ACCEPTANCE

Acceptance

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

Everyone wants friends and they would be lying if they say they don’t. Everyone wants to feel accepted and part of something, but the facts of life is, you are not always going to feel acceptance around certain people. There are always going to be people who don’t like you for one reason or another. Sometimes it makes us feel bad when people do not accept us and it ends up effecting our own self esteem. What we fail to sometimes realize it may not be you with the “problem” at all; it could be those that won’t accept you that has the problem. Maybe they have mental issues. Maybe they are jealous of you. Maybe they are just plain stuck up snobs that wouldn’t even accept Jesus if he appeared in front of them disguised as someone else. Think about it. Do you really want to be around people like that? Stop trying so hard to get people to accept you into some sort of a group or crowd that Jesus wouldn’t even waste His time with. You might say, “Oh wait a minute, doesn’t Jesus love everyone? Wouldn’t Jesus not give up and keep trying to gain someone’s approval?” Think about this. Jesus sent his disciples out to minister to people and told them in Matthew 10:14-15 “If anyone doesn't welcome you or listen to what you say, leave that house or city, and shake its dust off your feet. I can guarantee this truth: Judgment day will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city.” Jesus didn’t keep badgering people. They had a choice to accept Him or not. Accepting Jesus meant and still means eternal life. Rejecting Him meant and still means eternal damnation.

I hung out in barrooms for many years before I became a Christian. I would watch guys keep on and keep on trying to get girls to dance with them that had turned them down several times. I never did that because it was humiliating. When a girl turned you down, everyone in the whole place seemed to know it. They especially seemed to know it if a guy kept getting turned down by the same girl time after time. Well, I wasn’t about to let that happen to me. I knew how to handle rejection. As a matter of fact, depending on what mood I was in, on more than one occasion it went something like this:

Me: “Would you like to dance?”

Woman: No I would not like to dance.”

Me: “You misunderstood me. I said you look fat in those pants!”

See, I was not about to waste my time trying to get some girl who was not interested in me to dance, when all I had to do is ask someone else and I would find a girl that would love to dance with me.

There is always that group of folks that you think you want to be part of but when you get to know them, you find nine out of ten times they are superficial phonies. Don’t waste your time with people like that. I would rather have one true friend I know I can depend on then 50 fake friends that talk behind my back and doesn’t care about me at all.

When Jesus went to strangers they welcomed Him and He ministered to them. He healed the sick, fed the poor, made the crippled walk and raised the dead. Yet, when Jesus went to His hometown they not only rejected Him but they put him down. They said things like “Isn’t this the Carpenter’s son?” The Bible says they actually were offended by Him! Offended because of what? Offended because Jesus wanted to minister to people in His hometown? They had no right to be offended. Jealous of Him would be an accurate description. In Matthew 13:57-58 Jesus said "The only place a prophet isn't honored is in his hometown and in his own house." He didn't work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

I have been in that situation. When I first became a minister 20 years ago, I was attending home bible fellowship groups. I knew this girl named Karen Bisgaard that started a home fellowship group that I thought was my friend. I started attending her small group and invited all kinds of singles from the church to attend. Her group grew rather large and when we would have prayer, people would come to me and ask me to pray over them. I carried anointing oil and would use that and pray over them and people were testifying how they were healed or how their prayers were answered. Karen called me on the phone one day and told me I was not to bring my anointing oil to her group anymore and she didn’t want me praying for or ministering to anyone. She told me the people were taking the focus off of her and putting it on me. She explained it was her group and she was the leader and if I didn’t want to obey her command she would have the pastors call me and they could explain it to me in language I would understand. I didn’t want the pastors bothered with such petty nonsense, so I told her I would not be attending her group anymore and she said “Oh good! That is what I was hoping you would say!” I kept my word and didn’t attend and started attending another one and everyone came to that one and Karen lost her group. She was furious! She bad-mouthed me and put me down every chance she got after that and accused me of destroying her group. It was so sad. You see, it was not me that was bringing healings. I have NEVER healed anyone in my life. It was Jesus doing the healings. I was just a mere vessel that was used by the Holy Ghost to pray over someone. When people start thinking it is them doing the healings and miracles, then there is a serious problem.

