Is the Church Feeding on Noxious Weeds?

Utah is arguably one of the most beautiful venues in the planet with her five breath-taking National Parks and with her amazing array of wildlife and other-worldly landscapes.  Yet, embedded in all of this amazing beauty there grows a pernicious enemy known as Noxious Weeds!  As I type, I am looking down at a book published by Utah State University called, "Noxious Weed Field Guide for Utah".  This handy little book catalogs all of the noxious weeds that have infiltrated our beautiful state with a "secret agenda" of replacing the good vegetation with the bad.  The introduction of this book explains how these harmful, alien plants devastate crop yields, damage watersheds, increase erosion, harm wildland plants and wildlife as well as outdoor recreation.  The bottom line:  Noxious weeds are harmful to people, the land and animals.  Many of them taste, "oh-so-sweet" to the mouths of our wildlife...but they are bitter to the stomach...harmful to the creature that consumes them!

Fellow Christian, is the church developing an unhealthy appetite for Noxious Literature? Personally, I believe that the answer to this question is an emphatic, yet sad, "YES!".  How have I come to this conclusion?  Well, let's open the "Noxious Literature Field Guide for Believing Consumers" and take a peek at the Noxious Books that the modern church is consuming these days:

• Noxious Book Series #1:  The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling:  A wildly popular book series in the church that is obsessed with Sorcery, and Witchcraft (with no redeeming worldview like the C.S. Lewis series). 
• Noxious Book Series #2:  The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyers:  A series of books written by a Mormon author that focuses on Vampires and overtones of double-meaning seduction.
• Noxious Book #3:  "The Shack" by William P. Young:  An intriguing book that seeks to encourage the downcast by using undiluted heresy in its overt twisting of the Trinity of our blessed Triune God.
• Noxious Book #4:  "Love Wins" by Rev. Rob Bell.  A book written by a popular Pastor that seeks to repackage "Universalism" to biblically illiterate church members.
• Noxious Book Series #5:  "The Hunger Games Series" by Suzanne Collins.  A book focusing on the brutal, violence of kids killing kids in a dystopian, futuristic society as a type of challenge and entertainment.

One fact that is undeniable is that all of these books have been embraced by a very large following within the evangelical church circle.  In this blog, I would like to focus on mainly one Noxious Book Series that is now raging out of control with the church.  The book series is:  "The Hunger Games".  The movie is just being released and the saints are sitting around the table with the world gobbling up the violent themes of this Noxious Book Series like cotton-candy! 

Beloved Ones, it is hard to fathom a believer finding any joy or entertainment in such violent literature.  Why do I say this?  Because even some of my unbelieving friends and acquaintances are appalled by the depth of blatant, evil violence in which this book series revels.  This book is much like watching an NHL Hockey Team erupt into brutal violence once the puck is dropped (as just happened a couple of days ago between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils hockey game.  I was horrified to watch the referees let the three sets of fights continue on as the crowd enjoyed the bloody violence of grown men punching each other in the faces like common thugs in a brutal street fight.)  See the connections?

Rise up, O Women of God!  Since quoting Phil.4:8 several weeks ago on Facebook with a reference to it's applicability to "The Hunger Games", I have been inundated with lot of differing views on the questions of "Does God like the Hunger Games?" or "Can a Christian feed on this book and still please God?"  We have debated about these important questions now for several weeks.  What saddens me is that most of the debates in favor of "The Hunger Games" have been female voices.  The very ones to whom our society has historically looked to for the embodiment of tenderness, compassion, kindness, love and TLC, seem to have the largest appetite for the violence of the Hunger Games?   As men, we are typically the guilty ones for indulging in a morbid preoccupation with brutality.  What has happened here??  Well, I believe that one reason that so many sweet, precious, and maternal ladies have been sucked into the vortex of this violent book series is because of the genius of Suzanne Collins to write a book on violence that captivates the female heart and mind.  The heroine in her book is a female named: Katniss Everdeen and she has won their hearts.  At the Internet cafe in Barnes and Noble here in Utah, I have overheard young girls on several occasions haling Katniss as a really cool role model.  They love her and want to be like her.  "She stepped up to save her sister from entering the violence!"  they say, but they fail to realize that Katniss is brutally killing someone else's brothers and sisters!

It is time to be separate.  To take a stand for Christ. I would love to see a modern generation of young women who have the resolve of Daniel to boycott "The Hunger Games" and a whole generation of older women who commit themselves, in the everyday realities of life, to teach the younger women "to love what is good and hate what is evil". 

