Things I Think…
1. Mike Winger is doing to Bethel and the NAR today what I did to Calvary Chapel 20 years ago.
It ended up being a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing, as the congregations that supported corrupt and abusive leaders continued to support them.
Nothing has changed in terms of congregations demanding biblical accountability…thus, this too shall pass and the abuses will continue…
2. Whether it is biblical accountability for the laity or the leadership, each local church must have a recognized and accepted authority structure respected by both. That ship sailed centuries ago…
3. In the church and in the culture…we have lost the fear of God…God has a way of restoring that fear…and I tremble at the thought…
4. I confess that I have more than a little sympathy with those taken in by charismatic and Pentecostal frauds. Who among us doesn’t pray for divine healing and direction? Who doesn’t wish that Jesus moved among us as He did in His ministry?
5. On the other hand, we can be glad that the Spirit doesn’t move among us like He did with Ananias and Sapphira…though it might cut down on the fraud…
6. Tell me that you don’t know much about Calvary Chapel without saying so…this guy is a fine researcher who doesn’t seem to understand that the “Moses Model” was actually a written and established part of the Calvary Chapel “distinctives”…I think he’s going to stumble into a lot more than he knows right now. I thought about dropping him a note, but then I thought more clearly…
7. Some folks think the Iran war is a prelude to the Rapture…let me go on the record and say that the whole Rapture scenario is fiction and basing foreign policy on fiction is really dangerous…
8. There has been talk in the Pentagon about the rebuilding of the temple and sacrificing the red heifer…Israel would have done so already, but they couldn’t agree on which barbecue sauce was appropriate…
9. When you have a culture bereft of accountability and willing to embrace corrupt leaders who spin tales they want to hear…that culture is nearing its end…
10. I’ve had some inquiries about my current health issues.
I have over sized stones in both kidneys that will have to be surgically removed. One stone moved and blocked the flow of urine to the bladder and I had to have a tube installed to drain it until the stone can be removed.
The second stone is doing the same thing and I will have to have the same procedure on that side. I have been fighting infections on both sides and never know when I may need to get emergency care.
We have exactly one surgeon for the whole of Southern Oregon and Northern California who does the stone removal…our health care situation is not good…but let’s make sure that we keep out immigrant physicians who could ease the situation…
Anyway…posting and commenting will be sporadic…prayers are appreciated.
Michael, consider yourself lifted up nightly in this household for your health concerns…..
#3 – finding people who still have any fear of God is proving more difficult, to be sure, and I find it incredible just how deeply that lack of fear affects everything people say or do……
Thank you, Owen.
I’ll be going in for the next procedure in a day or two…
Praying for you Michael.
My wife had a similar condition several years ago and ended up being admitted through the ER.
It was during covid so that was especially difficult and unforgettable.
Thanks, JD.
I have to get the second procedure through the ER…thanking God the Covid crisis is over.
The prophesy wonks (a term I think I learned from you) have been using this as yet another “fact” that the disgusting dictator is sent by God Himself, and literally dancing to the tune of another war, in the name of Jesus of course.
I have had to block people again. I don’t even really want to get into that stuff. I am beyond blessed with what I have, and gratitude is my daily goal.
The thing I have noticed over and over again is that Trump is worshiped the same way our old nemesis the celebrity pastors have always been treated. They literally are incapable of wrong, and that has become an absolute for Trump fans.
I am thankful that 99% of my day is filled with things to do, and my mind is on other things.
Totally separate thought, I do pray, and I pray for you.
The Leaving the Message folks come specifically from Branham’s church, which as insiders they know where all the bodies are buried. When they step outside that world their research is not as thorough. They keep circling back to the early roots of Christian Identity (now called white nationalism) and the Latter Rain world because that’s what they know. I saw the same limitations when they tried to cover the NAR world. I think their sheltered childhoods in The Message prevented them from knowing anything about The Jesus Movement (and CC) while it was actually happening. They are now playing catchup.
#8 the rebuilding of the Temple.
In 1967 when Israel took the Temple Mount Mosche Dayan purposely did not remove the Dome of the Rock and the Mosque because he knew the political and religious problems of doing so. In fact he took down the Israeli flag which the soldiers had lofted on top of the Dome.
To this day the Arabs/Muslims have control of the Temple platform and who enters it. Jews are forbidden to enter the area (although there have been protests from Jews who went up there).
That political decision to not bend to the Jewish (and Christian) religious has been a good one to this day.
With the current rocket barrage on Israel I noticed something which had not happened in the past, rockets were landing near Jerusalem. In the past I assumed since the Dome of the Rock is considered a Holy Islamic sight they would avoid blowing it up.
With the current situation I laughed to myself that Islamic extremist Iran may do (with their rockets) what religious Jews and Christians wanted to do for decades.
Who knows they (Iran) may still have a chance.
Oh well, there goes gasoline under $3 a gallon.
Reuben,
Thanks, my friend.
One indeed can draw a straight line from pastoral idolatry to Trump idolatry…
Michael, I cringe at the thought of what you’re going through physically. Praying for you as always.
Side note: My cardiologist is a middle eastern immigrant. He’s one of the best doctors I’ve ever had.
Thanks, CK.
My last cardiologist was as well…she had to talk me out of following her when she moved up state…
WIll pray for you Michael!
Thank you, Dan!
I continue to pray for you Michael. I’m so sorry you are suffering so much. I am also praying that Iran will be set free from Islamist rule and this war will end quickly. After 47 years of terror, may they be set free!
Michael,
Just for the record, I’m pre-trib rapture millienialist when it comes to the return of Christ. However, I don’t believe that anything we do consciously as humans will hasten it along. That’s a big difference with those who look at every world event as a way to announce the rapture is nigh. There are a lot of people like me who believe in the rapture, but don’t interpret every global event as necessarily coordinating with the rapture. I went through the Hal Lindsay era, read most of his books, and realized he was probably cracked in the head. I didn’t want to be crackd in the head.