Spirit Baptism ...Tim Enloe

A few months ago (summer 2014) at Braeside Pentecostal Camp, Paris, Ontario,  I sat glued to my seat for the entire week that Tim Enloe ministered with EXCELLENCE on Spirit Baptism!   The Holy Spirit stands ready to fill each of us with his awesome power.

The two most significant events to date on Planet Earth are the availability of God's
1).  SALVATION  through faith in Christ.....and Jesus sending us the
2).  HOLY SPIRIT to baptize and empower us !

Listen as Tim communicates God's truth with humor and passion on this recent Sid Roth Supernatural program.

Hungry for more?   Here is the Link to Tim's Website!    
(Don't miss a word of this sermon !!! )

4 Scriptural Keys to Spiritual Awakening

JOE JOE DAWSON

If we'll do these four things, God will do three things in response that could bring a Third Great Awakening. (Charisma archives)

How many times have you heard the word "revival" in the church over the past 30 years? Churches pray for revival while other churches plan a four-day revival. Canada and America needs a Revival or the Third Great Awakening to come soon. So many people ask me how can the church, the church of today have a great visitation for the Holy Spirit. I always simply reply that the recipe for revival is in the Bible!

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Through this very familiar Scripture, I want to point out two parts.

First, the Lord says if you will 1) humble yourself, 2) pray, 3) seek My face and 4) turn from your wicked ways, then He will do three things: 1) hear from heaven, 2) forgive your sin and 3) heal your land.

The first thing the Lord asks us to do is humble ourselves. Now in America there is so much pride and arrogance that this would be a miracle in itself for this to happen. Let's be honest, we have the brightest of Harvard, Yale etc. running our country, and we are in a mess.

The second thing is to simply pray. The prayer service is the most important service of the week and the most negated in the church of today. The third thing is to seek His face; most people seek the Lord for His hand of blessing but forget to have a close personal relationship with Him. Repentance is almost a lost part of the church today and this is the fourth thing. Turn from our wicked ways. If we can do these four things, God said he would do the next three.

In the second part of this passage, the Lord states that He would hear from heaven. So many Christians honestly believe that God is so far away that He doesn't even hear our prayers. Many people are still dealing with illegitimacy and have such a father wound in their life that they carry that over to their relationship and walk with God.

The second thing the Lord said he would do is forgive their sin. Hallelujah! The third and final part is that he would heal their/our land! There is hope for America and that hope is Jesus Christ, the hope of Canada or America is found in a praying and fasting church!     

Joe Joe Dawson is the president of Burn Texarkana Revival center and House of Prayer. Pastor Dawson also serves as staff evangelist for First Assembly of God in Texarkana, Texas, where he also is now the Tribe College/young adult pastor. Burn Texarkana has one revival/awakening service a month at First Assembly and also has Burn on the Road meetings in neighboring cites monthly. There are four Burn Texarkana prayer meetings each week! Joe is married to the love of his life, Autumn, and together they have three kids: Malachi, Judah and Ezra.

The "State of the Union" is NOT Strong!

