Will An Ancient Finding Destroy Christianity

We are continuing seeing The Muslim leaders in Iran trying as hard as they can to stamp out Christianity inside Iran and the Muslim world. We have been watching as pastors, house church leaders
have been arrested and persecuted, even those of the rank-and-file followers of Jesus.

Reza Kahlili, a former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officer is saying that a version of the Gospel of Barnabas, found in 2000, will prove that Islam is the final and righteous religion and the revelation will cause the collapse worldwide of Christianity. 

It is also reported that Turkey confiscated a leather-bound text, written on animal hide, in an anti-smuggling operation in 2000. Turkish authorities believe the text could be an authentic version of the Gospel of Barnabas, one of Jesus’ apostles and an associate of the apostle Paul. This version of the Barnabas Gospel was written in the 5th or 6th century and it predicted the coming of the Prophet Mohammad and the religion of Islam, the Basij Press claims. The Christian world, it says, denies the existence of such a gospel. However, religious scholars have said another version of the Barnabas Gospel, discovered a century ago, was written less than 500 years ago, which would post-date Mohammad. In Chapter 41 of the Barnabas Gospel, Basij claims, is this statement: “God has hidden himself as Archangel Michael ran them (Adam and Eve) out of heaven, (and) when Adam turned, he noticed that at top of the gateway to heaven, it was written ‘La elah ela Allah, Mohamad rasool Allah,’” meaning Allah is the only God and Mohammad his prophet.” To read the rest of the story, please click here.

The New Testament warns that in the “last days” false teachers, prophets, messiahs will come and seek to deceive people and cause them to turn away from the truths of the Bible and Lordship of Jesus Christ (to read  verse click here). 

The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians that followers of Christ must even be on guard against angels or so-called “apostles” preaching a false and deceptive gospel in the End Times, because anyone who preaches or teaches a gospel other than that found in the New Testament will be cursed. “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Paul wrote. “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8-9) 

The truth is, Islam is a false religion that came from a false prophet and is promulgated by false teachers. 

The good news is that revival, despite what satan will try to do, is happening among millions of Muslim around the world, as they are seeing falsehood of Islam and are discovering that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father and enters heaven except through Christ (see John 14:6)

Same Sex Marriage

The topic on everyone's mind the last few days has been President Obama's recent announcement that he now supports same-sex marriage. Beyond the political implications of his "evolved" flip-flop (actually, a double flip-flop since he supported same-sex marriage as a legislator in Illinois before he opposed it as a candidate for President), the real issue involved here is not the acceptance of homosexuality in our society.

Legalizing same-sex marriage is not the same as accepting homosexuals as a part of our culture. Rejecting same-sex marriage does not mean that you are rejecting your gay child, friend, or co-worker. And accepting and loving your gay children or friends does not require the codifying of a catastrophic redefinition of marriage into a law of the land.

When the government says that marriage is no longer exclusively a union between a man and a woman, it effectively places society's seal of approval on the alternative. This seal of approval, in turn, actually encourages our young people to pursue those lifestyles they perceive to be officially sanctioned by society.

Just because the President came out for it, does not change the fact that God is against it. Why is our nation heading for the edge of the cliff so fast.

We have turn our back on God, have put Him out of almost everything in our lives, and we wonder why our country is in the shape it is in.

God has not changed; He is still the same today as yesterday; His Word is still true and never changing, no matter who changes.

Is God Missing In Your Life

“If Your presence does not go,” Moses responded to Him, “don’t make us go up from here.”—Exodus 33:15

It is possible to experience success and yet be void of God's presence. If success is what is important to you, you may be tempted to choose accomplishments over your relationship with God. God offered to send an angel with the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land to ensure their success in every venture. God told them:

• No army could withstand them. 
• No city wall could stop them. 
• The wealth of the land lay before them. 
• Everything they had ever dreamed of appeared to be theirs for the taking. 

The only thing missing would be the presence of God. God said they were an obstinate people, and He would not go with them when their hearts were far from Him.

Our country is heading in the same direction as Israel. We are going our own way...without God. We have put Him out of almost everything in our lives. Even as Christians, we may not go along with it, but, if we don;t speak up, we will be judged along with our nation. We are just as guilty!

The Israelites' experience reveals that victory and great accomplishments are not necessarily a sign of God's presence. Do not assume that your good health, your profitable business, or the growth of your ministry is due to the presence of God. It may be that you have inadvertently chosen success over your walk with the Lord.

