Tag: God

What is the Deceitfulness of Sin?

The writer of the Book of Hebrews in the Bible warns us of the following:

Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  Hebrews 3:12-13

Drawing from the history of the Jewish people, the writer exhorts us not to be like those who had unbelieving hearts, fell away from the living God and died in the wilderness.

The Holy Spirit is speaking through the writer to warn us about our heart [our inner man- who we truly are] becoming hard [unbelieving] toward God and His Word [the Bible] because of the deceitfulness of sin.

What is this that hardens our heart toward God? How does our old sinful nature deceive us into believing it is better to obey our evil cravings instead of obeying God? Here is how:

Offers False Promises of Pleasure – sin acts as bait, dangling immediate, fleeting satisfaction or gain while hiding the inevitable pain and ruin it produces. Sin will cost you more than you’re willing to pay and sin will keep you longer than you’re willing to stay.

Progressive Hardening of the Heart – sin dulls spiritual sensitivity over time, moving a person toward apathy, disobedience, and an inability to recognize evil.

Self-Deception – The Bible warns that our own hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), prompting us to rationalize wrongful behavior and believe we can escape consequences. Our sin flatters us in our heart into believing we are “special” and “different”. We lose any fear of God we once had.

Distortion of Truth – Sin mask itself as wisdom or enlightenment, just as it did in the Garden of Eden, causing us to doubt God’s word. It makes us forget that God said you would reap what you sow.

Misleading About God – It makes God’s commands seem unreasonable or restrictive, trying to make us believe that God is against our best interests.

Did you recognize any of sins tactics? Unfortunately, I recognize them all. They have tricked me at times into forsaking church attendance, not reading/studying my Bible, not praying, being prideful and arrogant, thinking I’m special when I was just sinful, not loving my fellow Christian and the unbeliever, being consumed with my agenda and not God’s, lying, lusting, rebellious, unloving, stubborn….and we could go on all day.

What should we do if we find ourselves with a hard, unbelieving heart today? We need to confess our sins and pride to God the Father. He already knows them and they are not a surprise to Him. He has promised the following:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. I John 2: 1-2

and

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9

In Proverbs there is a Scripture that says a righteous man falls seven times but he always gets back up. So lets all get back up, turn from and confess our sins, receive God’s forgiveness, believe God’s Word, live smarter by the power of the Holy Spirit and go do the good works God saved us to do. Be a blessing to someone.

May He richly bless you in your obedience.

Carl

5 Short Points Concerning UFOs

  1. All extraterrestrials are in for a big shock because at the end of time God says He is going to roll up the heavens like a scroll and create a new heaven and earth:

“And,
            “THOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING DIDST LAY THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
            AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF THY HANDS;

     11THEY WILL PERISH, BUT THOU REMAINEST;
            AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD AS A GARMENT,

     12AND AS A MANTLE THOU WILT ROLL THEM UP;
            AS A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
            BUT THOU ART THE SAME,
            AND THY YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.” (Hebrews 1:10-12)

and also:


But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (II Peter 3:10-13 NASB)

and one more:

And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (Revelation 6: 12-14 NASB)

If there are other living beings on other planets, they are in for a big surprise when this happens. They and their “advanced civilization” are going to be rolled up and thrown away by God Almighty.

2. The strange creatures from outer space always use the latest technologies.

There is a story in Mormon folklore ( I am not Mormon) that tells of a popular man in a certain community passing away. Later one day while they are having a get together outside, a paddle-wheeler boat (latest technology at that time) comes by IN THE SKY and guess who is standing on the deck waving at everyone. You guessed it… the guy who had just died. So don’t be surprised at the fast moving planes or ships or objects. They are just using the latest technology to dazzle earthlings.

3. Space aliens will be blamed for the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of born again believers after the Rapture of the true Church has occurred.

The leaders of false, work based so-called Christian groups, such as the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, the Prophet of the Mormons plus the priest of the Hindus, Buddhist, and clerics of the Muslims, are going to need to blame someone when all the truly born again Protestants disappear in the twinkling of an eye. Their followers will clamor for an explanation. These leaders will say something like “The aliens came and got these rebels and removed them for the good of mankind.”

New spirituality believers and New Age adherents will consider the Rapture a fulfillment of what their Ascended Masters have been saying all along. These deceiving spirits are quoted as saying in channeled New Age books that those who reject their teaching will have to be dealt with or eliminated so their movement can spread and take over the earth. They will celebrate the UFOs removing these rebels from their communities.

The UFO deception will be put to good use to deceive the remaining people on earth after the Rapture.

4. Aliens are real and they are already among us.

But they are not from outer space. They are from our space. They are Satan and his demonic hordes that Jesus Christ conquered on the Cross of Calvary. You can read about Jesus Christ casting them out of people in the New Testament. His followers went forth doing the same before the Cross and after His resurrection.

When Jesus encountered people controlled by aliens (demons) the demons knew that He was the Son of God and that there was coming a day when they would be cast into a place of torment. We await that joyous day!

5. To understand how to deal with the aliens (demons) and their tactics, please read the New Testament.

You can actually read what the head alien Satan and his demonic followers said in the New Testament.

Thank you for allowing me to share these thoughts with you.

Blessed is the one who knows the true God!

Carl

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The Big Difference

How does keeping of the Old Testament Law and walking in New Testament grace compare?

There is a big difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament when it comes to equipping the believer to live a God honoring life.  The following saying illustrates this point.

