LAST DAYS APOSTASY

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Church of England OKs blessings for same-sex couples

The vote came at a meeting of the General Synod, the church’s governing body, where the compromise approach was described in a variety of ways: as a breakthrough, a flawed compromise, or an outright mistake.

For background, the Church of England is enormous, boasting 85 million members located in 165 countries. As you may have heard, they have been in the news recently for charting a course that can only be described as consciously divorcing themselves from the historic teachings of the Christian faith.

“I know that what we have proposed as a way forward does not go nearly far enough for many but too far for others,” said Bishop of London Sarah Mullally, who has overseen the development of the proposals. But, she added, “This is a moment of hope for the Church.”

The text of the adopted motion begins with a stark acknowledgment, as the synod’s members said they “lament and repent” the historic harm done to LGBTQI+ people by the Church of England, in its failure to welcome them.

The church’s leaders spoke about the years of work it has taken to reach Thursday’s vote. And as they celebrated the moment, they also sought unity.

“For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly, and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church,” Archbishops Welby and Cottrell said.

They called for a new beginning and a continuation of thoughtful debate. “Above all, we continue to pray, as Jesus himself prayed, for the unity of his church and that we would love one another,” the archbishops said.

To remove any doubt, this move wasn’t a clarification that the Church’s doors are open to everyone because we all fall short of the glory of God, but an assertion that same-sex couples attending their parishes can now “dedicate their relationship to God and receive God’s blessing.”

The vote was 250-181, and in many ways wasn’t that surprising, especially considering the Church of England ordains homosexual priests under the promise that they remain “celibate.”

Steven Croft, the bishop of Oxford, praised the “significant and historic step” because “same-sex couples will become much more visible and their relationships will be celebrated publicly,” which, he expects, “will continue to change attitudes within the life of the Church.”

For their part, archbishops Welby and Cottrell punctuated the “historic step” of the vote by declaring that, “above all, we continue to pray, as Jesus himself prayed, for the unity of his church and that we would love one another.”

It’s like they grabbed the Apostle Paul’s list of vices to avoid in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and are using portions of it as a roadmap for what conduct they ought to “bless” from the pulpit.

Paul writes, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians

Forget “homosexuality” for a moment. On what basis could the archbishop and his ensemble preach against greed, adultery, extortion, or any other unbiblical behavior mentioned above if they’ve already taken their white-out pen to the parts of Scripture that make them uncomfortable? If they’re being consistent, they couldn’t.

That inconsistency aside, however, what’s truly maddening about this entire ordeal is that these purported representatives of the “cloth” are openly deceiving their parishioners. And one day these parishioners will have to account for their actions before the Supreme Judge of the world.

“But my bishop told me I could do it” won’t cut it as a valid excuse before a Holy God.

Equally as troublesome, by obfuscating such direct biblical truths, these imposters are robbing those under their authority of experiencing genuine Christian “love.”

Recall that the Apostle Paul doesn’t end 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 by rattling off a condemnatory list of sins, and then leaving it at that. Nope. He offers the hope of the Gospel.

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11

That’s how the Bible delineates “love,” with God the Father sending Jesus Christ to endure the brutality of Calvary to rescue us from the “domain of darkness” and transfer us “to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

Instead of this powerful presentation of God’s “love,” we have the Church of England telling the people who populate their pews that they should embrace their sin, reject God’s gift of salvation, and continue to transgress His law with impunity.

Whatever “love” these bishops are uniting behind, it isn’t Christianity.

As J. Gresham Machen would say, they’ve started something “entirely different from Christianity as to belong in a distinct category.” That much is clear.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND DEPARTS FROM GOD’S WORD

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Archbishop of York says gay sex is OK if in ‘committed, stable, faithful relationships’

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, and Rev. Canon Stephen Race (R) when he is consecrated as the new Bishop of Beverley during a service in York Minster on November 30, 2022, in York, England.

BBC Radio Four’s William Crawley asked the archbishop the following questions:

  1. Are homosexuality and same-sex marriage sinful? The C of E’s new stance on the issue is that it’s OK, as long as couples are in “committed, stable, faithful relationships,” adding that same-sex married couples will be “welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms.”
  2. William Crawley asked the archbishop whether the C of E’s recent decision not to officiate same-sex weddings while allowing gay marriages to be blessed was a “bit of a fudge.” Cottrell responded, “I see it as a way of holding together a church which doesn’t agree on this issue and it takes us to a place where LGBTIQ+ people, people entering into same-sex marriages, people in civil partnerships are able to come to the Church of England and those relationships and marriages can be acknowledged and celebrated.”
  3. Crawley then asked if the denomination believes “gay sex is sin,? The archbishop replied, “Well, what we are saying is that physical and sexual intimacy belongs in committed, stable, faithful relationships, and therefore where we see a committed, stable, faithful relationship between two people of the same sex, we are now in a position where those people can be welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms.”

