NKJV Remnant Study Bible with E.G. White Comments

This is the most beautiful Bible I have ever owned. The craftsmanship is superb! The text is a very readable size and spaced nicely both vertically and horizontally.

The Ellen White comments are beautifully included within the text, and the chain references for various study-topics is top-notch!

Chain-Reference system:

Concordance:

Below you can see the only problem I had with this Bible: a couple pages that weren’t cut correctly…but that problem is very minor and easily fixable. It is just luck of the draw.

A quick snip and bingo, all fixed:

The full-color study helps are AMAZING!

This Bible includes:

-Read Your Bible Through In A Year reading plan.

-Each book of the Bible prefaced with a brief description, Author information, Date information, Christ in the book, Keys (key word, key verse, key chapter), and an Overview.

-Prophecies of the Messiah Fulfilled in Jesus Christ

-Prayers of the Bible

-The Parables of Jesus Christ

-The Miracles of Jesus Christ

-How Sin Began

-Biblical Timeline (6,000 years)

-Nothing to Fear Except We Forget (A detailed look at the Sanctuary)

-Prophecies of Daniel (The Four Kingdoms of Daniel 2 and 7, The Sanctuary to Be Cleansed – 2,300-Day Prophecy/70-Weeks Prophecy)

-Bible Symbols and Their Meanings

-Monies, Weights, and Measures

-The Jewish Calendar

-Chain-Reference Bible Topics with instructions.

-Concordance (183 pages)

-10 Maps

This Bible is available is multiple colors/styles…to purchase your own from Remnant Publishing, click here.

CONTEST: All Facebook followers of this blog will be entered to win one of these Bibles for FREE! A winner will be randomly chosen on May 1st, 2010. (This one is mine, you can choose which you'd like at the above link)

Free Sermons

I just wanted to write a post reminding everyone how incredibly awesome Audioverse is!

I've already downloaded like 4 days worth of sermons from www.audioverse.org. I mean around 100 hours worth...and that's just the beginning.

Audioverse is a website started by people from GYC (Generation of Youth for Christ) where they post up free audio (and some video) from their various conferences with their wide variety of guest speakers and topics. These sermons are top-notch. They are available in low, medium, and high quality audio format which means that if you have a dial-up connection you can just download the low quality without it taking too long.

The best part is that it's all 100% free! Just spreading God's word.

So, if you love to listen to sermons and be blessed by different God-centered messages, visit www.audioverse.org.

Excerpts from "Empowered Living" by Jim Hohnberger

"Today's Christian often longs for true communion with God as was seen in Bible times. People often lament, 'Things were easier back then when God spoke to people and told them what to do.' Well, friend, that type of intimate involvement with God is available to all. He is just as willing to talk to you and to me as He was to David or Paul. The continuous interchange between God and man is the heart of saving grace and living faith. This is the gospel experience that saves us. It's not our doctrine or our beliefs but a continual communion between the soul and God. It is reaching out over the gulf that separates us and crossing over from a self-directed life to a new and better, Spirit-directed way of living. It is only in realizing our powerlessness and in stepping out in faith to cooperate in the strength of heaven that we wrest ourselves from the bonds of sin and selfishness that have so long held us captive." - p.56

"Every morning as I rise, the first and foremost piece of business I must attend to is the surrendering of myself to the present will of God for my life. This means that I must choose of my own volition to give to another - that is God - control of every aspect of my life. What do I mean by that? I mean surrender of every choice, every thought, and every emotion to the control of God. Then this surrender must be maintained through the influence of God's Spirit upon my mind throughout the day." - p.31

Seventh-day Darwinians

What scares me is seeing the liberalism, if I may call it that, which has crept into the church. We see a significant number of professed Adventists denying Bible truth so foundational that nearly all Christendom agrees upon it.

Things like a literal six-day creation (seven if you count the Sabbath) or the literal worldwide flood of Noah's day. Seriously? I mean, seriously??

To see a group so seemingly blindly aligning themselves with the world as opposed to the plain truth revealed in Scripture only solidifies in my mind that "the shaking" is near.