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

When a nation murders 57 million babies & ignores the gathering storm of Radical Islam, the state of the union is not “strong.” by joelcrosenberg (Costa Mesa, California) --"America, for all that we have endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong." So began President Obama night in his 2015 State of the Union address to the nation and to a Joint Session of Congress. He was not the first American President to declare the state of the union "strong." But with all due respect, the President is wrong. When a nation murders 57 million innocent babies, the state of the union is not strong. When a nation overtaxes and overregulates and over burdens the economy and drives manufacturers and other businesses overseas and leaves 92 million Americans out of the labor force with no jobs and few prospects to get a good-paying job, the state of the union is not strong. When a nation heaps $18 trillion of national debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren, and keeps creating more and more national debt with no end in sight, the state of the union is not strong. When a leader ignores the rising threat of Radical Islam -- does not take decisive action to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, does not take decisive action to crush terrorist movements like al Qaeda and ISIS, and refuses to even mention "Islam" or "Islamism" or "Radical Islam" or even "al Qaeda" is his address to the nation -- the state of the union is not strong. My goal in saying this  is not to score partisan political points. Rather, I am deeply concerned about the future of America. Indeed, at this critical hour, let us consider Ezekiel 33:1-9 and how it applies to us and our times. 1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’ 7 Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. 9 But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.” Ezekiel was a Hebrew prophet writing more than 2,500 years ago. He was part of the Jewish people that had been conquered and captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and were now living in the Babylonian Empire. And the Lord came to Ezekiel and called him to be a prophet — to hear the word of the Lord, and then to speak it to the people. In this passage, the Lord says very clearly that He has raised Ezekiel up to be a “watchman” for the people. That is, his responsibility is to see threats and dangers that are approaching with God’s help and insight, and then warn the people about those coming dangers. He is also supposed to warn individuals about their sins, that they might repent of those sins and turn to the Lord with a humble heart for forgiveness. But the Lord tells Ezekiel that it is not simply his job to be a “watchman.” The Lord will raise up and appoint other watchmen over time. And it is the responsibility of such watchmen to see threats and dangers and sins and warn the people, or they will be held to account by the Lord Himself. Christians -- and especially Christian pastor and leaders -- must be clear-eyed about three grave threats that we face. The threat that America is not just in a season of decline, but that we face implosion -- collapse -- outright judgment. The threat that America and parts of the Church will turn against Israel & the Jewish people. The threat that Christians in the West will ignore or turn a blind eye to the existential threat posed by Radical Islam to our country, and/or to the barbaric slaughter and terrible persecution of Muslims as well as Arab Christians in the Middle East by Radical Islamic jihadists like Iran, ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. Let's briefly consider each point in light of Ezkiel's words. 1. THREAT #1: America is not simply in decline. We are heading for collapse, implosion, judgment. There are many reasons for this, including a massive and crushing national debt with no end in sight, the implosion of families through divorce and out-of-wedlock-birth and the assault on traditional marriage, violent crime, drug use, pornography and so forth. I wrote about this in more detail in my 2012 non-fiction book, Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time?, so I won't take time here to go into detail. But consider one number: 57 million. America is heading for divine judgment for murdering 57 million unborn children. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in Poland. As I stood in an actual gas chamber that was used to systematically murder so many Jews, political prisoners and others, it was a horrifying experience. I’m Gentile on my mother’s side, and Jewish on my father’s side, and standing there thinking about how the Nazis created these murder factories to kill six million Jews was one of the most painful experiences of my life. But as I stood in that gas chamber, I could not help but think of how my own country, America — a country I love so dearly — has created murder factories to kill millions of people, as well. I was born in 1967. In my lifetime — since 1973 — the American people have legally murdered more than 57 million babies. If this is not stopped soon, we will reach 60 million. Think about that. If we really get to the point that our nation has systematically murdered 60 million human beings, we will have murdered 10 times more people than the Nazis killed of the Jews. Now we know how God judged Germany and the Nazi regime through a crushing defeat in World War II, and we believe that the Nazis deserved such judgment. What do we think is going to happen if continue to murder millions of children? We are going to face the judgment of God. It is extraordinary that it hasn’t happened already. There is hope, but we are running out of time. We could repent as a nation. We could turn from our wicked ways, plead with God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive our sins, and plead with Him to heal our land. The Bible says, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) This was specifically a promise given to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. But it is a principle we can apply today. We could plead with God for forgiveness, and He could grant it. He could give us a sweeping series of revivals that could culminate in a Third Great Awakening, with hundreds of millions of Americans — beginning with the Church — repenting of our sins, turning to Christ, praying, fasting, reading God’s Word and seeking to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is possible. There is hope. But again, we are running out of time. But let’s be clear: Without a revival, we are on the road to implosion. Indeed, the threat of implosion is far beyond what the next President or Congress can solve alone — we desperately need a Third Great Awakening. Will you and I faithfully teach and preach the word of God to