A couple of years ago I was at Hillcrest Baptist Church. An opportunity to attend a Reformed conference on the Forgiveness of God came up and I kind of ended up being the point man for the project. I had gotten kind of active in the men’s activities and was able to identify some of the “leaders” in the church.
Some of you out there will sometimes say “But there’s no such thing as a Black church!” But I submit you are wrong. There are Black churches. Rather there are churches filled with Blacks who confuse being in the church building with being a Christian.
When I presented the conference to one fellow, he looked over the brochure quickly and, looking at me, said…wait for it…he actually worked his mouth and said “Humph. There are no Black faces on the brochure.”
His priority? There had to be Blacks presenting in order for it to be relevant to him. The fact that the speakers are addressing the issues of sin and holy living had no relevance, since none of them were Black.
Fast forward a couple of years.
Ligonier Ministries is offering a conference right here in Washington DC. The subject is “Living As a Christian in a Post-Christian Culture.” Eric, the pastor of Reformation Alive Baptist Church in Temple Hills Maryland, told us about the event. I kind of ended up being the point man for the event.
Before knowing who was going to be speaking besides Sproul, eight people signed up.
This says tons about the congregation. They are more interested in truth than in race. They are willing to go outside their race in order to get to the truth. And more importantly, the leadership of the church recognizes the importance of truth verses the sameness of race.
It looks like I may be able to settle into Reformation Alive Baptist Church, meeting at Our Savior Lutheran Church building, located at 4915 Saint Barnabas Road Temple Hills,MD 20748. And yes, that was a shameless plug.
I don’t generally wander into politics on this site. The issues are often not as clear cut as doctinal and ecclesiastical ones. However, every once in a while, the two do actually intersect. A case in point - our “Christian” president. Consider these quotes from our president, Barak Hussein Obama:
This quote is from his proclamation identifying June as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender month. The link takes you to the entire proclamation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists.
And here’s a really lovely quote from a proclamation making the second sunday in June as Father’s Day.
Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers, a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian …. For the character they build, the doors they open, and the love they provide over our lifetimes, all our fathers deserve our unending appreciation and admiration.
So why am I bringing this up? Becuase of the 91% support for Mr. Obama among Blacks. And most of the Blacks who support him are what I like to call Religious Blacks (RBs). You know, the ones who either like to “get their praise on” with Yolanda [I've Got the Victory] Adams, or dance around at the Mauseleum and Monument also known as First Baptist Church of Glenarden, pastored by John K. Jenkins, or just generally play at religion.
Mr. Obama apparently approves of the homosexual lifestyle. Apparently, he sees that lifestyle as simply another choice. However, please notice what he says in the transgender proclamation”
I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists
If you reject the validity of homosexuality as an alternate lifestyle, you are prejudiced and discriminatory. He’s not simply stating his opinion, he is stating it in such a way that makes right look wrong.
How this fellow can claim to be a Christian, in the Biblical sense of the word, is beyond me. And how the RBs can natter on about the Bamster being a Christian is even more fantastic.
Wait, maybe it’s not that fantastic. The religious Blacks don’t care about actually living a Christian life. They just want emotions and nice feelings. Most RBs don’t care if their choir directors is a bit light in the loafers. They just love the music. They don’t care if the pastor is making it with the women (or men) in the congregation.
RBs are always playing at religion. Most of them make it clear they don’t care about doctrine or holiness, or consistency. But the Feds are apparently getting serious about shutting down orthodox Christianity. Obama accuses us of being prejudiced (read here - bigots). How much longer do you think it will be before our Attorney General comes after us for dealing in hate speech and violating the civil rights of various folks?
Is Obama a Chrisitian? From what he says and what he does, I can’t say I’m that convinced of it.
As T. Dexter says: Get ready! Get ready! Get ready!!!
Always be careful of what you ask for when you talk to God. He has an irritating habit of giving you the things that will actually help you develop as a Christian, a true disciple of Christ.
I have, on various occasions, when I was feeling particularly pious, asked Him to give me a servant’s heart. You ask for this stuff but you figure God will give you an opportunity to work in a homeless shelter, or teach pre-school children in the Children’s ministry, or talk to some really irritating relative and still be nice to him. Then your wife falls down the stairs and receives long term, debilitating injuries that will take literally years to heal.
Now, after the fall, I have to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for my wife. I have to help her dress. I have to help her down the stairs in the morning and up the stairs at night. I have to comb her hair (and style it – the poor dear). I have to help her get into her wheel chair (when we travel) and help her get out of her wheel chair when we return to the car.
And for a while I had to feed her, move her around in bed, and…other things. In other words, I have become a servant. And we won’t even talk about the effect this has had on her, being so dependent on someone else.
Oh, and you have to be patient. I hate being patient.
Being a servant is interesting. You have to put your interests second and make the interests of the served primary. You have to be patient. You have to listen. You have to be willing to stay up late and get up early. You have to think not just about right now and what needs to be done right now, but about what will be needed tomorrow for the meals and for other activities. You have to consider how the person feels. And you have to be willing to humble yourself and ask for help when you need it.
While my wife can be irritating and sometimes downright demanding, doing for her really does make the effort worthwhile. Seeing her return to normal, even if very slowly, is encouraging and it makes the effort worthwhile.
Think now about being a servant of Christ. We are to think about Him first. We are to put His requirements before our own. We should be thinking about what will be required tomorrow, not just about what we may want to do today. You don’t have time for memorizing Scripture? Why not? Is there something you want to do first?
Or maybe you don’t want to tell others about Jesus Christ and the work He performed on the cross. Why not? Just because you don’t want people to think you are a fanatic of some kind? A servant can’t be worried about that. A servant has to have the interest of the one he serve as his focus.
God was really quick to answer that prayer for me. So now, while He’s in a prayer granting mood, I’m asking for an SR22, or at least a Liberty XL2. Actually, an old Cessna would do just fine.