While I may not agree completely with the somewhat "divisive" style of Clifford Goldstein, I certainly agree with his message. I was going to put in a quote or two from his article in the Adventist Review, but decided to just go ahead and post the whole thing.

I'm not hip to all the current copyright laws and such, but I'd hope that in the spreading of truth there would be no room for...well, let's just spread the truth without restrictions, ok? The original article can be found by clicking here. Here is the article in its entirety:

Seventh-day Darwinians

Rarely has there been a belief so ridiculous or contrary to the Scriptures that, once it becomes popular, some Christians haven't attempted to incorporate into the faith. In its long and often crude lust for cultural and intellectual correctness, the church has become what Jacques Ellul called "an empty bottle that the successive cultures fill with all kinds of things." Roman paganism, Platonism, Marxism, even Nazism have all had baptized aficionados struggling to cram these "things" into the bottle, now so warped and piecemeal it resembles a kaleidoscope image inspired by someone needing Prozac.

Of all the bizarre mismatches, though, none's worse than the attempt to harmonize evolution with Christianity. Evolution? Please! Nazism's a snugger fit.

Though raised on evolution, I one day found myself a born-again Christian who saw, immediately, an impossible conundrum between what I was taught my whole life and my new worldview. Within the first few days someone gave me the book The Genesis Flood, by Henry Morris, and for the first time I realized that the "proof" I was dogmatically given for evolution wasn't as solid as I had been led to believe from grade school through college. Over time, and after more reading, I was soon purged of all macroevolutionary presuppositions. In fact, if (heaven forbid) I ever lost my faith, I could never go back to evolution. Alien seeding or the Babylonian creation story seems more plausible than the standard scientific paradigm of origins.

"But," someone would say, "it's science." Exactly. And science is still only a human endeavor, and as such it comes burdened with all the prejudices, foibles, fears, and presuppositions of anything human. However much I respect science and stand in awe of its achievements, scientists can be as bigoted and dogmatic as historical critics (well, almost).

Now, it used to be that, for Adventists, evolutionary theory was a threat from without; as unbelievable as it seems, some among us have now accepted theistic evolution--the idea that God used the process of evolution, over millions of years, to create humanity.

These folks, though, don't worship the God of the Bible, for that God didn't use a long, protracted, and vicious dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-fittest paradigm--one that goes against everything He has taught us about love and self-sacrifice--and then lie to us about it by claiming He created life here in six days when He didn't. Plus, that God didn't ask us to keep the seventh day as a memorial, not to the six days of Creation as He explicitly told us in His Word, but to a brutal, hateful, merciless process that took millions of years.

What amazes me isn't so much that people can believe in evolution (after all, I used to), but that those who do still want to be Seventh-day Adventists. I can respect someone who, believing in evolutionary theory, rejects the Adventist Church entirely. I have no respect for those who think they can meld the two.

For anyone, especially our young people, struggling with these issues, I say: Keep seeking with a fervent and honest heart. As long as you stick to the Bible (and Ellen White's books and articles) you will not go wrong. For those among us who have already decided--despite the Bible and Ellen White--on evolution, there are plenty of other churches for you. Ours isn't one. And to those teaching in our schools who believe in evolution and yet take a paycheck from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I say: If you honestly reject a literal six-day creation in favor of theistic macroevolution, fine; now turn that honesty into integrity and go somewhere where you won't have to cloak your views under the anfractuosities of language.

I speak, I believe, for millions of Seventh-day Adventists when I declare that whatever the age of the earth itself, we will never make room for anything other than a literal six-day creation for life here--never. And for those who want more, you'll have to fight us for every extra minute--much less your millions of mythological years beyond--of which the Word of God knows nothing and with its first verses utterly denies.

Clifford Goldstein is editor of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide.

27 Bible Studies

I just finished posting the first 14 Bible studies in a set of 27 on a new blog I made specifically for the purpose of posting these Bible studies. Check them out at 27Biblestudies.blogspot.com!

The quizzes at the bottom of each study are pretty fun, too.

