Tag Archives: sin

Fallen Megachurch Pastor Says Gospel Allows Him To Be Seen at “Most Embarrassing Worst”

Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham who left his position as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church because of an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman not his wife, is not running away and hiding in the wake of his sin.

To the contrary, Tchividjian is sharing his recovery in Christ through his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show people that God’s restoration, grace and love is very real.

What typically happens when a Christian leader falls is that they disappear and only reappear when they’re strong and shiny again. No one ever sees them in their broken and weakened condition. When we do this, we send the message that Christianity is only for good and strong and clean people,” Tchividjian said in a Facebook post.

“But believe it or not, Christianity is not about good people getting better. It is, rather, good news for bad people coping with their failure to be good. The message of the Christian faith is that because Jesus was strong for us we are free to be weak,” he added.  “The Gospel sets me free to let you see me at my most embarrassing worst.”

Tchividjian’s postings have been talking honestly about his struggles “with anger, with frustration, anger with God, anger with my wife, anger with the church, trying in some way shape or form to allocate blame for my bad decision on something or someone outside of me.”

Tchividjian also talks on his Facebook page about how he began to “believe his own press” about his strength and power as a pastor and that allowed it to change him.  He says it’s a “very subtle” process where you start to believe the things people are saying about you and lead you away from who you are and your foundation on Christ.

He calls the situation “a nightmare” and says that he is relying on Jesus alone.

“My family and I are, at every imaginable level, overwhelmed. What life will look like from here on out is completely unknown to us. And that scares me. But we are alive and not without hope. We are certain that better and brighter days are ahead,” he wrote.

Pastor’s Wife Defiant About Working At Abortion Clinic

A Baptist preacher’s wife caught working at an abortion clinic is lashing out at Christians who are condemning her for ending the lives of babies.  She says that no one has the right to condemn her because everyone sins.

“I feel that we have all sinned. None of us are perfect. No sin is greater than any sin. I don’t know why, other than that’s the only decision [abortion] that a woman could make. That’s her right to make that decision because that’s her body,” Callie Chatman, a certified medical technician who works at Reproductive Health Services told The Christian Post in an interview Sunday.

The controversy about Callie Chatman came to light last week when a Missouri Service Corps missionary with the North American Mission Board posted a video of her pastor husband dropping her off at the abortion clinic.

“Sadly, this is a Montgomery pastor dropping off his wife who works at the abortuary here in Montgomery. We have spoken to her often and the only response we get is that God forgives and we are not to judge. Her husband is the pastor of New Elam Baptist Church. Her son works here as well as the security,” wrote David Day Sr. on the video description.

Chapman responded angrily to direct comments from those who are against her assisting in the death of babies.

“You know what? The activists need to get their lives together. When they become sin free then you call me back.”

Franklin Graham Says America is Praising Sin

Rev. Franklin Graham is taking a bold stand against what he is calling the government’s assault on Christianity while society glorifies sin.

“What’s happening is we’re glorifying sin, we’re lifting up sin. And it’s like little children shaking their fist at Almighty God,” Graham told Fox News.

Graham’s statement came in the midst of a discussion about how one city is planning to rename Christmas “sparkle day” and a Minnesota courthouse banning poinsettias.

“It’s all over the country,” Graham asserted. “You have the secularists and the humanists who are wanting to deny that Jesus ever existed. And they want to take His name off of everything.  What’s happening now is that it’s infiltrating our government. And our government is attacking Christmas. And it’s not only attacking Christmas, but the name of Christ.”

Graham says the same people who are doing all they can to remove Christ from society are the same ones that are pushing a satanic, sinful agenda.

“We are glorifying sin. People have got to understand that God takes sin seriously, because sin will separate us from God for eternity. Hell is a real place. And that’s where every person who turns their back on God [will go] — and God will condemn them. He’s a righteous judge. He has no choice but to condemn a person because of their sins. But He’s willing to forgive a sin, every sin,” he said.