Crawley said the C of E must be blessing same-sex unions because it believes it to be good. Archbishop Cottrell replied, “As I say, we believe that stable, faithful, committed, loving relationships are good. They are the place for physical intimacy …”

Crawley again asked, “And not a sin?” The archbishop then responded, “But well, that … that’s what I’m saying … we’re looking to focus on the good in relationships and we want people to live in good, stable, faithful relationships.”

Earlier this month, C of E bishops apologized to the LGBT community for their “rejection and exclusion” within the denomination, saying they were now “welcome and valued” within the denomination.

The group Christian Concern said Cottrell’s statement confirms the CofE’s departure from its own biblical teaching on human sexuality which states that marriage is: “in its nature a union permanent and lifelong, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman.”

Andrea Williams, Christian Concern’s chief executive who was also a member of the general synod for 10 years, said Cottrell’s comments “embody the compromised position of the Church of England on human sexuality.” “The role of the Archbishop of York is to lead in explaining God’s beautiful pattern for human life and relationships, not to preside over a convoluted process of compromise. Sadly, it has been a failure of leadership from the start by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. For this, they will answer to God, and we must pray for them. It is not loving or kind to hide the truth from the culture,” she said.

God’s Word is adamant that sexual expression is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman. Any other form of sexual relationship is sexually immoral.

This is just one of the many signs Jesus told us would happen before His second coming to restore righteousness.

“And then many will fall away (from faith) and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:10-13

END TIMES APOSTATE CHURCH

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Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, provocatively but convincingly calls “neo-pagan Anglicanism”—Anglican in style but not substance.

Speaking with a prophetic mantle, Beach observes that “liberal innovations in theology and sexual ethics” are hidden within an orthodox façade, comparable, I would say, to the Trojan horse: This so-called gift to Anglicans in North America and Great Britain signals ruin. He bemoans:

“Neo-pagan Anglicanism is beautifully packaged in some of the most elegant liturgy, music, and tradition in Christianity. But it has become liturgy for the sake of liturgy, music for the sake of music, and tradition for the sake of tradition. As the apostle Paul wrote, they are “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). And as Athanasius argued against Arius’s heresy, the Jesus whom they promote is not the Jesus of which the Bible speaks.“

As a result of this tragic accommodation to culture, Beach eschews the flaccid slogans of Canterbury and New York City about “communion across difference,” “mutual flourishing,” and “walking together” because there can be no truce with heretics and schismatics who advance a counterfeit gospel (Romans 16:17–18). Estranged Anglicans in the Global North, he argues, can address their “ecclesial deficit” by joining forces with Anglican leaders from the Global South, who, beginning in 2008, formed the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which has continued to serve as a vital reform movement: “As colonial and aging wineskins continue to promote neo-pagan beliefs and practices, the new wine of Christ’s continuing redemptive work will burst out to transform lives and renew our churches among the nations.”

I would like to think that Beach is right that GAFCON “will burst out to transform lives and renew our churches” but I do not believe the institutional church is capable of doing it.

C. S. Lewis envisioned Christianity as a house with “a hall out of which doors open into several rooms.” The rooms are ecclesial traditions that offer disciples a fire for warmth, a chair for rest, and a meal for nourishment and fellowship, whereas the hall is “mere” Christianity, a place where disciples greet and gift each other with riches from their respective rooms.

The Book of Acts describes the early church meeting in homes and the church in various cities, like the church in Antioch or the church in Caesarea were a collection of house churches but one church and the leaders of those house churches would often meet to deal with issues that sought to divide the church in that city. The “end times” persecuted church will be like the church in the Book of Acts and like we are now seeing in places where the church is already under intense persecution like in Africa, China, Middle East. Moreover, we are hearing amazing stories of the tremendous growth of the church in Iran.