Lately I've been downloading as many sermons onto my new ipod as possible. Mostly from Dr. Derek Morris, one of my favorite preachers. He does this whole course called the "Life and Teachings of Jesus". Very interesting information I have never heard before...awesome things about the history of the Jewish nation just before Christ was born, the different sects (like the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, etc.), the monetary systems, the different personalities of the disciples (very funny at times), etc. Probably the most comprehensive and well-balanced study on the Life and Teachings of Jesus I have ever come across. What a tremendous blessing! I eagerly anticipate each new lecture as it's downloaded.

I'd HIGHLY recommend either watching or listening to the series for free at the Forest Lake Church website! If you have high-speed, I'd encourage you to actually watch the lectures, because some of his visual aids (such as ones pertaining to traditional Jewish garb) are pretty funny too.

Above all, keep studying God's Word and letting me know what you've found!

All-Star Lineup (Awesome Preachers)

Last night I put together a quick list of the 5 preachers that I am especially blessed by at this point in my life. Keep in mind that there are tons more great preachers out there, and that different styles suit different people. That being said, here's the list:

Stephen Bohr - One word to describe this preacher: Deep. This man delves deeper into the scriptures than anyone I think I've ever heard! He connects dots that you didn't even realize were dots! And the picture of truth that he paints with God's word is so insightful that you can't help but be amazed. www.secretsunsealed.com

Randy Skeete - One word to describe this preacher: Powerful! This man preaches with a passion that moves. He grabs hold of your spirit and forcefully turns it toward heaven. I've only seen this guy a few times, but he knocked it out of the park every time. Couldn't find a website. www.audioverse.org/people/54/randy-skeete.html

Dennis Priebe - This man speaks about a subject that is immeasurably important to believers in the last days...these days. The subject? Righteousness by Faith. We can overcome. We shall overcome. www.dennispriebe.com

Jim Hohnberger - One word to describe this preacher: Practical. He cuts through all theological arguments and speaks directly to the heart. Really focuses on walking with God daily, letting Him guide you throughout your day. Very focused on learning to listen to God's Spirit as He speaks to you. This man doesn't just talk the Christian talk, he walks the Christian walk. www.empoweredlivingministries.org

Walter Pearson, Jr. - One word to describe this preacher: Hilarious! He gives such funny insights into Biblical stories that you will be saying "Amen!" whenever you catch your breath from laughing. The way he acts out the characters in these Bible stories for his sermon is unrivaled by anyone I've seen. He makes Bible characters come to life. If you feel a need to smile as God must smile, watch a couple of this guy's sermons. You'll be doubly blessed if you watch his sermons, as opposed to just listening, because part of his greatness is his body language and facial expressions. www.breathoflife.tv

Let's Talk: Jan Paulsen at PUC

Last night I watched an episode of Let's Talk, with pastor Jan Paulsen, which was taped at Pacific Union College. In case you don't know, Let's Talk is a television program where Jan Paulsen, President of the Adventist World Church, goes around to different cities, states and countries and talks to a small group of people from the local congregation. The format is such so that people ask random questions of him regarding our church.

Now, this must be a tough job even in the best of cases. To take that much heat for every perceived problem of every member must surely require a lot of grace, but this episode was especially saddening to me.

Overall, the sense I got from those students is that they are trying to make vital issues of no importance while at the same time trying to make huge dilemmas of what are essentially non-issues, or at least issues of far lesser significance.

One young man was asking "why should someone have to believe all the doctrines of Adventists in order to become part of the church? After all, shouldn't our church "community" be more important than our doctrines?"

My thought is this: We are God's Remnant church precisely because we hold these Biblical truths as our standard. In fact, it is our whole purpose as a church, according to Revelation 18, to lift up God's truths and call others out of Babylon (spiritual confusion, false doctrines, etc.). If we cease to define our church by the doctrines we believe and teach, then we also cease to be God's church. If community is most important, then we should choose a church based on which one has the best community. Yet we know that's not the answer. We choose a church, and stay in a church, based on its teachings, its doctrines.

A young lady, who said she's currently working with a group of homosexuals in San Francisco who go from church to church, said "The Adventist church is not on their list of "friendly" churches to visit, so we're failing to make homosexuals feel welcome."