the nation? Will America hear the word of the Lord that we have strayed far from the teachings of the Bible and allowed our land to become polluted with abortions and pornography and violence and wickedness of all kinds? Will we admit how far we are from God’s plan and purpose for our lives? Will we confess that our hearts are far from Jesus Christ and plead with the Lord for His mercy and grace and forgiveness? Will we fast and pray and earnestly seek God’s face, and implore Christ to give us a Third Great Awakening? Or will we ignore the word of the Lord and continue in our sins and watch our nation continue to decline, or even implode? Twice in American history we have seen sweeping spiritual revivals known as the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening, respectively. Millions of Americans repented of their sins during those seasons, became devout followers of Jesus Christ, began to read the Bible voraciously and to obey the word of the Lord. Nowhere in Scripture, however, has America been promised a spiritual revival in the 21st century, much less one that would be so sweeping, so game-changing that it would qualify as a Third Great Awakening. But who knows? Perhaps the Lord will show us tremendous mercy and forgiveness if we all humble ourselves and pray, and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways? 2. THREAT #2: What happens if — on top of all our nation’s challenges and sins — America abandons or turns against Israel? In Genesis 12, the Lord God chooses Abram, calls him out of Ur of the Chaldees (located in modern-day Iraq, 220 miles southeast of Baghdad) to go to “a land that I will show you,” which turns out to be the land later called Israel. The Lord promises to bless Abram, and through him bless “all the families of the earth.” Specifically in 12:3, the Lord says, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” As one reads through the rest of the book of Genesis, it becomes clear that this promise from God is passed down from Abram (who is later named Abraham) to Isaac to Jacob (later named Israel) and then to Jacob’s descendants, Israel and the Jewish people. Thus, the Lord is making clear that those who bless Israel and the Jewish people He will bless, and those who curse them He will curse. If America turns against or abandons Israel and the Jews after being their closest friend and ally for so many decades, God warns He will bring judgment upon us. Psalm 122:6-9 — This passage reads, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.’ For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” Clearly, people all over the world, including in America, need to: pray for peace in Jerusalem, Israel and the broader Middle East pray for Jews and Arabs in the epicenter love Jews and Arabs in the epicenter seek the good of Jews and Arabs in the epicenter The Lord promises to bless and “prosper” those who do. 3. THREAT #3: What if Americans and our leaders ignore the gathering storm -- the existential threat -- posed by Radical Islam? What if the Church does, too? God forbid. Even if Washington is slow to understand or act, followers of Jesus Christ who love America, and love Israel, and understand the Word of God must not ignorant of the threat against us, nor be blind to the suffering in the Arab, Iranian, and Muslim world, nor deaf to their cries for help, nor dull to the terror and tyranny they face. We are witnessing a Radical Islamic offensive across the Mideast, from Gaza to Syria to Iraq. Leaders in Washington and across the world have been slow to see, and slow to act. But the Church must step up. We serve the King of glory. Our King was born in the epicenter. He died and rose again in the epicenter. He is coming back to the epicenter — and He’s coming soon. So we must pray for our President and leaders to wake up to the threat and protect us before it's too late. At the same time, we must pray for help our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted in the Middle East. And we must show Christ’s love and compassion to Jews, Muslims and Christians in the epicenter. We need to LEARN about what is happening in the region and God’s plan and purpose for the people there. We need to PRAY for peace and healing and stability and calm in the region, and for open doors for the Gospel. We need to GIVE to ministries that are doing effective work in the region, ministries likeThe Joshua Fund. We also need to be willing to GO to the region if God sends us there to serve Him and serve the people in the name of Jesus. Is this hard? Yes. Is this dangerous? Sometimes. But Jesus laid down His life in love to save us. Will you and I lay down our lives in love to serve Him? When people and nations are in danger, will you and I blow the trumpet and sound the warning? Overall, most Americans are very supportive of Israel and find many ways to love and bless her, as well as the Arabs and others in Israel and the Middle East. This is good. But there are a growing number of voices who say it is time to: cut off military aid to Israel boycott Israel divest from Israel sanction Israel turn against Israel once and for all ignore the persecuted church in the Middle East as the darkness grows darker and/or ignore the Arab Christians and Arab Muslims and Kurds and Yazidis and others while they are being threatened and slaughtered Some do so because of anti-Semitism or anti-Arabism, others out of a belief in isolationism, and others because of ignorance. Given the high stakes, one of the things we need to do is teach people about God’s love and plan and purpose for Israel and the Jewish people, and why this matters to America. We need to help more people — including our leaders and future leaders — understand why America’s fate is inextricably linked with how we treat Israel and the Jewish people, as well as her neighbors. We also need to teach people that God loves Israel's neighbors and her enemies and we must, too. If a nation follows these Biblical principles — if they humble themselves, and seek God earnestly through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and read the Bible, and repent of their sins, and plead for God's mercy, and if they choose wise and godly leaders to govern them, and if they love and bless Israel and the Jewish people, and do not divide the land of Israel, and love and pray for Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem and seek their good — then God will love and bless and show mercy to such a nation. But if a nation violates these principles — especially chronically and consistently — then there will be a day of reckoning. This is a sobering message. But in faithfulness to Ezekiel 33:1-9, we must lovingly and clearly warn people that the state of our union is not strong -- we are in grave danger -- and only by turning to the Lord do we have any real and lasting hope.