Moses wisely concluded that success, no matter how great, is not a substitute for fellowship with God. Moses knew how quickly worldly achievements could disappear. His security came from his relationship with God. Success in the world's eyes is not a sign of God's blessing. It may, in fact, indicate that you have chosen a substitute for intimate fellowship with God.

Are you satisfied to have success, power, and wealth, without a relationship with God?

Or, do you value God's presence in your life more than the greatest achievements you could experience in the world?

Are You Really Surprised Over The President's Position

Anyone who thinks that a President's simple statements on social issues doesn't have a significant effect isn't paying attention.

After both Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan pushed for acceptance of same-sex marriage Sunday (May 6), North Carolina reversed the trend and became the 30th state to amend its constitution to define marriage as an act between one man and one woman.

Now President Barack Obama has affirmed his support of same-sex marriage. The president's statements should come as no surprise. 

His refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act and his comments about "evolving" on the issue both pointed toward this event. I Tweeted recently that I expected such a move from the president. The only remote surprise is the timing of his announcement. I, like many others, expected this announcement after he had won a second term in November. This announcement accelerated the timeline of an inevitable conversation.

"The presidential election will tell if Americans view support for gay marriage as a political sin but the vote is in on whether it is theologically sinful -- and it's a close call" writes Cathy Lynn Grossman of USAToday on the heels of President Obama announcing he is now in favor of same-sex marriage. Grossman's article highlights LifeWay Research's release of a new study showing American adults are split on whether or not homosexuality is a sin.

The random-sample survey of more than 2,000 Americans asked "Do you believe homosexual behavior is a sin?" Forty-four percent said yes and 43 percent said no. Thirteen percent were not sure.

These results are not too surprising based on other recent polling data. In Gallup's 2011 Values and Beliefs poll, they reported 56 percent of Americans consider gay and lesbian relations morally acceptable.

The issue is not going away, and you cannot ignore it or seek to downplay your views. Christians have always believed and taught that God's standard and intent is a man, a woman, a marriage and a lifetime. To us, that just makes sense, but to an increasing number in our culture, this is simply discrimination. President Obama clearly justifies his reason for supporting gay marriage because of the Golden Rule -- the idea that we should treat others justly, as we would want to be treated.

Others are saying that building bridges and showing grace and love is needed and essential when dealing with people with different views and values.

There are those Christians who are more concerned that they take every opportunity to clearly condemn homosexuality. Others are saying that building bridges and showing grace and love is needed and essential when dealing with people with different views and values.

 We can, and indeed we should, show some grace to those who struggle while believing what the Scriptures clearly teach.

At the end of the day, we will continue to be pressured to accept a worldview rooted in cultural acceptance rather than biblical revelation. While President Obama's thoughts on certain issues may evolve, the biblical teaching has not. We can listen to Dan Savage and decide to "ignore" the Bible's teachings on homosexuality, or we can live with the fact of what the Bible teaches and recognize that, because of such, our reputations will suffer.

Obama, after the interview with ABC he call his pastor. The pastor explained that, from his church’s perspective, even a symbolic gesture by the president (Obama made clear he was not pursuing a policy shift and was expressing personal views) could foreshadow future laws that could force religious institutions’ hands.

His fears were not soothed by assurances from Obama and the White House that the president’s view would have no bearing on churches or religious groups. Obama said that these organizations should make their own decisions on whether to marry same-sex couples.

In their conversation, Hunter said Obama referred to his belief in “civil marriage” for gays and lesbians, drawing a distinction between relationships sanctioned by the government and those by churches.“If there is a law that you cannot discriminate between same-sex couples and heterosexual couples, then, eventually, there will be pressure on the church to obey the law,” Hunter said. “And there will be lawsuits that come testing this thing, and we just know that we will certainly be pressured to conform to the law.”

Hunter continued: “As we see this possibly getting written into the Democratic Party platform, we look down the road. And the conversation I hear among religious leaders is that when you have this kind of powerful voice in the government and even an entire party talking about marriage non-discrimination, then there will be laws put in place somewhere down the line.”

Such comments from Hunter underscore the political dangers and tension points for, not only for Obama, but Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ in the months ahead.

But, we, the Christians, do know what the ultimate outcome is, don’t we?