My thought is this: Our church should receive and love everyone. We have all sinned, and simply because one person's sin seems more severe than an other's, we do not have the right to reject them, or withhold God's love. But, my feeling is that this young lady is asking for the church to accept that gay lifestyle. This is error. Our job as a church is to spread the truth. The church cannot accept or condone a life of sin, and the Bible is crystal clear that homosexuality is a sin. Having said that, we are to hate the sin, but love the sinner. So if she was asking that, as a church, we extend our invitation as "Come, we accept your choices."...it is simply impossible. But if she is simply saying we need to be more active in the gay community in saying "Come, we will show you God's truth, and God's love for you, and that He is calling you to follow Him."...she's right. I simply call it evangelism and it should be practiced with every group, not just homosexuals, or unbelievers, or those in Babylon. Since she feels so passionate about this particular group, I'd imagine God is calling her to minister to them by lifting up Christ and His teachings, and showing them the Way. "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." - Proverbs 14:12. Is it more important to make them feel accepted in their sin, or to save their souls from death?

One young man was asking Jan Paulsen "What are we doing about world poverty, and specifically about the situation in Darfur?" Well, Jan Paulsen pointed to ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) as working in Darfur as well as numerous other countries and disaster areas.

It seems like everyone wants their specific cause to be every one's #1 priority. This simply isn't possible. As a church we are doing everything we can with the resources we have. ADRA is a world organization that must help in many many places at the same time, it would be selfish and wrong to send all our funds and attention to one area, to the detriment of another. I can understand when someone is full of passion for a specific problem, but I believe that's the Spirit moving on your heart, and that that means you should personally get involved because God wants to use you to help that situation.

There were a couple other young men who asked rather pointed questions such as "Why is so much money going to administrators when pastors and teachers are so underpaid?" to which Jan Paulsen replied that, as far as he knows, the largest chunk of money from the churches are being given to education. Also, since our church is a global church, it is necessary to have administration to keep all our churches on the same wavelength, and that our administration is as streamlined as possible.

The other question was "How do you know that you're being led by the Holy Spirit when you are making decisions that effect the church?" Now, this in itself sounds reasonable, but it was the tone of voice and the facial expression of the young man that made this question border on rudeness. Jan Paulsen answered with grace and pointed to the fact that he is led by the Spirit the same as every Christian should be led by the Spirit, namely, by a firm belief in Christ as his Lord and Savior, by following Christ's teachings, by study of the Word of God and by earnest prayer.

Another person asked "Why the conferences in the south of the United States set up with black conferences and white conferences, and what is being done about it?" To this, Jan Paulsen responded that the conferences developed that way because of the situation in that area some 60 years ago. He stated that the conferences are functioning very well and are having no problems.

Basically, he was saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". My thoughts are that if there is no racism going on in these conferences, who cares if one is mostly black or one is mostly white or one is mostly hispanic, or whatever. What should we do? Force the mostly black conferences to give X number of positions to white people, or force the mostly white conferences to give X number of positions to black people? All to appease our own view, as an outsider, of the situation?

Another young woman asked "What progress is being made with regard the ordination of women as pastors and when can we expect that to be implemented?" To this, Jan Paulsen stated that it is an issue that comes up frequently, and that the church as met about and discussed this issue and decided that it is not the right direction to go, at least at this time. This young woman said that many women are using their skills in secular society because they can't use them in the church. That just seems like such a selfish thought, almost like a little child throwing a temper tantrum because they don't get their way. If there was some Biblical precedent, perhaps this would be a different issue, but there isn't. Women are used in a mighty way by God. But society today wants everyone to not only be equal (which is right), but wants everyone to be the same (which is wrong). Our Adventist youth (and adults?) are subscribing to these worldly views. God made men and women differently. He made us to serve different functions. We are equal, but not the same. To demand sameness is to say that your way is better than God's way.