New Orleans Saints Player Takes Bold Stand On Ferguson

A member of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints is causing a bit of a stir in the wake of the Ferguson riots by saying the situation is not a problem of race.

Benjamin Watson, a tight end for the Saints, says the problem is sin.

Watson said he was sympathetic to the family and friends of Michael Brown and since he wasn’t there he can’t say exactly what happened but that ultimately the problem is our fallen world.

“I’M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn,” wrote Watson.

“BUT I’M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that’s capable of looking past the outward and seeing what’s truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel. So, finally, I’M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.”

Watson has repeated his stance on various networks including CNN, which cut him off when he began talking about Jesus.  The moment Watson said Jesus died for our sins, the CNN feed from Watson cut off and the network claimed they lost the feed.

Pope Calls Euthanasia A Sin Against God

Pope Francis is speaking out against euthanasia calling it a “sin against God” and saying that anyone who endorses it supports a “false sense of compassion.”

“We’re are living in a time of experimentation with life. But a bad experiment… (we’re) playing with life,” the Pope said to a conference of 4,000 doctors.  “Be careful, because this is a sin against the Creator: against God the Creator.”

The Pope’s remarks are seen to have been a response to a woman who ended her life in Oregon after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

The Pope also blasted abortion as being the same as euthanasia.  He said it was like telling God “I do it, like I want.’ It’s a sin against God. Think well about this.”

The Pope acknowledged the doctors can be placed in a tough situation.

“Your mission as doctors puts you in daily contact with so many forms of suffering,” he said.

However, the Pope said, they need to be “courageous and against-the-grain” in standing for live and refusing to participate in euthanasia and abortion.

Our Personal Shemitah (Pt. 2)

“Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year, there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord” (Leviticus 25:3-4). He also ordered the release of all debts (Deuteronomy 15:1).

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has taught us the principles of the Shemitah through his book and through teaching us on the show. The Hebrew translation of Shemitah is “to release.” Here is the main thought I want you to grab from this writing:  What you release this Shemitah year, will be released from you – when the Lord returns.

This Shemitah year is no ordinary Shemitah year. This year marks the end of a period of time that many believe immediately precedes the Second Coming of the Lord. We know that His coming is near because we are watching for it and we can see the signs, like the Bible says. Continue reading →

Time to Pull Some Weeds

Your job is to pull up and tear down, take apart and demolish, and then start over, building and planting. Jeremiah 1:10 MSG

Unfortunately, through the hardship and persecution and tribulation of life, certain weeds and tares can actually get planted in the heart that touches everything you do and can negatively affect every aspect of your life, even what you’re called to do in the Kingdom.

One of my main issues was abandonment. This was a weed that had a huge stronghold in my life. I had watched as nearly everyone in my life walked away when my sin was exposed to the world and my soul suffered beyond measure. Continue reading →

Christian Children’s Ministry Attacked For Mentioning Sin

A Portland, Oregon children’s ministry is coming under fire from a group of citizens who object to kids being told that all human beings are sinners who need salvation through Jesus Christ.

Portland residents are attacking the Portland chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship over their voluntary summer camps in the area.  The CEF teaches children as part of their camps that everyone, including them, are sinners and that because of Jesus Christ our sins can be forgiven.

Some of the “never mention sin” group have started a group called Protect Portland Children to harass parents into not taking their children to CEF events.  The group was founded by an anti-Christianist who aims to keep the group from not only speaking to children at camps, but keep the group from having Bible study groups at area schools this fall.

The group says that they’re not saying anything that hasn’t been said for 2,000 years.

“The message of the gospel, teaching of the core Christian tenets of the Christian faith that have been taught for 2,000 years in the Bible is what we’re teaching,” CEF Vice President Moises Esteves said.  “There’s nothing new here.”

Pope Calls For Charity In Lenten Message

In a Lenten message to the world, Pope Francis called for fair distribution of wealth and equal access to education and health care for the poor in the world.

He called on followers of Christ everywhere to make an effort to lessen “the poverty of our brothers.”

