Saturday, June 1, 2013

10 By Any Other Name by Rev. Todd Virnoche

This may sound like a riddle, but what do you call two Popes and eight Cardinals?

“VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis named eight cardinals from around the globe Saturday to advise him on running the Catholic Church and reforming the Vatican bureaucracy, marking his first month as pope with a major initiative to reflect the universal nature of the church in key governing decisions.

The advisory panel includes only one current Vatican official. The rest are cardinals from North, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. Many have been outspoken in calling for a shake-up of the Vatican bureaucracy, which was last reformed 25 years ago, while others have tried to clean up the church from sexually abusive priests”

Without any fanfare the newly elected Pope in his first month as the “supreme commander of the Jesuits” and “the pauper pontiff” for the “Faithful” ushered in a new era without a peep from God’s elect. It has been more than 600 years since we have had two living Popes and the Catholics churches division of the globe by region. This new alliance within the hierarchy of the Roman empire; though missed by the masses, has not fallen by the wayside with this writer. The overlooked significance of Israel in the land, the regathering of the Jewish nation from the ends of the earth (Ezk.34:29), the movement to rebuild the temple – on temple mount (Dan. 9:27) and the massive departure from biblical truth and teaching (2 Tim. 3:1-9) has cauterized the conscience of most to a distant reckoning foretold by God in ages past. With worldwide tyranny on the rise and whole hearted applause for it in the press it is no stretch of imagination to connect a few dots and see the framework being assembled before our very eyes. I am no prophet nor am I particularly keen; but the writing has been on the wall much like in the day of Belshazzar in Babylon.

    “Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces all of these metals, so it will break in pieces and crush the others. In that you were seeing feet and toes partly of wet clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. Some of the strength of iron will be in it, for you saw iron mixed with wet clay. In that the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, the latter stages of this kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile. And in that you saw iron mixed with wet clay, so people will be mixed with one another without adhering to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay." (Dan 2:40-43 NET)

As dismal as this may seem to an average citizen; we need to look up (Luke 21:28). We are not destined for wrath (1 Thess. 5:9) and when the Great Day of the LORD arrives we will have been with Him (1Thess. 4:13-18) and we will arrive with Him (Rev. 19:6-21) and Israel will have peace and know it’s Messiah.

    “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever." (Dan 2:44 NET)

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Another word of God? by Rev. Todd Virnoche

"As man thinks so he will do" is a quote I have long heard during my time in Seminary. As benign as this originally appears the roots take us back to the very day in which our ancestors Adam and Eve wrought upon themselves God's wrath; namely death which was the consequence for their insistence to twist God's commandment. Today in the course of our discoveries and deliberations with respect to the vast number of resources that God has provided us with to discern His Word; mankind instead has set off on a path to tone down and invalidate the language God gave specifically to prohibit moral and physical debauchery.

A purposely fractured and manmade manipulation of the King James Bible text has been released under the title of "The Queen James Bible". Why this version? Quite simple... it's no longer governed by copyright. There was no team of scholars, or the painstaking sweat of translation from the original text or even a need within our churches for such a rendition. In 8 verses throughout the Queen James text (Gen. 19:5, Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13, Rom. 1:26, Rom. 1:27, 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10 and Jude 1:7) any reference to the sin of homosexuality is removed. The prohibition of such acts removed for ever more by a group of nearsighted pleasure seekers without cause or direction; denying the Word of God which forgives the acts they desperately are trying to bury.

In the garden, when mankind fell, genetically something happen to us… we were translated from moral to immoral; immortal to mortal, from life eternal to death supreme. “ There is a tendency within the church body, especially here in the United States, to forget we were purchased with a price and we are not our own (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and that our bodies are used to glorify our Creator. Sexual sins and especially homosexuality are conceived within the mind and are acted on outside the body; whether by force or compliance these despicable acts compel another individual to error. The scientific community would like us to believe the GLBT crowd is compelled by genetics. If Adam’s error transformed us into sinners; and we are an image of Adam (Gen 5:3) then all mankind is predisposed and destined to error. This error takes many shapes and distorts the original glory mankind enjoyed. Whether you subscribe to ones will to sin; or that we are all sinners… one thing is certain we are all responsible for our actions whether in the mind or outwardly from the body (Rom. 1:32).