In conclusion, it seems to me that our universities are becoming so dominated by worldly thinking and belief systems, that our young people are putting their own views and feelings ahead of God's truths. It seems that what is lacking is a humble spirit and a willingness to stand up and work for your own causes. Let us not look to others to solve our problems or fight our fights, but let us look to God, in prayer and study of scripture, and ask, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" - Acts 9:6. Let us look to heaven and say "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." - 1 Samuel 3:9

None of this is verbatim, as I only took a few brief notes but did not record the program. This is also not all of the questions and answers that came up, just the ones I took note of and remembered.

I'll be trying to remember all the students of our Adventist Universities in my prayers. I hope you'll do the same. Let's lift them up to God and ask Him to work on these campuses. Also, let's keep Pastor Paulsen in our prayers, as I'm sure his job is a difficult one. And hopefully you will keep me in your prayers as well, for God to correct beliefs I have that are incorrect, and to help me to follow the light He has revealed.

As always, God bless you and keep you.

Ellen White, False Prophet?

I will fully confess that there have been times when I questioned Ellen White's accuracy and whether or not she was an actual "prophet". These times are always when I wander onto a web site that quotes portions of her writings which I cannot make sense of. Today was such a day.

In my search for other Christian blogs for e-fellowship, I found one that was bashing an Adventist University for having tennis courts, because of something that Ellen White had written about being shown students practicing idolatry by playing tennis and cricket. Well that didn't seem to jive with what I know about the Bible's stance on living a healthy lifestyle that includes proper diet and exercise, so I began searching for answers as I always do when I find something of her writings that confuse me. After all, I can understand why a Christian shouldn't participate in sports like boxing, or perhaps even football...but tennis? Seriously? I mean, come on, tennis?

What I found put to rest not only my curiosity about this particular passage, but it also put to rest my unreal and un-Biblical expectation of a prophet to be infallible and unerring. It turns out, after a close study of prophets in the Bible, as well as the topics of inspiration and revelation, that prophets are humans, just like us. They make mistakes, just like us. To expect perfection from a human, even a prophet, is wrong and, even worse, likely to damage our faith in God Himself.

It turns out that Ellen White was more than just a prophet...she was also human.

I would highly recommend that if any of you Adventists out there have questioned some of Ellen White's statements, you visit this site and read at least part of the following book online:

More than a Prophet by Graeme Bradford. I've also linked to it on my sidebar. This book is wonderfully illuminating in regard to understand how God speaks through men using the Holy Spirit. I would recommend any Christian, not just Adventists, read this short book.

God Bless! :-)

Prayer Warriors - Review

Prayer Warriors gets me excited about being in Christ's Army every time I start reading it! It's a book that really pumps you up with language that is especially appealing to those with adventurous hearts. It talks about being part of God's Elite Special Forces, Prayer Warriors, and goes over many many scriptures regarding prayer, putting them in the format of chapters titled:

War Zone

Battle Challenge

Knowing Your Enemy

Knowing Your Prince and Leader

Arming for Battle

Battle Skills

Battleground

Jesus-The Model Prayer Warrior

The Secret Place of Prayer

Battle Tactics

The Arsenal of Prayer

The Sword and the Shield

Battle Cry

The book is in a very practical format, with each chapter being broken down into multiple sections with subtitles, large margins on the outside of each page (this book is quite wider than average), and a small workbook page at the end of each chapter with a few questions requiring your thoughts and answers. The paper quality and print quality are excellent.

Anyway, if you would like to receive advanced training in the art of spiritual warfare, and become part of God's elite special forces as a prayer warrior, I would highly recommend this book by Ron Halvorsen! Get it here.

Amazing Facts Bible - Review

I finally was able to get the Amazing Facts Bible: Prophecy Study Edition! I am very excited and pleased with it! It has abundant resources which will be invaluable to not only my own studies, but also in studying with someone else.

These resources are:

Biblical Cyclopedic Index (over 300 pages), which is just like it sounds. You can look up people, subjects, items, anything, and it gives you different scriptures referring to that thing.

Bible Symbols and Their Meanings. This includes animals, colors, metals, numbers, etc. and scriptures to show why they are symbolic.