6 Keys to Keep the Fire of God Burning in your Life

 SUSIE LARSON

Here are 6 keys to fanning the fire of God in your life

"How do you get the fire/zeal back in to your prayer time? Why do we go through these dry places where our prayers seem blah (and very 'me-centered'). Why is reading the Word sometimes a chore instead of a delight? How do I live by faith when I can't muster through life?"

So here's my best answer: TRUST...

A while back I had author Emily Freeman on my show and she said the best thing: "Is it more important to please God or to trust Him?" She went on to say that if we focus on pleasing God, we'll quickly get into striving; but if we entrust ourselves to Him, and trust Him for all He is, we'll stay in that place of grace, and we'll please Him in the process.

Using "TRUSST" as an acronym, here are few things I learned about reigniting my prayer life:

T- Thanksgiving: Almost always, when I sense that the fire has gone out and my passion has waned, it's because I stopped being grateful, stopped thanking God for all of the blessings I enjoy. When we focus too much on what we don't have and on what God is not giving us at the moment, we lose sight of the fact that God is always wonderfully good, is beautifully for us, and will never forsake us. Start today by thanking Him for everything you'd miss tomorrow if you woke up and it wasn't there.

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18).

R – Repentance: Another fire-quencher is sin and selfish attitudes. Scripture says that His kindness leads us to repentance. When you've spent some time thanking God, conviction returns to your soul. Take the next step and dare to say, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my concerns, and see if there is any rebellious way in me, and lead me in the ancient way" (see Ps. 139). Confession is a cleansing, beautiful thing. God draws especially near to the humble, repentant heart.

"Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much" (James 5:16).

U – Understand: Oftentimes when we feel our flame flickering and not burning brightly, it's because we've approached God only for what He can do for us and not for who He is. A sure way to fan our spiritual flame is to seek Him for all He is worth! Still bring your requests before Him, but then lay them down at His feet, and seek to know His heart. He is the star-breathing God, the Lord of Lords, the King of kings, and the God of angel armies! He is high and lifted up and yet intimately right here. He loves you. Get to know Him more, and you'll have a better understanding of how He is working in your current circumstances. To better know Him is to love Him more; and to know Him is to be filled to the fullness with Him. See the book of Ephesians to understand this better.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Prov. 9:10).

S – Stand: When we don't feel God's presence and His promises don't exactly feel true, it's time to stand on the Word of God because it is true. When I find myself feeling more earthbound than heaven-bound, I rise up, walk around my house and proclaim the promises of God written over my life. I will not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord! (because I struggle with health issues). God's grace abounds in my life so I can abound in every good work! (because I'm constantly in over my head). When I stand on God's promises, and my ears hear my mouth say what's true, in due time,= my heart believes again that His Word is true. I challenge you, walk around, stomp your feet if you have to and proclaim the promises of God. Take your stand right where you stand!

"For You have exalted Your Word above all Your name" (Psalm 138:2).

S – Surrender: Another thing I've noticed is that surrender and spiritual passion are closely linked. When I find myself hanging on to my own understanding, or when I rely more heavily on my fears than I do on God's faithfulness, it's like throwing a wet blanket on my spiritual flame. What's my answer? I get on my knees, open my hands, and I surrender my everything to the Lord once again. I give Him my worries, my "what if's" and the deep desires of my heart. I'm only dealing with partial information. He knows what's best for me (and for you). Try actually getting on your knees, opening your hands and releasing the things you've been white-knuckling up to this point. Say to the Lord, "Father, what does obedience look like here? And who do You want to be to me here? My Deliverer? Defender? Strong Tower? I surrender to You. Show me Your greatness in this place."