A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IS CRITICAL

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A biblical worldview is critical because that’s what enables you to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Romans 12 talks to us about, ‘you have to have your mind renewed’, you must be ‘transformed’ by that ‘renewing of your mind’ with God’s principles at the core of all of your thoughts so that you can in fact live like Christ.”

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Moreover, this is impossible unless we have been born again with the Holy Spirit now indwelling our spirit. Proverbs tells us that the spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord and of course a lamp needs oil to function which is, of course, the Holy Spirit. To function as God intended we have always needed the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor, our comforter, and our teacher.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

 Also, according to Barna, the only way to achieve cultural transformation is if people choose to “believe God’s truths,” which in turn will allow them to “act upon those truths based upon those things that you believe.”

“We are here to be salt and light. That’s what transformation is: changing the world around us forever based on God’s truths. But in order to do that, we need a healthy church. We need believers who get it, believers who are willing to put their lives on the line. Today’s traditional church and leadership model has veered far from Christ’s New Testament model of disciples making disciples typically in house churches.

In fact, a study released earlier this year by the Cultural Research Centre of 1,000 pastors found that only 37% of Christian pastors in the United States have a biblical worldview. The majority possess the hybrid syncretism worldview.

“As you read the Scriptures, you find that biblically, it is the role of the community of faith, i.e., our churches, to be supporting families and particularly parents in that process, equipping them for raising up their children to be dynamic followers of Jesus Christ,” Barna advised. Only the church model Jesus established, as described in the Book of Acts, will achieve that goal. I a convinced that the House church model is Jesus model and the institutional church will not survive the prophesied “end times” tribulation.

INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH HAS FAILED

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These statistics are from three different Research organisations.

  1. Less than half of Americans, including just 63% of churchgoing Christians, believe Jesus existed before His virgin birth in Bethlehem, a new study from Lifeway research shows.
  2. A recent survey by Probe Research found that nearly 70% of so-called evangelical Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God. Also, the percentage of Born Again Christians with a Biblical Worldview has been cut in half over the last decade
  3. Another study from Arizona Christian University published earlier this year, showed that among an estimated 176 million American adults who identify as Christian, just 6% or 15 million of them actually hold a biblical worldview.
Jesus' Nativity Story
The live reenactment of Jesus’ nativity scene held outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. on Thursday Dec. 2, 2021. | Christian Post

The Lifeway study, conducted Sept. 3-14 through an online survey of a national pre-recruited panel of 1,005 Americans, shows that only 2 in 5 or 41% of American adults, in general, believe Jesus existed before His Bethlehem birth. Some 32% disagree with the idea that Christ existed before His Bethlehem birth, while 28% say they’re not sure.

Researchers also found that even among Christians who attend church four times a month or more, only 63% agree that Jesus existed before His Bethlehem birth even though many Scriptures from the Bible support that position.

“Prophecies such as those in Isaiah 9 reflect that the Messiah would be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. While these titles reflect the Trinity, some Americans do not connect the Jesus born in Bethlehem with the Messiah who already existed as God now coming in the flesh,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.

The religiously unaffiliated were the least likely among respondents in the survey to believe Jesus existed before Bethlehem, with fewer than 15% of them supporting the notion.

And yet in John 6:62 for example, Jesus asks His many disciples at the time: “Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

The Scripture further highlights how difficult it was for many of them to embrace the idea of His divinity and pre-existence when it notes in John 6:66 that: “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

In a 2016 presentation in New York City, the American Bible Society explained that despite the Bible being the most printed and sold book in the world over the last five decades, less than half of practicing Christians in the U.S. spend serious time engaging with their Bible and the rest of the country is even worse.

At the time, Samuel Harrell, director of Project Ignition at the American Bible Society, presented evidence gathered from a six-year assessment of the state of the Bible conducted by the Barna Group which showed that just 18% of the American population 18 years and older read the Bible. Among practicing Christians, only 37% were found to engage with their Bible.

The good news is that Jesus told us that this would happen just prior to His return and that before God pours out His wrath on unrepentant sinners Christians will be taken to Heaven.

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:9-14

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

WHAT’S WRONG WITH CHURCH

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A major issue afflicting the Church is the “clergy-laity mentality.” It is a pervasive mindset where the paid clergy leads the church and they are called “pastors.” They do most of the ministry work and laypeople serve the ministry of that pastor.