Listen to these verses that "pull back the curtains" to reveal to us the things that make God furious: "There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers." Proverbs 6:16-19

May our united prayer be from Psalm 120:6: "Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace." and 1Thess. 5:21  "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good"

Alethion the Noble

April 13:  Our number is growing.  Growing every day.  Yet, many of the faithful are now dead.  Their memories forever treasured in the minds of the Noble Ones.  With my own eyes, my dear Alethion, I have seen them brutally martyred like precious perfume broken and poured out for the Master.  Aye, like their own Master, they have gone.  Souls too precious to be memorialized with mere words of men or angels.  To continue this train of thought is both too painful and too glorious for my temporal heart to bear.  So, I shall digress to lesser things, my Son. 

Thus to answer your question, dear Brother in Christ, I am fine…all things considered.  My strength increases with each passing day.  Thanks be to God, the bullet cleanly passed through my right shoulder without even touching a single bone or organ.  One of the Saints somehow managed to procure a powerful antibiotic so there is no infection, praise be to God!  The brethren who were with me during the attack believe that the Sniper was wielding a .22 caliber rifle.  I am thankful that I was not hit by a high powered rifle or…you may not be holding this letter in your hands today. 

It is with tears, my Son, that I must share with you that our brothers, Metroff and Hashikel, have been killed.  As you know, seven of us were in Paris returning from meeting with a group of new believers when the Sniper shot me.  When I dropped to the ground, three of the brethren scooped me up and fanatically carried me into the nearest ally way.  Metroff and Hashikel were following the group that was carrying me.  Both of them sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died moments after being shot.  I know your love for these two valiant men of God.  I know your pain...and I hate being the one to break the news to you.  I am praying for you.  God is with you.  He will not fail us, my Son.  Be strong.  Grace be with you.
Your brother in Jesus the Christ,
Moshe

May 7: To my Son in the Faith, Alethion the Noble, How I long to see you, dear Brother, face-to-face.  I am thankful that God has strengthened you in your faith through all the trials that you have faced since the first day that you first became a Christian – a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ!  It seems so mind-boggling at times, Alethion, that you and I are now disciples of Jesus Christ, our Messiah.  Being Jewish, we should have known!  We should have embraced our Jewish Messiah from those early days of learning Hebrew and the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.  We read them so many times, yet in ignorance, we walked away from the reality of our Messiah? 

I will never forget immigrating into Israel with my family from France and then studying day and night in the Yeshiva in order to become a Rabbi.  Then, dear Alethion, I found myself years later teaching you - a bright, handsome, energetic, young Jewish boy at that same Yeshiva in the Holy City - Jerusalem!  Such good memories of our time together!  You had recently immigrated into Israel with your family from Greece.  You had a passion for the Holy Book.  You were “the apple of my eye” among all my students in the Yeshiva.  We shared so many special moments after hours discussing the Scriptures over coffee and pastries.  Rich moments! 
But then, in one single day, the unthinkable happened...our world turned upside down...no…the world itself, turned upside down!  As you remember, nothing compares to the catastrophic event that took place on that fateful day.  911, Pearl Harbor…even all the World Wars wrapped up together do not even compare to the drama of that day…a day that took me several weeks to understand…really understand.  Yes, people were missing everywhere – missing from every nation, tongue, people and culture.  Multitudes of people – AWOL from planet earth!
Do you remember, O Alethion, how all of the pundits had explanations that sounded scientifically plausible?  The gurus of the earth seems poised and ready to pontificate on the reasons for the disappearance of millions of souls from the face of the earth.  As I shared with you on the day that you believed the truth, something inside of me refused to believe the perniciously woven lies of the experts…self-deluding lies that have devoured their own hearts and minds.  My knowledge of the Old Testament drove me to search for some authoritative answers...answers from the One True Living God - Yahweh.  By God’s grace, His Holy Spirit drove me into a book that I had vowed to never, ever read: the New Testament.  As I read these pages of Holy Writ, I fell on my face and wept as I encountered my Messiah – Yeshua - Jesus of Nazareth!  Within two weeks of reading through the entire New Testament, I knew what happened on that “Mysterious Day of Missing Persons”.  It was the day of Jesus Christ snatching away His church, His Saints...a day that the church called:  the Rapture!
Alethion, your sister Miriam was one of those who were snatched away.  I remember how you used to share with us during our Yeshiva class sessions how angry you and your family were at her for abandoning Yahweh for this “Gentile Jesus”.  We both found pleasure in the fact that your parents were shunning her and proclaimed her to be dead because of her faith in Christ.  Then, Alethion, after the snatching away…she was among those who were mysteriously missing!  Her boyfriend was also missing. 
You were so distraught and perplexed when I met with you that day at the outer courtyard of the Western Wall.  I thought you were going to pick up a rock and strike me in the head when I shared with you my belief that all of this happened by the power of Jesus the Messiah.  Anger burned in your eyes as you kept yelling at me in Greek: "Skase!  Skase!" (Shut up! Shut up!)  I am glad now that I did not understand then what you were saying to me...but I assumed you were not in agreement with me about the Messiah! You violently turned from me and ran toward the Western Wall to pray.  I followed you to the Wall and to my surprise, I heard you pouring out your heart in Hebrew before Adonai praying for wisdom, understanding and humility.  Tears were streaming down my face and yours as you looked up to see God’s answer to your prayer: a Preacher of Truth - which, by God's abundant grace, happened to be me.  Your face began to soften as you motioned for us to talk again at the outer court.  It was there that you listened intently to me as I fully explained to you the truth about Jesus the Messiah as was revealed to me from the New Testament.  After more than an hour of listening to my testimony and preaching, you grabbed my arm and lead me back to the Western Wall.  As normal, you began writing your prayer on a small piece of paper to wedge into the wall.  However, before placing it in the wall, you showed it to me.  It said simply: “Yeshua, You are the Messiah.  The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So, take away my sins.  Save me, Jesus of Nazareth! Amen” You hugged me so tight that I thought you would break one of my ribs...such great joy!  For you too became a true Son of Abraham - a Son of Faith – a Son of God – a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ! 
Alethion, I love you, my Brother, and I pray every day that we shall meet again face-to-face soon to renew our fellowship during this time of “Jacob’s Trouble”.  These are unprecedented days of evil and difficulty...but the Lord is with us...He is moving to fulfill His will and build His Kingdom.  Be strong.  Be brave.  Be the leader that Adonai has called you to be!
Yours in Christ,