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Is. 41:10).

T – Trust: Here we are, back at trust again. When I lose perspective on life, I've somewhere along the line stopped trusting God. Here are a few things that are important to remember:

• He has a plan for your life that is your best case scenario
• He is faithful and true, and He has made Himself available to you
• He is good and kind and true; you can trust Him to get you safely home

You can trust Him. If your passion has waned, it's time to reengage your heart, to renew your mind, to humble yourself in His presence, and then to rise up knowing that you are His, and He is yours. You are blessed, indeed.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths" (Prov. 3:5-6).

I hope this helps you to fan the flame within you! You are so very precious to God!

Susie Larson is a radio host, author and national speaker. She hosts her own daily live talk show, Live the Promise with Susie Larson. Susie connects weekly with thousands through her radio program and her daily faith questions on Facebook. Susie's 10th book releases in June, 2015. She comes with a passion to see women everywhere strengthened in their faith and mobilized to live out their high call in Jesus Christ. Susie is madly in love with her husband of nearly 30 years, her 3 grown sons, 3 beautiful daughters-in-law and her adorable pit-bull, Memphis.

Fox News' Highly Reluctant Jesus Follower

Fox News' Highly Reluctant Jesus Follower

Of all people surprised that I became an evangelical Christian, I'm the most surprised.

Kirsten Powers

Image: Photo by Scott Suchman

Just seven years ago, if someone had told me that I'd be writing for Christianity Today magazine about how I came to believe in God, I would have laughed out loud. If there was one thing in which I was completely secure, it was that I would never adhere to any religion—especially to evangelical Christianity, which I held in particular contempt.

I grew up in the Episcopal Church in Alaska, but my belief was superficial and flimsy. It was borrowed from my archaeologist father, who was so brilliant he taught himself to speak and read Russian. When I encountered doubt, I would fall back on the fact that he believed.

Leaning on my father's faith got me through high school. But by college it wasn't enough, especially because as I grew older he began to confide in me his own doubts. What little faith I had couldn't withstand this revelation. From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.

After college I worked as an appointee in the Clinton administration from 1992 to 1998. The White House surrounded me with intellectual people who, if they had any deep faith in God, never expressed it. Later, when I moved to New York, where I worked in Democratic politics, my world became aggressively secular. Everyone I knew was politically left-leaning, and my group of friends was overwhelmingly atheist.

I sometimes hear Christians talk about how terrible life must be for atheists. But our lives were not terrible. Life actually seemed pretty wonderful, filled with opportunity and good conversation and privilege. I know now that it was not as wonderful as it could have been. But you don't know what you don't know. How could I have missed something I didn't think existed?

Very Open-Minded

To the extent that I encountered Christians, it was in the news cycle. And inevitably they were saying something about gay people or feminists. I didn't feel I was missing much. So when I began dating a man who was into Jesus, I was not looking for God. In fact, the week before I met him, a friend had asked me if I had any deal breakers in dating. My response: "Just nobody who is religious."

A few months into our relationship, my boyfriend called to say he had something important to talk to me about. I remember exactly where I was sitting in my West Village apartment when he said, "Do you believe Jesus is your Savior?" My stomach sank. I started to panic. Oh no, was my first thought. He's crazy.

When I answered no, he asked, "Do you think you could ever believe it?" He explained that he was at a point in life when he wanted to get married and felt that I could be that person, but he couldn't marry a non-Christian. I said I didn't want to mislead him—that I would never believe in Jesus.

Then he said the magic words for a liberal: "Do you think you could keep an open mind about it?" Well, of course. "I'm very open-minded!" Even though I wasn't at all. I derided Christians as anti-intellectual bigots who were too weak to face the reality that there is no rhyme or reason to the world. I had found this man's church attendance an oddity to overlook, not a point in his favor.

As he talked, I grew conflicted. On the one hand, I was creeped out. On the other hand, I had enormous respect for him. He is smart, educated, and intellectually curious. I remember thinking, What if this is true, and I'm not even willing to consider it?

A few weeks later I went to church with him. I was so clueless about Christianity that I didn't know that some Presbyterians were evangelicals. So when we arrived at the Upper East Side service of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, I was shocked and repelled by what I saw. I was used to the high-church liturgy of my youth. We were meeting in an auditorium with a band playing what I later learned was "praise music." I thought, How am I going to tell him I can never come back?

