FROM A RADICAL RACIST TO COURAGEOUS PREACHER

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The testimony of Maarten Labuschagne testifies to the mercy and love of God

Maarten’s family very occasionally attended a local church, mainly because of his mother. His father was very dismissive of the church but was interested in ‘spirituality’, including occult practices. As a result, young Maarten knew the spiritual world was real. However, his father promoted the view that Christians were weak and hypocritical, thus not what Maarten aspired to be—strong, unbending, and unafraid.

Maarten was proud of his Afrikaner heritage, marked by struggle and an independent spirit. After army training, he spent time as a bouncer and security guard for bars and nightclubs. His fast temper and even faster fists often came close to getting him into serious trouble. Maarten was attracted to the AWB or Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement). This is an Afrikaner nationalist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist organization, founded in 1973

However, despite his staunch-seeming, tough-guy exterior, he was desperately insecure and suffered from severe anger and other issues. Maarten shares: “Heavy metal music, particularly Van Halen’s song Runnin’ with the Devil, was my anthem. As time went by, I tried to change, as I saw and realized I was hurting others. Strangely, perhaps, I didn’t always like acting the way I did. I saw a hypnotist (about 15 times), and a psychiatrist, out of desperation. Nothing worked—my life felt as if it was doomed.“

In September 1998, in utter desperation, Maarten cried out to God: “God, you have to change me!”, even challenging God’s right to send him to Hell if He failed to do this. My cry was mingled with doubt over whether God was real or would respond. But it was utterly genuine, a recognition that I could not save myself. I didn’t then understand the assurances His Word gives for the repentant heart, but I certainly knew that Hell was real, and I didn’t want to go there. Almost instantly, he says, he was profoundly converted and felt a dramatic release from the stress, anger, and hatred that had bound up his life.

The Bible assured me I was a new creation; I got rid of my personal weapons and other AWB paraphernalia from the old life and cut off all ties with the group. However, coming to genuinely love and appreciate people of other cultures and ethnicities would take time. One significant milestone in that process was at a service in a large, multicultural church in the South African city of Durban. Maarten was asked to give a brief testimony from the pulpit. For someone who was usually fearless, public speaking terrified him. Nervously, he addressed the crowd, many of whom were indigenous Africans or of Indian extraction. He confessed he had been in the AWB and had passionately hated them. Expecting a disastrous, vengeful response, he was instead brought to tears by many tribal African believers who came up and expressed forgiveness and love. It was then that he fully understood that they were his brothers and sisters in Christ, not any sort of enemy.

As his Christian faith grew, he was baptized and went to Bible College. He was also a pastoral counsellor at one of the biggest drug rehabilitation centres in South Africa. To help others struggling with broken lives and a lack of hope, a few years ago Maarten set up a simple website under the banner of Jesus Rules Ministries (JRM). On it, he shares his testimony and invites a response to the Gospel. JRM has since expanded to include a small church fellowship in a rural community, pastored by Maarten.

With no fear of man (Proverbs 29:25) due to his upbringing, Maarten passionately uses street evangelism to reach out to people who are broken or without hope. His trademark tools are a large cross and thought-provoking sign, complete with photos including from his AWB past, and boldly stating e.g.: If you tried the thug life or the drug life and it hasn’t worked, try Jesus!

Maarten is often ignored or ridiculed and occasionally threatened by passers-by. He recently had his main sign hijacked and dragged down the road behind a car! Despite the difficulties, the work has resulted in many powerful testimonies. Desperate people, involved in crime and violence or on the verge of suicide, have been transformed by encountering Jesus.

Michael Cook chats with former racist militia member Maarten Labuschagne in latest Creation Magazine http://www.creation.com

PROOF OF A GLOBAL CATASTROPHIC FLOOD

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If there really was a global flood—as the Bible states—then there should be abundant evidence of that fact.? But what would that evidence look like? And who could be better placed to ‘see’ such evidence than a scientist who studies the way that floods and flowing water shape landscapes? Join fluvial geomorphologist, Dr Ron Neller, for a fascinating discussion of the evidence that, over 30 years, eventually led him to conclude that there has, indeed, been a global flood on Earth—as the Bible describes. His faith journey took over 30 years in an antagonistic university environment.

If you want more information on proof of the Bible’s inerrancy and its history go to http://www.creation.com and http://www.answersingenesis.org.

IMPORTANCE OF GENESIS 1 TO 11 TO EXPLAINING EARTH’S HISTORY

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I have been involved with Creation Ministries International (CMI) since 1982. It was Creation Science back then and Ken Ham (now Answers in Genesis) was the joint founder of the organization with John McKay (now Creation Research Centre).

