Tag: church

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Daily Manna Devotionals

THE WALDENSES (THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS) ‘CONTENDED FOR THE FAITH DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS’

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE WALDENSES (THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS) ‘CONTENDED FOR THE FAITH DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS’

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and EXHORT you that you SHOULD EARNESTLY CONTEND for the faith once delivered to the saints.” Jude 3, K.J.V.

“The faith which for many centuries were held and taught by the Waldensian Christians, was in MARKED CONTRAST to the false doctrines put forth by Rome. Their religious belief [or faith] was founded upon the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD—THE TRUE SYSTEM OF CHRISTIANITY.

“But these humble peasants, in their obscure retreats, shut away from the world, and bound to their daily toil among their flocks and vineyards, HAD NOT BY THEMSELVES arrived at the truth in opposition to the dogmas and heresies of the apostate church.

Theirs was NOT a Faith newly received. Their religious belief was their INHERITANCE from their fathers. They contended for the faith of the APOSTOLIC church—-‘the faith once delivered to the saints.’

“‘The church in the wilderness,” and not the PROUD HIERARCHY enthroned in the world’s great capital, was the TRUE CHURCH of Christ, the GUARDIANS of the treasures of truth which God has given to the people to be given to the world.

“Among the leading CAUSES that had led to the separation of the true church from Rome, was the HATRED of the latter toward the BIBLE SABBATH. As foretold by prophecy, the papal power ‘cast down the truth to the ground.’ The law of God was ‘trampled in the dust,’ while the traditions and customs of men were exalted.

“The churches that were under the rule of the papacy were early compelled to honor the SUNDAY as a holy day [not holiday]. Amid the prevailing error and superstition, MANY, even of the true people of God, became so BEWILDERED that WHILE they observed the Sabbath, they refrained from labor ALSO on the Sunday.

But this did not satisfy the papal leaders. They DEMANDED not only that Sunday be hallowed, but that the SABBATH BE PROFANED; and they denounced in the strongest language those WHO DARED to show it honor. It was only by FLEEING from the power of Rome that any could OBEY God’s law in peace.”- E.G. White, ‘Great Controversy,’ pp. 64, 65 (1911 ed.).

Centuries earlier the ancient Israelites suffered the same spiritual bondage under Egyptian despotic rule. They could only begin to obey God’s law and keep the creation Sabbath when emancipated through the Exodus out of Egypt. The last call to the churches of “come out of her that ye receive not of her plagues” is for the honest in heart yet are still deceived as to which day is the true Sabbath and the other testing truths and doctrines. Those who already know these are under solemn obligation to God to proclaim to the “world around them” the last merciful warnings of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14.
Bless your efforts, NMF.

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Daily Manna Devotionals

POLITICS AS WELL AS PAGANISM CORRUPTED THE EARLY CHURCH

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

POLITICS AS WELL AS PAGANISM CORRUPTED THE EARLY CHURCH

We resume from where we left off as we trace from cause to effect to be properly guided as to what to pay attention to, which have been taking place behind the scenes (that are not more “conspiracy theories” but prophetic facts) and thus be spiritually and mentally prepared for what greatest crisis mankind will ever face. Thus, in review we see that:

“The church at that time [even now and at the close of probation time] consisted to two widely different kinds of church members:

  1. The OLD class, with their devoted leaders, had accepted Christianity in the PRIMITIVE [original apostolic purity] way, by genuine observance and SEPARATION from the world [in their religion and life practices], suffering for Christ and His unpopular truth. This class lived mostly in the country and out-of-way places.
  2. The NEW converts lived mainly in the large cities, and had come through a MASS MOVEMENT, following the CROWD on what was MOST POPULAR, attracted by the hopes of TEMPORAL gain of honor, or they had been FORCED in by the SECULAR arm. These were DEVOID of any personal Christian experience, but constituting the MAJORITY [as in the more recent ‘Moral Majority,’ and lately, the growing “Christian Nationalism” movement], they ELECTED [political process] bishops of their own kind [or ‘political party’ on strictly party lines].

“The election of bishops were attended with SECRET CORRUPTION AND BLOODY VIOLENCE, which was only too natural for that ‘kind of Christians.’! The respected historian Edward Gibbon says of these elections:

“While one of the candidates boasted the honors of his family, a second allured his judges by the delicacies of a plentiful table, and a third, more guilty than his rivals, offered, offered to share the PLUNDER OF THE CHURCH among his accomplices of his SACRILEGIOUS hopes.’ – ‘Decline and Fall,’ chap. XX, par.22.