But then the pastor preached. I was fascinated. I had never heard a pastor talk about the things he did. Tim Keller's sermon was intellectually rigorous, weaving in art and history and philosophy. I decided to come back to hear him again. Soon, hearing Keller speak on Sunday became the highlight of my week. I thought of it as just an interesting lecture—not really church. I just tolerated the rest of it in order to hear him. Any person who is familiar with Keller's preaching knows that he usually brings Jesus in at the end of the sermon to tie his points together. For the first few months, I left feeling frustrated: Why did he have to ruin a perfectly good talk with this Jesus nonsense?

Each week, Keller made the case for Christianity. He also made the case against atheism and agnosticism. He expertly exposed the intellectual weaknesses of a purely secular worldview. I came to realize that even if Christianity wasn't the real thing, neither was atheism.

I began to read the Bible. My boyfriend would pray with me for God to reveal himself to me. After about eight months of going to hear Keller, I concluded that the weight of evidence was on the side of Christianity. But I didn't feel any connection to God, and frankly, I was fine with that. I continued to think that people who talked of hearing from God or experiencing God were either delusional or lying. In my most generous moments, I allowed that they were just imagining things that made them feel good.

Then one night in 2006, on a trip to Taiwan, I woke up in what felt like a strange cross between a dream and reality. Jesus came to me and said, "Here I am." It felt so real. I didn't know what to make of it. I called my boyfriend, but before I had time to tell him about it, he told me he had been praying the night before and felt we were supposed to break up. So we did. Honestly, while I was upset, I was more traumatized by Jesus visiting me.

Completely True

I tried to write off the experience as misfiring synapses, but I couldn't shake it. When I returned to New York a few days later, I was lost. I suddenly felt God everywhere and it was terrifying. More important, it was unwelcome. It felt like an invasion. I started to fear I was going crazy.

I didn't know what to do, so I spoke with writer Eric Metaxas, whom I had met through my boyfriend and who had talked with me quite a bit about God. "You need to be in a Bible study," he said. "And Kathy Keller's Bible study is the one you need to be in." I didn't like the sound of that, but I was desperate. My whole world was imploding. How was I going to tell my family or friends about what had happened? Nobody would understand. I didn't understand. (It says a lot about the family in which I grew up that one of my most pressing concerns was that Christians would try to turn me into a Republican.)

I remember walking into the Bible study. I had a knot in my stomach. In my mind, only weirdoes and zealots went to Bible studies. I don't remember what was said that day. All I know is that when I left, everything had changed. I'll never forget standing outside that apartment on the Upper East Side and saying to myself, "It's true. It's completely true." The world looked entirely different, like a veil had been lifted off it. I had not an iota of doubt. I was filled with indescribable joy.

The horror of the prospect of being a devout Christian crept back in almost immediately. I spent the next few months doing my best to wrestle away from God. It was pointless. Everywhere I turned, there he was. Slowly there was less fear and more joy. The Hound of Heaven had pursued me and caught me—whether I liked it or not.

Kirsten Powers is a contributor to USA Today and a columnist for Newsweek/The Daily Beast. She is a Democratic commentator at Fox News.

Talking to the Cults - Jehovah Witnesses Pt 2

 PREVIOUS RELATED: Talking to the Cults - Jehovah Witnesses Part 1

HOW TO USE THE BACK OF A NAPKIN TO PROVE TO A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS THAT JESUS IS GOD   by Justin Taylor

Years ago I read the following simple but effective illustration from Greg Koukl on how to use a napkin, a pen, and a Bible verse to show a Jehovah’s Witness that Scripture teaches (even in their own translation) that Jesus must be God. Greg, who is the president of Stand to Reason and the author of one of my favorite books on reasoning with unbelievers, kindly granted permission to reprint the explanation below. I hope you find it helpful.

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 Understanding the Trinity may be impossible, but proving that the Trinity is scriptural is not an especially difficult task. One needs only to define the Trinity accurately, then show that the Bible teaches the details of the definition. It makes no difference whether the word “Trinity” appears in the text or not. It only matters if the doctrine is taught there.

The definition of the Trinity is straightforward: there is only one God and He subsists as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. Simple.