There is also a serious problem when they get jealous because God is using someone that they think should not be used because of the mistakes they made in the past before becoming a Christian. The thing is, I had lived in Oklahoma most of my life with the exception of my junior high and high school years which I spent in Southern California. Some people like Karen remembered my past as a hell-raising sinner who led the Ku Klux Klan and could never get past that. People like that are to be pitied. It was the same with Jesus. The people in His hometown remembered the kid who grew up there and worked with his father as a carpenter. He left and had been gone for awhile and came back years later and was teaching in the synagogue and people were amazed by what He had to say. The townspeople who knew Him years before grew jealous, putting Him down and rejecting Him. As a result Jesus didn’t work many miracles in His hometown because of the lack of faith and the way people treated Him.

I have been ministering for 20 years and have gone to some churches where the pastor has rejected a return visit even though the people asked that he have me back. A lot of times it is because of jealousy either from the pastor himself, or someone in his congregation that objects to him having me minister. It should never be that way. So many people have missed out on being ministered to or maybe even missed out on a chance to get saved because they might have heard something that was said in my sermons that could have convicted them and drawn them to Jesus, but the bitter root of jealousy kept them from it. A pastor may have wanted to have me minister, but there could be some people in his church that don’t like me and he is afraid he might lose them as members if he has me minister, especially if they are huge tithe-payers who control the strings financially or even members of his own family. If the church is not very large he feels he simply cannot take the chance on having me come if it means he might lose the member or members who object to my ministry. That is sad because if a pastor feels that way then he has his faith in money and not in God. He sees those people as his source and not God. What he fails to consider is there might be new people who get saved and could really help him in areas of church growth and finances but he missed that opportunity because of lack of faith and insight.

Remember what Jesus did after his hometown critics rejected and insulted him? He left and headed out for Cana of Galilee for a return visit because He had been there before. So why did He go back ? Simple. He went back to the people who really accepted Him. Notice I said accepted not tolerated. I hate that word “tolerance” because it means tolerate; Allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something or someone that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference. The folks in that place not only accepted Jesus but they celebrated Him! I once heard an evangelist say, “I go where I am celebrated not where I am tolerated!” That is what Jesus did. You would do well to remember that when you choose friends , what crowd you want to hang with, or what church you want to attend.

Do an evaluation on your friends and the church you attend. Are your friends giving you encouragement? Are they excited about what God is doing in your life? Do they want to see you succeed? How about the church you are attending? Are you encouraged by the pastors and the staff? Do they recognize your gifts and use you? For instance if you can sing, do they ask you to? If you can preach, does your pastor invite you to? If the answer to all of these question are no, then you need to get some new friends and find a new church. Don’t hang around friends who do not appreciate you. Do not stay in a church where your gifting of God is not recognized or used. Do what Jesus said to do and shake the dust off your feet and hit the road jack and don’t you go back no more! There are some new friends waiting for you. There is a new church on down the road that will use you. Don’t stay in a place where people don’t like you or your gift, or that hold your past or mistakes against you. God created you and you are special to Him. There are people who can benefit from you or what you have to offer. There will always be people who reject you, but Jesus will never reject you. Jesus said in Rev. 3:20 “Look, I'm standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I'll come in and we'll eat together.” Don’t be afraid to make changes in your life. “The LORD is the one who is going ahead of you. He will be with you. He won't abandon you or leave you. So don't be afraid or terrified." Deuteronomy 31:8

Jesus celebrates you. He does not tolerate you. Return the favor!

That’s called…ACCEPTANCE!

©www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Why Christians MUST Be Involved In Politics

by Rev. Johnny Lee Clary....

There is a huge movement underway, with books being written and endorsed by pastors of large churches telling people that Christians should never be involved in politics and that if they are then they are turning unbelievers away from Christ. These books are not worth buying. Their authors are worthless because they lack knowledge and wisdom when it comes to God’s word and therefore should not be telling Christians how to live their lives.

All political power has been delegated by God. As Apostle Paul says in
Romans 13:1, in speaking on the subject of civil authority, “Every person should obey the government in power. No government would exist if it hadn't been established by God. The governments which exist have been put in place by God.”