Moshe                    

May 23: My Dear Alethion, I am penning these words from my dwelling here in Paris (Oh, how I miss the Holy City, my Brother!)  Yes, I am still here in my home town.  As you know full well, Paris has always been the Captial City of everything Humanistic, but now that the Saints are gone...it is the armpit of Hell, my Brother.  Unspeakable sin and evil lurks on every street corner.  My heart bleeds for the lost souls here.   They are the lost of the lost.  The dead of the dead.  Given over to every form of abomination and rebellion.  Lord, help us, for their sake, to be strong!

I am thrilled to receive word from you that the Holy Spirit is stirring the hearts of hundreds of young men who have attached themselves to you.  Yoniah told me that you had a group of 578 men who met for prayer with you at the soccer field in Tel Aviv last week.  Do write with more details.  I thirst to hear more...
Affectionately,
Moshe

June 2:  My hands are trembling, Dear Alethion, as I type this note to you!  Is it true, my Brother?  Is it really true?  Yes, it is…O Praise God…it is!  The genealogies of our people have been found!  Every Jew has vainly dreamed of this day, but no one really thought this could ever happen. 

Titus indeed destroyed the Holy City in 70 AD as our Lord prophesied, and he left no stone upon the other, but “Baruch Ha-Shem Adonai!” God did not let him destroy the records of our Fathers! What genius!  The genealogies of the Jewish tribes were shrewdly hidden by the Scribes in a secret cave of the Gihon Spring under the Holy City.  Of all people, Barchai, the Archeologist discovered the slot cave and found the sealed clay jars containing the records of our people! 
It is happening, Alethion.  It is happening.  The unfolding is at hand.  The winds of the Holy One are blowing upon the dry bones of our people.  Yoniah tells me that the publication of these genealogical records have enabled you to trace your Jewish roots to… the tribe of Judah!  O my Dear One, I am thrilled for you!  You are a part of the ruling tribe.  He says that you have 168 other men from the tribe of Judah who are living in close fellowship with you already.  God has chosen you men to walk together.  A band of brothers for the King of Kings.  He is sealing you together, as a tribe, for His great purpose, and Kingdom during this time of "Jacob's Trouble".  The words of John's Apocalypse are hastening day by day.
You asked me if I know yet which tribe I am from…yes, my Brother, thanks be to God, I too now know beyond a shadow of a doubt which tribe I am from.  The records are clear and open to all.  I am of the tribe of Levi.  It made me smile to realize that my parents named me Moshe (Moses) – a man of the tribe of Levi!  Already over one hundred men from the tribe of Levi have attached themselves to me.  We are all believers in Messiah, and all from the same tribe.  I tremble to read the book of Revelation in chapters 7 &14 that foretells all that we see unfolding before our eyes, Dear Alethion! 
Continue to band together with your brethren, Alethion.  Prepare for large numbers!  The Holy Book tells us that we will one day be 12 tribes, of 12,000 men set apart, saved and sealed. All of us, Jewish brothers totaling 144,000!  Can you believe this?  My eyes are filled with tears even now to realize what is happening.  My heart is so full of joy that I feel like it shall burst.  My faith is fixed on the promise, Dear Alethion, that not even one of us will die in this “Hellish Holocaust” called the 7-year tribulation period.  Jehovah has sealed us, and Jehovah will keep us.  Our mission is to rise up and evangelize!  Many nations shall believe through our witness.  God's strong arms shall shield us from all harm and evil until Shiloh comes!  Oh, Praise Him!  Oh, Praise Him!
God speed, Dear One,
Moshe

