But he has "faith in God."

I think it's kind of funny how many evangelicals were shocked this week to learn that presidential candidate, Ben Carson, does not believe in the rapture of the church or in a place called hell. Really, people were actually surprised to learn this? Carson said, "I don't believe there is a physical place where people go and are tormented, no I don't believe that." Hello, the man is not a Christian, he is a Seventh Day Adventist! The last GOP presidential nominee believes that he will one day be a God. Romney is not a Christian either, my friends. He is a Mormon. Bible believing Christians need to do some reading and be discerning of false religions. I am not trying to be politically argumentative. I'm simply pointing out how many sheeple are following these political leaders (on both sides of the aisle) believing them to be Christians because they attend a ward, a kingdom hall or a Methodist church. I just want to encourage my Christian friends to study and be aware of cults and false religions. Roman Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses are not evangelical. Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists are not Christians. These often sincere and upstanding people do not know or proclaim the Gospel of the Bible. Please folks, don't be duped because a man or woman talks about his "faith in God" or because she quotes from the Bible. Allah, and the god's of the cults are not the God of the Bible. Please consider these Biblical mandates concerning false teachers. The Bible demands that cults and false teachers be confronted. The Bible instructs to beware of them (Matt 7:15), watch for them (2 Tim 4:3-5), compare their teaching with Scripture (1 John 4:1-3), avoid them (Mark 13:22), rebuke them (Titus 1:10,13,16), and withdraw from them (1 Tim 6:5). I am not recomending who you should our should not vote for; that is NOT the point of this rant. I am simply begging you to study the Scriptures daily. No Christian should have been surprised to learn that Ben Carson and Seventh Day Adventist do not believe in hell or the Gospel of faith in Christ alone. Be an unashamed workman by diligently studying and rightly dividing the Scriptures (Acts 17:11; 2 Tim 2:15). Getting off soap box now...

Worth Our Breath?

"Consider what Christ did toward the saving of souls. He thought them worth his blood; and shall we not think them worth our breath?" ~Richard Baxter, from The Saints Everlasting Rest, published in 1650.

Are you a Supporter or a Partner?

Missions is more than just a missionary. It's more than just giving money to a fund that supports missionaries. It's...

Posted by Baptist World Mission on Monday, November 30, 2015

Modern Ninevites

DISCLAIMER - the following thoughts are not political, and are directed to my Christian friends only: Tonight in family devotions we read about Jonah and how he did not want to go to Nineveh to deliver God's message. Of course we know that Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, and Assyria is present day Syria and Northern Iraq (the exact origin and home base of The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - ISIS). With all the vitriol presently being directed to Syria the past few days, I thought about how difficult Jonah's decision must have been to go and preach to the ISIS of his day (Assyria). Can you imagine being called to go and preach to ISIS? Would you obey, or would you get on a boat (or plane) headed West as quickly as possible? Guess what, we have been called to preach the Gospel to Syrians and ISIS! (Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.) If we do not go, God will probably not carry us to them in the belly of a fish, but maybe He will bring some of them to us in the form of refugees. If modern Ninevites began settling in your neighborhood, how would you treat them? Ten thousand have already arrived! "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." (Matt 25:42-45) Have you considered that Jesus was a refugee once too (Matt 2:13-15)?

God Doesn't Lack a Place to Live

"God does not live in you because He lacks a place to live. God lives in you because He WANTS to live in and through you." ...A quote from tonight's midweek message at Bible Baptist Church in Bambili. Thank you Brother Tomasmike Anye Nju! (Philippians 1:6; 2:3)

Dental Clinic in Benakuma

I want to thank you all for your prayers during our evangelistic dental clinic last week in Benakuma. It was a tremendous blessing! We saw about 25 professions of faith in Christ during the week and 5 baptized on Sunday! Feel free to click on the link here to see some pictures.https://goo.gl/photos/c2H8UUCHSnwVGr5FA

Quote by Jim Elliot

"Missionaries are very human folks...simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody." ~Martyred missionary, Jim Elliot

Dr. Darrell Chaplin

Dr. Darrell Champlin went home to be with the Lord today. This man of God greatly impacted my life for the cause of missions and my knowledge of the Holy. "Well done thou good and faithful servant." 

The link below leads to one of his recorded sermons...

Do You Love Me? How Much?

Chose Worship!