People accuse me all the time of being disobedient to God’s word
for criticizing government officials, using Romans 13:1 to justify
that accusation. I always point out to them that if that is true that I am
disobedient, then so were the Apostles, John and Peter. The ruling authority
commanded and ordered them not to preach Jesus and they replied they must obey God rather than men. Therefore, the word of God is plain; we do not have to obey government authority when it conflicts with God’s word.

Now the key here is that when you have a government that is hostile to or just plain old anti-Christian, you must get involved with politics in order to change the government to be favorable to God’s word and the way to do that is to put Christians in power!

I see people’s profiles on social websites all the time that has
where it says the word politics: “Who Cares?” I say “YOU should care because
these people are running your life!” If your pastors are telling you it is
improper for Christians to get involved in politics, get out of their church
and do not give them any more of your hard earned dollars! You see, to them it is all about money anyway. They probably just want you all wrapped up in their agendas, which they will disguise as “God’s agenda” but in truth it is just programs designed to control your life and make them more money.

A true pastor is a man or woman of God who will want you involved in politics in order to build a godly society for our children and their children' s future! So you see, politics is about who will have the authority and power direct from God Himself who works through people to direct the affairs of our common public life. The direction we travel in depends on the choices that we make. Therefore it is our choice to elect a God fearing candidate to public office to direct the direction of our lives and the lives of our children, or to elect to office a secular humanist that will govern our lives according to every ungodly satanic principle that is available to them.

You can elect those who have no regard for the Bible or God’s laws and principles, or you can elect those who are humble and recognize that the authority they have that comes with the office they hold has been delegated to them by God and they are accountable to Him for their use of it.

It is insane for Christians to remove themselves from political activism using the excuse of "Christians shouldn't be involved in politics," when the Bible, which is the Holy Word and authoritative book they claim to live by and profess to believe, tells them that political power comes directly from the very God they worship!

Some of these same Christians that say we don’t need to be involved in politics because it is a dirty business, fail to realize that the church can be a dirty business too! I have been a minister for nearly 20 years and I can’t even begin to tell you how many times a pastor has ripped off my love offering the people wanted to give me, or all the backstabbing, greed, gossip, and slander that I have seen in the churches, not to mention the sexual perversion and immorality that goes on. I have had just as many propositions from church girls, and more opportunities to get laid than I ever did with the barroom honky-tonk girls or the whores who make a living hooking. Therefore if we as Christians do not need to be involved with politics because it is dirty, then we do not need to be involved with the church either.

When a Christian refuses to get involved in politics, he or she is yielding the
authority over our public lives to those who hate God or have no respect for
God who gives them that authority. They have abandoned their child’s future to atheists, Muslims and secularists!

They have no one to blame but themselves when prayer is outlawed in public places, signs with the name of Jesus are removed from public buildings, homosexuals are parading in the streets holding “pride” marches, abortion on demand is made available in every town in addition to teenage daughters at the school without parental notification, and secular science is taught in place of creationism.

In Luke 10:19, Jesus said “I have given you the authority to trample snakes and scorpions and to destroy the enemy's power. Nothing will hurt you.”

The question is, what are YOU doing with that authority? Are you listening to those lunatics that tell you a Christian should never be involved in politics therefore yielding the governmental authority that controls your life to the ungodly? Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? Have you ever been sued or taken to court for any reason whatsoever where you knew you were not guilty? Have you ever been arrested for something you didn’t do? If that ever happens to you then which kind of judge would you rather hear your case; a Christian judge, or a secular humanist left wing liberal with no love for God? How about some of you men who have ever gone through a divorce? Would you rather have a Christian judge that
loves the Lord decide who gets what, or would you rather take your chances with a feminist man-hating liberal who thinks all men should pay for the mistreatment of women in today’s society?

You are the one who has the power to elect these public officials and if you refuse to get involved with politics then you have no one to blame but yourself whenever the elected officials turn out to be ungodly animalistic God-haters.

I read where one writer said that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that we are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world." Salt was used, in the lack of refrigeration, to stop the spread of decay. Light was used to do away with darkness as it is today.

Jesus was saying that He desires His followers to get involved with all of life so that by our presence the spread of moral corruption can be stopped and detained and darkness and ignorance about important matters can be replaced with light and truth.”