June 14: Alethion, you asked me how to pray for the gathering of your tribe; the coming together of the men that you are leading for the tribe of Judah.  I have received this very same question from Yoniah who is leading the tribe of Benjamin now.  I will also send a copy this letter to Gilad and Ehud who are gathering the sons of Reuben and Gad, respectively.

First read the prophecy: “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.   And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.  And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.   These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.   And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.” Revelation 14:1-5
Now, here is the way you should pray, Alethion, for your band of brothers.  This is the way we shall all pray for each man that God is setting apart and sealing within the 12 tribes:  There are 5 things that this passage of Scripture teaches us to pray for in regards to our 144,000 evangelists, Alethion:  (1) Pray for God to keep them morally pure. (Heb.13:4; I Thess.4:3); (2) Pray that God will make each of them completely loyal and obedient to the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 9:23); (3) Pray for God to call out His chosen ones unto salvation and for special service. (Eph.2:10); (4) Pray that God will make them completely truthful. (Eph.4:15; II Tim.2:15; James 3:2; I Pet.3:8-12); (5) And finally, pray that the God will keep them blameless.  No one can be perfect so long as they are in the flesh, but pray, nevertheless, that they will be blameless before God and man in this perverse and wicked generation.
Alethion, we have been given an amazing legacy by the Church, the Saints that were “caught up” before us.  There was a core of brave and faithful souls who loved the Lord Jesus more than the modern Idols of their day.  They shunned evil, they embraced truth, and they clung to the Lamb during the Church age of yester-year.  These were the men and women who have loved Jesus Christ during the dark days before the Rapture.  Yes, Alethion, it is true that there were many in the church who gave in to compromise.  They were ravished by the lusts of the world, by pride and by worldly pursuits...but oh, the sweet aroma of those who have left us the legacy of purity, faithfulness and passion for the living Christ...our risen Messiah. 
Alethion, I wish that the entire church could have been as we shall be:  completely committed to the Lamb of God.  But their day is gone, now it is our turn.  This same Messiah calls us today.  We have the same power, the same passion, and the same reward of closeness to the King of the Gentiles and King of the Jews.  This same King shall never fail us, Dear Alethion.  Give yourself to Him every day.  Love Him and the Brethren with all your heart.  He shall never fail you, and you shall never fail Him.
Shalom, My Brother!
Moshe

Customer Reviews on Jesus the Christ

 Customer Reviews
Jesus the Christ (Online Free Gift Offer)

Why did He leave so abruptly?, October 26, 2011
By Cathy the Catholic (New Hampshire)
This review is about: Jesus the Christ (Online Fee Gift Offer)
Saw this online offer from, Jesus the Christ, I clicked on the “receive Jesus Christ as a free gift” button on the www.amazed-on.hvn  I was really excited when seconds later, I heard a knock on the front door.  Thought it was the UPS man, until I heard a voice from behind the door say, “If any man will open the door, I will come in to him”.  I whispered, “Thank You, Mary, Mother of Jesus!”  Then I opened the door and …it really was Jesus Christ!  Wow!  When I asked him to come in and sit on the sofa next to my live-in Landlord, the Pope.  Jesus discussed with me that the Pope would have to leave before He would come in.  I argued with Him about this ... and then….he mysteriously disappeared??  That wasn’t a very Christian thing to do!