As most of you know, a couple of my sons have decided they want to be atheists. Number two son is a newly admitted one and though he shows much of the characteristic arrogance of the new atheist, he engages me in conversation. About a month after Peggy fell down the stairs, he sent me an e-mail. The e-mail contained a host of his observations about prayer and a couple of questions. I just responded and I thought you might be interested in my response. It is below.
Joe,
You asked a couple of very non-trivial questions back in March. As you suggested, taking care of your mother was a full time second job and I didn’t have time to develop a response. However, she’s been visiting her sisters for almost a month and I have had time to consider the questions and my response. If I may, I would like not only to answer the two questions, but respond to the rest of your e-mail as well. I don’t know if you will read the entire e-mail, but I do want to make sure I have addressed your questions and the misunderstandings you have about Christianity, God, and prayer.
Question1: What is it that you think that you are doing when you pray for your God to heal your wife?
Question 2: Do you really think that you are increasing the likelihood that she will heal?
Here is what I think you are referring to in the P-P posting:
Pray that God makes that level as close to where it originally was. Heck, pray that God will make that level the same as it was to begin with. I don’t see any point in low bidding God.
Again, thanks for your prayers, comments, and encouragements. They are truly much appreciated - especially from those lurkers out there.
And pray that God give me the wisdom to take care of myself properly…
(www.pulpit-pimps.org, After the Fall – Two Weeks, Feb 20, 2010)
To answer your first question: when I pray to God, I am, among other things, expressing my desires to him. They are not desires I believe He is in anyway obligated to satisfy; nor are they desires that are necessarily consistent with His totally sovereign will in my life or the life of your mom. Remember, I am in a relationship with God. As such, I go to Him, not simply to ask for stuff, but to talk to Him, to express my frustrations and fears, and to make requests of Him. But they are not simply requests for stuff. More about this later.
In your second question you ask: do you really think you are increasing the likelihood that she will be healed? No, I do not. But again, the purpose in praying isn’t to make God do this or to make Him avoid having that happen. Prayer, for the Christian is not about controlling God in any way. Rather, it is about me submitting myself to His will and being conformed to the image of His Son. Only as I study His word and commune with Him, do my prayers begin to line up with His will. When He speaks of me getting the desires of my heart, it’s after He tells me what I should desire. Passing a test, getting accepted in a school, or being healed of an illness are not the items He talks about.
When I pray that your mom be healed, I am expressing my heart to Him and confessing a willingness to abide by His will in our lives, however that will may show it self. If she is now as far along as she is going to get, I will depend upon the grace of God in my life to work with what He has given us. If she if fully healed then I will be grateful for the grace He will have shown in our lives. But either way, I will be thankful for what he has brought into our lives. It’s similar to Paul’s prayer about a thorn in his flesh, whether it was a circumstance or an illness. Paul asked God to remove it and God pointed out that His strength is perfected in Paul with the thorn remaining. (2 Corinthians 12:7)
But on to the rest of your e-mail.
It is interesting that as you go through all of the atheistic material out there, you are going down exactly the same path as the typical atheist. The site you recommend (www.whywon’tgodhealamputees.com) builds the same set of straw men as most other sites and books I have read. There are some variations, but the core is virtually identical.
The very first approach is they attempt to make the Christian defend bad theology. WWGHA.com does this over and over. It paints the Christian God as the cosmic bell hop, waiting to give us stuff, heal us of stuff, and make our lives great if we just ask with enough faith. And when that God fails to do the things the writer has determined are good, it becomes proof of the non-existence of God.
Six million Jews died despite their prayers and the prayers of believers? A good god would have prevented that. The fact that they died must mean there is no god. A little boy was locked in a car and died a slow painful death? A good god would have worked his magic to save the child. The fact that he didn’t must mean there is no god. A little girl was kidnapped and raped repeatedly? A good god would have prevented this, protecting the child and her parents. The fact that he failed to do so is proof that he doesn’t exist. But this is a very man-centered view of God. It limits God to what I think is good and to what I think He should do.
One of the responses most atheist hate when discussing the Bible, is our insistence that we look at context and interpretation. It really seems the typical atheist would prefer to be allowed to pick verses as though they are all totally unrelated to each other. And they would prefer we treat them exactly the same way. Unfortunately, we will insist on looking at verses in context since context controls the meaning and eventually the application of Scripture. And context (among other things) is very important. Otherwise you can generate apparent contradictions all day long. For instance, Jesus tells us we are to honor our mother and father (Luke 18:20) but He also tells us that we cannot be his disciples unless we hate our own mother and father, brothers and sisters (Luke 14:26). Context is important. And like it or not, the original languages are important.
The biggest assumption the writer (and I assume you) make, is that the Christian (and by this phrase I mean the Christian who has paid attention to Scripture, all of Scripture) believes that God is sitting in heaven waiting for us to pray for things. Your experiment with your classes, acceptance into medical school, and other things you wanted to have happen is a very good example of this mindset.
Are we supposed to pray that we get this job, or that we get that bonus? I think not. Instead, we should pray for wisdom in our decisions. God provides us with guidance on what we should, and shouldn’t pray for. In James (4:2-3) He makes it clear that we don’t get what we pray for because we ask in order to spend it on our own pleasures. Apparently, praying for stuff is not the purpose of prayer. Praying for an easier life is not the primary purpose of prayer. Praying for a monster job is not the purpose of prayer in the Christian’s life. Praying for faithfulness and integrity in the job I have, is.
Then what requests should we make of God? Consider the following:
• That Christ would dwell in our hearts
• That we be able to comprehend the characteristics of the love of God
• That we be filled up to all the fullness of God.