“Rev. H.H. Milman says:
“Even within the Church itself, the distribution of the superior dignities became an object of FATAL AMBITION AND STRIFE. The streets of Alexandria and of Constantinople were deluged with BLOOD by the partisans of RIVAL BISHOPS.’ – ‘History of Christianity,’ Book 3, chap. 5, par. 2, p. 410. NY. 1881. (From ‘Facts of Faith,’ C. Edwardson, (Revised), p. 115. Southern Pub. Asso. 1943.

Be a blessing, not a burden, to someone today. NMF

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Devotionals

CHRIST’S CHURCH AND THE ‘SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN’

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

CHRIST’S CHURCH AND THE ‘SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN’

“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Rev. 3:9, KJV.

Prophets wrote more our time, the future to them, than theirs. In the final sifting of the commandment-keeping remnant church when church and state finally combine and the threefold union of Romanism, apostate Protestantism, and Spiritualism takes temporary control of the world, starting in America, the true church and its condition were described as follows:

“God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations. IT IS THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOD AND KEEP hIS COMMANDMENTS. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the MIDST of them’ (Matt. 18:20). Where Christ is, even among the humble few, THIS IS CHRIST’S CHURCH, for the presence of a high and holy One who inhabiteth eternity’ can alone CONSTITUTE a church. Where two or three are present who LOVE AND OBEY the commandments of God, JESUS THERE PRESIDES, let it be in the desolate places of the earth, in the wilderness, in the city enclosed in the prison walls….They that be DOERS of the Word are building securely, and the tempest and storm of PERSECUTION will not shake their foundation [of faith, courage, and character] because their souls are ROOTED in the Eternal Rock [Christ Jesus and His Word].” E. G. White, Letter 108, Oct. 28, 1886, quoted in Upward Look, p.315.

In contrast, we see described those who make up the ‘synagogue of Satan,’ who profess to be ‘Jews,’ i.e., the counterfeit-sabbath keepers of the last days, in the following:

“Satan had a large CONFEDERACY, his church. Christ calls them [in Revelation] as THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN because the members are the children of sin [not the children of God]. The members of Satan’s church have been constantly working to CAST OFF the divine law [the Decalogue] and CONfUSE the distinction between good and evil. Satan is working with GREAT power IN and THROUGH children of disobedience [to God’s law] to exalt TREASON and APOSTASY as TRUTH and LOYALTY.” – Ibid, Testimonies, p. 16.3.

More tomorrow on who make up the “synagogue of Satan,” who “call themselves Jews but are not, and do lie.” Pray for an undefiled conscience and a clear mind to discern between the counterfeit and the genuine, and the will and courage to do what is right in the sight of God, not man and his institutions! God bless, NMF 

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Devotionals

THE ROMAN CHURCH HAS LONG APOSTATIZED: WHAT ABOUT THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES?

December 4, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE ROMAN CHURCH HAS LONG APOSTATIZED: WHAT ABOUT THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES?

“Now, long after the Sabbath has been changed, Protestants are at a loss to find authority in the Bible for this change. They have rejected the authority of the Roman Church to LEGISLATE on Christian faith, and cannot accept TRADITION, therefore THEY NOT WHERE TO TURN.

“Professor George Sverdrup, a leading man in the Lutheran Church, gives expression to this predicament in the following words:

“For, when there could not be produced ONE solitary place in the Holy Scriptures which testified that either the Lord Himself or the apostles had ordered such a TRANSFER of the Sabbath to Sunday, then it was not easy to answer the question: WHO has transferred the Sabbath, and who has had the RIGHT to do it?’ – ‘Samlede Skrifter i Uvalg, Andrea Helland, Vol. 1, p. 342, 343. Minneapolis, Minn.: 1909.

Next week, we will read what the Vicar of Leeds said about the same predicament of the Sunday-keeping Protestant Christians way back in 1856. Bless all as we educate ourselves on the true philosophy of history regarding nations and kingdoms, as well as New Testament church history as revealed in Bible prophecy. Bless all, NMF.