Do this and live, the Old Testament Law demands, but gives neither feet or hands.

A better word the Gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings.

Author Unknown

Born again believers get their “wings” by understanding the truths found in Paul’s letter to the Romans in chapter six through eight.  God has given us a new nature and set us free from our old sinful nature and gave us His indwelling Holy Spirit.  Now we can say “no” to sin and temptation and escape from the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Apostle Peter said the following about these truths in II Peter 1: 3-4 (Wuest Expanded Translation):

“Seeing that all things to us His divine power has generously given, the things which pertain to life and godliness, through the experiential knowledge [which the believer has] of the One who called us [into salvation] by means of His own glory and virtue, by means of which [glory and virtue] there have been generously given to us the precious and exceedingly great promises in order that through these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped by flight the corruption which is in the world in the sphere of passionate carvings.” 

Today let us lay hold of these precious and exceedingly great promises the Father has made to us.  As we do so, we can escape the corruption which we will face today in the the world in the sphere of passionate carvings.

May you conquer all temptations and snares today in the Name of Jesus!

Have a blessed day walking in the Spirit!

Carl

 

I fed 5 major religions into an AI engine. Here is the ‘winner.’

By Jay Atkins, Op-ed Contributor Monday, April 20, 2026

I recently did something that will likely make both my Christian and atheist friends a little uncomfortable: I asked a popular AI engine to evaluate the world’s major belief systems and tell me which one makes the most rational sense. 

To be clear, I didn’t prompt it to favor Christianity. I didn’t ask leading questions or try to stack the deck.  I asked it to analyze the heavyweights — Atheism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity — using a simple two-step framework: First, which worldview best explains reality, and second, which one does so while requiring the fewest unsupported assumptions? In other words, tell me which one has the highest explanatory power with the lowest evidentiary burden.

As a professing Christian for more than 40 years, what I got back should not have surprised me, yet it did. AI, in seconds, reached the same conclusion I’ve been working towards for decades: Christianity offers the most reasonable overall explanation of reality with the fewest leaps of faith. 

Pause and let that settle in. AI ranked Christianity as the most reasonable view of the world.

The analysis I asked AI to do was not complicated, but it was comprehensive. I asked it to evaluate each worldview against the same basic questions:

1. Why does anything exist at all?
2. Why is the universe ordered and intelligible?
3. Why do humans possess consciousness and reason?
4. Are moral truths real or are they just social constructs?
5. Does human life have meaning or purpose?
6. Do the historical and fact claims of each belief system hold up?

I framed the analysis this way, not to pick a winner for rhetorical effect but to see which belief system actually holds together under the pure, rational scrutiny of a machine. When the analysis was done, here’s what happened.

Atheism scored well on simplicity. It doesn’t require belief in miracles or divine revelation. But that simplicity comes at a cost. It struggles to explain the biggest questions: why does the universe exist at all, why is it governed by rational laws, how does consciousness arise from mere matter, and why do we experience moral obligations as something real and binding? In many cases, it simply labels these things as either illusory or as “brute facts” and moves on, but it does not answer them.

Buddhism performed better as a practical system. It offers profound insight into human suffering and provides a quasi-workable path toward inner peace, but it largely sidesteps the deeper metaphysical questions.  It gives advice on how to cope with reality, but not what reality ultimately is.

Hinduism fared about as well as Buddhism. It offers a sweeping explanation of reality with concepts like ultimate unity, karma, and reincarnation that attempt to account for both the material and spiritual world. That gives it significant explanatory depth, but with a big tradeoff. The system relies on a complex web of metaphysical claims that can’t be verified or falsified, creating a very high evidentiary burden relative to other worldviews.

Islam held together fairly well. It offers a strong account of God, morality, and purpose, which is understandable given its Abrahamic roots. But it runs into serious historical tension when it comes to the historicity of its claims about divine revelation to Muhammad, Jesus’ crucifixion, and correction of earlier traditions. Islam’s brand of retrospective revision carries a very heavy evidentiary burden that it simply can’t carry.

Christianity, by contrast, occupies a unique position. It offers a comprehensive explanation of reality, why the universe exists, why it is ordered, why we are rational and moral beings, and why we long for meaning.  At the same time, it concentrates its evidentiary burden into a relatively small number of claims, most notably the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That matters because a worldview that explains everything but requires you to believe a thousand fragile claims is not rational. The most reasonable worldview is the one that explains the most while assuming the least. On that metric, Christianity wins.

Of course, I can hear my critics screaming right now, what about science? Isn’t Christianity fundamentally at odds with modern scientific understanding?

Not even close. In fact, one of the more interesting aspects of this exercise was how well Christianity aligns with what science has discovered. Take the Big Bang, for example. Modern cosmology tells us the universe had a beginning, a finite starting point for space, time, and matter. That is not what most ancient worldviews predicted. It is, however, exactly what the ancient Hebrews said God told them happened, and it is exactly what we would expect from a universe created by an omnipotent and transcendent God. “In the beginning God created …” is not bad for a book written thousands of years before modern physics.

Or consider the deeper assumptions that make science possible in the first place: the universe is orderly, the laws of nature are consistent and universal, and human reason is capable of understanding them. Those are not scientific conclusions. They are philosophical starting points. And historically, they emerged from the distinctly Christian view that creation reflects the rational mind of its Creator. Science and faith are not in conflict. If they appear to be, it’s a good sign you’re reading one of them incorrectly. The idea that Christianity is anti-science is not just wrong, it’s backwards.

