20 Signs That The Next Great Economic Depression Has Already Started In Europe

The next Great Depression is already happening – it just hasn’t reached the United States yet. Things in Europe just continue to get worse and worse, and yet most people in the United States still don’t get it. All the time I have people ask me when the “economic collapse” is going to happen. Well, for ages I have been warning that the next major wave of the ongoing economic collapse would begin in Europe, and that is exactly what is happening. In fact, both Greece and Spain already have levels of unemployment that are greater than anything the U.S. experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Pay close attention to what is happening over there, because it is coming here too. You see, the truth is that Europe is a lot like the United States. We are both drowning in unprecedented levels of debt, and we both have overleveraged banking systems that resemble a house of cards. The reason why the U.S. does not look like Europe yet is because we have thrown all caution to the wind. The Federal Reserve is printing money as if there is no tomorrow and the U.S. government is savagely destroying the future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have by stealing more than 100 million dollars from them every single hour of every single day. We have gone “all in” on kicking the can down the road even though it means destroying the future of America. But the alternative scares the living daylights out of our politicians. When nations such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy tried to slow down the rate at which their debts were rising, the results were absolutely devastating. A full-blown economic depression is raging across southern Europe and it is rapidly spreading into northern Europe. Eventually it will spread to the rest of the globe as well. (Read More….)

AP Scrubs ‘Muslim’ from Obama’s Self-Referential Joke

Obama said: “These days I look in the mirror and have to admit, I’m not the strapping young Muslim Socialist that I used to be.” But, noted Huston, “in one version of the night’s story (as seen at Huffington Post, Time Magazine, Breitbart Wires, the Ottawa Citizen, and The Columbian to name a few), the AP’s Bradley Klapper forgot one part of the President’s joke,” reporting his words as “I’m not the strapping young Socialist that I used to be,”

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Nigeria: The Deadliest Place to Be a Christian

With countries like North Korea, Pakistan and Somalia topping the list as some of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians, it’s hard to imagine that none of these countries hold the highest Christian death toll. In 2012, that shameful distinction went to Nigeria, where almost 70 percent of Christians killed globally were murdered.

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Dove’s beauty campaign and the danger of always looking at ourselves

Posted on 04/30/13 By now you’ve surely seen “Dove Real Beauty Sketches,” part of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. In the video, a sketch artist sits behind a curtain and draws a portrait of a woman as she describes her own appearance. The same artist then produces a second sketch of the woman, this time based on another person’s …

April 29   Monday –  http://thinkchristian.net/doves-beauty-campaign-and-the-danger-of-always-looking-at-ourselves

Slaying Porn Through Christ: A Testimony of Hope

When a dear friend asked me to write an article about my journey to sustained victory over [filtered], I must admit I didn’t want to do it. Excuses filled my head. What will people think about me? What would I say about such a complicated issue? But at the forefront of my mind was simply this thought: Am I even …

April 29   Monday –  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/04/30/slaying-porn-through-christ-a-testimony-of-hope/

Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 11 Things I Learned

I was their church consultant in 2003. The church’s peak attendance was 750 in 1975. By the time I got there the attendance had fallen to an average of 83. The large sanctuary seemed to swallow the relatively small crowd on Sunday morning.

The reality was that most of the members did not want me there. They were not about to pay a consultant to tell them what was wrong with their church. Only when a benevolent member offered to foot my entire bill did the congregation grudgingly agree to retain me.

I worked with the church for three weeks. The problems were obvious; the solutions were difficult.

On my last day, the benefactor walked me to my rental car. “What do you think, Thom?” he asked. He could see the uncertainty in my expression, so he clarified. “How long can our church survive?” I paused for a moment, and then offered the bad news. “I believe the church will close its doors in five years.”

I was wrong. The church closed just a few weeks ago. Like many dying churches, it held on to life tenaciously. This church lasted ten years after my terminal diagnosis.

My friend from the church called to tell me the news. I took no pleasure in discovering that not only was my diagnosis correct, I had mostly gotten right all the signs of the impending death of the church. Together my friend and I reviewed the past ten years. I think we were able to piece together a fairly accurate autopsy. Here are eleven things I learned.

http://thomrainer.com/2013/04/24/autopsy-of-a-deceased-church-11-things-i-learned/

Kermit Gosnell and the irony of the coat hanger back alley argument

The Domain for Truth

On the one hand, a favorite argument for abortion goes something  like this:

History shows that women have always tried to terminate unwanted pregnancies. When safe medical procedures are banned by law, they have resorted to dangerous–sometimes deadly–“back-alley” abortions.