Also wherever this is no light or salt, then there will be darkness and decay, which is what will happen if Christians refuse to get involved in politics.

The Lord is depending on us because He works through people. That is His plan for us to be the salt and light of the world. There is no alternative plan.

The truth of the matter is, those who say Christians should never be involved
in politics have no right whatsoever to complain about any immorality in
society or anti-Christian laws or rulings. Pastors, authors, or laymen who tell
Christians to stay out of politics are nothing more than bold-faced liars and hypocrites if they ever use instances of immorality, moral decay, or anti-Christian laws as an illustration of any kind in their sermons, writings, or witnessing.

So many of these people love to complain about how bad things are in today’s
society, but like a rabid dog, they immediately attack and turn on any
Christian who agrees with them and then actually tries to do something about it.

Lawmakers have the very power and authority of God in their hands, so Christians have much more reason to be involved in politics than the secular humanists.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was heavily involved in politics and he encouraged others to do the same. He said:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Finally John F. Kennedy said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

May we all love our Country enough to get politically active and do something!

© www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Mosqueissippi Burning

By Johnny Lee Clary





As we approach the ninth anniversary of 9/11 when Islamic terrorists attacked America killing thousands, I am shocked more than ever that many Americans have either forgotten 9/11 or just do not care that thousands of people have been murdered. Living proof of this is the Muslim Mosque controversy where Muslims are pushing full steam ahead with building a mosque at Ground Zero with the blessings of Barack Obama. Besides Obama , many other politicians including NYC Mayor Bloomberg have came out in total support of this mosque saying what a beautiful gesture of forgiveness and diversity this is and that it will serve a “symbol of peace and healing” throughout the land. They talk of reconciliation and how this will be a step in that direction. As a minister of reconciliation for the last 20 years I can assure you this will not bring reconciliation but more division. If Muslims and all the others who support the building of this mosque were serious about reconciliation they would not even entertain the idea of building that mosque on such a sacred site as this.

I am NOT saying Muslims can't build a mosque; I am saying they should build it some place else and not at the site of ground zero. This is only causing hatred.

Check your history of Mecca, Jerusalem, and Constantinople . It is a proven fact that Islam has a history of putting up mosques as a symbol or a flag of victory whenever they win a military battle. The building of the “Cordoba House” which the Muslims have chosen to name their planned mosque is no different. Just the name of it shows their evil intent. For those who do not know, the name “Cordoba” refers to the first system of government established in what is now modern Spain after the Islamic invasion from North Africa in the 8th century A.D. “Cordoba,” in Islamic symbolic terms, means Islamic rule in the West. It does not mean “coexistence” nor does it mean “reconciliation,” unless coexistence and reconciliation is interpreted as referring to Islamic rule.



When I think of Ground Zero, I think of the two twin towers of the WTC on fire that day with people jumping out of windows falling to their deaths. I think of the screams inside of people inside being burned alive. I think of the horror the passengers and crews of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175 must have felt as they saw their planes hijacked by Muslims and being flown straight into the towers exploding on impact. I think of all the heroes such as the police, rescue workers, firefighters and volunteers who gave their lives trying to rescue people from the burning buildings. I also think of all the families of the victims who would never see their loved ones again. I certainly do not want to think of a Muslim mosque on that site which would be a sick twisted symbol of “triumph” for a Muslim victory. When I think of that I also think of Osama bin Laden being caught on video tape praising “allah” for the destruction of 9/11 and the thousands of Muslims around the world who were dancing in the streets celebrating the attack on America. Can you picture in your mind the children and grandchildren of those who were murdered going to visit the site of where they lost loved ones and then having to look at the Muslim mosque where Muslims are celebrating the deaths of those who lost their lives at Ground Zero? My God has America sunken this low that we are willing to sit back and allow people who represent the cult that caused this destruction to throw this attack right into our faces by putting up this shrine to their so-called “triumph” over America? 3000 people lost their lives at that site! Doesn’t anyone care about that anymore?


The F.B.I has revealed that many Islamic mosques all over the world including America are tied to International terrorists and have been plotting terrorist attacks on American soil.

