I cling to that assurance too Susan…he loves us, his commitment to us is eternal, we can never truly grasp the full extent if his love…
As jd always say we need to look at Christ not the circumstances, the Saviour not the situation. I have the awful habit of focus on things that wont matter at all in such a short time! we go.home soon! Xx
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Songs are a way for God to reach us in the most personal way. How I love His tenderness and compassion towards me when my heart is hurting. I know the Lord has touched millions of lives this way and oh, what a glorious chorus will ring out when we see His face. It does my heart good to hear you are blessed and ministered to in this way. Every time I sing these hymns, you and Margaret will be on my mind. I will be whispering a prayer in the morning, whispering a prayer in the afternoon, whispering a prayer in the evening, just to keep my heart in tune.
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Thank you dear Carole. I pray for Crystal’s salvation daily xx i hope you Ron and Hracie are well
I got an odd request from my daughters today:
If you have the chance, say a quick prayer for me when you can for protection and strength. Just feel like I could use some extra good vibes!
So if you could remember her i would appreciate it. She doesn’t usually want me praying for her .
Thank you and God bless
Ps i was singing Holy Holy Holy this morning i love that hymn too another powerful blessing. Unfortunately i have a cold so not altogether in tune but God hears my heart
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Dearest Margaret, it thrills me to hear she does not want you to pray for her. Hmmm, tells me the Holy Spirit is working on her. She knows the power of prayer and possibly is not ready to let go of the evil influence in her life. Soooo we pray all the more, setting our petition as a priority that will send up a sweet savor to the throne of God. Are you ready? I am and will continue to include my rebellious daughter right along with Norah. The enemy is running scared dear sister and that is when we lift up, put on and shine up our armor to battle on our knees. God is protecting you and giving you strength daily or as I like to think, moment by moment.
Heavenly Father, your Word says that the battle belongs to you, so we are laying our daughters at your feet, again, knowing that you will finish what you have started and end this battle with complete victory. Please cover my dear sis with your arms of peace and whisper your never-ending love for her and her daughter. Oh, how we long to see our children serve you with all their hearts, minds, and souls. Touch my sister’s body so that she may be at her best in letting her light shine for You. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen!
Did you know, Margaret, that when God speaks words in three’s that the repetition of “holy” emphasizes God’s infinite holiness.
God’s holiness reflects His eternal nature—He exists beyond time, encompassing eternity past, present, and future.
It also points to His divine perfection within the Trinity: Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. Each Person shares equal divine attributes.
(Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8).
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I’d like to include my rebellious daughter to the prayer list. Praying for all the wayward sons and daughters.
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I had been praying for Stephanie and Crystal (and a couplevof other unsaved children ) before coming on
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Thank you so much dear Carole, that was a beautifulprayer. Heartfelt amen and i prayed for Crystal And Rachel and Stephanie lorettas girl this morning. , it was really strange on Friday night i had bizaar nightmares demons even. Then norah sent me the message requesting prayer. Yesterday she sent a lot of messages with my eyesight tgat is a problem so i said lrts chat sometime. She comes back with give me a few minutes . Then ate you ready and we had an hour and 27 minute video chat.
Just silly stuff mostly laughing and joking about when she was a kid and the irish legends i told her . Religion was touched on very lightly ie i told her how God had helped me with that wierd nosebleed yhat lasted 1 hr 40 minutss and i coukdnt get medical help and Gods love and the prayer meetings she told me a lot of strange intersting things shes been reading. Neither of us pushed or disparage the others belief…it was really promising.
Praying our girls come to saving faith preferably before the rapture.
Thank you xx
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Oh yes, Loretta. She is written in my bible and have been praying on those the Holy Spirit leads me to. I will get 1 name and it is always 1st thing when I wake up. I don’t have contact with any of those I pray for, so I am not knowing what is going on in their lives, but I don’t need to know; God does. I know their name will be written in the Lambs Book of Life and that is good enough for me. Oh, how I am in aguish at times to know there are so many of our children in rebellion. It is almost unbearable at times and then I think of Jesus on the cross and that He bore the whole world on him. I break down and cry almost to a whimper because of how undeserving I am that He would do such a thing. When God gets ahold of their hearts it will be a day to celebrate so let us all know when it happens. I believe that those who are lifted up before the throne will not be let down. Just think of all the children who are not being prayed for. God knows each one by name.