(socialistworker.org/2005-2/562/562_06_Abortion.shtml)

And:

Those who push for more restrictions on abortion access – really, those who push for abortion to be made illegal – seem unwilling to acknowledge the disastrous alternatives.

…

Women would be left injured, ill, sterile, or dead.

Then on the other hand there’s the horrific news about the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell’s horrific murder of babies and mothers.

For those who can stomach it, you can read the 281 page Grand Jury report in PDF form HERE and it literally comes with this warning: “Warning: This Grand Jury Report is very explicit. Read at your own risk.”  One thing is clear: Readers will notice that Kermit Gosnell’s abortion business…

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The High Cost of Discipleship

Possessing the Treasure

by Mike Ratliff

21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21 NASB)

The message of salvation that is normally preached or taught in the vast majority of churches these days has been contaminated with Humanism. The focus is on becoming a Christian for some great benefit or reward from God based upon little to no personal cost. Masses of people respond to that false gospel as well. The genuine gospel that our Saviour preached during His earthly ministry may have mentioned the benefits of being saved, but He emphasized the cost of becoming His disciple in such a way that it caused many of His hearers to not follow Him anymore. In fact, whenever He saw that the people were flocking to Him to have their felt…

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venn diagram for spiritual abuse

I have been in and observed spiritually abusive situations. I think this diagram generally represents most of them. I can identify with all of them. You?

I have entrusted myself, willingly, to leaders I admired. Even loved. I wanted to serve them, help them, and further their ministry. I believed in it. I was on board, on the same page, riding the same bus to the same destination. I voluntarily and enthusiastically signed up.

I have also entrusted myself to leaders because I felt that I should. They were my pastors or my teachers or my leaders. Sometimes even my bosses. I agreed to the terms and conditions and, because it was the right thing to do and because I was being paid by them, I therefore submitted myself to their authority.

I have also entrusted myself to leaders because I didn’t feel that I had a choice at the time. The situation was so complicated and my family or friends were so enmeshed in the system and I was so enmeshed with my family or friends that I couldn’t see a way to extricate myself from it all. The best way that I could see my way through at the time was to stay, not rock the boat, and wait for the prime opportunity when it presented itself to get the heck out of there.

This is all from my perspective. But the other ingredient is the leader’s belief that he can use that trust I’ve given to do to me whatever he thinks is necessary to get me to do what he wants or, in extreme cases, what he believes God wants me to do. My willingness to entrust myself overlaps with his belief that he can use that trust in his favor for his ends is the land of abuse.

In every case you have a choice. Each one has its own difficulties with leaving. Each one can be profoundly traumatic. Each one will inflict a wound that will develop into a scar that might stay with you for the rest of your life. But in each one, I repeat, you have a choice. One might be more difficult for you than the other to leave, but you still have a choice.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nakedpastor/2013/04/venn-diagram-for-spiritual-abuse/

Are there passages in the Old Testament which have no bearing on the church

Reformedontheweb's Blog

But are there not many passages in the Old Testament which have no direct bearing upon the Church today? Certainly not. In view of 1 Corinthians 10:11— “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [margin, “types”]: and they are written for our admonition”—Owen pithily remarked: “Old Testament examples are New Testament instructions.” By their histories we are taught what to avoid and what to emulate. That is the principal reason why they are recorded: that which hindered or encouraged the Old Testament saints was chronicled for our benefit. But, more specifically, are not Christians unwarranted in applying to themselves many promises given to Israel according to the flesh during the Mosaic economy, and expecting a fulfillment of the same unto themselves? No indeed, for if that were the case, then it would not be true that

 

“whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that…

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Will “The Shack” be the next blasphemous blockbuster?

Movies about God are making big bucks at the box office, and the film adaptation of The Shack will more than likely be a top ticket seller when it hits the big screen. I can already imagine The Shack Bible studies and busloads of small groups fellowshipping and praising “Papa” for another opportunity to share Jesus.