However, the Pope did not just focus on monetary poverty.  The Pope also had harsh words for Christians that he termed as suffering from “moral poverty” such as alcohol abuse, drug use, pornography and gambling.

The Pope said that those who are caught in alcohol or drug abuse, pornography or gambling are in “slavery to vice and sin” and said that “in such cases, moral destitution can be considered impending suicide.”

The Pope said that while Lent was “a fitting time for self-denial” he was tired of what he called superficial acts by Christians to try and show they were sacrificing something of benefit.

“Our consciences…need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing,” The Pope said.

God Loves to Come Full-Circle – Mourning to Joy

When I was young and foolish, I destroyed the ability that God gave me to be a Mother.  I suffered tremendously because of my decisions back then, especially as I matured and realized what I had done.  I had wanted to be a Mother since I was a young girl.  I loved to play with dolls and play that I was a Mother, even from the very early years of my life.  To have that taken away from me was devastating, and I grieved over it for a long, long time and still do at times.

But God has a plan for all of His people that does not include grief and sorrow.  Instead of the ashes of my barren life, God gave me 5 beautiful children to love and raise.  He is a God that loves to restore and bring your life full-circle back to what He intended for you from the beginning.  He loves to give you beauty for ashes, and He will when you love Him and seek Him with all your heart.

I love the beauty for ashes verses in the Bible.  Isaiah 61 reads like my own personal memoirs from God:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me”…oh yes, it is!  He has given me His Spirit!

“Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor” …oh yes, He has!  I preach whenever I get a chance that God has a better life for you to live, God has a better plan and He will show you that you don’t have to be poor in spirit; you don’t have to grieve over past sin and past hurts your entire life.

“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” …oh yes, He has!  I love to tell people that God is not mad at them!  He does not hold sin against you when you are brokenhearted over it yourself!  He wants to heal your heart, and heal your spirit.  He wants you to come full-circle and back around to what He intended for your life from the start.

“To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” …you see, just as God has a plan for your life from the very beginning, in this fallen world we have an enemy in the devil, and He will do everything he can to steal, kill and destroy the plan of God for you.  Sometimes we succumb to the enemy and he gets us all bound up in sin and unable to get free.  But God knows how to get us free and He will do it!  Once you get free of the enemy’s grasp, you can’t stop telling of the Lord’s freedom!  I will never stop telling people that you too can be free!  You too can be out of the prison of sin and free from its effects!

“To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God” …God said that vengeance belonged to Him alone.  God loves to put the devil in his place.  I like to think of the big hand of God just smacking the devil away as we repent, love God, praise Him, and thank Him for His loving kindness!   When we do this, a miracle occurs;  God exacts his vengeance through us, the born again ones,  in the form of FAITH.  Faith in God destroys the enemy!  When you believe God, and you resist the devil – He has to flee!

“To comfort all who mourn,  to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” …there it is!  This is what God will do for all of His people who come to Him heavy laden with sin!  As soon as you repent and give your heart to God, He starts bringing your life full-circle back to where He intended you to be.  He takes the stick that the devil beat you with and hands it to you so that you can beat the devil back.  Your mess becomes your message, your test becomes your testimony!  You can’t stop telling about the goodness of God and His restoration of all parts of you;  that child that loved to play Mommy, that little boy that loved to preach, that teen-ager who wanted to change the world for Christ…. When the devil comes in like a flood, God raises a standard against him.  God’s standard is truth and justice.

“For I, the Lord, love justice” …

There are many out there who are broken-hearted over sin.  You have gone down a wrong path and you want desperately to turn around.  You can do it today.  You can be restored to everything God intended for your from the beginning.  You can come full-circle in your life.  God can bring you right back to where you need to be.  Call out to Him.  Come to Him and you will see that His arms are wide open and He is ready and waiting for you.  He loves you and He hasn’t changed His mind about you.  He will receive you and He will comfort you and restore you.  He will give you beauty for ashes, and joy instead of mourning!