All over the world Islamic leaders are calling for the extermination of the Jews even advocating annihilating Israel. Iran’s leader Ahmadinejad is developing nuclear bombs and vows to nuke Israel off the map. He even held an anti-holocaust conference in 2006 in Tehran and the guest of honor was former Grand Wizard of the KKK David Duke who is now a Nazi. Duke with the support of many Islamic leaders speaks in Syria, Iran, Russia and many other nations advocating the destruction of the Jews. Yet according to the left wing liberal politically correct crowd, we are supposed to sit back and view this Muslim mosque at Ground Zero as some sort of “symbol of peace?” The world used to view Hitler and Nazi regime as monsters for killing six million Jews but now many Radical Islamic leaders are saying the Holocaust never happened and as a matter of fact Radical Islamic influence has grown so strong that the teaching of the holocaust in public schools have been banned in many parts of the world including many public schools in London because Muslims say it offends them. I am reminded of George Santayana’s quote, “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Do you think for one minute that there is any Islamic country where they would allow Christians to put up a church next to any Islamic site where Muslims lost their lives? What would the world say if Neo-Nazis tried to build headquarters at the site of Auschwitz or Buchenwald? What if the KKK tried to build a Klan Christian Identity “church” in Birmingham, Alabama at the site of the 16th Avenue Baptist Church where 4 little girls lost their lives when KKK members bombed it in 1964? The world would be outraged and as far as those who would even attempt to build it goes, their lives would not be worth a plug nickel and it wouldn’t be safe for them anywhere in the world if they tried that. Why it would be Mosqueissippi Burning!



Anyone who supports the building of the mosque at Ground Zero spits in the face of every family member who lost lives on 9/11 and you also spit in the face of God. As Franklin Graham, son of Evangelist Billy Graham puts it on building the mosque: "It's hypocrisy. It's mockery. It's mocking the 3,000 Americans who died just around the corner, who were killed by Islamists in the name of Islam. There was not one Islamic cleric who oversees outside the U.S. who condemned [the 9/11 attacks]. If this had been a Catholic saying his Hail Mary's flying into the World Trade Center, the Pope would have been on television that night denouncing it. The lack of universal condemnation by the Islamic world, their silence, shows their support of this.





Ref:


http://lonestartimes.squawkboxnoise.com/?p=3081
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=38678
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011614-7,00.html#ixzz0ylI9HdAP
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011614-7,00.html#ixzz0ylHWs2Zo


“Ah yes, truth. Funny how everyone is always asking for it but when they get it they don’t believe it because it’s not the truth they want to hear.” ~Helena Cassadine


Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary
P.O. Box 972
Miami, Oklahoma 74355


www.johnnyleeclary.com

How To Control Bad Thoughts

How To Control Bad Thoughts In Your Mind

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

Most of us if we will admit it have had bad thoughts going through our minds even as Christians. Our Circumstances sometimes dictate or dominate our thoughts but they shouldn’t be. St. Paul wrote a letter while he was in prison and said the following: Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable.”

Now how in the world could St. Paul write something like this while rotting away in a dirty filthy prison and knowing he was facing death by beheading? Well it wasn’t easy but he did and regardless of your circumstances you can too. It is easy to praise God when we have money, a nice house, a nice car, a job promotion, and lots of friends. Could you praise God though if you got fired from your job, the repo man took your car, you get evicted, and you find out your best friend is sleeping with your girlfriend? So many people will say, “No I cannot under the circumstances.” What they need to remember that Jesus is not UNDER the circumstances but He is OVER the circumstances! Paul chose not to focus on the negative but instead his mind raced back to the positive things that took place in his Christian walk. I am sure Paul thought of all the souls that had been saved, of all the churches that he had planted, of all the healings that took place, and of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He wasn’t focusing on being arrested, being put on trial, being whipped, being beaten, that stinking dungeon of a prison, or his upcoming execution. We as Christians need to focus on the good things of God even when bad things seem to be ringing down all around us.