Again, none of this “proves” Christianity is true. Faith is not the product of an algorithm, and salvation does not come through data analysis. These questions ultimately require personal engagement through study, reflection, and prayer. But this exercise does show something very important: Christianity is not a leap in the dark. It is not the abandonment of reason. It is not blind faith in ancient superstition. If anything, it’s the opposite.

For 2,000 years, serious Christian thinkers have argued that faith is grounded in reality, that it makes sense of the world as it actually is. Critics have long dismissed that claim as wishful thinking. Now, in AI, we have a new kind of tool, one that is relentlessly logical, culturally neutral (or so they say), and unimpressed by rhetoric, running the same analysis and arriving at a remarkably similar conclusion. That should at least give us pause.

There is a tendency among some Christians to view artificial intelligence with suspicion, as though it represents a threat to our faith. I don’t see it that way. AI is not a worldview. It doesn’t have beliefs. It doesn’t have a soul. It doesn’t even have opinions in the way we think of them. What it does have is the ability to process information and follow logic wherever it leads. If, as we believers profess, Christianity is true, if it really is grounded in the nature of reality itself, then that kind of analysis should not scare us. It should confirm what we’ve been saying all along. And in this case, it does.

AI is not going to answer the big questions for us, but it might help us see which answers make the most sense. For some skeptics, that might be a lifeline. And for that, we should be thankful. 

By day Jay Atkins works as a Government Affairs attorney for a California-based technology company. By night he is a lay author and Christian apologist. He thinks and writes about proofs for faith and how they intersect, or should intersect, with public policy.

Source: Christian Post

The Way of A Fruitful Life

“Let any one who has a garden ask the gardener what makes the plants grow so luxuriantly, what makes them produce such sweet and pretty flowers. He will answer, ” The warm summer sun and the damp dew of evening, the cold north wind and the drenching rain, — these all help forward the growth of your plants. Were it not for each, the flowers would not be so bright and blooming.”

Just so it is with the children of God, who are called “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.” Sometimes they are in trouble; affliction of some kind comes upon them, which tries them, and makes them to grow in faith and patience. Then, again, the Lord raises them up, causing his face to shine upon them, just as the sun warms and revives the earth when the winter is past.

Oh, yes, the Lord’s people require both the north and the south wind to blow upon them, that they may bring forth much fruit to the glory and praise of God.

“Awake, O north wind; and come thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” (Caut. iv, 16)”

From Martin Luther edited by Miss Whately (1897)

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12: 11)

May the blessings of God be upon your life as you experience all the trials and tribulation that living in this world brings. May your “garden” bring forth much fruit.

Carl

Do Not Forget Any of His Benefits

Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your guilt,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with favor and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The Lord performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always contend with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows [e]our form;
He is mindful that we are nothing but dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place no longer knows about it.
17 But the [f]mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who [g]fear Him,
And His justice to the children’s children,
18 To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.

19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His [h]sovereignty rules over [i]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you His [j]angels,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!

(Psalm 103 – New American Standard Bible Translation, emphasis added)

Praise Him for all of His benefits! May we be like the early believers who were “…going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit… (Acts 9:31)

His blessings be upon all that love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Carl

(Scripture and footnotes from Bible Gateway)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:5 Or desire
  2. Psalm 103:6 Or deeds of vindication
  3. Psalm 103:11 Or revere
  4. Psalm 103:13 Or revere
  5. Psalm 103:14 I.e., what we are made of
  6. Psalm 103:17 Or faithfulness
  7. Psalm 103:17 Or revere
  8. Psalm 103:19 Or kingdom
  9. Psalm 103:19 I.e., the universe
  10. Psalm 103:21 Lit hosts

“Dreaming” in Jude – A Warning Against Immorality

“Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh,…” Jude 8

Welcome back as we continue our study of the false teachers in Jude:

3. Our opening scripture means they indulged in what we would call pornography.   “Dreaming” means metaphorically “to be beguiled with sensual images and carried away to an impious course of conduct” (Thayer). As a result they were defiling their physical bodies with acts of immorality.

The term “in the same manner” refers to verse 5 – 7 where it says:

Now I want to remind you, though you know everything once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Jude compares the false teachers to the fallen angels who left heaven and committed fornication with the wicked women of the earth (Genesis 6) and to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah who committed “gross immorality” (NASB) or “fornication” (KJV). God has the fallen angels in prison for their sin TODAY awaiting the final judgment and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are still “undergoing the punishment of eternal fire” TODAY. Both are held up as an “example” which means “something held up to view as a warning” (Wuest). Jude holds both of these exhibits up to the brethren as a warning that God will not be mocked, He will not be “outwitted or evaded”. These examples are still a warning to us today.

These false teachers, while claiming to be God’s spokesman, were participating in fornication and adultery.  Not only them, but, as we will see,  the Lord’s bond servants they deceived.  God plainly reveals His will about sex outside of marriage and adultery in the New Testament:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;…” (I Thessalonians 4:3-5)

May we heed His warning and keep ourselves from sexual immorality.

God bless you.

Carl

Understanding the Threat of Islamism to Christians and Western Values

The global surge of Islamist activity, marked by violent acts, protests, and religious tensions, has sparked significant concern for Christians and Western societies. From terrorist attacks in New Orleans and violent demonstrations in Europe to widespread grooming and abuse scandals in Britain and brutal persecution of Christians in Africa, these events reflect both historical patterns of conquest within Islam and the modern implications of Islamism. This escalating threat underscores the urgent need for vigilance, prayer, and support for persecuted Christians worldwide.