But which Jesus? We know that the Jesus of the Bible is very different than the one author William P. Young wrote about in his mega-bestseller.

http://standupforthetruth.com/2013/04/will-the-shack-be-the-next-blasphemous-blockbuster/

“Jesus in the Quran” conference promotes “Isa” as Jesus

Eric Barger recently told of his experience with a “Jesus in the Quran” conference, during a program we air on this radio station called Understanding the Times with Jan Markell. If you missed the interview, I highly recommend checking out the podcast of Apostasy’s Results: The Scattering of the Sheep.

Markell and Barger tackled the continuing demise of evangelical Christianity, alerting listeners of another denomination biting the dust due to post modernism and Emergent philosophy. Also discussed is Barger’s recent experience at yet another Emergent-based conference, “Jesus and the Quran,” which promotes the notion that Allah is Jehovah and “Isa” (the Muslim Jesus) is actually Jesus Christ of the Bible.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

http://standupforthetruth.com/2013/04/jesus-in-the-quran-conference-promotes-isa-as-jesus/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+standupwi+%28Stand+Up+for+the+Truth+%7C+All+Feeds%29

Lila Rose Undercover: abortionist Cesare Santangelo would “not help” child struggling for life after failed abortion

The Domain for Truth

When I was in college, people started talking about this incoming freshman that was going to change the pro-life club on campus.  Little did I know that semester that Lila Rose would go on that year to be threatened by Planned Parenthood with a lawsuit (I don’t think it happened) and rise to be an important figure in the pro-life movement by challenging Planned Parenthood.

Today her organization, Live Action, has released another undercover video.

May the Lord wake up our national conscience to this terrible wickedness.

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Free eBook: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die

The Domain for Truth

Please see this free ebook concerning the reasons why Jesus came to die.  May this book be useful for your preaching of God’s Word.

“Fifty Reasons” eBook – Free in Eight Languages

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Kentucky Woman Ordained as Roman Catholic Priest

In December 2012, a poorly done parody of the pop song, “Call Me Maybe” circulated throughout the blogosphere. “Ordain a Lady” was a production created by the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), which describes itself as “the world’s oldest and largest organization working solely for the ordination of women as priests, deacons, and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Catholic Church.” Some of the lyrics for the parody tune read as follows:

I had a dream as a girl,
Like Therese of Lisieux,
I need to give this whirl
So I can lead the way.

Woman priest is my call;
Women preaching for all.
Don’t listen to St. Paul,
‘Cuz I can lead the way.

My ministry is growing.
Excommunication? I’m still glowing.
M.Div, chasuble flowing;
Where you think the Church is going?

Hey, I was baptized, and this is crazy,
But God just called me, so ordain a lady!
Justice doesn’t look right, with only male priests,
But God just called me, so ordain a lady!

Source

Four months later, Reuters tells the story of Rosemarie Smead, “a 70-year-old Kentucky woman [who] was ordained a priest on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority.” Though it has not been reported that Smead is affiliated with the aforementioned WOC, it nevertheless seems obvious that she and the group share similar goals. Read more of this post

How Wonderful is Grace!

How Wonderful is Grace! (via http://preachingchristcrucified.com)

“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” —Hebrews 6:18 How wonderful is the system of grace! Here it is: that as in Adam we die through Adam’s sin, so if we…

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Obama Spent Twice as Much Time on Vacation/Golf as Economy

According to a new report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Institute (GAI), President Barack Obama has spent over twice as many hours on vacation and golf (976 hours) as he has in economic meetings of any kind (474.4 hours)….[view article]

Americans fear government more than terror

According to a pair of recent polls, for the first time since the 9/11 terrorist hijackings, Americans are more fearful their government will abuse constitutional liberties than fail to keep its citizens safe. Even in the wake of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing…the polls suggest Americans are hesitant to give up any further freedoms in exchange for increased “security.”

http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/americans-fear-government-more-than-terror/

Obama’s Orwellian World Persecutes Christians

The Obama Regime must be reading its Orwell. Anyone remember 1984? War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. The Obama Regime is adding a few more to that list such as bigotry is tolerance and weakness is strength.
What is the Orwellian Obama Regime doing now and why should we be all worried about it?

http://m.christianpost.com/news/obamas-orwellian-world-persecutes-christians–94900/

Why I No Longer Endorse AHA (Abolish Human Abortion)