“Some 49% of U.S. adults say Trump’s accounts should be permanently banned from social media, while half say they should not be. But views are deeply divided along partisan lines” - Pew

“It turns out that it’s not mainly what you’re doing that makes a life. It’s why you’re doing it. And no one taught me that lesson more powerfully than Elisabeth Elliot.” - Michele Morin

Repent and Believe: Clarifying the Gospel Call

When we share the gospel, we need to be clear on what we’re asking sinners to do in response to what Christ has done. The Biblical response to the gospel is to repent and believe (Mr. 1:15; Acts 20:21). Sometimes, the Scriptures emphasize the need to repent (see Luke 24:46-47, Acts 2:38, 3:19, 11:18, 17:30, 36:20). Other times, only faith is mentioned (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9; Ro. 3:28, 5:1; Gal. 2:16). In reality, repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin, occurring simultaneously at the point of someone’s conversion to Christ.

“ ‘This action is the first step in bringing admissions back to the historical average and our nation back to our own ideals as a beacon of freedom,’ said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in written comments.” - BPNews

Related: Christian groups praise Biden raising refugee resettlement cap

“The CMA consecrates and licenses women for ministry but does not permit them to use the title ‘pastor.’ The term is restricted to men who can be elders, even though not all pastors are elders in CMA churches and not all elders are ordained pastors.” - C.Today

“ ‘They showed you a simulation of some neural activity inside this. Suppose it looked different; how would you know that that was wrong or right?’ Sitting behind the camera, I replied, ‘Well, I wouldn’t know.’ Seung reiterated: ‘Right, how would anybody know what was a wrong activity pattern or right activity pattern?’” - Scientific American

“Three mothers say a law eliminating the faith exemption for school vaccinations violates their free exercise rights.” - RNS

“In general, with many exceptions, of course (and I am not including here real fundamentalist churches), American evangelical churches have allowed biblical and traditional virtues, values and rules to fall away. Individualism has become the norm; each church member’s lifestyle and conduct is solely between him/her and God.” - Roger Olson

“Isn’t it ironic that a high commitment like church membership can bring about a sense of freedom? I’m not exactly sure how that works but I do have some clarity on what I think it’s not. It’s not because I feel I can do whatever I want, or that I am free to be uniquely ‘me’ ”… 9 Marks

“According to Ontario’s website on public health measures, accessed Monday, religious gatherings indoors or outdoors cannot have more than 10 people. Attendees are required to wear face coverings and maintain six feet of social distancing.” - C. Post

“In an effort to affirm the prophetic movement while correcting abuses occurring within it, dozens of Christian leaders recently released a “Prophetic Standards” document….. ‘there are many questions in the Body concerning the gift of prophecy and the ministry of the prophet.’ Many of those questions were sparked by false prophecies about President Trump’s re-election” - C.Leaders

“If you scan through the uses of this word in the NT, you can’t help noticing something that you may find surprising—the frequent connection of joy with trials.” - Olinger

“More than 62% of voters in the city of more than 250,000 residents voted to approve the referendum, while less than 38% voted against it.” - C.Post

“The Word of God gives us everything God wants us to know. We call this the sufficiency of Scripture. All the words that God wants you to have when it comes to salvation, and trusting Him, and obeying Him are found in the Bible.” - P&D

After Matthew has completed his narration of Jesus’ birth, ending at His family’s relocation in Nazareth, he plunges straight in to John the Baptist’s preaching of the Kingdom. Both the Gospels and Josephus¹ accord John the Baptist a place of honor as a highly respected (at least among the general populace) and powerful influence in Judea and Galilee in the twenties A. D. From Luke 3:7, 15, 21, Matthew 3:5, and Mark 1:5 it is clear that he drew a lot of attention and that his impact was marked. He even had a band of followers (Lk. 7:19; Jn. 3:25), and some of these men continued to be identified as his disciples for years.

Contemporary Worship Advocates and Their Dancing King

From the comments to this article:


You have probably read about the fact that a commission began by President Trump to come to a conclusion about UFOs and present that conclusion to the people is underway.

The response to recently leaked videos taken by military personnel have led a number of top current and former government higher-ups (even someone like Mark Rubio) to state that people really saw these, their maneuvers are impossible with human technology, and that there is no other explanation other than alien appearances.

“Integral to these findings is that people who engage the Bible one to three days a week indicate basically the same effect on their personal lives as those who do not engage at all. The deceptive reality is that they can feel good about their activities without any sustainable results.” - LifeWay

“In many schools, meditation advocates have reframed religious practices such as meditation and yoga as secular to avoid legal challenges.” - RNS

“To what extent do we, American Christians especially, allow our Christianity to be shaped and re-shaped by contemporary American culture? Are we supposed to stand out rather than (just) fit in? To what extent? Whatever happened to the Christian norm of avoiding ‘worldliness?’ Do we throw the baby out with the bathwater when we move away from perceived legalisms of the past and embrace the permissive standards of contemporary culture?” - Roger Olson

“Marriage is not a picture of the Gospel when it is permanent. Marriage is permanent when it is a picture of the Gospel. A man physically, emotionally, spiritually or sexually abusing a woman (or child, or anyone) is preaching a FALSE GOSPEL.” - SBC Voices

“According to a new survey by Pew Research, half of self-identified Christians in America say casual sex is sometimes or always acceptable. The survey defined casual sex as sex between consenting adults who are not in a committed romantic relationship.” - TGC

“According to Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, who chairs the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, advocacy for abortion constitutes a ‘grave moral evil.’ Naumann told The Associated Press that ‘Because President Biden is Catholic, it presents a unique problem for us.’” - C.Post

For many of us it was never about fear. We wore masks. We social-distanced. We avoided gatherings. We encouraged people to consider participating in Sunday school and worship over Zoom or Facebook Live. We respected the officials who—for better or worse, correct or incorrect—made the tough calls and closed businesses, limited gatherings, and recommended or required masks.

We were not “afraid.”

We didn’t choose “fear instead of faith” and certainly didn’t choose “fear instead of science.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Surely, one of the greatest failures by all of us as believers is our repeated failure to pray to God that He would preserve our entire *bodies* blameless unto the coming of Christ.

Ask yourself, “When was the last time that I specifically prayed for God to do that for my entire body and for the entire bodies of those whom I love?”

Poll Results

How often have you specifically prayed as Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24?

“There are still arrangements like this. They’re called monasteries. Before exploring how monasteries show us how ‘socialism’ can work, let me acknowledge that I’m hesitant to present monasticism as ‘socialism.’ The voluntary profession of monasticism has nothing to do with the state seizing the means of production or the mass terror that inevitably follows in its wake.” - Acton

Related: No Ralph Warnock, the early Church was not socialist

“…some church leaders—especially cult leaders of false churches—abuse their power and take advantage of others. That’s what ex-Mormons experienced. But a biblical understanding of church membership actually inhibits such authoritarian abuses from ever happening.” - 9 Marks

“Greg Koukl—who has thought long and hard about not only what to say but how to say it—provides a game plan for equipping believers through an artful method of careful thinking and winsome conversation.” - TGC

“While the recently signed legislation, HB 377, does not ban the teaching of critical race theory, it prohibits all public schools, including institutions of higher education and school districts, from teaching that ‘any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.’” - C.Post

“When we fight back—instead of seeking to defuse the situation by not responding or by answering gently—we condition ourselves to reject all critique, even the kind that is fair. When we do this, we harm everyone including ourselves.” - Scott Sauls