The rough start to 2025 did not start on January 1. On New Year’s Day, a U.S. Army veteran plowed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans in a terrorist attack done in the name of the Islamic State. A few hours later, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked Sixth Avenue in New York, calling to globalize the intifada. Across the Atlantic, a report was released about Muslim “grooming gangs” preying on lower-class white girls in Britain, although “grooming” is too mild of a descriptor for what the report claimed.  

Since 2000, 250,000 British girls have been drugged, sexually assaulted, and trafficked. Those who reported their assaults were blamed or ignored. Fathers who attempted to rescue their daughters were arrested. People who tried to expose this behavior were imprisoned. Apparently, officials were afraid of being labeled racist or being accused of inciting racial tensions. They were more fearful of being insensitive than protecting girls from sexual abuse and exploitation. 

Across Europe, Christmas markets were attacked and disrupted by Muslim demonstrations. In many European cities, Muslims regularly pray publicly in areas in acts designed to cause maximum disturbance. This is something rare in actual Islamic nations and indicates the intent of Muslims to claim new territory as their own. On New Year’s Day, immigrants, mostly Muslim, rioted in Brussels, Berlin, and other cities. 

Also, in what’s become a terrible tradition on holy days in Nigeria, Christians again suffered a series of murderous attacks over Christmas at the hands of Islamic Fulani herdsmen and ISIS-related groups. According to a report from Open Doors, at least 25 were killed, some while returning from a Christmas Day church service. 21 Christians were also killed in Christmastide attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Most Muslims are peaceful and would condemn such attacks in the name of their faith. However, a significant percentage of Muslims are Islamists, and Islamists who believe that Islam is destined to rule the world often think that jihad is how this domination will happen. Islamism is not an aberrant form of Islam, as is often claimed. In view of the history of Islam, Islamists more closely reflect the life of Mohammed and the history of Islam than is often acknowledged. 

Mohammed, a merchant turned religious leader turned warlord, initially attempted to convert the surrounding Arabs by preaching to them. When that failed, he turned to raiding and sought conversions by military conquest. As his power expanded and Mohammed’s raiding extended into Persia and the Byzantine Empire, he allowed his warriors to take non-Muslims as sex slaves, similar to what is happening today in Britain. 

Mohammed’s successors also expanded Muslim territory by conquest. In fact, conquest is the primary means by which Islam has spread across the world. Some groups, like the Turks, converted to Islam to avoid slave raids. Others allied with the Caliphate for economic reasons or to obtain better military technology. In some areas, Muslims were welcomed as merchants and granted concessions until, when they were strong enough, the Muslims took over those regions. A recent parallel is Lebanon, once a majority Christian country until Palestinian refugees consolidated enough power to topple the government.

Muslims often claim that jihad does not mean “religious war” but rather “struggle” and that the “greater jihad,” according to the Qur’an, is the struggle to submit to the will of Allah. That is true according to the Qur’an, but in Islamic literature and history, jihad overwhelmingly refers to religious warfare. In principle, jihad as warfare is to be defensive. However, in practice, and according to Mohammad, anyone who is called but refuses to convert to Islam is a threat to the Islamic community and subject to jihad.  

The early chapters of the Qur’an contain statements prohibiting coercion in religion, as well as positive statements about Christians and Jews. However, these statements are considered by Islamists to be abrogated by later statements prohibiting friendship with Christians and Jews. Included in these later passages are particularly vicious statements against the Jews. Historically, in Muslim countries, Christians and Jews were considered second-class citizens, with limited rights and increasing prohibitions on their behavior, often designed to humiliate them.  

Many critics and scholars suggest that Islam needs a Reformation, like what happened in the sixteenth century within Christianity. Arguably, Islamism is that reformation, a return to the authoritative sources of Islam, a literal reading of the Qur’an, an embrace of Sharia law, and an emphasis on the personal example of Mohammad.  

Clearly, the rise of Islamism around the world holds serious implications for Christians and the West. Even more, the implications are immediate for our persecuted brethren in Islamic countries and in borderland territories like Nigeria. Pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ living under Islamic rule.

By John Stonestreet – President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program.

Source: Christianity .com

Atheist Filmmaker Abandons Unbelief For Jesus

Please visit the following link for a true fascinating journey of an atheistic filmmaker who finally finds salvation in Jesus Christ. God bless you and yours. Carl

www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2026/january/atheist-filmmaker-abandons-unbelief-for-jesus

Why are 64% of American churchgoers wrong about Heaven?

Recent survey shows 64% of churchgoers do not understand the biblical way of salvation.

By Dan Delzell, Christian Post Contributor 
What are American churchgoers being taught from the pulpit these days about what happens after death? Clearly something is terribly amiss. A 2025 study by Dr. George Barna and Dr. David Closson reveals the dire situation.

Only 36% correctly affirm: “You will go to Heaven if you repent of sin and accept Christ.” The rest of American churchgoers are completely misguided regarding who goes to Heaven.

The Family Research Council released the study a few months ago. And here is what people in the pew actually think:

  • “Everyone goes to Heaven” (14%).
  • “Everyone is purified, then goes to Heaven” (12%).
  • “Don’t know” (12%).
  • “You go to Heaven if you did good deeds” (11%).
  • “You cease to exist” (7%).
  • “You are reincarnated” (7%).
  • “You go to Hell” (2%).