How to Prove the Trinity

If you want to prove the Trinity, then, all you need to do is show that three specific truths are taught in Scripture. First, there’s only one God. Second, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are truly distinct persons. Third, each has the essential attribute of deity. That’s it.

The oneness of God–is virtually uncontested by those challenging the Trinity on Scriptural grounds. Almost all who hold Scripture in high regard acknowledge the famous Shema of Deuteronomy 6:1, “”Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ”

That the distinct persons are each fully God, is denied by Arians like Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jesus and the Father are distinct persons, they say, but do not share the essential attribute of deity. Only the Father is God. Jesus is a lesser, created “god.”

The Irrefutable Argument

My purpose is to answer the Arian challenge by giving an airtight, scriptural proof for the deity of Jesus Christ. This technique is so simple you should be able to sketch it out on a napkin from memory the next time someone knocks on your door. Remember, you don’t have to master every counter-argument to every verse thrown at you. All you need is one unequivocal textual proof to make your case. Here it is. It comes from the Gospel of John.

Most discussions of this nature focus initially on John 1:1. It says,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

That’s the way your Bible reads.

But the Jehovah’s Witness’s New World Translation renders the verse this way:

“In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”

The heated discussion that follows is almost never productive. Don’t waste your time wrestling with Greek grammar neither of you understand.

Just drop down two verses. Verse three says,

“All things came into being by Him [the Word], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

The NWT is virtually the same:

“All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.”

Have your visitor read the verse out loud. Then take out a napkin or a piece of scratch paper and draw a large box. Explaining that this box represents everything that exists. Run a line right through the middle of the box, dividing everything that exists into two categories. It will look something like this:

On the left side write “all things that never came into being,” that is, all things that exist but have never been created.

Ask your friend, “What goes in that box?” If he says “God” he got the right answer. God is the only thing that exists that has never been created. God alone is eternal and uncreated. Put the word “God” in the left-hand side of your box.

Label the right side “all things that came into being,” that is, all created things.

Write “all created things” there.

Everything in this box was created through Jesus, according to verse three. Ask your friend if he understands that.

Now write “created through Jesus” outside the box and run an arrow to the right side. Your box should now look something like this:

Take a moment to point out to your guest how this illustration is structured. The larger box includes everything there is, was or ever will be. Each particular existent falls into one of two categories: created or not created.

According to the law of excluded middle either a thing was created or it wasn’t created—there is no third option—so the categories are all-encompassing.

According to the law of noncontradiction a thing can’t be both created and not created, so the categories are mutually exclusive. Any particular thing has to be one or the other. It’s very simple.

Next you’re going to determine what category Jesus belongs in. Take a coin out of your pocket.

Tell your guest this coin represents Jesus Christ. Hand him the coin and ask him to place Jesus in the category where He belongs.

The first impulse of a Jehovah’s Witness, of course, is to place Jesus in the category of “all things that came into being” because that’s what their theology dictates. In keeping with the teaching of Arius in the early fourth century, there was a time “when the Word was not.” Jesus was the first created being and everything else was created by Jehovah through Jesus.

But John 1:3 doesn’t allow that option. Look at the wording carefully. John says,

“All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being,”

or in the NWT,

“…and apart from him not even one thing came into existence” (emphasis mine).

John says the same thing two different ways for emphasis and clarity: everything that ever came into being owes its existence to Jesus, who caused it all to happen. If Jesus caused all created things to come into existence, then He must have existed before all created things came into existence. Therefore, the Word could not have been created.

In other words, if Jesus created everything that has come into being, and Jesus also came into being (as they contend), then Jesus created Himself. He would have to exist as Creator before He existed as a created thing, which is absurd. Therefore, Jesus can’t be placed in the square labeled, “all things that came into being.”

Just a side note. Much is made of the Greek word dia, translated “by” in the first phrase, but can also be translated “through.” But it makes no difference whether all things were created “by” Jesus or “through” Jesus with Jehovah as the agency (as the Witnesses suggest). The point is that in either case Jesus is existing before the creation of all things that ever came into being.So, the coin can’t be placed on the right. At this point your visitor may want to place Jesus somewhere on the paper outside the larger box. But, as we’ve seen, you can’t do that. These categories are all-encompassing and mutually exclusive; there’s no “place” outside to put Him.