I became a Christian in 1982 as a result of attending a Creation Science weekend conference. I am a pharmacist by profession and was taught evolution at school and Sydney University. The only reason I attended the conference was because Professor John Rendle Short then professor of Pediatrics at Brisbane University was a speaker at the conference. I knew the man as he was working on a project with Ross Laboratories, the pediatric division of Abbott Laboratories. I was the General Manager of Abbott Laboratories, Hospital Products Division at the time. I was intrigued that he was a speaker at a Creation Conference. I made a commitment to follow Christ when I was eleven years old but fell away as a result of evolution. The Bible no longer made any sense to me, as it taught man was there at the beginning, at creation. In fact, it taught a young Earth and God judged mankind with a worldwide flood that destroyed all but the eight people on Noah’s Ark and it changed the topography of the entire world. The world denies God judged the world with a worldwide flood and adds billions of years to Earth’s history to allow time for their theory of evolution.

Noah’s Ark replica at Answers in Genesis Kentucky. It is made to the Biblical shape and dimensions.

I came away from that Creation Conference understanding that there is no mechanism for evolution: natural selection cannot do it. It only selects from what is already there, it does not create anything. The only other mechanism offered by evolutionists is mutation and yet mutation is loss of information it does not add information which is what would be necessary to take you from GOO to YOU. I was so annoyed with myself for having accepted evolution as fact without looking at the evidence and even more concerned that universities and schools are teaching evolution as fact. It took about six months before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.

I started supporting Creation Science at that time realizing how essential it was to uphold the inerrancy of God’s Word (the Bible). When Ken Ham obeyed God’s call to the USA, he asked me if I would take on the leadership role of Creation Science. I owned Christian Press at the time, a leading distributor of Christian books and resources in Australia. I declined because the Lord had just led me, and my team, to start Care & Share Products to take Christian products into the secular market and to work with Missions in third-world countries to develop Fair Trade products. Carl Weiland eventually took on leadership at what became Creation Ministries International (CMI) He was God’s man for the job and he like Ken Ham achieved remarkable results for the Kingdom of God. You will learn about Ken’s astonishing story in this video.

FOUNDATION FOR RATIONAL THINKING

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People are searching for solid foundations. They are dealing with a lot of information and a lot of data, and they just don’t know how it all holds together. Genesis has a blueprint for this very thing, and it is in the opening phrase, “In the beginning, God . . .” All things originated with Him. He made them, ordered them, and gave them purpose and meaning.

Without acknowledging our Creator God and His commandments for how we are to live our lives we make up our own rules. We can see how that is working when we now do not even acknowledge that God made us male and female with established roles. Also, we have no understanding of why the world is like it is with death and suffering if we do not acknowledge God and His Word. God has revealed to us not only that He created the world and humans made in His image to be in a relationship with Him but He has also told us that man’s disobedience to His commandment not to eat of the tree of good and evil is the reason for death and suffering in the world and the severing of our relationship with God.

Martyn Isles of Answers in Genesis does a great job of showing us how important Gensis 1 to 11 is to understanding all the big questions of life, giving us meaning and purpose and answers to the Why, How, Where,and When of it all.

WHAT THE ELITES ARE PLANNING FOR PLANET EARTH

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Tucker Carlson interviews Alex Jones. A man who I was totally unaware of and yet Tucker Carlson says, Alex is the most censored man in all American history. He was the first media figure to be de-platformed in one day and not only de-platformed but attacked, sued, and attempts made to criminally charge him. Why? Because he had views and opinions that deeply rattled the people that run America.

Alex Jones is right about a lot of things and in fact, that’s why the people in power don’t like him, Alex Jones has an uncanny, really amazing ability to predict events before they happen, he has called it and he’s done it on tape again, and again to the point where it’s a meme on the internet to Alex Jones profit, not conspiracy nut profit, but when you dig into Alex Jones’s predictions they are so spot-on that it’s remarkable how does he do it. Tucker thinks that there’s a kind of spiritual sensitivity to Alex Jones. You will be amazed and astounded at how accurate Alex Jones’s predictions have been. He can also see what those who are in control but are behind the scenes, such as WEF and U.N. are planning for planet Earth.

AMERICA IN A BATTLE OF WORLD VIEWS

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., warned Tuesday night that the United States is engaged in a battle of worldviews and called on Christians to bring the truth about the country’s foundational principles to the younger generation.

A group of interfaith elected officials and supporters of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers attended the organization’s annual meeting and awards gala at the Museum of the Bible Tuesday night.

The event, titled “Save the Nation,” highlighted various issues at the center of many debates today, including abortion, sexuality, gender, and restoring faith in America. 