In our secular society we teach that nothing is evil; and we approve and applaud an individual’s choice. This too is a corruption of the choice to do what is true and right and just that only comes by way of His implanted Spirit within. In 2 Peter 3 we are warned that evil men would try to deceive many… in Jude we are reminded that they are now among the church; Paul reminds us that ministry would be dismantled… by the same will that caused us to fall originally.

Ministry in the Last Days: But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these. (2Ti 3:1-5)

Friday, February 22, 2013

Memorial Service



On February 12th, Dr. Malcom Couch lost his long-standing battle with cancer and passed into the presence of his Savior, Jesus Christ. He left behind a wonderful spiritual legacy as well as many friends and loved ones. 

A Memorial Service will be held in his honor in order to celebrate his homecoming and heavenly promotion. All wishing to pay their last respects to this wonderful man of God are invited to attend.

The service will be held at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, TX. The service will be conducted on Thursday, March 14 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM with a luncheon immediately following the service. The museum is found at the following address: 

7500 Park Lane, Dallas, TX 75225
Cross Streets: Park Lane and Boedeker Street
Neighborhood: Preston Hollow

Furthermore information regarding location is available at the below link.

CLICK HERE

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A Tribute to Dr. Mal Couch from Dr. Andy Woods

It is with mixed emotions that I announce tonight that Dr. Mal Couch early this morning around 2 AM on February 12th lost his battle with cancer and passed into the presence of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The reason my emotions are mixed is because on the one hand I am happy since I now know that Mal Couch is in a better place. Paul indicated that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8) and to depart and be with Christ is far better (Philip. 1:21-23). 

On the other hand my heart is heavy tonight with sadness knowing that I have temporarily lost the companionship of a mentor and even more important than that a very good, close, personal friend. The life of Dr. Mal Couch was nothing short of extraordinary. I hope to blog about it in more detail at a later time. God used him in so many strategic ways to touch many people, including myself. I've had the privilege of knowing him personally over the course of the last decade. Volumes could be written on the things that I have learned from this man philosophically, theologically, and professionally. He invited me to contribute to a plethora of journal issues, books, conferences, online resources, and CD interviews. Despite my busy schedule, only one time I remember did I ever turn him down. In many ways, he was a father-like figure to me. Outside of my immediate and extended family, there was probably no one who was a greater supporter, influencer, encourager, and cheerleader for my life and ministry than Dr. Mal Couch. I owe the current trajectory in my life largely to his positive influence. His passing certainly makes heaven richer and earth poorer. 

Besides my mixed emotions of happiness and sadness, one other feeling strikes me very strongly this evening. That sensation is urgency or motivation! His passing reminds me of how brief life really is (Ps. 103:15-16; Jas. 4:14). It's imperative to all of us like-minded ministers and believers to invest what limited time we have left in this fleeting life into eternal things. Mal Couch seemed to understand that his time on earth was limited, and so he wanted to make every second count for Christ. We should follow his example. His passing is a reminder that the spiritual baton has now been formally passed to those of us that he influenced. Let us take that baton, consisting of the rich things that we learned from him, and pass it on to the next generation while there is still time and freedom to do so. His passing has personally awakened within me a desire to reconsecrate my life to God so that He can use me as His channel of blessing to others. I want to bless others the same way Mal blessed me. 