Roman 9:1-3
**I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. **
Oh, that I would feel as strongly about the lost as Paul did! Here is some scripture to encourage you.
Romans 10:1
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved
Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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Praying for protection for you as you prayed for me. All around you a hedge of His complete Divineprovidence and protection.
I love, Holy, Holy, Holy and always brings me to tears and almost to my knees. He is so great… eyes have never seen . Oh my, what an AWESOME God we serve!!!
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Praying for protection for you as you prayed for me. All around you a hedge of His complete Divineprovidence and protection.
I love, Holy, Holy, Holy and always brings me to tears and almost to my knees. He is so great… eyes have never seen . Oh my, what an AWESOME God we serve!!!Praying for protection for you as you prayed for me. All around you a hedge of His complete Divineprovidence and protection.
I love, Holy, Holy, Holy and always brings me to tears and almost to my knees. He is so great… eyes have never seen . Oh my, what an AWESOME God we serve!!!
FlamingoGirl Carol, I I am praying for you and Ron. I assume he is your dh
Holy, Holy. Holy
Merciful and Mighty
God in 3 Persons, Blessed Trinity
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Good morning, everyone,
Did pastor JD’s teaching on this subject disturb anybody else besides me?
I think all of us have fallen prey to people who have tried to destroy the content of our character behind our backs at one time or another, and sadly they sometimes call themselves Christians.
I’ve seen several examples of people on our forum who have suffered this devastating kind of attack in their lives when their own family members turn on them and create vicious lies about them.
I think when we view what is happening to Pastor JD, we can only begin to realize the pain that it caused him in the past and present.
Many of us have suffered that same kind of pain, so I just thought I would throw this out there to see if this teaching has bothered anybody else out there.
It bothers me when people attack my brothers and sisters to hurt them, and it bothers me when people continue to attack Pastor JD because it does hurt him. He is only human.
The worse part about all of this is that it is coming from so called Christians for the most part. Christians that should know better.
I thank God that there will be a reward for those of us who have suffered at the hands of their lies, I pity them.
But we certainly need to pray for the perpetrators of this kind of vile sin. And no mater how you package it, it is sin when it falsely hurts a brother or sister. I pray that they learn what true love is.
Also never fall prey to someone who has a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge from God that they were given to give to you. They are self centered liars.
I’m going to stop here before my anger consumes my day.
I just had to share to keep my anger in check.
Agape,
Ken
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Its rare i get to be first to post on a video…lol. But looks like this time i made it. Thanks Ken for sharing that brother. My heart and prayers go out to the Farag family as we know there are concerns in the family. I would hope what i am going to say here to be taken and understood in its context. In fact, knowing my variant background, it might mean a bit more in some ways coming from one like myself.
There is so much i love about Pastor JD. But as some are aware i have vast areas of difference. Yet, i am here. I am here because the family His spirit provides under the teaching of Pastor JD is a very loving, caring, discerning, and down to earth (but like in heavenly way) people of God. This forum is very unique. And the family here attests to its lead steward, Pastor JD. So i just wanted to say that i hope it does testify that even though I often see things differently and open to discuss, i was thrilled to be the first to post here because that first post i did here is how this sermon struck me. With all my differing takes and contrasts. If i could step outside myself, i’d say that is a very wonderful testimony of his ministry because i love him even in areas of disagreement.
There are other pastors and Christian leaders that can tend to take pop-shots at JD. And even though i might side differently on views and perspective, i must say i love that quality about JD. His “i don’t care” attitude when it comes to flack or followship. He speaks what is on his heart. And even though i often see differently, i am proud of my Pastor. He is willing to take the hits whatever that means. Because he believes deeply in his convictions. I don’t always share those, but I love this man for his sincere heart toward his walk with God.