• That our love abound still more and more in real knowledge and discernment
• That we may approve of the things that are excellent
• That we may be filled with the fruit of righteousness
• That we may be filled with the knowledge of His will
• That we may walk in a manner worthy of His calling
• That we would be strengthened with all power, according to His might
• That we be steadfast
2 Thess 1:11-12
• That our God count us worthy of our calling
• That the name of the Lord be glorified in us
• That we be glorified in Christ
• That we be filled with all joy and peace in believing
• That we abound in hope
None of these sound anything like the “requests” Marilyn Hickey makes, from speaking to her wallet, telling it to be full of money, to stating that somehow God is obligated to do certain things if we say a set of words or give money to their “ministries.” And none of it sounds anything like Rick Warren, another distorter of God’s character and characteristics.
Can God heal supernaturally? Sure He can. Does he have to? No. If your mom never gets any better than she is now, has God failed me? No. Rather, He has given us a difficulty through which we can grow in grace in loving and trusting Him, and in loving and trusting each other. (James 1:2-4; 2 Peter 1:16)
The rest of the site goes very much the way of Dan Barker, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins: the insertion of their own set of arbitrary standards and a condemnation of God to non-existence because he doesn’t meet those arbitrary standards.
Several months ago, Benny “There’s Nine of Them” Hinn railed against Willow Boy Osteen. He condemned Joel for having a “seeker friendly” church and for not standing up and naming the name of Jesus when he was being interviewed by Larry King on cable during prime time. In fact, here’s the clip of Benny absolutely excoriating poor Joel – and Oprah, by the way.
I was going to give this a really clever title like “Mr. Kettle, Meet Mr. Pot.” But as I thought about it, I realized there was something quite informative going on. Yes, they both teach Word of Faith (WoF) goofiness, appealing to the listeners’ greed and their desire for a comfortable life. And they both have a large following (Joel’s following is just a lot less obviously religious than Benny’s followers). And they both have interesting hairdos. But there is a difference.
A few years ago, while he was ruminating on The Baal Network (TBN), Benny complained that he couldn’t find anything in the Bible that said it was okay to kill the people who criticized him. Paul Crouch, the head of TBN and Benny’s partner in crime, complained about heresy hunters and practically tried to put a curse on folks who call their doctrine into question. But in all of that, both of these men were very careful not to name any names or ministries. Instead, they railed against “those people.” They railed against those people who always try to destroy the work of God, those people who just don’t understand the work of God and those people who should be condemned to hell for bothering the men and women of God. But again never anything, or anyone, specific.
And it’s not that there haven’t been specific people to condemn. Hank Hanegraaff has made a career warning folks about Hinn and company. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries spends a decent amount of time addressing the heresies generated by these people. But not once has Benny mentioned either of them, whether it was by name or by circumstance. So who does he finally complain about specifically? That’s right! He rails against Willow Boy! And why do you suppose Benny made this choice?
The answer is easy. Benny is a coward. Instead of picking a seeker friendly target that could fight back (Rick Warren or Bill Hybels or a host of other guys who use technique instead of the Gospel) he picked on a theological paraplegic.
Joel doesn’t want to pay attention to doctrine. He doesn’t want to look at the need to align what he says to Scripture. He just wants you to feel good. As a result, the poor thing can’t even begin to fight back when Benny takes a shot at him.
In Star Trek parlance it would be something like “Captain, she cannot take much more o’this. Shields are down to 10 percent. One more hit and we’ll be finished!”
Osteen is powerless. His shields were below ten percent from the very beginning. He truly doesn’t have a clue about much of anything in the Bible. He’s like a baby who only just now figured out his hands belong to him. And we know Hinn is a wolf, more than willing to prey on the ignorant and desperate. And he demonstrated this by picking the most helpless and theologically stupid target he could find: Joel Osteen, the man who refused to to insist Jesus is the only way when pressed by Larry King.
Benny got to look tough in front of his WoF friends and followers. He even got to look “really religious” in front of the unsaved. And he didn’t even have to worry about alienating Joel’s followers because virtually none of them are followers of Benny. Hinn is way too religious for their tastes. As a result, Benny got some “church cred” and it didn’t cost him a single follower. In fact, he might even have gained a couple or three stupid followers.
Here’s the bottom line: Benny Hinn is a coward, a charlatan, and a wolf. And Joel Osteen? He’s worse than the boy who cried wolf. He doesn’t even know the wolves are out there - or that he’s one of them.
The manner in which God works is interesting. I was privileged to share the Gospel this morning. No, let me rephrase that. I got to share the Gospel couched in terms of the doctrines of Grace. Well, that’s not quite right either. I got really inconvenienced and had to walk an extra distance to catch the bus. The C28 driver didn’t follow the route to the medical center, causing me to miss the bus at my normal bus stop and I had to walk another quarter mile to the next bus stop.
On top of that, as I approached the bus stop (sweaty by now and ten minutes late), I could see my chatty catholic friend standing by the stop. My first thought was: “Rats! Now I’m going to have to talk, or at least listen. I’d rather listen to my iPod (I was playing The Dividing Line), not listen to him natter on about the wonders of praying a novena and the goodness of the Pope.” I took the earbuds out as I approached and greeted him.
He asked about my wife and after a couple of other comments, began talking about virtue, freewill and, wonder of wonders, Calvinism. Then he asked me - asked me, mind you - what I thought of free will.
The chain holding my attack dog back snapped tight and I quickly pulled it in. He was, as far as I could tell, interested in hearing about free will from a monergistic point of view. And I was more than interested in telling him. But the usual scorched earth/take no prisoners approach wouldn’t do.
We got to discuss most of the questions people come to. I explained that according to the Bible, the unsaved cannot please God. (Romans 5) They don’t want to have anything to do with him. They consider Him an enemy. And understanding my complete inability to quicken someone’s spirit, I focused on Scripture.
We got to discuss salvation by grace (Eph 2:8-10). We talked about works being the result of Salvation (James 2:14-18) not the cause of salvation. And being more than aware of my propensity to argue anyone who disagrees with me into the ground, I made every effort to only speak when it was clearly my turn. I guess this is where 1 Peter 3:15 comes in.