Why are two-thirds of churchgoers wrong about something so foundational to Christianity? If your pastor is not preaching the Gospel, you should switch to a church where the truth of Scripture is being taught.

Half of American churchgoers (49%) either do not know who goes to Heaven, or believe that everyone goes to Heaven, or think that everyone is purified and then goes to Heaven. These statistics are shocking! And remember, these are people who actually attend church!

The biggest problem is that many pastors are not firmly rooting believers in the Gospel and the truth of Scripture. How else can you account for this sorry state of affairs among American churchgoers?

Southern Baptist professor Dr. Dustin Benge said, “You don’t need massive platforms, radical ideas, and revolutionary fervor to accomplish great things for God. Do the ordinary things: Serve in a local church, Stand on the truth, Share the Gospel, Love people. God uses ‘ordinary’ people to turn the world upside down.”

The Apostle Paul would have never made an impact if it were not for the power of the Gospel. And the same is true for all of the apostles, as well as anyone who has ever been called by the Holy Spirit to preach God’s Word.

— Read on www.christianpost.com/voices/why-are-64-of-american-churchgoers-wrong-about-heaven.html

I hope you are spreading the biblical gospel in your sphere of influence and beyond.      Blessings to you!

Carl

The Old Self – Enemy of God.

There are three people living inside each of us: the one we think we are, the one other people think we are, and the one God knows we are.

Unless we are desperate to get into real [spiritual] victory, we are so easy on ourselves and so hard on others. (Our pride always sees the faults of others and not our own.)

Self loves self. Too often we hide ourselves from ourselves lest the sight of ourselves should sicken ourselves.

Let us invite the searching eye of God to locate this corrupted, spotted, stinking Self in us. Let it be torn from us and “crucified with Him, (so) that henceforth we no longer serve sin” (Romans 6:6).

Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, p. 35

Carl

Blessed Old Man – A True Tale of God’s Provision

In one village in southeastern Fujian near the Guangdong border, Chinese believers told a remarkable story of God’s provision and power. An elderly brother had believed in the Lord for many years when the Communists took control of the area in 1949. The Blessed Old Man, as other believers affectionately dubbed him, came from an impoverished family and had never learned to read or write properly. Despite these simple impediments, after he received the Lord Jesus he proved to be a powerful evangelist, leading hundreds of people to faith in Christ throughout the district.

Hatching a plan to give Christianity a black eye and to show the supremacy of Marxism, the government decided to make an example of the old preacher by giving him the best house in the village and a generous supply of food. They also appointed him chairman of the village’s Communist committee, thinking that when he abandoned his religion they would display him as a shining example of the goodness of Communism and the futility of Christianity.

The Blessed Old Man, however, belonged to Jesus Christ. Instead of being seduced by the Communists,

…he used the large house he had been provided to hold house church meetings and distributed the food he was given to those believers in need. After some time, the government saw that their plan was badly backfiring, so they issued an ultimatum  to the “chairman”. He had to choose between his faith and the new lifestyle and status he had been afforded by the authorities. Although he knew that he would return to a life of extreme poverty and hardship, the old brother did not hesitate for a moment.  “ I choose Jesus!” he boldly declared.

The enraged officials threw him out of the house. He had nowhere to go, but another believer provided him with a small room on the side of a shack. China at the time was suffering terribly from Mao’s disastrous economic experiments, and millions of people were starving to death. Although the old man now had somewhere to stay, there was no food available to eat. All the meager crops were taken by the government, and the other Christians were too poor to help him.

For some days the old man wasted away in his tiny room, with no food passing his lips. He grew weak and ill and knew that his life would soon be snuffed out. Then one morning he awoke to find a hole in the bottom of the wall. He didn’t know what had caused it and repaired the damage. A few hours later he found another hole and started to wonder if these strange occurrences were from the Lord. While he was still pondering it, a large rat came through the hole with some food in its mouth. After entering the room, the rat dropped the food on the floor and then left. A short time later it returned and did the same again. A small collection of nuts and vegetables lay on the dirt floor!

Each morning the rat paid a visit to the elderly brother. In response to his commitment, God had saved the old man from starvation by instructing a rat to feed him! The miraculous provisions continued for several months. On some days the rat brought more food than usual. Those were the days when the old man was expecting a visitor!

Excerpt from Fujian – The Blessed Province – The China Chronicles, Paul Hattaway, Asia Harvest (Langham Global Library), p. 245-246

God says “I will not, I will not cease to uphold or sustain thee; I will not, I will not, I will not forsake someone in a state of defeat or helplessness in the midst of hostile circumstances.” (Expanded Greek Translation of Hebrew 13:5 by Dr. Kenneth Wuest.)

Be encouraged Saints… regardless of your circumstances. God sees you, is in you, and has not forsaken you.

Love,

Carl

Are Mormons Christians?

By John Stonestreet, Timothy Padget

The hours and days following the horrifying murder and arson at a Latter-day Saints church service in Michigan was not the time to parse theological identities. However, many used the tragedy as an opportunity to offer their answer to a question that has grown in importance and controversy in recent years: “Are Mormons truly Christian?”  

Pew Research lists Latter-day Saints among “All Christians,” along with Protestants, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mormons not only call themselves Christian, it’s in their name, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” 

However, to borrow from Shakespeare, naming a flower a rose doesn’t make it smell just as sweet. Though Mormonism uses similar concepts and terms as Christianity, what is meant is often very different from what Christianity teaches. As Lukus Counterman put it at The Gospel Coalition,“While both Mormons and historic Christians believe in ‘Jesus Christ,’ they’re referring to different people.” 