Harmony of the Gospels. This is standard except it has the baptism of Jesus listed as 30 A.D. (should be around 27 A.D.), even though they have his birth listed as 4-5 B.C. (correct) and we know by Luke 3:23 that Jesus began His ministry at around age 30. But this is all corrected through the study guides.

The Jewish Calender.

The Parables of Jesus Christ.

The Miracles of Jesus Christ.

Prayers of the Bible. This is a list of people or groups of people who have recorded prayers in the Bible, and where those prayers can be located.

Read Your Bible Through In a Year.

Concordance. (64 pages)

All 27 Amazing Facts Study Guides. (193 pages) These go over topics such as the Bible, Sin, Salvation, Sabbath, Second Coming, Baptism, State of the Dead, Millennium, Judgement, Tithing, etc.

Guide to Bible Prophecy. (18 pages) These include 17 studies on subjects such as Nebuchadnezzar's Dream, the 2,300 days and 70 Weeks prophecy, the Three Angels Messages, etc.

A two-part section on: What is the Bible, and How Do You Study the Bible (11 pages).

NKJV with giant print, words of Christ in red, one place ribbon, 9 standard Biblical maps, available in genuine leather, synthetic leather, soft cover or hardback.

This Bible cuts down the need to carry around a number of resources with which to study and share. It combines everything the serious Bible student needs into one place. The only thing that may be needed for Bible study outside of this is perhaps an exhaustive concordance which, for obvious reasons, would not fit into a Bible.

There are only 2 things that I think could be improved upon: First, the pages are thin, like most Bibles, and being able to see text from the opposite page sometimes bugs me. Second, there are no headers either on top of the pages or within the Bible text itself such as "Jesus feeds 5,000" or "Moses parts the Red Sea" or "Lazarus raised from the dead", which I personally like to at least be at the top of the page for a quick reference if I'm looking for a specific event.

These are small things and should not keep anyone from getting this amazing Prophecy Study Edition Holy Bible. I HIGHLY recommend it. All my observations are based on my genuine leather edition. Now my wife wants one (Update: she got one! The cover of her leather edition is much smoother than mine, for some reason) and I want to purchase a couple more hardback editions for use with Bible-study groups. Buy one here.

Remember: Always practice with your Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, by memorizing scriptures. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12

Ernie Knoll, False Prophet?

For a moment let me write about a matter which is causing quite a stir in some circles. The man at the center of this controversy is Mr. Ernie Knoll, a professed Adventist (update: Ernie Knoll has now been officially disfellowshipped from the Seventh-day Adventist church) who began having dreams in 2005 that he considered to be from God. In these dreams an angel named "the herald" gives information to Mr. Knoll. Many sincere Christians have reviewed these dreams and found them to contain large amounts of truth...but finally there appeared a seed of deception...then another, and another.

Mr. Ernie Knoll's dreams are in direct contradiction to the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. It appears as if a great deception has begun. Many are being led astray. Get ready, and be sure to study study study the Word of God!

For some detailed analysis of some of the falsehoods in these dreams by a very respected and dear Christian evangelist, Steve Wohlberg, please visit the following site:

http://www.notaprophet.org/articles/ernie_knolls_dreams.html

Here is an article about the dreams by another respected and well-known man of God, G Edward Reid:

www.adventiststewardship.org/images/1707/pdf/Mar08.doc

Here is a link to a website where an in-depth review of Mr. Ernie Knoll and his dreams is made by numerous trusted Christians:

http://www.notaprophet.org/

Mr. Ernie Knoll was, I'm sure, very sincere in the early stages of these dreams and truly believed that they were from God. He has since been shown his error through many sincere Christians from the Bible and has chosen to reject plain Biblical truth in favor of his dreams. Pride probably has a lot to do with it. I hope he will consider carefully the consequences of his rejecting God's Holy Spirit. Lucifer's prideful fall began so subtly that even he didn't realize what the end result of his stubbornness would be. Please pray for Mr. Ernie Knoll that he will open his eyes and ears to God's pleas for him to return to truth, before it's too late for himself and the many he has deceived. Please pray for not one more soul to be deceived by this man and his dreams, which are being used by satan as a great tool for the end-time deceptions.