An added plus: We carried the discussion onto the bus. As a result, at least another ten people could overhear our discussion. I have no idea who heard what. And I have no idea what the results may be. I don’t even know what the results of the discussion with my occasional friend will be. But I do know I have presented the Gospel. Now it’s up to God in His sovereignty to complete the work as He sees fit.
The conversion of my occasional friend would certainly be interesting since he is about as intense a Catholic as you can get. His conversion would present a problem for his family, church, and circle of friends. I don’t envy his position at all. If God acts on his heart, his entire life will be uprooted. But at least he will have eternal life.
(Note: Peggy is getting better. She is still struggling with the effects of MS and the effects of the fall are still with her, just not as intense. The MS was exacerbated as a result of the stress the fall put on her system.
And it’s good to be back. Let’s see how the postings go. And I promise I will cover the Hinn/Willow Boy conflict from last quarter. It’s too good to leave alone even at this late date! )
She is light years ahead of where she was when I found her at the bottom of the stairs; light years ahead of where she was in the Trauma Center at Prince Georges Medical Center and in their Critical Care Unit. She’s even light years ahead of where she was when we first arrived at the Adventist Rehab center in (ugh) Tacoma Park Maryland.
And I discovered the really hard work starts when you get home. There is no staff to do the cooking, the laundry, shots, physical and occupational therapy, transportation or anything else. I’m it.
I suspect the situation will help me with my tendency to procrastinate. Either that or Peggy will starve. Fortunately, my sister-in-law will be staying here for a week starting Monday. That’s when I get to go back to work and get some rest.
But again, Peggy is moving ahead quickly. She uses a walker to get around on the first floor. She feeds herself, showers herself, can dress herself - as much as the somewhat weakened hands allow, and most importantly of all - she can go to the bathroom by herself.
I’m missing the postings. Especially since some really interesting things are happening. For instance, Benny (There’s Nine of Them) Hinn apparently called out Joel Osteen for being seeker friendly and untrue to the gospel. The only thing I can say is: “Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.”
Peggy’s progress continues. But instead of telling you, I’ve uploaded a couple of clips from today’s physical therapy session (March 8). And while it did tire her some, she was not totally exhausted as she was the first time she walked.
What’s the difference between the pimps and pimpettes who claim “a great anointing from God” and the rest of us?
Not much, apparently.
These guys and gals claim great anointing (which of course they never define in terms other than they’re more spiritual than you unwashed sheeple), and claim to be living in the power of God, and claim to pretty much be plugged right into the holy power source. Then it happens.
Earl Paulk is nailed for lying to the cops and being the father of his nephew…or the uncle of his son…or…well, let’s not try to untangle that particular family tree. And he sexually abused some of the women in his congregation.
Jimmy Swaggart gets caught with a sort of ugly prostitute…twice.
Ted Haggard gets connected to a male prostitute (and drugs).
Paula White and her husband divorce.
Jamal Harrison Bryant and Zachary Timms have what we will call spousal “difficulties” and barely avoid the marital train wreck.
While fussing at Bishop Weeks, Juanita Bynum gets just a little too close to her husband and he tries to show her how he loves her.
And now Benny “There’s Nine of Them” Hinn and his wife are divorcing.
Why do I bring this stuff out about these people? Don’t we all have difficulties of one kind or another? I’ve said before that no matter how together a person’s life might seem to be, that person has some kind of issues or difficulties somewhere in their life. They have a relationship or two that just aren’t what they could be. They have blind spots that they may never EVER see.
I bring this stuff out on these people because they claim to be really different. They claim to be taking advantage of the “power” of God to live victorious (and prosperous) lives.
But let’s look at their lives:
For decades, the Paulk brothers lived lies. At a minimum, Earl Paulk was a sexual predator. And for years he lied about his son…er…nephew. But at the same time he was going on about the special power he has as a prophet, as an anointed man of God. Rather than showing any power of God in their lives, these men demonstrated the power of the fallen nature of man and promoted lies about the true nature of Christianity and spirituality. Instead of encouraging men and women to trust in God, they promised access to a cosmic bellhop.
Jimmy Swaggart went on about the power of the Holy Ghost, proceeded to build quite an empire along the way, and got caught with a really rough looking prostitute. When his denomination called him on it, he kind of stepped down for a bit but refused to submit to the leaders in the denomination. A few months later, he got caught with another rough looking prostitute. But all the time he is touting the usual Charismatic/Pentecostal bilge about an experience giving you great power and great anointing.
Poor Ted didn’t even have the pleasure of gathering enormous amounts of wealth before getting nailed. But as a part of the health and wealth crowd, he preached the same thing and it came to the same results. He, it turned out, was actively involved in some pretty shady stuff on a consistent basis. His doctrine said that wasn’t supposed to happen.
And of course Paula White and her husband preached about God’s power to overcome problems. They told us that if we read this book (which we could get for a seed offering), or if we showed our trust in God by sending in a sacrificial offering, then we would be able to live in victory. They divorced due to, get this, irreconcilable differences.
Though I haven’t made a big deal of it, both Mr. Timms and Mr. Bryant have gotten in a bit of trouble for wandering where they shouldn’t have. Yet they preach that they are men of anointing (and integrity). I guess I’m not real clear on what their anointing is supposed to do.
Junie B and her husband spent close to a million dollars getting married and sold DVDs of the marriage. They made hundreds of thousands or more going across the country presenting the “Teach Me How to Love You” seminars. Despite their claims to great anointing, it became very obvious that neither of them knew anything about love, true love (I keep hearing the bishop in “Princess Bride” whenever I say that). Again, they sold themselves and people who are “God’s anointed,” as possessing some special God given powers.
And finally, the man who claims to be so anointed he can knock down crowds with the power of his coat, and the woman who says she’s excited about God so she doesn’t need a Holy Ghost enema, have decided to call it quits. Why? Because of irreconcilable differences.