Everything goes on one side of the larger box or the other.

If Jesus can’t be placed on the right side with created things, then He must go on the left with uncreated things, identifying Jesus as the uncreated Creator. Jesus is God.

Two Rejoinders

I have only come across two rejoinders to this proof for Jesus’ deity. Each is so weak it merely serves to bolster our argument.

Rejoinder #1

The first goes something like this.

“Wait a minute, Greg. You didn’t read the verse carefully. You missed something in the text. Notice the phrase ‘apart from Him.’ The apostle excludes Jesus from the count in this verse. If you said, ‘Apart from Billy, the whole family is going to Disneyland’ you wouldn’t mean that Billy wasn’t part of the family, just that he wasn’t included in the count. Every member of the family is going to Disneyland with the exception of Billy. In the same way, every created thing was created by Jesus with the exception of Jesus Himself. Jehovah created Jesus first, then Jesus created everything else.”

Note that this rebuttal turns on the ability to replace “apart from Him” with the phrase “excluding Jesus.” Allegedly they’re synonymous.

OK, let’s try the replacement and see what happens. The verse then looks like this: “With the exception of Jesus, nothing came into being that has come into being.”

If your brow is furrowed trying to figure this out, I’m not surprised. The reconstructed phrase is nearly nonsense. Strictly speaking, it means that Jesus is the only created thing that exists.

Read it again and see for yourself. Obviously, the phrase “apart from Jesus” can’t mean “with the exception of Jesus.” These phrases are not synonymous.

“Apart from Him” means something entirely different. It means “apart from His agency.” It’s the same as saying, “Apart from me you’ll never get to San Diego. I’ve got the car.” Apart from Jesus’ agency nothing came into being that has come into being. Why? Because Jesus is the Creator. He is God. That makes perfect sense in the context.

Rejoinder #2

The second attempt at refutation comes from a handful of more sophisticated Arians who know better than to lean on the bent reed of the first rejoinder. They go back to the opening phrase “In the beginning” and note that it is anarthrous, that is, it has no article in the original Greek. Since John merely writes “In beginning” he could be meaning “in a beginning.”

Jehovah created Jesus, the story goes, at some indeterminate time in the past. Then after some unspecified second beginning (“a beginning”), He created everything else through Jesus. The details of verse three apply only to what happens after this second beginning. That’s the argument.

This grasping-at-the-wind is an example of what I call “Bedtime Story.” Here the detractor tells a story to put your argument to rest, but like all mere stories there is no foundation in fact. Nothing in the details of the text itself suggests this alternate translation. In fact, even the NWT renders it accurately.

Further, it strains at a gnat and swallows a camel. A focus on the gnat in verse one misses the camel two verses later. The phrases “all things” and “nothing” in verse three admit of no time restrictions. The only alternate “facts” available are found in the wishful thinking of those whose theology demands another reading. It’s clear from the text that Jesus is God.

Parrying the Counter-Attack

Objections that Jesus is distinguished from the Father in other passages (as when He prays to the Father in John 17) merely bolster our defense of the Trinity.

Agreed, Jesus is not the Father. Jesus can talk to the Father because each is a separate person, but as Creator, Jesus shares the same divine essence as the Father. Remember our definition: there is only one God and He subsists as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Obviously, then we’d expect to find evidence of personal interaction among each of them.

Remember, don’t let your guest play “What About?” and drag you all over the New Testament. Keep bringing the issue back to John 1:3. All other verses must be understood in light of the unmistakable fact that Jesus is the uncreated Creator.

One parting thought. This exercise also resolves the translation controversy of verse one. Is the Word fully God or merely “a god”? John’s teaching in verse three makes unmistakable the intent of his opening remark:

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

And that settles it.

Yours for the truth,

Gregory Koukl
President, Stand to Reason

• This technique is so simple you should be able to sketch it out on a napkin from memory the next time someone knocks on your door.
• Don’t waste your time wrestling with Greek grammar neither of you understand.
• If Jesus caused all created things to come into existence, then He must have existed before all created things came into existence.
• Remember, don’t let your guest play “What About?” and drag you all over the New Testament. Keep bringing the issue back to the unmistakable fact that Jesus is the uncreated Creator.