You can WORRY or you can WORSHIP, but you can't do both. ~Ben Sinclair

Saved to Serve

Jesus did not save us to sin - He saved us to serve (Gal 5:13).
Jesus did not save us to sit - He saved us to serve (Gal 6:9-10)

God's Work?

I thought of the following verse immediately when I recently read that some "clergy" are defending Planed Parenthood by saying that they are "doing God's work." "Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?" (Mal 2:17)

"I am going to heaven!"

I got an encouraging call last night from a man named Roman. He told me that I had given him a Gospel tract and he wanted me to know that he read it and trusted Christ. The title of the tract I wrote a few years ago was, "How to get to Heaven from Cameroon." I asked him where he was headed now that he was trusting in Christ to save him. He replied: "I am going to heaven!" Praise the Lord! "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..." (Rom 1:16)

Pray for the Boko Haram

Please pray for Cameroon! Yesterday, two attack bombers killed themselves, and at least 20 other people in the city of Maroua. One of our church members has a son who is an MD in this city. He and other doctors are treating scores of wounded. Please pray for the salvation and surrender of ISIS associated jihadists in Cameroon, called the Boko Haram. Please pray for the protection and revival of the Cameroonian people.

STOP TRYING TO BE CHRISTLIKE

Doing "righteousness" in the flesh is just as "filthy" to God as doing unrighteousness in the flesh (Is 64:6). We must recon ourselves dead and allow Christ to live though us. STOP TRYING TO BE CHRISTLIKE and live by faith the joy of Christ's life in and through you! (Gal 2:20)

"soft tissues don’t preserve for 75 million years"

Susannah Maidment, of Imperial College London, is quoted as saying: “I’m a paleontologist. I know that soft tissues don’t preserve for 75 million years. You just don’t find things like this in the fossil records.”

Other biological dogmas include statements like: “Organic molecules such as proteins and DNA degrade fast after a creature's death. They are almost never found preserved in bones older than a few thousand years. This has been the dogma for many years.”

You would think that the recent discoveries of soft tissue in several dinosaur bones would be a wakeup call to evolutionists. Based on the observable scientific data a logical syllogism might be:

- Organic molecules in bones are preserved for only a few thousand years.
- Organic molecules have been found in different types of dinosaur bones.
- Some dinosaurs lived a few thousand years ago.

However, the same evolutionists who used to make the quotes above are now saying that dinosaur soft tissue must have been preserved – not 75,000 years, but 75,000,000 years. What? I thought scientific data was supposed to govern and shape our theories, not the other way around.

I own a book that contains quite a bit of history. It’s called the Bible, and it tells me that dinosaurs walked this earth a few thousand years ago. Once again, the observable scientific data supports the Bible and not paleontology’s archaic, refuted dogmas.

Rom 1:19-25
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Not Bravery but Sin

Like everyone, I have been hearing and thinking much about the “sex change” controversy. Since the original sin, men like Jenner have convinced themselves of two great errors. First, man thinks he can change himself into something better than God intended (Gen 3:5), and second, man deceives himself into thinking that, “my way is better and more enjoyable than God’s way” (James 1:22-24). These fallacies are both dead wrong, and by “dead wrong,” I mean – “dead” wrong. One survey reported that 45% of transgender people between the ages of 18-44 have attempted suicide (the national average is 1.6%). This is heartbreaking.

On the one hand, people claim that their personal vice is a disease – “caused by my environment and the way I was raised.” On the other hand, some claim that they are also not responsible for their proclivities because they were “born that way.” The truth is that our battles with pride and ungodly lust are neither diseases nor genetic disorders – God calls them sin (1 John 3:4). The intentional self-mutilation of one’s body because of one’s intense discontentment and rebellion against God and His design is not bravery; it is sin.

I will not disagree with any sinner who tells me he was “born that way.” God confirmed in his Word that we are all born sinners (Rom 5:12). Our preferential sins may be as diverse and as unique as our favorite ice creams, but the bottom line is – we are all sinners. The bad news is that we cannot make ourselves better, and our way is not better or more enjoyable than God’s Way (John 14:6)

However, this truth is only half the story!!! There is love (1 John 4:16). There is hope (Titus 2:13). There is victory (1 Cor 15:57). There is freedom (John 8:36). There is joy (John 15:11). There is escape (1 Cor 10:13). There is power over ANY and ALL sin, through Jesus Christ the Lord (Titus 2:11-15; Phil 4:13)!