The death of the giants of Mal's generation remind us that we can no longer count on these older Christians to disseminate what their generation stood for (Dispensationalism, pre-tribulationism, Zionism, literal interpretation, free grace, conservatism, and constitutionalism). It's our turn now to take the lead in these issues. Let run our race with boldness and endurance knowing that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1). May God strengthen us for the task ahead. Thank you again Dr. Mal Couch for what you have meant to so many and for the encouragement and training you have given us to follow your wonderful example.

During this difficult time, my thoughts and prayers go out to Mal's family, especially his wonderful wife Lacy.

Sincerely,
Dr. Andy Woods

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Eternality of God by Dr. Don M. Miller

  Of the countless doctrines that have caused me to stand in awe of God, one aspect of theology that absolutely fascinates me His eternality. Just this morning while preparing music for Sunday I was singing the Chris Tomlin song- How Great is Our God- oh how true! Through the years of sitting under the teaching of Dr. Couch on more than one occasion I recall him brushing the tears from his eyes as he contemplated the awesomeness and magnificence of God. As we take a moment to consider the eternality of God, I pray that you may also find yourself in awe of the splendor and power of God.

  The eternality of God is one of the foundational beliefs of Christianity. If God is not eternal, then eternal life is not His to give to anyone. Also if God had a beginning He too would have to have a creator, at which point he is not the one true God. Without the eternality of God, Christianity is futile.


Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says this is reference to God being eternal:

  God is eternal ( Deut 33:27 ; Psalm 10:16 ; 48:14 ). Scripture does not provide philosophical reflection on this fact but assumes it. The Lord is the Rock eternal ( Isa 26:4 ) and the eternal King ( Jer 10:10 ). God's word, rooted in his being and will, is likewise eternal ( Psalm 119:89 ), as are his righteous laws (119:60), his ways ( Hab 3:6 ), and his kingdom or dominion ( Daniel 4:3 Daniel 4:34 ). Since God is eternal, so are his love ( 1 Kings 10:9 ), his blessings ( Psalm 21:6 ), and all his other attributes and benefits. They endure without end; as long as God exists, so do they.

  The subject of the eternality of God requires that we understand that God is infinite in relation to time. He is without beginning, and He is without ending. Eternality means not only that God dwells in unending duration from eternity past to eternity future, it means that He dwells in another dimension outside of time. Consider with me that to God, all history appears as both past and present.
 

  Notice with me an incredible passage: Revelation 13:8
  
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

  How incredible it is to consider that even before the foundation of the world, the names were written in the book of life. Clear evidence that God sees everything past, present and future.

 Another passage we must consider is Romans 8:30


and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

  Notice the unbroken chain- and the fact that God sees the finished product when He looks at His children!

  Why is this critical such a critical doctrine? Because as we understand the God who was, who is, and who will always be, we can draw strength and comfort in knowing that our Heavenly Father is completely  sovereign and holds all things together yesterday, today and forever


1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

  How wonderful it is that those who have trusted Christ will ALWAYS (eternally) be with the Lord!

Monday, September 24, 2012

An Unchanging Message for an Ever Changing World by Dr. Don M. Miller

All of us have sinned, all of us have fallen short of God’s perfect standard.  Our sin completely and totally separates us from any chance of reaching God.

But God did for US what we could NEVER EVER do for ourselves!  HE CAME TO US!  John 1:14 says that “the Word (Christ) became flesh, and dwelt among us....”  Jesus Christ left heaven, added to His deity humanity, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself as the ONLY acceptable sacrifice PAYING IN FULL the penalty for our sin. JESUS CHRIST became the BRIDGE that reached across that impassable canyon which separated us from God.  THAT is the FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH upon which the church is built!  Our sin is forgiven and we are redeemed and covered by the righteousness of Christ ONLY through FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE.

But in the past thirty years there has been a proliferation of “new gospels” here in the United States. Some such as the “new age” belief system, and Hinduism, are rooted in eastern mysticism. Others are based more on pop-psychology than they are on the gospel.  However the church is wandering away from the central message of the grace of Christ isn’t a NEW problem. The Apostle Paul had to address this very issue with the church in Galatia.