Don’t bother, He’s a myth!, October 28, 2011

By Travis the Atheist (Massachusetts)
This review is about: Jesus the Christ (Online Fee Gift Offer)
Just for fun, I clicked on this “free offer from Jesus gimmick”.  Ha!  What a joke!  However, the company did send a really weird guy to my door who professed to be Jesus the Christ J  I must admit the guy was a great actor.  He was crying when I opened the door as if he already knew what I was about to say.  I told him, "Thanks for coming, great acting.  Hey, you know what?  I really do love Jesus!  He is one of my favorite mythical characters!"  I expected the dude to smile or laugh...but He sadly turned from me and walked away....

Of all the nerve!!!!!, November 2, 2011

By Doreen Go-green (Colorado)
This review is about: Jesus the Christ (Online Fee Gift Offer)
Found this “Jesus the Christ" free gift offer on my eco-green website the other day.  Since it wouldn’t use up any paper (Save the Trees!!), I clicked the button (especially because the button was the color green :).  As the others stated in their reviews, a certain, Jesus the Christ showed up at my door…but for me…it was at night.  I was watching the stars on my back porch.  Jesus said to me, "I am the light of the world" and then He said, "Let there be light!" (and whispered something like, “My first spoken words in the Bible”).  I admit that I lost my temper with him right then and there!!  I screamed at Him, “You are an adulteration to the word Christianity!  How dare you come onto my property and demand that there be light-pollution!!  Are you afraid of the dark?  Get off my property…now!!!!!”  Don’t bother clicking that green button!

I admit He looked cool, but what a Geek!, November 13, 2011

By Brad the Rad (California)
This review is about: Jesus the Christ (Online Fee Gift Offer)
Wasup, Dudes! How r u?  This is your boy, Brad the Rad, here.  Anyways, waz hangin’ out on the Xtremely Crazy Games website when a free offer button suddenly appeared next to Travis Pastrana’s double back flip video.  It was a sick lookin’ button with knarly edges….so I clicked it.  It was really sweet to see Jesus come to the door and start talking to me! (Btw, Luv His rad, long hair…the Dude’s got a hip doo!)  He invited me to be one of His “followers”.  So, I gave Him a fist bump, and said, “Yeah, Man, you're on!"  So he explained to me that I would need to stop living with my best girl as part of this deal he called “discipleship”!  Can you believe that!  Check this out, Homies, I told the Dude that I was late for my Moto-X race and zoomed away on my dirt bike while he was still lecturing me about how He invented the idea of love and sex and His plan for real happiness...or some mumbo-jumbo like that.  What a Geek!  What a kill-joy! 

Major Wow Factor!!, October 26, 2011

By Ray Gay (Washington)
This review is about: Jesus the Christ (Online Fee Gift Offer)
Whew!  Major Wow Factor!  Jesus the Christ available online.  I clicked the button and bing-bang-boom!  There he was!  I quickly opened the door, and told Him how much I appreciated the David and Jonathan story in His Bible and the way His disciples laid on his breast all the time!  He started explaining something about Adam and Eve, male and female and the His invention of the nuclear family....or something like that...I was so excited to see Him I didn't listen too well...you know how it goes:)  I am not really sure what He was saying about Sodom and Gomorrah because I was so in awe of Him.  He probably was correcting all the hate-mongers who use that story against those of us whom God made this way.  In the middle of my laughing and giggling, he turned away while saying something about “First Corinthians 6” listing categories of sinners who will not go to heaven... glad I’m not in the list…whatever the list says…

Can’t find the words!, December 25, 2011

By Gladly Saved (Las Vegas, Nevada – "Sin City”)
This review is about: Jesus the Christ (Online Fee Gift Offer)
I was researching on the internet the easiest, painless way to commit suicide (sorry to be so graphic, but just being honest!).  I was at the bottom of the bucket – no, I was looking up at the bottom of the bucket!  Really, really depressed!!  Felt like no one had ever really loved me.  My last boyfriend just used me and abused me and dumped me.  Same ol’ same ol’.  While online, the free gift offer from Jesus the Christ appeared.  It seemed to throb in rhythm with my own broken heart.  So, I clicked on it.  Seconds later, Jesus the Christ was knocking on my garage door.  It was kinda scary...but I opened the door to Him.  The look in His eyes, and the kind words He spoke to me, (something like "come to me if you are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" or something like that ) broke my broken heart into a million pieces.  I hugged him and accepted Him into my house from the garage door.  When He came in, the darkness was replaced with light.  The aroma in the house went from musty to sweet.  The burden of depression lifted!  He said, “I will never leave you!”  I wept as I realized that He would live with me in my home forever!  Friends, I wish this review software had 5 million stars that I could post in this review for Jesus the Christ!  Give Him a try…you will never regret it!!!!