Johnson, a Baptist elected House speaker earlier this year, was presented with the NACL American Patriot Award for Christian Honor and Courage and delivered the keynote address.

During his speech, Johnson stated that the U.S. is facing the “greatest collection of challenges” since World War II and the Civil War due to competing worldviews held by the political left and right. Despite these challenges, Johnson urged attendees to continue trusting in God.

“Our hope is in the Lord; our hope and our trust is in God,” the House speaker said. “And that is our national motto, and it’s more than a bumper sticker slogan. It is who we are as a nation. It’s what makes us different; it’s what sets us apart.” 

The 51-year-old lawmaker cited the British philosopher G.K. Chesterton, who stated in an account of his 1921 visit to America that it is “the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed.” Johnson stated this creed is that “all men are created equal,” endowed by God with inalienable rights, among them the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as stated in The Declaration of Independence. 

“We are the only nation in the world that was founded upon that premise,” Johnson said, emphasizing that America, at its founding, recognized that rights come from God, not the government. Those rights, he said, are “in our blood to defend.” 

“And when other men seem to take our rights away from us, we must stand and defend them,” he continued. “That was the premise of our country. And what we’re engaged in right now is a battle between worldviews. It’s a great struggle for the future of the republic.” 

Johnson urged Christian conservatives to speak with “clarity” and “conviction” now more than ever, warning that the next generation has “no frame of reference to the great foundational truths.” 

Johnson urged political leaders on the right to develop the ability to articulate the differences between a conservative worldview and a progressive one. He listed several principles of conservatism, including individual freedom, the rule of law, and other subcategories, such as human dignity. But he noted that the list might look different for some of his colleagues. 

“The thing is, we have to agree upon what those points are and begin to talk about it in simpler terms,” he said, urging conservatives to be “winsome warriors.” 

“We don’t want to divide; we want to unify,” Johnson continued. “We want to bring people into the truth and into the light and to believe in America and that our best days are ahead because they are if we’ll turn to God.” 

The NACL was founded in 2019 by former Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert, a Republican. It is said to be the first formal national association of Christian lawmakers in U.S. history. It seeks to unite Christian lawmakers to support biblical principles. 

WHOM DO YOU WORSHIP?

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Everyone worships something . . . that is just how God made us. But in a world that is corrupted by sin and in constant rebellion to its Creator, that worship gets distorted and twisted in ways that dishonor God. We can understand how that would happen in a jungle tribe where there is no direct access to what God has revealed about the right way to offer worship, but what about in America today? There is access to the Bible on everyone’s phone or laptop, and the instructions are clear.

But That’s the Problem

Many people claim that the problem is just that—the God of the Bible is much too demanding. He expects people to only worship him, follow a list of rules, act a certain way, hang out with certain people, and avoid certain people. So many expectations and such harsh judgment! They would prefer a loving god who accepts them for who they are and validates their choices. If they could find that god, they would probably worship him . . . or her.

A recent commercial from Apple has a ‘Mother Nature’ Figure and the Divine Feminine. It presents several illogical aspects, as we would expect from any worldview that doesn’t begin with God’s Word as its foundation. The key point comes in replacing God with a goddess and attributing his attributes to her. This goddess claims the weather was “however I wanted it to be”, then why doesn’t she just fix climate change? People accuse God of being a capricious, malevolent bully who could exercise his omnipotence to end suffering if he wanted (an oversimplified view that divides God’s character rather than acknowledging his whole being), but this seems to be overlooked in this Mother Earth character. She is claiming to have all-powerful control over the weather, the same ability as the true God. If she can make the weather however she wants it, then why doesn’t she do something about famines and wildlife population devastation through habitat loss (from wildfires, flooding, etc.)? It sounds like she really doesn’t care about these things. And it sounds like she is capricious and malevolent. Yet these technocratic overlords are willing to worship this goddess and demand everyone do the same while telling Christians that our God is evil for not preventing hurricanes, droughts, and melting ice caps. It seems there is a double standard at play.

Dr. Owen Strachan addresses many of these aspects in his Grace & Truth podcast episode “Apple’s ‘Mother Nature’ Figure and the Divine Feminine.” As Dr. Strachan notes, it is not a rejection of any divine being, but the embrace of a divine image that condemns people for their actions and requires sacrifices for those sins. She doesn’t offer up herself, but her gospel is a message of work harder and do more to prove you are worthy of my affection—that is a capricious and malevolent god. The gospel of our technocrat overlords, as Dr. Strachan calls them, is not a gospel of grace, but a gospel of works, which demands acts of sacrifice before love is extended.