The bad news is that you are a transgressor of God’s law (Rom 3:23), and you cannot improve, change or save yourself (Isa 64:6) – no matter what your pet sins are. The great news is that Someone does have the power to change you into a new person (2 Cor 5:17), and to give you true joy and fulfillment in life. His name is Jesus. He came and died for your sins – all of them. He loves you and will save you from your sin if you will humbly repent and put your faith in Him.

I know that Jenner and others claim to be happy. One man recently told me, after leaving his wife for another woman, “I have never been happier.” Two weeks later, his girl friend left him. The sex change proponents may promise “true happiness,” but God said, “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isa 48:22). Make no mistake, rebellion against God, in all its forms, is wickedness.

Happiness is based on happenings, but true, eternal peace and joy are found only in Jesus Christ. Jenner may be happy for a season (Heb 11:25), but when he wakes up to the realization that surgery cannot bring lasting peace to his soul, he will find himself just as unsatisfied with his life as he did before his surgery. Something will still be missing from Jenner’s life until he finds his completeness in Jesus Christ.

“And ye are complete in [Christ]” (Col 2:10).

Faith Defeats All Temptations

Though the pleasures of sin be short and inconsiderable, yet, because they are near at hand, they have more influence than the joys of heaven, which are future and absent. We wonder at the folly of Esau to sell his birthright for a morsel of meat, (Heb. 12:16). …When lust is up and eager for fulfilment, all considerations of eternal glory and blessedness are laid aside to give it satisfaction.

A little pleasure, a little gain, a little happiness in the world will make men part with all that is honest and sacred. A man would wonder at their folly, but the great reason is, they live by sense: “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me” (2 Tim. 4:10). Here lies the bait, these things are present; we can taste the delights of the world, and feel the pleasures of the flesh; but the happiness of the world to come is a thing unseen and unknown. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32).

This is the language of every carnal heart. …Present advantages and vanities, though they are small and but trifles, have more power to pervert us than good things at a distance, and the promises of God, even, to allure and draw in our hearts to God. Here lies the root and strength of all temptations; the inconveniences of strictness in religion are present, and they may have present distaste and present trouble to the flesh, and our rewards are yet future.

So, how can we check this ‘living by sense’ that is so natural to us? Why, faith, substantiating our hopes provides a remedy. Faith makes things to become as real as if they were already enjoyed. …Where faith is alive and strong, and is “the conviction of things not seen”, it baffles and defeats all temptations.
~ Thomas Manton "Sermons on Hebrews Eleven" (1620-1677)

Victory is for NOW!

1 Cor 15:57 "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
VICTORY IS NOT A PROCESS OR A FUTURE POSSIBILITY. VICTORY IS A GIFT, LIKE SALVATION, THAT IS AVAILABLE, THROUGH FAITH, AT ANY MOMENT - TO ANY BELIEVER!
1 John 5:3-4 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

Savior or Judge?

"My friend, if you will not have [Jesus] as your Savior, you're going to have Him as your judge whether you like it or not." (John 5:22) "It does not matter who you are, you are not going to get by with sin, my friend."~ J. V. McGee 

And by the way, neither the church, nor the government makes the moral laws. Thank God He is long-suffering and merciful to all (2 Peter 3:9)!

The Presence and Power of God's Holy Spirit!

“It is so natural for us to feel that with a good knowledge of the language, sincere earnestness and sympathy with the people, together with prudence, common sense, zeal, hard work and perseverance, sooner or later great spiritual results must certainly be accomplished. This is by no means the case. Our labors may combine all the above conditions and yet be fruitless in the conversion of souls. If we depend upon our gifts or acquisitions, our zeal in the use even of God’s appointed means, with an underlying and insidious desire for a result … we shall probably be disappointed. If we are cherishing a feeling of self-dependence in any form, God will probably humble us before He will use us. We must feel that if anything is accomplished it will be by the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit, and be ready to ascribe all the glory to Him. Otherwise He will probably leave us to ourselves to learn the lesson of our own weakness. The natural tendency to depend on self, or on anything else rather than God, has been a prominent sin of God’s people from the earliest times. I am disposed to think that this tendency now prevails to a great extent among Christians at home and that missionaries commence work in foreign lands too much under the influence of it.” ~from “The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches” by late 19th century missionary to China, John Nevius

