“Elijah and other men of God in the OT who with radicality and severity — to the dismay of entire generations — made their appearance and to many seemed to be subverters. Enthusiasts do not arise on their own initiative. They think of themselves as called and ordained for their service, which excludes all purely personal interests. An intolerable burden rests upon them.” (Hans-Joachim Kraus)
Good friends of mine — good men — as well as the ‘bad figs’ in the Church whose error goes before them, (1 Timothy 5:24), think that I am wrong, that God didn’t close the Church en masse as an act of judgment, such is our spiritual whoredom.
Please listen to this video carefully after reading the brief article, below…
“…if one’s appeal for moving on with the Lord seems to people to involve their having to move away from this or that or some other thing, then there is warfare; which shows that Satan in his eternal campaign of idolatry, has got a footing amongst Christians in relation to things which take the place of the Lord Himself. And you find, if you are spiritually sensitive, that you are not just encountering the established institutions, but you are encountering a terrific spiritual force.”
I have recently been contacted by John Vucko, a credible, award-winning management consultant and fellow brother in Christ from the other side of the world.
In light of his home church’s plan to run The Alpha Course, John has seen it fit to thoroughly investigate the growing sense of distress regarding the malpractice and theological and doctrinal errors intimately connected with “Alpha” and its global supporters across the Body of Christ.
This report is the fruit of John’s significant labours.
Last week I drove 1000 miles, attended three stages of an interview, endured a two-hour grilling and produced and “impressive” presentation for a board, spending £500 on petrol, accommdoation and food…all for the employer to not even bother to email or phone me to thank me with the news that I was unsuccessful…and, of course, not reimbursing me for my significant trouble.
What is this level of dishonour and disgrace teaching us?
In her profoundly beautiful testimony concerning that which God is teaching her about IVF, Mairi spoke to a woman’s group in London a couple of years ago. You can watch/listen here.
“I know that no child would replicate the joy of God speaking.”
Now, after significant examine, study and ultimately prayer, Mairi is starting a new blog in which she will be sharing articles, vlogs and podcasts about this horrific bio-ethical reality.
In November 2011, Gary Speed, the wonderful Newcastle, Everton and Leeds footballer, (and Welsh national team manager), very tragically committed suicide.
Men in their forties are known as being in the most vulnerable demographic for suicide which highlights a duty of care that The BBC have to Jermaine as well as the women with whom Jermaine has been inappropriate.
Does what has happened here with Jermaine, unlike Huw Edwards, warrant being sacked? Does it require Jermaine to “lose everything”?
No, The BBC have thrown him under the bus because of their chronically damaged reputation, which lies in tatters, and their gross, amoral hypocrisy. It is they who should be sacked.
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
(Hebrews 13:14)
We have just returned from a very long road-trip (and sequence of road-trips over the last months) during which we have removed belongings from storage, given things away, thrown things out and sought to find the right path forward.
“Forward” in our heads however is often not the same as the express will and purposes in the heart and mind of the LORD; we struggle on with the unresolved (and perhaps even unresolvable) details of life, functioning with engrained assumptions much more than we realise.
But whether or not Christ comes in our personal lifetimes, surely we are living through a period of history in which Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7 prove to be both poignant and extremely important:
1. The appointed time has grown very short (v29)
2. The present form of this world is passing away (v31)
As with Bilbo Baggins, the places that we call home are very powerful motivators for us, both in a keeping sense, (retaining and even detaining us), and in an attractional way so that we assume our trajectory and direction based on the further assumption of an end-game that is not actually His.
But these enchanting narratives are not without cost. See this 10 min teaching video:
When can we not be His disciple…?
Isn’t the sojourning life of the Christian supposed to be the standard and rule rather than the rare exception? Wouldn’t this be a lot easier if we all committed our way to a different kind of journey?
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
Psalm 84:5
(Other translations: Whose hearts are set on pilgrimage)
Short creative film: Jesus Sojourn (Part III of The Bothy Sessions)
Questions
1. What are we really looking for?
2. What is our actual priority in this fleeting life?
3. Are we willing to be led by the Spirit of God into discomfort and suffering?
4. Husbands and Fathers, are you leading your family?
5. Wives and mothers, are you following your husbands and modelling submission for your children?
Ultimately, we are learning to ask ourselves if our allegiance is truly, fully to Christ the coming King…
We pray, ‘Lord have Your way, in ourselves, for Your glory and for the good of Your Bride…’
If you would like to support our work you can do so here.
This is the sentence that resulted in my being cancelled by a senior Christian leader in the US who had just weeks before phoned me to express gushing love and admiration,
“However, like a pimp’s walk of shame from one whorehouse to another, it is a ludicrous solution for an adulterous Bride and a false, spawning ‘gospel’, to ignominiously traipse to another brothel in search of fidelity.” (You can read the article in full here)
What is going on? What was the charge against me? What does this have to do with CBR-US/UK and the disgrace of Keswick’s senior leaders?
The right hand of fellowship is an essential safeguard for the darkness that is coming upon the earth. All of us must be better at protecting it and acting when it has been threatened. (All relevant links are in the podcast show notes). 👇🏻
Jesus issues a warning of great exclamation in Luke 12 — that we must be very careful to fear Him who has authority to throw us into hell…rather than man who can but kill the body. I publish this video because I fear Him infinitely more than any man.
firebrandnotes.com 