I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it seems to me these people are a bunch of fakes; fakes who have no idea of Ephesians 5 or most other portions of scripture that speak of putting yourself second and others (especially your spouse) first. And what do they say? I can’t stay with him because of “irreconcilable differences.”
Each of us has an anointing. But it’s there to guide us and strengthen us in hard times, in times that try our patience and our determination to follow God. The men and women who are living large (usually at your expense) will tell you to sacrifice for God (i.e. give them money and do without). But how many of them are willing to sacrifice their lives, on a daily basis for their spouse? Take a look around you and see if you can figure out the answer. I don’t think it’s very many.
(PS: The wife is still improving exponentially. While they are weak, she has 70% of the use of her hands. She walks to the bathroom with someone standing near, and she got her hair done this past Saturday. More details to follow.)
It’s been two weeks since my wife fell down the stairs here at home. It has been two rather strenuous weeks.
The bright spots:
1. Immediately after the fall, Peggy was pretty much unable to use any appendages. Now, while she is still weak, she can use her legs and, with care stand on her own. She even walks with the aid of a walker. Her first effort at walking got her 38 feet and total exhaustion. The next day she walked 100 feet, twice, without the total exhaustion.
2. Touching the skin on her arms and hands caused excruciating pins and needles pain. Now there are no painful sensations now. Just normal ones.
3. She couldn’t move her arms or legs without a good deal of exhausting effort. She can move her arms and legs now. While she has reduced function in her hands (especially the left one) she can do such things as feed herself, pull the covers up, and brush her teeth.
4. She wants to get better. This is probably the most important thing of all since it looks as though she and I are going to have a lot of work to do in an effort to return her to some semblance of normalcy.
I thank you all for you comments and prayers. Most of all, I thank you for not jumping up and immediately saying “All things work together for good…” It’s true. It’s definitely true. But immediately after the fall just wouldn’t have been the time to say it.
By the way, the Senior Hospital Pastor from First Baptist Church of Glenarden, pastored by John K. Jenkins, stopped by yesterday. It’s good they thought enough to send someone out to the hospital. But at the same time, it was a reminder of one of the reasons I left the place to begin with. When she prayed, she went through the typical “we know that by your stripes we are healed, so we claim Sister Peggy’s healing…in Jesus’ name.”
It really seems like an example of religious doofusses pumping up the hopes of their followers (thank goodness Peggy knows better) with misapplied verses and arrogant demands on God’s graciousness.
But I digress.
The bottom line is that she is making tremendous progress, recognizing that there is likely some level below normal that she will settle into. Pray that God makes that level as close to where it originally was. Heck, pray that God will make that level the same as it was to begin with. I don’t see any point in low bidding God.
Again, thanks for your prayers, comments, and encouragements. They are truly much appreciated - especially from those lurkers out there.
And pray that God give me the wisdom to take care of myself properly. I’ve been living on hospital cafeteria food (which in itself is enough to put you in the hospital),Coca Cola and a dangerously reduced amount of sleep. As a result, I was recently “blessed” with diarrhea - at both ends. But that may be TMI.
This is great! I just found out how to be a pastor even if I don’t have the time to study, to pray, or to do any of the things I thought I would have to do if I were to be a shepherd of God’s sheep. I just found out I can BUY sermons - written by someone else; written by someone with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctorate, so I’ll sound really smart.
Click on the thumbnail below and you can find out how to be prepared every single Sunday without once opening your Bible during the week.
Notice the text on the web page. It seems to be pretty much all over the place. He says:
1. The site is for “…busy pastors on the move.” Did it occur to this dingo that if the pastor is so “on the move” that he doesn’t have time to study and prepare a sermon, then perhaps he’s too on the move. Or perhaps he shouldn’t be a pastor.
2. He says the sermons transcend race but describes the sermons as “one of the largest collections of sermons in the African-American pulpit tradition.” And the site’s name is “Black Sermons dot com.” I guess what he means here is he wants to make sure all preachers, Black and White, feel welcome to spend their money on his tripe.
3. If you’re too lazy to do any work at all, you can take part in the quarterly plan and you’ll get a FUNERAL sermon and a free Bible Study. I know I’m impressed. And since most folks don’t generally attend multiple funerals, you can even recycle the funeral sermon. All you have to do is be sure to remember the name of the dearly departed you’re saying goodbye to and not mix it up with the last dearly departed you said goodbye to.
4. And if I’m really lazy and a consummate procrastinator (which, as most of you readers know by now that I am), it seems “Saturday orders are emailed the SAME DAY.” Now I can wait until the very last minute (being on the move all this time) and still get the script for the next day. Ain’t technology wonderful.?
Maybe it’s just me, but I think this is a shame. It is a shame for Dr. Durham to offer the service and it’s a shame for ANY self-respecting pastor – or general preacher – to use such a service. This is even worse (if you can graduate sin) than copying some one else’s term paper. At least with the term paper, you actually make the effort to copy it. With this scam, you don’t even have to make the effort to copy it. It’s delivered to your computer, typed and ready to go.
Of course there are men out there who do use this kind of service. And most of them are, as the good doctor said, on the move all the time. The one that comes most readily to mind is Fast Eddie of Club New Birth in Hotlanta. Do you remember when he stood up and said that he had a message for the congregation FROM the Holy Spirit? Apparently the Holy Spirit had an e-mail for Fast Eddie, not a message for the congregation.
The pastors/elders’ job is to feed the sheep, to aid them in becoming self-sustaining and encourage them to work with each other to accomplish the work that God established for each of us from before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 2:9-10) If they aren’t doing that, then they aren’t doing their jobs. And getting sermons through e-mail rather than study and prayer, doesn’t count.
Even the Apostles recognized this. Take a look at Acts, chapter 6 around verse 2. The Apostles, in trying to deal with an issue that had arisen, made it clear their first duty was to pay attention to the word of God, apparently in its study and preaching. Their first priority was to be preaching and teaching (as was done in the homes of the disciples).
