This picture helps explain why posts around here have been a bit light lately. I traveled to New Mexico and Arizona for vacation recently and saw some incredible beauty created by our God, as well as some architectural marvels. The way this church in Sedona is built right into the rocks was pretty amazing. Also, I felt like a tiny ant with all the mountains out there.
But without further ado, here’s a list of great things to read and listen this week.
15 Discernment Diagnostics – by Rev. Kevin DeYoung
I’m glad I saw Michelle Lesley tweet this out today. Rev. DeYoung put together a very useful list of 15 questions that can help you assess whether a teaching is true and biblical, or false and to be dismissed.
A few I really liked were “does it sound too good to be true?” “does the teaching use big themes to negate specific verses?” and “does it result in an unbalanced presentation of the truth?” Check them all out. I hope they help you sift out the half-truths and lies from the truth.
Why Won’t Steven Furtick Answer Tough Questions? – Jonathan Merritt (RNS)
Merritt recounts his recent attempt to ask Charlotte megachurch pastor Steven Furtick questions, not only about his new book, but also about criticism of his lavish lifestyle, “cult of personality,” etc.
In my opinion the questions he drafted weren’t all that tough, yet Furtick refused to grant the interview rather than answer them. Silence speaks volumes.
China denies accusations of religious freedom violations
My latest article for WORLDmag.com takes a look at USCIRF’s allegations regarding China and its religious freedom violations, as well as the predictable denial from Chinese government officials.
Real Men Love Strong Women – Desiring God
I wasn’t in love with the title of this piece by Paul Maxwell, but appreciated very much what he had to say about strong women having a vital role to play in the church because they “expose evil men,” “rebuke good men,” and “raise believing men.” To understand what he meant in each of those instances and the biblical examples he points to, head over to Desiring God.
Deception Keeps Calling …
Amy Spreeman noted on Facebook yesterday that Thomas Nelson publishers announced another Sarah Young book, slated for release in the fall. The book will be called Jesus Always and as Thomas Nelson brags, “written in the familiar voice readers have come to know and love.”
This seems an apt time to reshare my post about the original Sarah Young book, Jesus Calling. ALL of my original concerns remain. Young is at best misguided and deluding herself, or she is communicating with a familiar spirit. The “Jesus” of her books repeatedly contradicts God’s Word, and the method she used to supposedly hear from Jesus IS NOT biblical. Period.
Please, read my warning and prayerfully consider it. I did not write this to bash Sarah Young, but out of a desire to protect people from being led astray: Is Deception Calling? A review of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.
Fighting for the Faith – A Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Beth Moore and Nicole Crank episode
I’m slowly catching up on my F4F podcasts. This episode is a doozy, so much so, I couldn’t actually listen to the Nicole Crank “sermon.” Meyer, Osteen and Moore’s Bible twisting was more than I could bear.
Biblical Support for the Doctrine of the Trinity
Earlier this week I said a few things about the trinity and trinitarian theology.
Filed under: Bookshelf, Christian Life, Contemplative Spirituality, Discernment, My journalism, Persecution, Photographs, The Word