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;  which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." --Galatians 1:6-7

Paul’s astonishment is not that false teachers exist, but that the church was following them!  He had expected false teachers and in fact had warned the Ephesians elders (Acts 20:28-30) that false teachers would come. Notice that these false teachers were not opening denying the gospel message. They only wanted to “improve” the message by adding to it: requirements, new ceremonies and new standards. It is as if they are saying, “We believe in Jesus Christ – but we have something wonderful to add to what you already believe!”   What they viewed as a “new” gospel was actually a distorted gospel. The word translated “distort” means to transform into something of an opposite character.


Paul explains that this new gospel or “good news,” is in reality not the gospel or “good news” at all! It is a counterfeit!

As Christians in America we believe in the freedom of religion, but Christians need to realize that does not make all religions equally true. While we defend the right of each individual in this country to worship as they choose, in so doing we not defending that all religions are also “the” truth.  Jesus could NOT HAVE BEEN MORE CLEAR!   John 14:6,”I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”   May we be challenged to consider that ANY OTHER GOSPEL being presented other than FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE is misdirecting men and women away from the only truth that can save us from our sin! May those of us who teach be diligent and unwavering in presenting the uncompromised truth of our redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Emerging Third Way of Apostate Pastors and Globalist Leaders By Brannon S. Howse

The following is an excerpt from the just released book by Brannon Howse, Grave Influence: 21 Radicals and Their Worldviews That Rule America From The Grave (368 pages, hard-cover)

  The leaders in the educational establishment, the apostate Church, occultism/pagan spirituality, or the government-corporate complex want the idea of social and spiritual evolution embraced worldwide in order to bring about their desired "new order" or "new world order." Secular humanist and Fabian Socialist Julian Huxley (brother of Aldous) was the First Director General of the United Nations  educational, Science, and Culture Organization (UNESCO). He explained, "The task is to help the emergence of a single world culture!"

  This "task" is even at work in America's political arena. Bill Clinton's mentor and former professor Carrol Quigley made this clear in his book, Tragedy and Hope:

  The chief problem of American political life...has been how to make the two Congressional parties more national and international. The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can "throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.

  And it's working. While there are some truly conservative Republicans, most embrace the same worldview and agenda of their fellow politicians across the aisle. This is a form of Marx's dialectic process, the true intent of which is revealed by Julian Huxley:

  "...at the moment, two opposing philosophies of life confront each other"  You may categorize the two philosophies as super nationalism, or as individualism versus collectivism or as capitalism versus communism, or as Christianity verses Marxism. Can these opposites be reconciled, this antithesis be resolved in a higher synthesis? I believe not only that this can happen, but that, through the inexorable dialectic of evolution, it must happen.

  Those who buy into Darwinian or neo-Darwinian evolution and apply it to society embrace this concept of social evolution. There are others who apply it not only to the social and cultural arenas but also to the spiritual world. Generally, these are New Age devotees of the New Spirituality. Generally-but not always.

Emerging Trouble

  The pastors and authors of one of America's fastest growing spiritual movements, the Emergent Church, sing the praises of socialism. As I'll explain in more detail later, the Emergent Church champions the neo-Marxist call for a utopian society through spiritual evolution where good and evil merge to form a "better" third option. This idea derives from the belief system of philosophers such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and finds its contemporary manifestation in the "Third Way" movement of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. In the Third Way, capitalism, socialism, and communism merge to form a misanthropic combination of the three. This blending is now represented in the terms "the New World Order" and "the new enlightenment."

  The Third Way promotes Communitarianism, a toxic blend of communism, socialism, atheism, and Cosmic Humanism. Communitarians believe in universal health care, government-subsidized housing and education, radical environmentalism, Fabian socialism, and the like.

