Author: Pastor DeBruyn

Holy Hemp?

God’s gift, every “seed,” and Marijuana.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Emphasis Added, Genesis 1:29, KJV

Advocates of marijuana have long cited a passage in Genesis that seemingly, if stretched beyond the bounds of sound interpretation, gives God’s endorsement to the recreational use of this drug. God announced in the creation narrative, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you” (Genesis 1:29). Alluding to this Genesis verse, Timothy Leary (1920-1996), psychologist and psychedelic, reportedly remarked, “They’ve outlawed the number one vegetable on the planet.”[1] So in light of the way and purpose for which drug advocates employ this biblical reference, it becomes necessary to investigate to see whether this passage endorses marijuana use or, for that matter, the use of other consciousness altering drugs derived from plants on this planet (i.e., Click here to continue reading

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His Name is “Jealous”!

How God feels about cheatn’ hearts.

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.” Exodus 34:14-17

Someone once defined jealousy as a feeling of displeasure that comes over us when we hear about the success of others. Because a tendency, whether conscious or subconscious, resides in all of us to project our faults to others, to ignore our flaws, but condemn the same in other persons (Matthew 7:1-5), any thought about God being jealous can be troubling. Click here to continue reading

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Being God’s Friends

ventually “did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20-21). Though Abram’s faith was not perfect—to protect himself, he lied to Abimelech that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18); to insure the safety of his estate, he appointed Eliezer as his heir (Genesis 15:2-3); and to provide himself an heir, he fathered Ishmael through Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar (Genesis 16:1-4)—by faith he tenaciously persisted. In spite of all his human failings, Abraham did not separate from or give up on his Friend.

Thirdfaith looks to God. Trust can involve arduous travel and inconvenient living. While through human eyes the journey might be uncertain, the destination is sure. Hebrews says, “By faith [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10, KJV). Click here to continue reading

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Vineyardism: Should I Seek the “Toronto Blessing”?

Mother’s Day, 1994. When standing to be recognized in the church gathering, many mothers “fell and remained on the floor for about 20 minutes, laughing.” At a previous January service, the “participants were swept up in a fervor of what they said was the power of the Holy Spirit. They laughed or shook uncontrollably and fell to the floor.”[1]

The pastor of the church tells congregants, “Do we want you to shake and fall down? Are we disappointed when you don’t? Well, a little bit. We want you to focus so much that you are overwhelmed. . . . When the living God overwhelms you, it shows. It’s a big deal. Call it the baptism in the Spirit. Call it being nuked.” About what happened at one Vineyard gathering, a pastor reported of a fellow who, “described [his] . . . experience as equivalent to six months of therapy.”

What am I to believe about these manifestations? Click here to continue reading

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Drumming Up Deception

Whether in celebration, or in contemplation . . . “feeling” the beat.

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons . . .” (1 Timothy 4:1, Emphasis Mine)

INTRODUCTION

Some time ago, The Christian Science Monitor ran an article titled, “From US churches that are growing, a sound of drums.” The article notes that growing churches are drumming churches. Citing a survey of about 900 congregations conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, a nonprofit research group at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, reporter G. Jeffrey MacDonald wrote, “Churches with rising attendance numbers have a lot in common with one another–a lot more than denomination, location, or even theological approach.” According to the survey, “success stories” of growing churches “often involve men, drums, a joyful environment, and a concerted effort not to be too ‘reverent’.” Click here to continue reading

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False Profits and False Prophets

Greed: the opportunity for spiritual deception.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness [in their greed, NASB] shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3a, KJV

First came WorldCom, and then came Enron. By creating fraudulent reports of illusory earnings, both corporations bilked thousands of naïve investors out of their hard earned life savings. Then came Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, federal lending agencies that doled out billions of dollars in mortgage loans to borrowers who had little chance of repaying them. Click here to continue reading

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The Coming Kingdom: Evolution or Revolution?

McLaren’s Jihadist Jesus and the Second Coming

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Jesus, Matthew 24:29-30, KJV

In recent years, Christendom’s thinkers have offered a smorgasbord of ideas and theories about Jesus, thus begging the question—will the real Jesus please stand up? If one pays attention to the Jesus revisionists, we are left with the impression that nobody really understood Him, not even the Apostle Paul. To some, Jesus is a white Caucasian, and to others He’s a black African. Click here to continue reading

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The Anointing

God’s Gift of Discernment to Every Believer.

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.” (1 John 2:19-20, NASB)

The impression left by some televangelists is that they possess an exceptional anointing above and beyond that commonly possessed by the Christian masses. They give the impression that an anointing is available from God through them. In a sense, these well-known ministers have appointed themselves as distributors of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. Either by the contact of their hand with an individual’s forehead, or by a forceful exhaling of air from their lungs (thereby simulating Spirit and wind), these anointed ones slay individuals or entire audiences in the Spirit. Click here to continue reading

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