This in no way matches the model being encouraged by Durham. If you’re too busy to study, then let him send you a sermon. Doesn’t it occur to these bozos that if you are too busy to study, you are too busy?
I called Dr. Durham’s business a couple of days ago and I called again today to ask them why they are providing sermons to people to preach as if they were their own. There was no answer the other day. I’ll try again today.
By the way, I can’t even see the sermon before I buy it. But he does provide a sample of his work. Click here for a view.
You people in Houston, you now definitely have a choice.
If you are tired of getting pimped by the likes of I.V.and his wife Gree Dee Hilliard, there are choices, choices that don’t include Joel “Willow Boy” Osteen.
Some readers have asked if I can recommend a good church where they live. Usually the answer is “no” since I don’t know folks in other cities. However, here is an exception.
In Houston a group of people have established a church. You can visit the website here.
The reason I am willing to recommend this church, a church I have never visited, is because I know the man who has been working to establish that church.
I have known Saiko Woods for several years. During that time he has demonstrated himself to be a man who is willing to stand on the Bible and follow Christ no matter the cost. And it has cost him at times.
So here are your choices:
1. You can attach yourself to Willow Boy, the Hilliards or a host of other scammers in some really fine facilities. Then you can listen to these men and women lie to you, mislead you, take your money, and stunt your growth as a Christian.
2. You can check out His Word His Way – currently meeting in an apartment. There you will hear the Word of God expounded with skill and dedication to the truth. And you will be challenged in your growth as a Christian.
Maybe it’s just me, but this isn’t a hard choice. On the other hand, Reformation Alive Baptist Church, the church I’m a part of, meets in the great hall of a Lutheran church in southern Prince Georges County and I’m just fine with that. And it’s twenty-two miles from my house. And we have to set up tables and chairs for Bible study every Thursday night. Then we have to put the chairs and tables away.
If you are really pursuing God’s Truth in Houston, give Saiko a call and visit the church.
This is where you get to figure out if you are more interested in content than accoutrement.
Okay, maybe Chick tracts aren’t exactly art in the strictest sense of the word. And while I don’t always agree with the contents of all of the Chick tracts, they do a wonderful job of illustrating many aspects of the truth of the gospel. And one of them, “One Way” does a really good job of illustrating the One Way without using a single word. Okay! So it only uses six words.
Every time I watch the railing against Joel Osteen by the street preacher, that tract comes to mind.
Take a quick look at the YouTube video again. You don’t have to watch the whole thing. Just watch the people as they go marching blindly past the preacher proclaiming the truth. The first twenty or thirty seconds is plenty to get the idea. Here’s the video.
Here is an excerpt from “One Way”, the wordless tract:
Click on the image to see the entire tract.
Maybe it’s just a stretch, but do you see any similarities?
I listen to Pentecostals, Charismatics, and various second wave and five fold ministry pretenders and I have to wonder how they see the universe, how they see Satan, and how they see God. Well, I don’t really have to wonder. Their words tell me more than enough.
Visit with a Pentecostal long enough and you will hear them “binding Satan.” You have to wonder, do they believe when they say this phrase, especially with Jesus’ name tucked on the end (you know - “In Jesus name!”) Satan is unable to function and has to stop whatever he’s doing. Never mind the fact that in Jude Michael, the Archangel, one of the angels, the head honcho, was never even willing to TRY to “bind” Satan.
I’m sure Denise, the woman who submitted this “prayer” as a comment is completely sincere and is totally convinced their recital has accomplished something. Even as I’m sure the women who railed against the preacher outside Willow Boy’s motivational speaking event were quite sincere. Their display starts around 0:50.
But it goes to the fact that the men and women who sit under the pimps are completely oblivious to who God is, who Satan is, and what, exactly, our “rights” as Christians actually are.
Let’s step through it and see what we come up with. First, the whole prayer. Then let’s look at it in chunks.
By the way, this entire prayer was directed at Independent Conservative, not me. And she shouts the entire time. Maybe she wanted to make sure Satan could hear it when he read it.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, I COME AGAINST THE PRINCE-RULING SPIRIT AND ALL SPIRIT GUIDES. I COME THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. I PARALYZE YOU AND SILENCE YOU, FORBIDDING YOU FROM INFLUENCING OR STRENGTHENING (Independent Conservative Spirit) IN THE NAME OF JESUS, RIGHT NOW!
WE ARE DESTROYING YOUR VERY WORKS: THE SPIRITS OF HATE, BITTERNESS AND MURDER, SPIRITS OF ENVY AND JEALOUSY, SPIRITS OF WIZARDRY, SORCERY AND ALL YOUR CO-SPIRITS, YOUR WORKS, YOUR POWERS, YOUR INFLUENCES ARE DESTROYED IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
I PARALYZE YOU, ALL, RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THIS SOUL ANY LONGER AGAINST THE CHURCH (OR Men and Women of God), IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
I COME AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF BLINDNESS, BINDING THE SPIRITS OF BONDAGE AND HEAVINESS, FEAR AND HATE.
I PRAY, LORD, THAT YOU WILL OPEN their EYES SO THEY CAN SEE THE GLORY OF JESUS. OPEN THEIR HEARTS SO THAT THEY CAN HEAR YOUR VOICE. BREAK THE YOKES IN THEIR LIVES AND GIVE THEM LIBERTY IN THEIR SOUL, THAT HE MAY BE FREE TO REPENT. SHOW THEM EVERY EVIL WORK AND EVERY EVIL DEED THEY’RE GUILTY OF, AND LORD JESUS, CONVICT THEIR HEARTS UNTO REPENTANCE. BRING THIS SOUL OUT OF DARKNESS; SAVE THIS SOUL SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE THE GLORY.
SATAN, I SILENCE YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS, BINDING ALL YOUR INTERFERENCE. YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH THESE SOULS AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR OWN FREE WILL CHOICE SO AS TO MAKE UP THEIR OWN MINDS IF THEY WANT TO REPENT. THEY WILL DO IT WITHOUT YOUR INTERFERENCE.