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Devotionals

THE PROPHESIED ‘FALLING AWAY’ OF THE CHURCH AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PAPACY

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE PROPHESIED ‘FALLING AWAY’ OF THE CHURCH AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PAPACY

“The terrible nature of these sensual gratifications of this pagan festivals, in which the leaders of the Church now allowed to members to indulge, a person can hardly imagine TILL the sickening facts are spread before one’s eyes by Livy in (Hist. lib. xxxix, chap. 9-17). The learned Englishman, F.A.S, in his ‘Second Annals,’ Vol. 3, on the ‘Gentile Nations,’ pp. 487-489, says that this ‘most revolting and abandoned villainy’ was so general, that when the Roman Senate has to proceed against its worst features, ‘Rome was almost deserted, so many persons, feeling themselves implicated in the proceedings, sought safety in flight.’

“[Edwarson writes]: ‘A church that will take in members, WITHOUT CONVERSION, and then allow them to CONTINUE in the most putrid corruption, must have LOST all respect for MORALITY (not to say CHRISTIANITY), and cannot be in possession of divine power of the Gospel: which CHANGES the hearts and lives of people.(Rom. 1:16; 2 Cor. 5:17.)

“The apostle Paul had foretold this ‘falling away’ of the Church. (Acts 20: 28-30; 2 Thess. 2:1-7.) And it was during this fallen condition that the Church CHANGED its weekly rest day from the Sabbath to the Sunday.

“Dr. N. Summerbell says: ‘The Roman Church had totally apostatized….It reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God’s word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday.’- ‘The Christian Church,’ p. 415. Cincinnati: 1873. (From “Facts of Faith, C. Edwardson, pp. 104, 105.

Only “truth as it is in Jesus” can truly “set us free” from the power is sin and the darkness of error and ignorance: this is the true liberty and victory in Christ abiding in the soul!
Bless all, NMF

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Devotionals

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: OUR BREASTPLATE OF SAFETY IN THESE PERILOUS TIMES

September 15, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: OUR BREASTPLATE OF SAFETY IN THESE PERILOUS TIMES

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.”

Eph. 6:4, NKJV.

“We must put on EVERY piece of the armor [verses 13-18], and then, stand firm. [this is the order]. The Lord [Commander-in-chief of the army of His spiritual kingdom on earth, the true church] has HONORED us by CHOOSING us [the ‘chosen ones’] as His soldiers. Let us fight bravely for Him, maintaining the right in every transaction [of life]. Put on as your breastplate that DIVINELY PROTECTED RIGHTEOUSNESS which is the PRIVILEGE of all to wear. THIS WILL PROTECT YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE.

Continue reading “THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: OUR BREASTPLATE OF SAFETY IN THESE PERILOUS TIMES”
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Devotionals

THE ARMY OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM OF GRACE ON EARTH

September 10, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE ARMY OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM OF GRACE ON EARTH

“Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Eph. 6:13, KJV.

“The strength of an army is measured largely by the efficiency of the men in the ranks. A wise general instructs his officers to train every soldier for active service. He seeks to develop the highest efficiency on the part of all. If he were to depend on his officers alone he could never expect to conduct a successful campaign. He counts on loyal and untiring service from every men in his army. The responsibility rests largely upon the men in the ranks.

And so it is in the army of Prince Emmanuel. Our General, who has never lost a battle, expects willing, faithful service from everyone who has enlisted under His banner.

Continue reading “THE ARMY OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM OF GRACE ON EARTH”
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Devotionals

HOW ONE LOSES THE POWER HE ONCE HAD TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TRUTH AND ERROR

August 13, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

HOW ONE LOSES THE POWER HE ONCE HAD TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TRUTH AND ERROR

“Whenever the CAUSE exists, the same RESULTS will follow He who deliberately STIFLES his convictions of duty because it INTERFERES with his inclinations, will FINALLY lose the power to distinguish between truth and error.”

“The understanding becomes DARKENED, the conscience CALLOUS, the heart HARDENED, and the soul is SEPARATED from God. Where the message of divine truth is SPURNED or SLIGHTED, there the [generic] church will be enshrouded in darkness; faith and love grow cold, and estrangement and dissension enter. Church members center their interests and energies in WORLDLY pursuits, and sinners become HARDENED in their impenitence.”

E. G. White, The Great Controversy, 1911 ed., p. 379.
Continue reading “HOW ONE LOSES THE POWER HE ONCE HAD TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TRUTH AND ERROR”