Mormonism began in the early 19th century on what was then the American frontier. So many new religious groups were sparked in that part of New York state, the region became known as the “burned-over district.” Many of these new movements claimed to know what everyone else in Church history had missed. 

While many of these groups added or subtracted from biblical teaching, Joseph Smith claimed to have received a series of expansive visions that completely rewrote the script on Christianity. While Marcion in the second century and Thomas Jefferson in the 19th subtracted what they didn’t like from the Bible, Smith crafted Mormon doctrines by adding three books, each with concepts unlike anything in the Bible. This led to a reimagined understanding of God from anything that Christians have preached since the Apostles. In fact, the Mormon view of God is even more extraordinary than the more notorious aspects of Mormon doctrine and practice, including special undergarments, polygamy, and that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri.  

Mormon theology is simply incompatible with the Christian understanding of God. Christians see God as eternally existing from before all time and creation. Mormons claim God has not always been as He is. As Joseph Smith put it in a sermon in 1844,  

God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret … I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form … I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see. 

Further, in Mormonism, the Godhead is made of three distinct beings, or three gods. Their unity is “one of purpose,” but not, as the Christian doctrine of the Trinity clarifies, of one nature.  

Another key difference is who and what Jesus is. Christianity has always taught that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, a full member of the Trinity, “begotten not made.” He has always existed, but at the Incarnation He took on flesh and came to Earth, remaining then and now as fully God and fully man. In Mormonism, Jesus is God’s natural son, the offspring of the Father and a “Heavenly Mother.” All human beings are also God’s children in this way, according to Mormon doctrine, having lived in Heaven before our conception and birth.   

In other words, Mormons and Christians hold different and incompatible views about God, Jesus, humans, sin, salvation and the Church. 

As many people can attest, Mormons are often wonderful people. Despite some oddities, like not being able to drink coffee, they are often moral allies in an increasingly immoral society. However, Mormonism is not Christian, because Mormons and Christians do not worship the same God.

As a friend often says, this is a case in which sharing vocabulary does not mean sharing a dictionary. Sharing certain convictions of morality does not imply sharing a theology, Christology, anthropology, soteriology, ecclesiology, or eschatology. Watering down the truth is not only unhelpful, it is an insult to both groups.

Originally published at BreakPoint. 

Source: Christian Post

So the answer is no! Mormons are not Christian though they like to present themselves that way. In Mormon theology, this other Jesus they believe in is the brother of Satan.

The Lord Jesus’ half-brother Jude makes an appeal in his letter that “you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jude 3). Those that try to add to the biblical gospel, like Joseph Smith did or the popes have done over the centuries, show that they are not of God but an “ungodly person” as Jude describes them.

I encourage you to contend for the faith with gentleness and fear. (I Peter 3:15)

God bless

Carl

Who Do You Look Like? – The Purpose of Christian Suffering.

“God is not so much interested in how much work we do for Him, as He is in how much we resemble His Son.”

Is the suffering which God is allowing in your life accomplishing it’s intended purpose or not?

The apostle Peter uses the term “fiery trial” (I Peter 4:12) to describe a process that is like the refining of silver or gold in a furnace. The unrefined ore is placed in a crucible and melted in a furnace until the dross or impurities rise to the top. Then the impurities are skimmed off and thrown away. Now the smelter can see his reflection in the ore which tells him that the ore has been purified.

The metaphor describes what suffering is suppose to do in the Christian. The suffering is to make us aware of and bring us to repentance about the pride, arrogance, rebellion, self-sufficiency, hard-headedness, lack of faith, lack of compassion and other fleshly attributes that are in our heart and manifested in our personality. Prior to the suffering we may not see these sins but everyone else does.

As He removes this dross from His children’s life it makes for humility, purifies and increases our faith, and enriches our lives. People around us can clearly see more of Jesus manifested in our life.

If we respond wrong to suffering and hold onto the dross, we are on dangerous ground because God is committed to conforming His children to the image of His Beloved Son. We do not want the smelter to turn up the heat to get rid of that stubborn dross! Better to walk with a repentant heart and let Him purify our soul.

“Make sure that none of you suffers as a murder, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” I Peter 4: 15-16

So, in closing, who do you and I look like?

God bless His Beloved Children,

Carl

God’s Change Agents

“God works in the lives of his people using two agents, his Holy Spirit and his Word. He controls his Holy Spirit, but we are responsible to appropriate his Word in our lives.”

The apostle Paul described it as follows:

“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure….” Philippians 2:12-13

We are to “work out our salvation” which means to bring our salvation by grace through faith to it’s ultimate conclusion, to become more like Christ and less like the devil.

How are we to do that? We are to cooperate with God’s Spirit “who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

And how do we cooperate? Paul says in Philippians 2: 16 “holding fast the word of life.” We read His words recorded in the Bible and we hold fast to them and let the Holy Spirit use them to change us.

As one brother said “As we read our Bible, it is reading us.”

We should approach reading the Bible with awe because it will reveal “us” in ways we never thought possible. Not only sins like unforgiveness, pride, arrogance, perverse morals but also the staggering truths of who we are in Christ and all the marvelous things God has done in us and for us and is going to do in the future for His children.