ALSO, LORD JESUS, I PRAY THAT YOU WILL RELEASE WARRING ANGELS TO WAGE WAR AGAINST THESE DEMONIC ACTIVITIES, AND WILL SEND MINISTERING SPIRITS TO MINISTER TO HIS SOUL.
First paragraph
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, I COME AGAINST THE PRINCE-RULING SPIRIT AND ALL SPIRIT GUIDES. I COME THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE NAME OF JESUS. I PARALYZE YOU AND SILENCE YOU, FORBIDDING YOU FROM INFLUENCING OR STRENGTHENING ( Independent Conservative Spirit) IN THE NAME OF JESUS, RIGHT NOW!
Again, looking at Jude 9 for our example, Michael, the Archangel, did not feel up to binding Satan, or even rebuking Satan. He defers to the Lord (GOD) rebuking Satan. It’s awfully presumptuous to think I could exercise such authority. Besides, if I could do that, don’t you think I’d go to hospitals and bind Satan in the misery that exists there?
Apparently, by making this arrogant statement, I can 1) Paralyze Satan, 2) Silence Satan, 3) Forbid him from strengthening (whatever that is).
This goes beyond stupid and approaches dangerously deluded. )
WE ARE DESTROYING YOUR VERY WORKS: THE SPIRITS OF HATE, BITTERNESS AND MURDER, SPIRITS OF ENVY AND JEALOUSY, SPIRITS OF WIZARDRY, SORCERY AND ALL YOUR CO-SPIRITS, YOUR WORKS, YOUR POWERS, YOUR INFLUENCES ARE DESTROYED IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
“We destroy your every work”…if that’s so, why does Satan remain so active and effective? I mean there are thousands of people praying this insipid prayer. If all of his works are destroyed, we should be living in a paradise. There should be no bullies, no unkind words, no theives, no difficulties of any kind. Afterall, the works of Satan are destroyed. Right?
I PARALYZE YOU, ALL, RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THIS SOUL ANY LONGER AGAINST THE CHURCH (OR Men and Women of God), IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
I COME AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF BLINDNESS, BINDING THE SPIRITS OF BONDAGE AND HEAVINESS, FEAR AND HATE.
Apparently, not only can we paralyze Sata, but we can also paralyze a bunch of demons. I guess I have to be careful driving on the beltway. I wouldn’t want to run over any of them as they lay there paralyzed. And I guess we don’t even consider free will here. After all, this bimbo prays and the demons can’t speak. They can’t move. They can’t do the things they want to do. So will this work if I’m being mugged by the Internal Revenue Service?
I PRAY, LORD, THAT YOU WILL OPEN their EYES SO THEY CAN SEE THE GLORY OF JESUS. OPEN THEIR HEARTS SO THAT THEY CAN HEAR YOUR VOICE. BREAK THE YOKES IN THEIR LIVES AND GIVE THEM LIBERTY IN THEIR SOUL, THAT HE MAY BE FREE TO REPENT. SHOW THEM EVERY EVIL WORK AND EVERY EVIL DEED THEY’RE GUILTY OF, AND LORD JESUS, CONVICT THEIR HEARTS UNTO REPENTANCE. BRING THIS SOUL OUT OF DARKNESS; SAVE THIS SOUL SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE THE GLORY.
Hold on there cowgirl. What happened to free will? Don’t you talk about it in the next paragraph? So which is it? Is He going to bring them out of darkness even if they don’t want to be brought out of darkness?
SATAN, I SILENCE YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS, BINDING ALL YOUR INTERFERENCE. YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH THESE SOULS AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR OWN FREE WILL CHOICE SO AS TO MAKE UP THEIR OWN MINDS IF THEY WANT TO REPENT. THEY WILL DO IT WITHOUT YOUR INTERFERENCE.
Okay, we know for sure this woman is of the opinion that Satan, that greasy little rebel, can control us but God, the creator and LOrd of the universe, can’t. Do you understand how much raw power the lady is giving to Satan? He’s a grubby little liar and he gets to do stuff God can’t do. Of course she spends most of the time praying to Satan so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
ALSO, LORD JESUS, I PRAY THAT YOU WILL RELEASE WARRING ANGELS TO WAGE WAR AGAINST THESE DEMONIC ACTIVITIES, AND WILL SEND MINISTERING SPIRITS TO MINISTER TO HIS SOUL.
Warring Angels. That sounds like a pretty good video game. But it doesn’t sound like anything within the Bible. The closest we get to something like this is the quick narratives that talk about Satan and his band getting kicked out of Heaven.
I want you to understand that this lady has accepted every thing the five fold liars have fed to her. She arrogant, biblically illiterate, and completely self-deceived. She actually thinks she can influence the behavior of Satan. So what was Job missing? Why didn’t he bind Satan? On the other hand, if God is doing in her life the same sort of thing He did in Job’s life, where does the get the ‘nads to assume she can keep him from his task?
You have to feel sorry for people like this. She has no idea what it means to be a Christian. She has no idea about humility, dependence on Christ, or the idea of suffering for Christ. And it is very likely that 10 years from now she will either an agnostic or in exaclty the same place spiritually that she is right now.
Avishalom brought to my attention a video that has been making the rounds on YouTube. But before you look at it, take a look at these sections of scripture and remember that the Pentecostals/Charismatics say God heals today just like He did then.
Take a few minutes and go review these passages in the Bible, that document most of the pimps and pimpettes count on you not reading
1. Acts 3:1 – 8 The lame guy healed at the Gate Beautiful
2. John 9:7 – 11 The fellow born blind and healed by Jesus
3. Mark 2:3 – 13 The fellow healed after being lowered through the roof while Jesus was teaching
4. Acts 20:0 – 10 Eutycus, who should have been paying attention but fell asleep and fell out of a third floor window
Do you see any kind of commonality between these incidents? Sure. The lame guy was healed completely. Even though he hadn’t been able to walk, the atrophy in his legs was gone. He could stand. He could even leap. Do you understand how much coordination is needed to leap?