The word of God says to call things that are not as though they were. I remember hearing Gloria Copeland talk about how she and Kenneth were poor when they first started out in the ministry. She had old clothes and he had holes in his shoes, yet he was preaching prosperity. What he was doing was putting his faith out there, calling things that were not as though they were and God fulfilled it. Today the Copeland’s are extremely wealthy so they are living proof that it works. Of course they had to be obedient to God and focus on what was to come instead of what their circumstances were at the time. Now you just can’t be a poor person, choosing to live like the devil and for the world, confessing to be rich and expect it to happen. Obedience to God and faith in God are keys to making this happen. You see, others had seen the good things that happened in Paul’s life and he could appeal to others with such great merit in what he had to say because of it. It was a testimony to others.

You can’t dwell on evil thoughts and live righteously. Living for God is the result of thinking the thoughts as well displaying the thoughts of God which is found in His word.

To be a Christian means to be Christ-like. We are to strive with all of our heart and soul to be as much like Christ as possible which includes having the mind of Christ. We should develop our minds to have the thoughts of Christ which is found in His word. That should be every Christian’s desire and it certainly is the desire of Christ to see us have His thoughts in our mind. However, Satan would also like us to have his thoughts in our mind so he attacks our minds with evil, wicked and impure thoughts. A war takes place within our mind and it is a constant battle of ‘Good vs. Evil.’ It is normal for every Christian, no matter how much of a ‘Holy Joe’ or ‘Holy Jane’ they are, to have their mind attacked with impure thoughts. Sometimes we open the door of our mind to allow these wicked thoughts to come in by what we place before our eyes. I like what God’s Word says in Psalm 101: 3 “I will not put anything wicked in front of my eyes. I hate what unfaithful people do. I want no part of it.”

Remember, it is not Satan, but you who makes the choice to watch bad TV programs, go to naughty movies, look at porno magazines, go to websites that are bad, or go watch the girls at the nudie bar. Satan or anyone else can’t force you to do this. You make your own choice and you will pay the price when you choose the bad ones.

Another problem with allowing your mind to conform to the world’s way of thinking, is you will eventually become either hostile to God or you will begin to worship a counterfeit “god” that is not the God of the Holy Bible. That is what is happening today with a lot of these churches that have with the ‘new all-grace-no-repentance-needed’ theology which is in direct contrast with the Word of God I don’t care if your pastor preaches from all the top self-help books in the world and has a PhD in psychology! If what he is preaching does not line up with the word of God then get out of that church. Those who preach this damnable doctrine are more interested in quantity and not quality. To them it is about butts in the chairs for a bigger church and not about developing soldiers to serve in the army of the Lord! People that follow this sort of thinking end up leaving the Word and conforming to the world’s way of thinking because God’s rules and standards make them feel guilty.

The old saying goes, “You are what you eat.” I believe the Bible teaches us, “You are what you think.” Sadly I read where one study said that only 12% of people who call themselves Christians bother to read the Bible on a daily basis. If you have a car, and you never put gas and oil in it, eventually it is going to stop running. You need the word of God every day for fuel to keep going otherwise you will stop going for God.

A lot of us have bad thought habits because of what was taught to us in life, from parents, teachers, friends, or the type of entertainment we have been exposed to. For instance I was raised in an environment of racism so I could not expect all those bad beliefs and thoughts to go away overnight. Jesus didn’t automatically remove them from my mind when I became a Christian. He gave me the ability to do that. Romans 12: 2 says “Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants-what is good, pleasing, and perfect.” (GWT) The Devil does not want you to think on the things of God though. He doesn’t care if you never think at all; he just doesn’t want you dwelling on the Word of God.

If we allow our minds to dwell upon the negative impure evil thoughts then they will take control and the Devil will win the battle. God created us with a free-will and it is our choice as to what we allow to dominate our minds. Therefore this is what a believer must do to overcome the bad thoughts.

1. Realize and believe that you have the mind of Christ and start acting like it! Show true faith! (1 Corinthians 2:16) (James 2:20)

2. Do not listen to worldly intellectual arrogance that opposes the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ. Man’s wisdom is foolishness to God. (2 Corinthians 10:5;1 Corinthians 3:19)

3. Set your mind on the things that are of God and not the secular worldly things. Focus on good and not evil. God’s cure for bad thoughts is to fill our minds with that which is good. (Colossians 3:2; Philippians 4:8)

4. Resist the Devil and He will flee from you. (James 4:7) The entire scripture says Submit to God and THEN resist the Devil and he will flee from you. He won’t flee unless you are submitted to God.

5. Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God's will in Christ Jesus that you do this. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) You are not thanking Him for your troubles, but you are thanking Him for taking you through them.

6. Do like Job did. Praise Him no matter what the circumstances and know He is Over and not Under the circumstances. (Job2:10; 13:15)

7. Let Christ's word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about [God's] kindness. Sing to God in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16) Make the decision to sing praise to God no matter what and watch what He does for you. Paul and Silas chains were broken because of this. (Acts 16:25-39)

There are your keys to overcoming bad thoughts. Now it’s up to you to implement them.

©www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

All Rights Reserved

Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary is an ordained elder minister in the Church Of God In Christ, the largest African American denomination in the USA. He is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, Australia’s Andrew Denton, Australia’s morning Sunrise Ch. 7 and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in Feb. 2010, April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales. He holds the record for the largest crowd ever at Hillsong Brisbane, Australia.

Todd Bentley False Prophet

Todd Bentley was born in 1976 in Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada

This was written by me back in 2008 and I am republishing because the false prophet is back and being promoted by some churches and well-known ministers.

Todd's upbringing was predominantly situated in Gibsons, British Columbia. At age 6, his parents divorced. He continued residing with his mother, who lost her hearing years before the divorce. Despite the divorce and his father moving away, Todd visited his father regularly. At age 11, Todd began undertaking illicit alcohol consumption under his father's supervision. Later, at age 15, Todd was sentenced as a juvenile delinquent after perpetrating sexual assault on a minor.

Following his release from jail, Todd continued struggling through adolescence, transferring between several foster homes in the vicinity of Lower Mainland, B.C. before finally rejoining his father.

At age 17, Todd was unconsciously hospitalized after swallowing a bag full of illicit amphetamines and hallucinogenic pills. His stomach pumped of the drugs, the doctors posited him to be irrecoverably approaching certain death. Albeit notably bleak, his health gradually ameliorated. Afterwards, Todd dedicated his life to God, pursuing a life as a "revivalist" missionary. Todd credits God for his healthy recuperation and life transformation.

Criminal history

According to The Report Newsmagazine, a social conservative publication that is now uncirculated , Bentley was jailed for 18 months when he was fifteen years old for crimes of a sexual nature against a 7-year-old boy.

As a juvenile offender, Bentley's record should have been protected from public disclosure. The article in The Report acknowledged the Canadian law, but stated that Bentley freely provided details of the offence. Two years later Bentley said he had no idea the reporter interviewing him would publish his acknowledgment of the molestation. "[The reporter] did not tell me he was doing a follow-up story," Bentley told Charisma. "He was just friendly and told me what the mother had said, and I admitted to him in what I thought were off-the-record comments that it was true, but that it happened years ago and I had since been changed by the gospel."

A few months after the article in The Report was published, the mother of the victim contacted the media in Kewlona, B.C. where Bentley was holding a crusade. In response, "Bentley decided to address the local outcry by going on the 6 p.m. local TV-news broadcast. He admitted the crime on-air, asked for forgiveness, told viewers how ashamed he was, and how he was transformed five years after the incident by the gospel's power."

Bentley willingly admits his past: "I turned around and did what had happened to me. I was assaulted too." He states in his book "Today I want to be sure that in the future no one can say I hid things or mislead people about my past" . (Journey Into The Miraculous, p.24, used by permission)

Ministries and activities

Todd Bentley has travelled internationally holding church services and crusades in over 55 nations including South Africa, Malaysia, Peru, Ethopia, and Uganda where he has a children's home for orphans called the "Uganda Jesus Village." In addition to these activities, "Freshfire Ministries," which Todd serves as CEO since 1998, oversees a Supernatural Training Centre in conjunction with a group in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Efforts to train native pastors to help set up a Supernatural Training Centre in Kampala, Uganda were undertaken in January 2008. Todd's claim is to raise up sons and daughters for his kind of ministry. His home church is Global Harvest Centre.

Florida Healing Outpouring

Main article: Florida Healing Outpouring

In April 2008, Todd Bentley was invited to Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida for a several-day conference. Meetings moved from the church building to local auditoriums and stadiums, continuing daily and broadcasted live via God Tv satellite channels and online streaming.