  An article on the website of the Democratic Leadership Council explains how Clinton and Blair have promoted Third Way thinking across the globe:

  Starting with Bill Clinton's Presidential campaign in 1992, Third Way thinking is reshaping progressive politics throughout the world. Inspired by the example of Clinton and the New Democrats, Tony Blair in Britain led a revitalized New Labour party back to power in 1997. The victory of Gerhard Shroeder and the Social Democrats in Germany the next year confirmed the revival of center-left parties which either control or are part of the governing coalition forming throughout the European Union. From Latin America to Australia and New Zealand, Third Way ideas also are taking hold.

  On Sunday, April 25, 1999, President Clinton and the DLC hosted a historic roundtable discussion, "The Third Way: Progressive Governance for the 21st Century, "with five world leaders including British PM Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Dutch PM Wim Kok, and Italian PM Massimo D'Alema, the First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and DLC President Al From.

  Not to be hoodwinked by the window dressing of Third Way advocates, however, Vaclav Klaus, prime minister of the Czech Republic, warns against the real future it offers: "The Third Way is the fastest route to the Third World."

  But that seems to be where communitarians want to take us.

  Grave Influence: 21 Radicals and Their Worldviews that Rule America from the
Grave

  This is it, the one book you need to read if you want to understand the big picture, connect all the dots, and understand current times, and future events and trends that will be unfolding. This ground-breaking book by best-selling author Brannon Howse is the result of thousands of hours of research over many years and is must reading for every teenager and adult.

  Brannon reveals how the worldviews of 21 dead people are still influencing every aspect of American life and vying for the hearts and minds of adults and students. Whether we are discussing, law, science, economics, history, family, social issues, education or religion, the people and worldviews seeking to further their agenda in these disciplines are almost always connected back to four major forces. Brannon reveals the connection between occultism/pagan spirituality, the apostate church, the educational establishment and government/corporations.

  Through this book you will come to understand the oppositions worldview, heroes, goals, strategies, masking terms, networks and targets. Those who share the worldviews of these 21 enemies of our constitutional republic and Biblical worldview do not want their agenda and its consequences to be revealed to the American people. Above all, they do not want us to equip and train our children and grandchildren with a Biblical worldview by which to recognize, reject, and fight against their seductive and destructive lies.

  This book will equip you to do just that as Brannon gives specific and pro-active responses you can take to make this the finest hour for the American church.

  Here is the list of twenty-one for which Brannon has dug up worldview facts you must know and prepare to oppose:

  Saul Alinsky, Karl Marx, John Dewey, John Maynard Keynes, Aldous Huxley, Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Margaret Sanger, William James, Alice Bailey, Helen Schuman, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Kinsey, Benjamin Bloom, B.F. Skinner, The Frankfurt School, Soren Kierkegaard, Julius Wellhausen, Christopher Columbus Langdell, Betty Friedan and Roger Baldwin.

  Topics covered include:

  Corporate fascism, sustainable development, the Third Way, global governance, dialectic process, the Delphi technique, the Cloward-Piven Strategy and deliberate chaos, community organizing, Fabian socialism, the federal reserve and a fiat currency, America's decline is Europe's gain, cultural Marxism, government mandated youth service, legal positivism, postmodernism, soft-despotism, higher-criticism, pagan spirituality, feminism, welfare-state capitalism, the false-dominate church, the Emergent Church, the spiritual battle for America, the United Nations and occultism, unmasking the one-world religion, the deconstructionists in the culture and in the church, psychological labeling of dissenters, behavior modification, a planned economy, the assault on parental authority, the two tracks to globalism, Keynesian economics, collectivism, similarities between America and Nazi
Germany, national leaders are a reflection of the people, social justice, why the culture war is lost if the church goes weak, is God judging America?, When and why does God judge a nation?, the environmentalist/globalist connection, cultural revolution/sexual revolution, the right to die becomes the duty to die, the true purpose of the law, why the State wants the children, are we all God's children? And much, much more.