The blind guy went from having been blind at birth to being able to see (and being able to assimilate what he saw for the first time), immediately. There was no gradual (as in weeks and months of repair) improvement.
The crippled fellow, who was lowered into the room where Jesus was preaching, was healed and was able to stand up, pick up his nap time mat and walk out of the place. It was immediate and it was obvious.
The poor schlep who fell asleep and fell out of the third story window was revived, immediately. No broken bones, no internal bleeding, no double vision from hitting his head against the pavement at the end of the three story fall. There was no shouting, there were no pseudo-tongues, there was no nothing.
In each one of these, there was no shouting, there was no jumping up and down, and there was no supposed babbling in tongues. There were no theatrics. Instead, God acted, the person was completely healed, and glory was given to God. The validity of Jesus’ ministry was demonstrated. The truth of what the Apostles were saying was verified and the Son of God was glorified.
Now take a look at this video, or at least as much of it as you can stomach.
Can you see any difference between what Jesus, Peter, Paul and the rest did as compared to the circus at Sheryl Brady’s church?
No? Well, let’s compare.
1. The healing by Jesus, Peter and Paul was immediate and obvious. The “healing” shown on the video took at least one half hour of jumping up and down, shouting, babbling in pseudo-tongues, and a whole lot of carrying on. Peter didn’t pray. He didn’t tell the man he had to have faith. He didn’t tell the crowd going into the temple to point to the man. And he didn’t hold his hand on the man. Yet the man was completely healed. Jesus did it so those around Him would know he had the power to forgive sin.
2. AFTER the healings, the people praised God. The people came to Peter and John for an explanation and the two of them were able to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A video of the healings didn’t go viral, the temple didn’t increase its membership, and Paul didn’t get promoted to bishop with a bunch of other churches under him.
3. While a crowd may have been around, the miracle itself was not the focus of the crowd. The results were the focus and the results provided an opportunity for the Apostles to tell the crowd about Jesus Christ, right then and right there.
Here are some of the details of the healing at Sheryl’s church:
1. Folks, including Sheryl, were spouting pseudo-tongues. The ten megawatt speaker system made sure every one heard them. There was no translation.
2. The crowd was focused on the little girl. Well, except for the folks who were holding their faces, bending over, and getting otherwise distracted, the crowd was focused on the child.
3. This went on for at least twenty-five minutes. And at the end, one of the staff had to point out to Sheryl that the infant was stirring.
4. The close up shot of the infant showed a child with her eyes shut, then barely opened, sticking her tongue out without any real indication of alertness.
Unfortunately, here’s what the News Observer also reported:
Meanwhile, Christiana is still fed through a gastric feeding tube. She cannot hold her head up, and for the time being, she resides at the Hilltop Home on New Bern Road in Raleigh, a residential center for children with profound developmental disabilities.
Let’s see if we can imagine it. Jesus was beat, whipped, crucified laid in a tomb after being wrapped by Joseph and his crew. Three days later, the man who claimed to be the messiah and to have power over death appears, looking like he came out the worst in a tangle with a meat grinder. He can barely stand up, both eyes are black, and He’s missing patches of hair. Yeah, I’m sure I’d want to follow after this fellow and even lay my life down for him. After all, He rose from the dead. Right?
Or how convincing would the healing of that sleepy head Eutycus who fell three stories if he had been taken away in a body brace, a neck brace, and in an induced coma? Yeah, he had no pulse when they first got there, but after Paul worked his miracle, the pulse returned and, wonders of wonders, he didn’t die from the massive internal bleeding he was still experiencing. However, his legs are broken, his spine is damaged and he’ll probably be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his miraculous life.
I say all of this to say that the miracle at River Church was at best a great deal of wishful thinking and at worst a cynical attempt to build up the reputation of Sheryl and her (I hate to use this word) ministry.
Look at what God can do and the power with which He can do it and don’t accept some anemic imitation like the one Sheryl tried to pass off back in December 2009.
I feel badly for the mother. Her child is still incapacitated. And now she has to deal with the religious noises Sheryl and her hoard have been making. And she has to deal with Sheryl walking the whole show back a little bit.
After shouting “I impart life…I stand in the mantle that God has given me, the mantle of healing…I release healing now…that this child would forever be made whole…the Lord heals you today…we drive out the spirit of infirmities…ooh shalla bang bang tonto comes inahonda…etc…etc…etc”, now, on her site she starts to walk the claims back. “The child wasn’t in a coma per se…the child is in a therapeutic home…etc.”
If the truth be told, I’m more impressed with what the congregation did after that (assuming it was the congregation and not the church leadership.
At Sunday’s service, Brady and her followers did their best. After a prelude of rousing music and sermons, Brady presented the mother - who returned this time without the baby - with the keys to a Raleigh apartment and a check for one year’s rent, along with dining and bedroom sets, towels, pots and pans, and even a bucket with cleaning supplies.
By the time the three-hour service was over, a church member popped up and added the keys to a car.
Stay away from places like this. They have no real idea of the power of God and are willing to attribute penny ante stuff, and to distort of what happened, to try to make God (and the pimp) look good. He doesn’t need our help to look good. Every time He saves an unregenerate sinner, it is done to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:6, 12) and He certainly doesn’t need the help of some one apparently trying to boost her own image at the expense of the hopes of a desperate mother.
And don’t forget, John K. Jenkins Sr, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden on the Kettering, had this woman preach to the congregation for New Year’s Revival last year (January 2009). You can read about it here.
These people don’t care about you. They don’t care about God. They don’t care about holiness. They don’t care about truth. They only care about themselves, their images, and their influence over you. Run away from them as fast as you can and get involved in a real church populated by real Christians following the real Christ.
Remember, if you lay in the sewer long enough, you won’t notice the smell. Get out now.
