charged that to keep the law as a basis for salvation was to reject the very essence of Christianity. To the Gnostics, he wrote, among other things, that their teaching of Docetism was merely an attempt to make Christianity more palatable to the masses.

Hobby Lobby Must Cover Abortion Drugs

Baptist Press - Judge: Hobby Lobby must cover abortion drugs - News with a Christian Perspective

These Christian companies are being told by the courts that they must provide the costs for abortion drugs to their employees as a result of Obamacare. I find it very hard to believe that Christians went to the polls on November 6th and knowingly voted for Barack Obama. He made it very clear what he was going to do once re-elected during his campaign. He clearly stated that he was going to promote abortion on demand, homosexual marriage and euthanasia. Where these people who voted for him listening to what he said? If so, how do they justify having voted for him? Do they just compartmentalize their religion and politics? Apparently so! This is not an issue of being a Democrat or a Republican, but an issue of being a child of God who believes the Word of God…or not.

Paul warned in Romans 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;  (29)  being filled with all unrighteousness, without natural affection (that's homosexuality by the way), wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,  (30)  backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,  (31)  undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;  (32)  who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Did you catch that last part? Not only does God condemn those who do these things, but He also condemns those who approve of those who do these things. A lot of Christians need to really think about that.

Baptist Press - Judge: Hobby Lobby must cover abortion drugs - News with a Christian Perspective

Why They Hate Us

Ever wonder why the world hates Christians so much? The Bible says that it is because we are proof that they are going to be destroyed.

Cycle of Nations

Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.

Catholic Bishops: "We Will Not Obey"

It is tragic that all those who went to the polls on November 6th, apparently didn't think it all the way through in regards to what exactly this president is proposing.

Catholic Bishops: We Will Not Obey Immoral HHS-Abortion Mandate | LifeNews.com

The Unbelieving

This verse pretty much describes ministry much of the time.

Acts 14:2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.

Country Road

This pretty much describes how I feel right now.

Apathetic and Apostate

John said in Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Joel Rosenberg asked on his blog today at http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com, "How much longer will God be patient before He decides to judge us for 54 million abortions, a celebration of homosexuality, rampant heterosexual immorality, marital affairs, separations, divorce, the implosion of whole families, rampant pornography, unprecedented murder and violent crime rates, massive deficits, unfathomable debt, and a weak, increasingly apostate Church?"

I am very disappointed in the church in America. Every time I return to the U.S. to visit, I preach in half empty churches that usually meet for an hour and a half on Sunday mornings to just check off the "God Box" for the week. They are apathetic and spiritually dead.

Change is going to have to start in the pulpits. Preachers are going to have to start preaching, not just teaching, the Word of God. There simply must be a balance. Christians need to be challenged to a commitment each and every Sunday. After, the elections the other day, it is painfully obvious that the church in America does not need a hug! Nor do they need an exegesis on the seven "I Am's" of Christ in the Gospel of John. They need a swift kick in the butt!

Cyprian of Carthage who was beheaded in 258 AD said in his Third Treaty on the Lapsed (those who had denied God in the face of persecution), "They who call you happy (the priests who allowed them to come back into their fellowships without repentance) cause you to err, and destroy the paths of your feet," he who soothes the sinner with flattering blandishments furnishes the stimulus to sin; nor does he repress, but nourishes wrong-doing. But he who, with braver counsels, rebukes at the same time that he instructs a brother, urges him onward to salvation."

That should give all of us something to think about!

It’s Final: Kids Rule Over Parents

It’s final in Ireland: Kids, gov’t rule in home over parents

Isaiah 3:4-5 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

What idiots!

What Now?

Here are some great words from Dr. John MacArthur about the election and where we go from here.

What Now?