The Apostle Paul writes that the Church, the household of God, is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:20

Paul continues that the Lord gave fivefold offices for the edification of the Church, specifically

“apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12

All five of these gifts are needed and on a broad-based level, you need the apostles and prophets working together, hearing from God together. To use military terminology: apostles [are] the generals. The prophets being the seers, they’re the ones getting the intel [from God],

For a local church, there needs to be impartation from all those gifts, equipping from all those offices to equip people to minister to those who are not part of the Church, not just to minister to each other. The apostles are the builders, the church-planters, those who are trainers and equippers. And the prophetic is to come alongside them to help guide and speak to that — what is the Lord saying right now in the present. All five offices are needed to work together so that the Church can hear the full counsel of God.

 

Episcopal church ordains lesbian Bishop

Unfortunately, the institutional church came up with the model of training one man, then one man or woman and now transgender as well to be the pastor/leader of the church. This model is not Biblical and is in fact the apostate church Jesus (Matthew 24:12) and Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 ) spoke of as one of the “end times” signs. It has no understanding of the fivefold gifts working together to see each and every believer functioning and bringing the Kingdom into their workplace, in the marketplace, into their school, then a greater expression of Jesus is manifested in society. What is needed is small-a apostles?

Larry Kreider of DOVE International — an interdenominational global family of churches and ministries on six continents believes that an apostolically inclined small-a apostle is motivated by and is thinking on a macro, big-picture level, and wants to see the Kingdom of God extend across their city, state, region, nation and world. As with any other spiritual gift and vocations, this gifting is to be called out and affirmed by others in the Body of Christ. To function in these gifts, one needs to see the gifting’s in others, It’s not just someone who prophesies or carries a prophetic gift, but someone who trains up and pours into others so they can mature spiritually. 

This is truly the church as described in the Book of Acts and will be the church that overcomes during the tribulation in the last days before Jesus returns “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor will never be harmed by the second death.” Revelation 2:10-11

WAKE UP MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH

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This sermon was preached in 2015. It was an important wake up message to the church and it is still relevant for churches today. The message really challenged the congregation to be courageous and to live and share the Gospel, despite the consequences. wherever and with whomsoever they could.

It is now 2021 and look what has happened in the world and in the church. We have to ask ourselves, how widely was this message delivered? Sadly, I would have to say very few churches heard this message. The world has got darker at an exponential rate. Much of the church has compromised with the world. We are in the prophesied last days.

You need to know that what is happening in the world is not taking God by surprise. He is still in control and Bible prophecy reveals that His plan for His world is right on track. Jesus said, in the last days before His return there would be a great falling away in the church. The world would become increasingly godless and as a consequence lawless. This we are seeing but I am sure James Robison is still doing his utmost to galvanise the church into action. We need to be doing the same wherever and with whomsoever.

Clergy of Europe’s largest Lutheran denomination declare their churches are trans-inclusive fulfilling end times prophecy

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Hundreds of clergy, staff and congregants of the Church of Sweden, Europe’s largest Lutheran denomination, have declared in an open letter that it is now a trans-inclusive institution.

“We write to you from a church that is also trans,” reads a line from the letter, titled “Personal Letter to You Who are Trans,” posted on a dioceses website and addressed to trans-identifying people who serve and attend the church, Summit News reported.

Signed by around 1,000 priests, deacons and members and published on the official website of the Västerås diocese, the letter also seeks to explain how the church could be described as trans.

Sweden
Sweden’s flag is seen near the Stockholm Cathedral in Gamla Stan or the Old Town district of Stockholm, Sweden, June 9, 2010. 

However in 2017, the denomination had already told clergy that they needed to start using gender-neutral language when referring to God, and avoid masculine terms such as “He” and “Lord.” so this letter is not something new. The church had already departed from Biblical values many years ago and are suffering the consequences of that decision. For example, in 2009, the left-leaning Swedish Church voted in favor of blessing same-sex marriages and elected Eva Brunne, the world’s first openly lesbian bishop.

Many of the members have been leaving the religion in record numbers. In 2018, insiders said the denomination was expected to lose over 1 million members over the following 10 years.

Sputnik News at the time translated the official Members in Motion report from the denomination, which found out that 85,848 Swedes left the Church in 2016, followed by 93,093 members in 2017.

The Bible the Lutheran church has rejected prophesies that prior to Jesus return much of the church will fall away and compromise with the world’s values. If only they could see, that by their actions, they are fulfilling this prophecy.