JESUS’ MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

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Beginning with Moses almost 1900 Scriptures tell us about the culmination of God’s work on planet Earth, Jesus second coming to Earth and ruling and reigning the nations with the resurrected Saints for 1000 years. The Earth will have had 6000 years under the rule of Satan and his demons. It will soon have 1000 years with Jesus and the resurrected Saints ruling righteously. After 7000 years this fallen world will be destroyed and God creates a new heaven and new Earth where only the righteous dwell (Revelation 21).

The nation God created for His purposes must fulfill its destiny. Israel will be the lead nation. Jerusalem will be the capital of the world on a summit where Jesus’ home will sit, a massive temple.

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.“ Deuteronomy 30:1-3

“And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:5-6

The covenants that God made with Abraham (unconditional), David, and the new covenant must be fulfilled.

The Abrahamic Covenant: Numbers 34:1-12 outlines the exact borders Israel is to possess; the nation of Israel has yet to encompass these specific boundaries.

The Davidic Covenant: 2 Samuel 7 is the promise that God made to David that David’s heir would sit on the throne of Israel forever. Jesus is that heir, but He has yet to take His physical, political birthright.

The New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-33 outlines the promise that Israel as a nation will return to God and worship their Messiah. These covenants will be fulfilled during the 1000-year reign.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke… For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33 & Hebrews 8:8-12

THE PROPHESIED BIRTH OF JESUS: IMMANUEL – GOD WITH US

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This video covers the famous Immanuel prophecy in Isaiah 7.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

The video starts by placing the prophecy in its original historical context in the 700s BC. This reveals that it was originally about a child named Immanuel who was born in Isaiah’s day, circa 734 BC. Then Travis moves on to consider why Matthew said in his Gospel that Isaiah 7.14 was fulfilled in the life of Christ. Finally, he looks at the practical applications of this prophecy for our lives today and the important message that God is still communicating to us through the virgin birth of His Son.

Transcript available

IS THE POPE COMPROMISING WITH THE WORLD?

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Pope Francis caused widespread controversy and confusion on Monday by appearing to allow priests to bless individuals and couples involved in unchaste same-sex marriages and unrecognized civil marriages, a decision faithful Catholics have said will “produce chaos” in people’s lives “and hurt souls.”

Pope Francis (front 3rd R) poses with religious leaders during a meeting at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano

The pope gave priests in the Roman Catholic Church, the world’s largest Christian denomination, “the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples,” as long as this is done “without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage.” The decision came through a statement titled “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings” (Fiducia Supplicans) signed by the 87-year-old pontiff and issued by the Vatican’s chief doctrinal guardian, the Dicastery (formerly the Congregation) for the Doctrine of the Faith, now led by close Francis ally and fellow Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández. The blessing is not to be a wedding Mass, nor a “liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion” that implies the Church has celebrated a wedding or nuptial service.

Yet when a couple in a same-sex relationship approach their church pastor, the priest now has papal authority to offer a blessing on them collectively which “unites intercessory prayer with the invocation of God’s help by those who humbly turn to him,” says the document, “a blessing that descends from God upon those who — recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of his help — do not claim a legitimation of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit.”

Earlier this year, the Catholic bishops of Germany overwhelmingly approved a document — in direct defiance of Vatican directives — promoting the blessing of same-sex unions. The proposal classified homosexuality as “a norm variant of human sexuality” and urged bishops to “officially allow blessing ceremonies in their dioceses for couples who love each other but to whom sacramental marriage is not accessible or who do not see themselves at a point of entering into a sacramental marriage.”

One German prelate, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, tried to discipline a priest in his diocese for blessing same-sex unions. Woelki was promptly reprimanded by the Central Committee of German Catholics. Inspired by this, other priests in Woelki’s diocese disobeyed their bishop and the Vatican to host a rainbow-flag-studded gay blessing ceremony outside the Cologne cathedral. In a letter last month, Pope Francis admitted that Germany’s pro-LGBT bishops were trying to “steer” the Catholic Church in Germany “increasingly away from the universal Church’s common path.”

Meanwhile, bishops who boldly uphold a biblical understanding of sex and marriage, such as Texan Bishop Joseph Strickland or former Vatican official Cardinal Raymond Burke, are ostracized and penalized. However, the norms promulgated by the Vatican on Monday are abused, it is increasingly unlikely that the abusers will be reprimanded, but priests and bishops faithful to Scripture and the doctrines of the Catholic Church will still risk running afoul of the reigning pontificate, which the late Australian Cardinal George Pell described as a “catastrophe.”

This is surely another of the prophesied end times signs being fulfilled in our day. Paving the way for the false prophet and the Antichrist.