The part that disturbs me the most is the way this false prophet is trying to align himself with our church and the two largest ministries of truth: Amazing Facts and It Is Written. Mr. Ernie Knoll prophesied that he would become connected with Shawn Boonstra who would help spread these dreams, and that his path would also converge with that of Doug Batchelor. Now, these are two Christ-like men doing honest ministry and spreading the truth, and both have shunned Mr. Ernie Knoll and his demonic dreams. Yet the more this false prophet tries to link his name with God's true church and true laborers, the more non-Christians will come to view God's true church and true laborers as "in the same league" with this wolf-in-sheep's-clothing, thus greatly hindering God's actual work of spreading His true Gospel. Since becoming an Adventist I have already come to the realization that a significant number of denominations and non-Christians think that Adventists are a cult. How mightily satan has wrought his work of deception in these latter days.

Thankfully, I know One who is more powerful than all the fallen angels! And He will deliver all His people from the snares and deceptions of the wicked one.

Psalm 91:2-4, "I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.' Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler."

John 8:31-32, "...If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

John 8:36, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Amen!

Update: Ernie Knoll Admits He Was Lying

The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power - Review

I've finally received the book "The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power" by R.A. Torrey and am a little over halfway through it. So far it has been a very good book on practical Christian life and prayer.

In flipping through to find one of the many passages I found so terrific, so as to give you an excerpt, this is the one I found:

"Suppose some Englishman were summoned to Buckingham Palace to meet King George. He answers the summons and is waiting in the anteroom to be ushered into the presence of the King. What do you think that man would say to himself as he waited to be brought into the presence of the King? Do you think he would say, 'I wonder how much time I must spend with the King?' No, Indeed; he would rather think, 'I wonder how much time the king will give me.' But prayer is having an audience with the King of kings, that eternal, omnipotent King in comparison with whom all earthly kings are as nothing; and would any intelligent person that realizes that fact ever ask himself, 'How much time must I spend in prayer?' No, our thought will be, 'How much time may I spend in prayer, how much time will the King give me?'" - p77, The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power.

Of course, after reading this I began thinking how excited I would be if I was granted a private audience with the President of the United States. A chance to pick his brain and talk to him and get to know him, even if for only 10 or 15 minutes. Yet I feel nothing of that same excitement when I consider prayer. In fact, I look at it as a duty, and sometimes a tedious one at that.

One thing I love so much about this book is the large number of anecdotes/stories the author uses to illustrate his points. Most importantly, though, is that he uses scriptures. One thing I don't like about this book is that he uses less scriptures than he should. You will perhaps read one scripture about prayer and then read 5 pages of exposition about that one verse. The serious Bible student knows that we need many scriptures to nail down a Biblical truth.

I would recommend this book to any Christian, although there are a few doctrinal errors, such as an eternal hell, which are mentioned in passing but not taught or dwelt upon. But these shouldn't bother anyone grounded in the Word of God. It was published in 1924 by the president of the Moody Bible Institute. He was D.L. Moody's protege.

Favorite Christian Movies

These are some Christian movies that I enjoyed (in no particular order):

The Pretender

This is a neat little movie about a guy pretending to be a Christian in order to get a Christian girl. I would recommend any Christian girl watch this as it offers a glimpse of some of the kind of guys that are out there. Good for youth groups.

Pamela's Prayer

This movie was actually one that my wife wanted to see and I was pleasantly surprised by it. This is a MUST-watch for young Christian girls. It espouses real Christian purity in regard to relationships. This girl's father, a praying Christian, wants his daughter to marry a man who has never kissed a girl, and wants his daughter to save even her first kiss for marriage. It is a beautiful, Godly message that Christians seldom adhere to these days. If you are a dad and have a little girl, PLEASE buy this movie.

Never Ashamed

I really enjoyed this movie and can relate to it. It's about a high-school guy who was sent to a Christian summer camp to straighten up, but ended up being converted. At first he feels awkward about how to express his new faith to his old friends, but he eventually learns that we should never be ashamed of Christ, as He is never ashamed of us.