BIBLE BELIEVING COUNTER-CULTURAL CHURCHES THRIVING

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The most common religious identity among young adults in the U.S. is “none,” and the majority of Americans don’t believe it’s necessary for a person to believe in God to be moral and have good values, a new survey has found. The survey on American Life investigating contemporary religion in the U.S. found that among young adults (age 18 to 29), the most common religious identity today is none. More than one in three (34%) young adults are religiously unaffiliated.  Nearly nine in 10 (87%) Americans report they believe in God, but just over half (53%) report they believe in God without any doubts at all. Overall, 42% of Americans have a close social connection with someone who is religiously unaffiliated — up from 18% in 2004.
Additionally, most Americans say it’s not necessary for a person to believe in God to be moral and have good values. Close to six in 10 (59%) Americans say a belief in God is not a precondition to being moral and having good values, while 41% of the public say a belief in God is essential. These statistics, the authors say, mark a “remarkable shift in recent years. The study also found that Americans are almost equally divided over whether it is better to discuss religious beliefs and ideas with those who do not share the same perspective, and most Americans have never been invited to church. A majority (54%) of Americans say they have not been asked to participate in a religious service in the past 12 months or have never been asked.

The survey corroborates a 2019 Pew Study survey that documented the decline of Christians and rise of religiously unaffiliated. Pew noted that the religiously unaffiliated group rose to 22.8% share of the population in 2014, eclipsing the number of Catholics in America, who fell to 20.8%. Christians as a whole fell from 78.4 to 70% of the population between 2007 to 2014, with every major group experiencing a decline. Similarly, the 2018 General Social Survey found that the number of religious “nones” in the U.S. are now statistically equal to the number of evangelicals. Ryan Burge, a political science researcher at Eastern Illinois University who analyzed data from the survey, told The Christian Post that the religious “‘none’s’ are not slowing down.”

THE GOOD NEWS

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, previously said the “increasing strangeness” of Christianity is actually “good news” for the church. “Christianity isn’t normal anymore. It never should have been. The increasing strangeness of Christianity might be bad news for America, but it’s good news for the church. The major newspapers are telling us today that Christianity is dying, according to this new study, but what is clear from this study is exactly the opposite: while mainline traditions plummet, evangelical churches are remaining remarkably steady,” Moore said.

He added that statistics indicate there are honest atheists in America today, and that they are rejecting what’s called “almost-Christianity,” or traditions that “jettison the historic teachings of the Church as soon as they become unfashionable.” “The churches that are thriving are the vibrant, counter-cultural congregations that aren’t afraid to not be seen as normal to the surrounding culture. This report actually leaves me hopeful. The Bible Belt may fall. So be it,” he continued. “Christianity emerged from a Roman Empire hostile to the core to the idea of a crucified and resurrected Messiah. We’ve been on the wrong side of history since Rome, and it was enough to turn the world upside down.”

GOD’S WORD IS INERRANT

END TIMES KINGDOM

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Satan’s kingdom is massing powerful forces of hate, anger and evil. They masquerade as good and fair values that liberate, confirm and advance culture and civilization. But they are doing the very opposite!  Events and trends have reached a point of no return. If I denigrate in any way gay marriage, homosexuality and LGBT issues then this post would be censored. A Christian must be armed with a solid faith in God to withstand the battle of life before us. It is time to check our faith—protected by a shield that cannot be penetrated by doubt, fear or weakness. A strong belief and confidence in God’s firm hand in our life is the anchor we need during these times. Jesus asked a question with profound implications for each of us: “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. Faith in Jesus is growing increasingly rare in our secularized society.

Many people today view the values and promises of the Bible as judgmental and archaic. The popular approach is to accept and validate all opinions, no matter what they are. But the same people don’t realize that such an approach inevitably produces doubt, which undermines faith. We may not deny the existence of God, but, because of the materialism, humanism and moral relativism of the world around us, we convince ourselves that God is not involved in human affairs. We see through a prism that leaves God out of the picture. The religion of many professing Christians is superficial. They have not received the Holy Spirit and therefore lack the power to live the Christian life. Moreover, as a result their knowledge of God’s Word is rudimentary. They certainly are not aware of the many prophecies concerning Jesus soon coming return. Far too many have come to believe that every aspect of life is simply a matter of personal choice and that nothing matters beyond their feelings. Instead of relying on God, they trust only themselves to solve their problems. Confirmation of the superficiality of faith is to be found in the fact that, although 90 percent of Americans say they pray, many are unsure that their prayers make any difference (National & International Religion Report).