I would say though that one thing that comes with fame or being known for controversial views (i would happen to know something about that last one–by the way–hee hee), is that you may make yourself a target inadvertnely. So in a way (coming from a controversial jet setting reformed camp prior), it kind of goes with the territory. If we are going to be bold in our convictions, if we don’t get blow back…something is probably wrong. In any event just saying that i’d expect flack and pushback. But i would like it to here be known if i might that even though my views often differ from Pastor JD, they are a lot closer in spirit and heart than other general watcher ministries. I happen to disagree in large ways with most (90%) of watcher views. So i’m not really on anyone’s page. But on that note please read Matt 11:12 (paraphrased bible):
And from the days of John the Baptist — That is, from the time he had borne his public testimony to the approach of the Messiah, or from the time when he had fulfilled his ministry, the kingdom of heaven — The dispensation which admits all persons equally, upon their repentance and faith, suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force — The spirits of men are so excited and animated by a desire after this kingdom, that it is, as it were, attacked like a besieged city, men of all sorts pressing to get into it, with a violence like that of men who are taking a place by storm.
…family…in this way…in that i challenge my bias, i push against my own push back, i fight for a front row seat ALSO to see up front and active what actual wonder work of Him He be doing in pastor’s heart…as His living breathing sharper than two-edge sword word thrust us down and through rapid crushing canyon cooridor currents of end times, as we are refreshingly splashed in the face by the spirit of prophecy, Christ, all along the way.
Blessings.
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Well that is the difference Teren. You would never hold any ill will towards JD.
But another pastor from the pulpit? That is a different story and so wrong. Pastor JD is not a false teacher.
Then there are those who send him hate mail more than likely because they don’t want to hear the truth. Because the truth grinds against what they were brainwashed with growing up.
Then there is a regular who posts on utube who blasted him for teaching a false gospel, and calls him to repent. I’ve seen that one several times.
I opposed him once some months ago only to get my post removed.
Teren it is ok for those who disagree with JD to openly say they do politely. (But I do not think they will be able to for much longer as some will be left behind when we fly)
But it is never ok to slander him publicly or behind his back.
Frankly I have never had to disagree with any of the pastor’s teachings on the Word at Calvary Chapel Kaneohe since I drove up to the forum.
All of them have always been spot on, and preached the truth of the Word in love, especially Pastor JD.
That is why I am still here.
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Hi Ken,
- your reaction is proof to me that you LOVE your brothers in Christ;
- the sadness, hurt and heartache is real and inevitable for us;
- there is a term coined for this, it is called Being Wounded In the House of Your Friends;
- our LORD Jesus suffered mostly from His own people;
- Paul suffered a lot from his people;
- we cannot prevent this wounding from happening to any of us who are following the LORD;
- the Bible — unlike any other book in history — is exceptionally and disarmingly honest and realistic. I just loved the Word of God. It literally nourishes me unlike anything else. It clearly warns us that we will be hurt by our own brothers and sisters in Christ — just look at how much Paul had to suffer from saved, yet somewhat imature Christians;
- most of these wounding brothers are sincere Christians, they know not what they do. I know some ARE infiltrators who only pretend to be Christian, but I am NOT speaking of infiltrators in this post. I am referring to saved believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ who hurt or sin against us:
What MUST WE DO in the face of all this?
”“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private;
if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;
and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.“
Matthew 18:15-17
Having quoted this passage from the Bible, I have a few thoughts on what we MUST do when we are wounded/sinned against:
- deeply love those who wound us, which does NOT equate with the superficial love practiced in our culture. Many brothers desire and expect/demand such superficial love, and that’s a cultural norm that we simply have to reject. It is the Bible that defines love, NOT the culture;
- pray for those who wound us;
- never, ever seek revenge;
- confront them directly — DO NOT be passive, approach them urgently because it’s always easier to solve a problem immediately, than after it has aged;
- rebuke them with FIRMNESS — their flesh will NOT enjoy the rebuke, but their born again spirit will;
- do not let them get away with accusing you of playing the victim card;
- call another brother as a witness if necessary;
- always hope that one day the wounding brother might realize his behavior is wrong and choose to repent. Now always hoping out of love does NOT mean minimizing the error, pretending they are not wrong which leads to avoiding to deal with the problem. Avoiding these conflicts is a clear sign of cowardice/weakness. Christians are called to be BOLD, not inert or lethargic in such circumstances;
- rejoice with these brothers if they repent — great and blessed friendships CAN result from such a complex problem IF it is resolved. This has been tested and it works. By the grace of God, I was blessed with such unexpected friendships;
- be strict and tough with yourself by denying yourself and reject any bitterness that is attempting to rise in your heart. Love these brothers without hypocrisy;
- we must be prepared at all times to be attacked by our fellow Christian brothers;
- it should never take us by surprise because “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” (Matthew 13:57).