Late One Night

This was one of the first Christian movies I'd ever seen. I was not a Christian, and wouldn't be for years to come, but when I happened to see this short movie in my teens, it moved me. It offers a beautiful glimpse of a Christian displaying Christ's character in a difficult situation. Very practical.

Fireproof

We finally saw this at the theatre (I now understand we shouldn't go to theatres) and both found it to be exceptionally touching! Not only does this movie set forth a great example of how to love our spouse unconditionally as Christ loved us, but it is also an excellent witnessing tool as it lays out so simply a true conversion process based on experiencing Christ's love for us.

Pilgrim's Progress

This is by far the best version of John Bunyan's classic book that I have ever seen! I initially bought this movie for my 2 1/2 year old son, but found that my wife and I loved it just as much as he does! I HIGHLY recommend this to any parent!

God's Outlaw

This is the story of William Tyndale, whose translations make up a large part of the King James Version. It starts with him preaching truth from the Bible and upsetting the leaders of the Catholic Church in England. Eventually he ends up a fugitive from Rome's persecution while dedicating his life to translating the Bible into English for his fellow countrymen. The passion of William Tyndale is always an inspiration to me. He chose to obey God rather than men, and paid with his life. This movie has some of the most beautiful voice-overs of Bible passages and writings of William Tyndale. Roger Rees' best performance, in my humble opinion.

Luther (2003 version)

I really enjoy this movie for a number of reasons but a couple of the main ones are these: it had a larger budget than most Christian movies and it shows, and Joseph Fiennes is a terrific actor and did a wonderful job portraying Luther as a tortured soul trying to find the true, loving nature of God. The movie follows Luther from his becoming a monk to his alliance with the princes of Germany to separate from the Roman Catholic Church and worship God according the the Scriptures. The movie has a strong message of righteousness by faith alone. Beautiful.

The Climb
This is a story about two mountain climbers who are forced to team up in order to get sponsored to climb the mountain of their dreams. One climber is a Christian and one is not. They butt heads through the entire movie but end up becoming great friends. This movie is a little cheesy but I like it.

Cry from the Mountain
I have only seen this movie once and that was a long time ago. But I remember I really enjoyed watching it and was very touched, especially by the Billy Graham crusade shown at the end. This movie is about a father and son who go on a kayak trip in the wilderness and have an accident which leaves the father seriously injured. They take refuge with an old hermit who helps bring them to Christ while also having his own hard-heart awakened.

One Night with the King

This is another higher-budgeted movie, which is nice. It is a telling of the story of Esther, who saved the Jews from destruction following their release from captivity in Babylon. It isn't entirely Biblically accurate, but does not step on any Christian beliefs. It simply adds a couple side-stories that aren't in the Biblical account of Queen Esther. It is somewhat of a romance which my wife enjoyed.

The Robe
This is a classic Christian movie that follows the story of the Roman soldier who won the Robe of Christ at the crucifixion. It was very entertaining and filled with sound Christian faith.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon
This is a dramatic telling of the conversion and early ministry of Saint Francis. It is a wonderful movie in my opinion and delivers a scathing rebuke to those who complicate the Gospel. In the movie, Saint Francis' message was simple: live simply, love unconditionally, be content with what God gives you. One of the main things I love about this movie is the beautiful filming locations depicting the Italian countryside, although I'm not sure if it was actually filmed there.

Ben-Hur

One of the best movies ever made. Period. The story of a wealthy man living in Jerusalem during the time of Christ's ministry. Friendships, betrayals, chariot races, faith, love...this movie has it all. Easily one of Charlton Heston's best performances.

Matthew

Hands down the best film ever made on the life of Christ. Bruce Marchiano portrays a Jesus full of love and compassion. A Jesus that smiles and hugs and has a passion for his children. If I could only own one DVD for the rest of my life, this would be it. This film is taken word-for-word from the NIV version of the Gospel of Matthew. I would have preferred they use the NKJV but it doesn't really bug me.
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This is not an exhaustive list of good Christian movies, just the ones that come to mind as my favorites out of the small sampling that I've seen. :-)