In closing, I benefited from the following reality check on my relationship with God. I recommend it to you.

If you want to know what your attitude toward God is, check what your attitude to His Word is; that is your attitude toward God.

You do not love God more than you love His Word.

You do not obey God more than you obey His Word.

You do not have room for God in your life than you have room for His Word in your life.

If you want to find out how much God means to you, see how much His Word means to you.

If you want revival and spiritual growth in your life, prayerfully read your Bible, obey it’s truths and let the Holy Spirit do His work in you.

When we are reading our Bible and cooperating with the Holy Spirit, ALL of God’s creative power is working in us…His Word and His Spirit. The same creative agents that created the world.

A staggering thought.

Blessings on your journey with God.

Carl

Back to the Roots

“Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross, follow your Lord. The masses are always wrong. In every generation the number of the righteous is small. Be sure you are among them.”

-A.W. Tozer (April 21, 1897 -May 12, 1963; American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor)

Source: The Berean Call – (be sure and check out their free mobile phone app.)

‘Grounding’ exposed: Former psychic calls trend spiritually dangerous, scientifically baseless

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Tuesday, July 08, 2025

In a recent episode of her podcast “Ex-Psychic Saved,” former medium Jenn Nizza sounded the alarm on grounding, or “earthing,” calling it a deceptive New Age practice built on pseudoscience and spiritually dangerous ideas. 

Joined by researcher Marcia Montenegro, a former astrologer and the founder of Christian Answers for the New Age, the pair offered an extensive breakdown of the spiritual, scientific and financial dangers behind the popular wellness trend.

“Is it an innocent healing modality or a New Age deception?” Nizza asked at the top of the episode. “We’re going to dive into this topic of grounding today.”

Montenegro began by debunking the notion that grounding is simply walking barefoot outside or enjoying nature.

“Grounding is not liking to walk barefoot outside. It’s not finding the outdoors relaxing. It’s not appreciating God’s creation,” she said. “Those things are fine. They’re not grounding. Grounding is based on the belief that energy in the Earth is healing, and that’s not biblical, it’s pagan.”

She explained that the practice is tied to New Age energy beliefs, similar to those found in crystal healing and other alternative therapies. “There is some kind of energy theory going on,” Montenegro said. “It’s wrapped up in scientific jargon to sound credible, but it has zero factual support.”

Clickhere to listen to the Ex-Psychic Saved podcast

Montenegro traced the grounding trend to Clint Ober, a former cable TV executive, not a scientist. Ober’s ideas were then promoted by others, including the late Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a cardiologist who specialized in integrative medicine and called himself a “certified bioenergetic psychotherapist.”

“Integrative medicine is just a rebrand of alternative healing,” Montenegro warned. “They integrate superstition with science. And ‘bioenergetic’ is one of those New Age buzzwords that signals energy healing. That’s a red flag.”

Montenegro noted that one of Ober’s associates is a known advocate of energy medicine. “These are not people I would take my dog to,” she said. “These are not credible sources of truth or healing.”

According to Montenegro, grounding is not just ineffective, it’s spiritually dangerous. “When you fall for a deception or give it worth, you are helping to make your mind more open to other deceptions,” she said.

Nizza agreed. “You buy grounding sheets today, and maybe next week you’re going to a sound bath or a New Age yoga class. These things are gateways deeper into deception.”

Montenegro described how these practices rely heavily on anecdotal testimonials rather than data: “Testimonials are not evidence. That’s a logical fallacy called the anecdotal fallacy.”

She warned Christians in particular not to divide their spiritual loyalty. “If you’re a Christian participating in grounding, you are honoring a false belief system. You’re giving spiritual weight to something rooted in paganism.”

Both women condemned attempts to justify grounding with biblical references. “There was a post claiming Moses taking off his sandals at the burning bush was an example of grounding,” Montenegro said. “But the ground was holy because of God’s presence, not because it had some energy in it.”

Nizza added, “That’s what the enemy does — he’ll try to make you think that God is connected to these things so you feel good about them. It’s not biblical. It’s deception.”

Montenegro warned that grounding is just one example of a growing trend: the infiltration of New Age beliefs into the Church, often through concepts like energy healing, vibrations and frequencies.

“This is the heart of all pagan belief systems,” she said. “In Taoism, it’s ‘chi;’ in Hinduism, it’s ‘prana;’ in the South Pacific, it’s ‘mana.’ In the West, we’ve called it ‘life force’ or ‘vitalism.’ Satan is trying to bring that into the Church.”

The podcast also touched on prominent figures Montenegro sees as responsible for spreading these ideas, including Dr. Laura Sanger, who has spoken on Christian platforms about topics like frequencies and Nephilim-related theories. Montenegro criticized her use of Scripture and called her ideas “completely unbiblical.”

“She says things like the walls of Jericho fell because Joshua used ‘the sounds of Heaven,’” Montenegro said. “This is the kind of nonsense Christians are now being taught as theology.”

Nizza emphasized the importance of discernment. “We want to pray for the deceived,” she said. “But we also have to expose these things as they come. Ephesians 5:11 says, ‘Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.’”

Montenegro addressed accusations that she’s overly critical. “My ministry is about warning against New Age and occult deception,” she said. “I’m not trying to be negative. I’m trying to protect people and help the Church remain pure. That’s what we’re called to.”

The episode concluded with a sober reminder. “There are real dangers in the world,” Montenegro said. “But these exaggerated dangers, these false ideas, keep people from thinking clearly. Christians need to be sober-minded and discerning.”

Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com

Are You About To Slip?

Their foot shall slide in due time. (KJV) Deuteronomy 32:35

“As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall, he cannot foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once without warning: Which is also expressed in Psalm 73:18,19. “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction: How are they brought into desolation in a moment!”…

“The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and JUSTICE bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that have never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls, all you that were never born again and made new creatures, raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God…

“…And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands calling, and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with thier hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.”

The preacher Jonathan Edwards spoke these words on July 8, 1741 while preaching his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield, Connecticut. As he preached some people called out for him to stop. At one point there was so much noise, he had to ask them to be quiet so he could be heard.

He concluded the sermon by saying, “Let everyone that is out of Christ now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let everyone fly out of Sodom: ‘Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.’ “

The people of Enfield were never the same.

Have you fled to Christ, the Lamb of God, to be cleansed by his shed blood on Calvary? We all need to flee to Jesus to escape the coming wrath of God. If you have not, why not today?

“They cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who will be able to survive? “ Revelation 6:16

Source: E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, The One Year Christian History. A great daily devotional based on historical events.

A Polynesian Ancient Tradition About Nimrod of Genesis

The following ancient tradition by the Polynesians was reported by English Missionary John Williams (1796-1839) who arrived in Tahiti in autumn of 1817 and was eaten by cannibals in November 1839 in the New Hebrides.

“…the heavens were originally so close to the earth that men could not walk, but were compelled to crawl” under them. “This was found a very serious evil; but at length an individual conceived the sublime idea of elevating the heavens to a more convenient height. For this purpose he put forth his utmost energy, and the first effort raised them to the top of a tender plant called teve, about four feet high. There he deposited them until he was refreshed, when by a second effort he lifted them to the height of a tree called Kauariki, which is as large as the sycamore. By the third attempt he carried them to the summits of the mountains; and after a long interval of repose, and by a most prodigious effort, he elevated them to their present situation.” For this, as a mighty benefactor of mankind, “this individual was deified; and up to the moment that Christianity was embraced, the deluded inhabitants worshipped him as the ‘Elevator of the heavens.” 1

“Now, what could more graphically describe the position of mankind soon after the flood, and the proceedings of Nimrod as Phoroneus, “The Emancipator,” than this Polynesian fable?

“While the awful catastrophe by which God has showed His avenging justice on the sinners of the old world was yet fresh in the minds of men, and so long as Noah, and the upright among his descendants, sought with all earnestness to impress upon all under their control the lessons which that solemn event was so well fitted to teach, “heaven,” that is, God, must have seemed very near to earth. To maintain the union between heaven and earth, and to keep it as close as possible, must have been the grand aim of all who loved God and the best interests of the human race.

“But this implied the restraining and discountenancing of all vice and all those “pleasures of sin,” after which the natural mind, unrenewed and unsanctified, continually pants. This must have been secretly felt by every unholy mind as a state of insufferable bondage. “The carnal mind is enmity against God, ” is “not subject to His law,” neither indeed is “able to be” so. It says to the Almighty, “Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.” So long as the influence of the great father” (Noah) “of the new world was in the ascendant, while his maxims were regarded, and a holy atmosphere surrounded the world, no wonder that those who were alienated from God and godliness, felt heaven and its influence and authority to be intolerably near, and that in such circumstances they “could not walk,” but only “crawl,”– that is, that they had no freedom to “walk after the sight of their own eyes and the imaginations of their own hearts.”

“From this bondage Nimrod emancipated them. By the apostasy he introduced, by the free life he developed among those who rallied around him, and by separating them from the holy influences that had previously less or more controlled them, he helped them to put God and the strict spirituality of His laws at a distance, and thus he became the “Elevator of the heavens,” making men feel and act as if heaven were afar off the earth, and as if either the God of heaven “could not see through the dark cloud,” or did not regard with displeasure the breakers of His laws. Then all such would feel that they could breathe freely, and that now they could walk at liberty. For this, such men could not but regard Nimrod as a high benefactor.

“According to the system which Nimrod was the grand instrument in introducing, men were led to believe that a real spiritual change of heart was unnecessary, and that so far as change was needful, they could be regenerated by mere external means.

“Looking at the subject in the light of the Bacchanalian orgies, which, as the reader has seen, commemorated the history of Nimrod, it is evident that he led mankind to seek their chief good in sensual enjoyment, and showed them how they might enjoy the pleasures of sin, without any fear of the wrath of a holy God. In his various expeditions he was always accompanied by troops of women; and by music and song, and games and revelries, and everything that could please the natural heart, he commended himself to the good graces of mankind. “2

And so it continues in 2025 because when God confused the languages at Babel after the worldwide flood, the newly created language groups that dispersed around the world took with them the rebellious teaching of Babel and the worship of Nimrod into their new countries; therefore, today the nations are still in bondage to idols and false gods.

Thank you King Jesus for the Gospel that sets men free and brings them into your heavenly kingdom which one day will come to earth when You will reign from Jerusalem bringing justice.

Come Lord Jesus!

Carl. 1.Source: English Missionary John Williams (1796-1839) who arrived in Tahiti in autumn of 1817 and was eaten by cannibals in November 1839 in the New Hebrides. He wrote Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands which you can find on the internet for free.

2. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Or, The Papal Worship Proved To Be The Worship of Nimrod), Printed in United States 2013. Hislop (1807-1865) was a Scottish minister.