Having said that, I KNOW @TCC 
will attempt to “correct” me on this one stating that this concept described in Matthew 13:57 does NOT apply to today’s Church, but more to the 1st century believers, but I kindly and quite firmly disagree with Teren.
Why?
Paul was clearly wounded and attacked by fellow Christians — just take one example from Philippians 1:17… ”the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.“ I DON’T think Paul was playing the victim card when he wrote about it.
And if this happened to Paul, what makes Teren deduce that it wouldn’t happen in our time? He can speak for himself I’m sure he will reply to me on this one, and I only ask for 1 huge favor: please keep it as simple as possible, KNOWING I am not a native English speaker and I also have a limited understanding about the American context. Got it @TCC? 
- in the end, whether the conflict is resolved or not, be watchful about your own walk, learn from others’ mistakes and… ”Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.“ (1 Corinthians 10:12)
- ALWAYS keep in mind that if it weren’t for the grace of God in us, we could end up just as these wounding brothers or even WORSE. We are what we are, at ALL times, ONLY by the grace of God in us.
Let’s follow in Paul’s footsteps and live in such a manner that God’s grace is not in vain towards any of us, ME FIRST.
In conclusion, I will leave you with Paul’s excellent words in 1 Corinthians 15:10.
”But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.“
God bless you!
For a bit more on Being Wounded in the House of Your Friends you can read here:
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a gentle reminder:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:12
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Just something to consider…
Just because someones disagrees and tries to correct you, that is not necessarily an attack or done because they don’t like what you have to say. I have personally been attacked and accused of attacking JD just because I did not agree with what he stated. I have even showed scripture to back it up! No one, again I say no one is perfect even JD.
I will say it again, just because someone disagrees with you that does not mean it is an attack against you!
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Stay with me here…
Would you agree that the ONLY truth comes from the Bible?
If so then everyone including me needs to stop stating our opinion as if it is the truth! This also applies to Pastors! When a Pastor quotes the Bible, I am right there with them. When they make a statement regarding what is not in the Bible, I question them. It is my belief that everyone should do the same! 
God Bless! 
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Hi Anca,
You guessed it. I am hopelessly in love with the Body of Christ wherever it is found.
Your summation is once again excellent.
The problem occurs when different churches apply these scriptures differently.
For instance
This seems easy enough unless the offending party hides from you when they know you are coming. If not, and you need to have witnesses, Pastors, Elders or Deacons usually fulfill this role.
It becomes the Elders responsibility to conduct church discipline, NOT the person who was offended.
The final step by the Elders is to remove the offending person who will not listen and repent from their sin. They are removed from the Body of Christ to protect it.
In all my years I have only seen this done once. Usually the offending person jumps ship and goes to another church long before they have face the music before the Body.
The other thing I would mention, is to remember that words are like weapons and once fired off they cannot be taken back. Once the damage is done, it is done.
God Bless you back.
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Now I’m being a bit facetious here in wanting to actually tell you that I did NOT GUESS IT, but I deduced it from the words you typed.
2+2 still equals 4, and words are still a powerful tool in understanding people. And on a forum, that’s all you’ve got — words, so when I add them all up mathematically, the result is the conclusion I got. 
That’s why we don’t assume attitudes from typed words.
I can type all kinds of lovely words and have a bad, or even worse — an indifferent attitude in my heart, or I can type firm rebukes and rebut people’s views that are clearly wrong, and I can have a loving motivation behind it. The easiest way to not be wrong is to type every word knowing the LORD sees it all.
The best example is how I discipline my own child when she’s doing things that are wrong. I am firm and a bit harsh with her — not exceedingly harsh — because her behavior clearly asks for a bit of harshness.