Happy Sunday

Yesterday we visited Eliane during Friday outreach. She is the mother of Brandon, Noel and Angel. Two years ago, I was handing out tracts on the streets of Bamenda (You can easily stand in one place and give out 2-4 hundred tracts in one hour on a busy street in Bamenda – and rarely will a Gospel tract be refused). Eliane saw a white man giving out free literature and crossed the street to get her own tract. I invited her to Faith Baptist Church, and she came the next Sunday. After the preaching that morning, she responded to the invitation and Becca led her to Christ. Becca encouraged her through the books of John and Romans and she has been burdened for her husband, Sunday, ever since. Yesterday, Tomasmike Anye Nju had the wonderful privilege of sharing the glorious Gospel with Sunday, and he bowed his head and heart to believe in Christ as his Savior. Praise the Lord for what he is doing in lives and families in Cameroon!

Missionaries Aren't Special.

Missionaries aren't special. There is nothing about foreign geography that makes us super-sanctified or sin-proof. Were tempted to deny like Peter, pout like Elijah, get cynical like Jonah, and turn back like Mark. We deal with depression and loneliness and pain and threats and fears and danger and frustration. Our woman and children get injured in the fray. Our new converts get attacked worse than we do. War is hell. So please pray!...pour over our prayer letters (and reply once in a while). And when you pray, pray the prayer that Paul requested: that the word of the Lord would spread quickly and be glorified (2 Thessalonians 3:1). That's the crux of the matter. That's the reason we came. ~David Hosaflook

Nothing to Fear

Following the death of his first wife, renowned pastor and Bible expositor Donald Grey Barnhouse was taking his children to the funeral. They stopped at a traffic light and a large truck sped by, its shadow engulfing them for a moment. Turning to his grieving children Barnhouse asked, "Would you rather have been hit by the truck or its shadow?" "The shadow, of course!" his children responded. Dr. Barnhouse said quietly to the three children, "Your mother has not been overrun by death, but by the shadow of death. That is nothing to fear."

Wings of Prayer

"The cause of world evangelism must go forward on the wings of prayer...Missionaries will only be effective as their supporters uphold them in earnest, intelligent, and faithful prayer. General and non-specific prayers are not sufficient. Our prayers must be informed and Spirit-directed." ~Ernest D. Pickering This quote is an excerpt from a pamphlet we are distributing to our people tomorrow during our mission emphasis month.

Meditate Much on Heaven

"Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight?" ~Charles Spurgeon

Detours?

"Detours provide new networks to spreed the message of eternal joy." ~David Hosaflook

The Greatest Missionary Volume Ever Produced

"The New Testament is uniquely and preeminently missionary - the greatest missionary volume ever produced. Every section of it was written by a missionary, with the primary objective of meeting a missionary need and promoting missionary work." ~The Bible Basis For Missions, page 22

We have not "lost" them, because we know where they are.

"Meanwhile, we on this dying Earth can relax and rejoice for our loved ones who are in the presence of Christ. As the apostle Paul tells us, though we naturally grieve at losing loved ones, we are not "to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our parting is not the end of our relationship, only an interruption. We have not "lost" them, because we know where they are. They are experiencing the joy of Christ's presence in a place so wonderful that Christ called it Paradise. And one day, we're told, in a magnificent reunion, they and we "will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)." ~ Randy Alcorn (from his book "Heaven")

Missions Involves Movement

"Meditating on missions is meaningless without movement. When God stirs your spirit, He also loosens your tongue, rattles your routine, and gets you off the couch." ~David Hosaflook

Welcome Home

Mincaye, the Auca Indian who speared Nate Saint, is now a follower of Jesus. When Mincaye was asked what he's going to do when he meets Nate Saint in Heaven, he replied, "I'm going to run and throw my arms around Nate Saint and thank him for bringing Jesus Christ to me and my people." He added that Nate Saint would welcome him home. (Heaven by Randy Alcorn)

Homesick for Heaven?

“Nothing is more often misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven. We think that what we want is sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo, in Hawaii. What we really want is the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for, heaven. Nothing less can satisfy us.” ~Heaven, by Randy Alcorn, page 160.

Homesick My Whole Life

This weekend tears were shed as we said good bye to my parents until next furlough. Emma later said, “I have been homesick my whole life.” Oh, the sincerity and theology of this 10-year-old’s confession. Missionary Paul put it this way: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ…” (Phil 1:23-27)