Relationships between adults are very similar, church included. We can learn a lot from children, and we should, especially how quickly they FORGIVE each other…
I thank the LORD for you, and all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
You bring up such a good point. Some are, sadly, that imature that they hide for fear of being confronted… I’ve done that myself in my spiritual childhood years, so I know what you mean.
Thank you for laying out the whole process, Ken. A very good reminder for us all. Thank you, again.
Indeed. Words hurt deeply. But I learned from reading and studying that it is NOT hatred that is the opposite of LOVE, but rather INDIFFERENCE.
A silent indifferent brother can appear wise, and a vocal harsh, yet honest critic seems like an enemy, which one is worse?
Of course, ideally there is always the perfect balance of LOVE and FIRM but not exceedingly HARSH REBUKE. That is the ideal. Let’s strive more towards that, without compromising anything.
Thank you for the great biblical insights, Ken.
God bless you!
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Hi Anca. I’ll try not to disappoint 
However, this answer in no wise is simple. 
sorryz.
As we don’t have prophets today, I would suggest, yeah for that simple reason it does not apply. But the principle carries. “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Plus there can be a tendency in Christianity to straw man each others perspectives. At least it has seemed that way in the reformed circles I had been accustomed to. Like making the other persons argument seem as rediculous as possible. In like fashion, the tendency mind set that goes with that would be to belittle the person by virtue of making them a person of straw, and their views weak.
There is a solution to this though. But as mankind is prone to trouble as the sparks fly upward, it might not ever come together. It goes somewhat along the lines of pastor JD affirming he does not put down other pastors. This is a mature focus I believe.
But in terms of that sort of thing, it is kind of something I guess I noticed along the way of kind of church discipline I was exposed to. When I was under church discipline I was told I could go to other churches just not their church. Well this has more to do with them wanting to be listened to. If I was not willing to go with what they were telling me, it made little sense to be permitted to go there.
While I was discerning related things like this along the way, what has occurred to me is that even though a ministry can manhandle improperly, it would be in my best interest to honor Him as He transcends through them. That there is some itch too impossible to scratch perhaps any other way. Or there are some dynamics where Christians can grow best under unreasonable conditions. I attest to this being true.
Having said that, I believe it would also apply well to the leadership schematic. I believe the solution is that leaders like Amir, Jack Hibbs, Brandon, and JD trend to share their perspective with reaosonable broad effect upon the body dynamic. Each leader would have different views. And each congregation or body that follows those leaders are exposed to certain things taught by each of those leaders–and could learn a real world working living and breathing respect for believers that see things differently than the other leaders.
The solution I’m thinking of kind of would come from a different place than how we typically see things playing out. I think it is accurate that each leader tend to their own flocks. But in how varied teachings from other pastors or leaders might affect portions of the body differently (like Hibbs/Amir would be different than Brandon, and JD different than all 3) I would suggest there is a grand shepherd’s heart that might be extended from each of them. Knowing that varied teaching can produce tribalism within the body (not that tribalism in and of itself is wrong–there are benefits to that), I would think one of the best ways to honor John 13:35 would be for overseers to oversee that dynamic too.
Having an awareness of how varied teachings can impact factions of believers can be a very helpful tool in maturity the body of Christ universal. But this would have to come from the overseer ranks. Currently, it would appear that in our day and age, tribalism is kind of the niche thing to do. YouTube has its channels, clothing has its brands, music has its lovers, etc. But as the body of Christ is universal and it being end times, I believe Christian leaders that having somewhat significant differing views would do well to public ally meet with one another. In a public forum on a semi regular basis. The ability to discuss things in how they each see things differently does not have to bracket them off from one another. If the body dynamic would see how overseers do this, its maturing affecting would help in two ways at least. 1) Expanding the hearts of one another in congregations toward the body universal. And 2) Living out at the laymen level the rich fruit overseers demonstrate among themselves in best fulfilling 1 Peter 5:3 (b) would bring with it transformational results in the lives of the flock.
This is something that to our Western minds might seem impossible. And it might not ever happen. But I believe it is not just a solution but a sobermindedness in concert with the supernatural love in leadership affirming a real world grasp of end time time frame before the masses. As the efforts of overseers take in this level of potential sober stock toward one another, not only do straw men dissapear, but an emerging confidence in Christ, the LEADER, can flourish best, me thinks.
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