Personal life

Todd currently resides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Bentley is married to Shonnah, and has three children —Elijah, Lauralee, and Esther. His father lives on Vancouver Island.

Bentley lives in an Abbotsford home when not in revival, and he owns a 2007 GMC Sierra and a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle, as well as a 2008 f150 35-foot travel trailer (The Province Newspaper) .

Todd Bentley's current interests as expressed on his MySpace page are: Family, Sushi, Harley Davidson's, Music, Starbucks, Movies, and hanging out with friends.

His heroes are listed as: Jesus!, Paul the Apostle, true Spiritual Fathers (anyone who can be a true father), David and The Mighty Men, Overcomers, and those who take up the cause of the widow and the orphan.

Todd has a number of impressive tattoos and piercings which, he claims, God told him to get.

Views and beliefs

Todd is associated with the controversial "Kansas City Prophets", and has had various prophets speak in support of his ministry and the event in Lakeland, Florida.

Here are a couple of extracts from Todd's 2003 article 'Angelic Hosts':

So when I need a financial breakthrough I don't just pray and ask God for my financial breakthrough. I go into intercession and become a partner with the angels by petitioning the Father for the angels that are assigned to getting me money: "Father, give me the angels in heaven right now that are assigned to get me money and wealth. And let those angels be released on my behalf. Let them go into the four corners of the earth and gather me money.

Todd continues...

Jane, ANGEL of The PROPHETIC

Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: "Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?" He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, "Bob, who is Emma?" He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out. Within a few weeks of Bob asking me about Emma, I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota.

In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, "Here's Emma." I'm not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. It was almost like Kathryn Kuhlman in those old videos when she wore a white dress and looked like she was gliding across the platform. Emma appeared beautiful and young - about 22 years old - but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life. She glided into the room, emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people... Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars! Thousands!... During this visitation the pastor's wife (it was an AOG church) got totally whacked by the Holy Ghost - she began running around barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken as a powerful prophetic spirit came on her. Also, as this prophetic anointing came on her, she started getting phone numbers of complete strangers and calling them up on the telephone and prophesying over them... Then angels started showing up in the church.

More recently, Todd stated that in one of his "Third Heaven" trips he literally visited the small cabin where the apostle Paul lives in Heaven. Paul told him that he wrote the book of Hebrews with the personal help of Abraham the Patriarch: "The authorship isn't clear because it was Abraham and I; Abraham shared the content with me." Todd's 'Third Heaven' tales are full of such astonishing claims.

In this YouTube video, Todd speaks of the angel that is going to "visit the children" and then he begins to jerk and laugh uncontrollably. He prays that a 'drunken glory' will move across the whole place, with evidence within the audience. Both Todd and Bob Jones credit an angel that carries the "Winds of Change" for the current healing revival — an angel that they say is still driving it.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bentley"

First of all, barking like dogs and clucking like chickens is unscriptural. I challenge anyone to find me scripture to back this up. It strikes me that saying that howling and roaring and making animal noises "in the Spirit" is an unusual claim. If you are claiming that God is involved with that then it seems to me that it's up to you to prove it. I'm a bit uncomfortable talking about this because even discussing it like this lends some legitimacy to it. It's kind of like saying, well, let's reflect on this for a moment and see whether this might be okay.

Ladies and gentlemen, why would anybody even be tempted to say that people thrashing about making animal noises is an evidence of the movement of God? What has the Body of Christ come to that we look at this kind of behavior and we call it the Holy Spirit? Just on the face of it, doesn't it seem--think, please think--doesn't it seem that if anyone was going to turn people into animals it would not be God? It would be Satan. I mean if I had a choice. Remember the Gad Rene demoniac? Thrashing about in the tombs, demon possessed, cutting his body, living like pardon me, an animal? That was demons, not God.

The only time I can think of God making someone like an animal was Nebuchadnezzar--and that was a judgment of God. If you recall, it was when Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses that he was released from his crazy behavior. Read the book of Daniel. He was taking all the glory to himself, not giving praise to God, so God made him into a cow. I mean, he was still Nebuchadnezzar, but he lived like a cow. He went out in the field for seven years (Daniel 4), I believe, and ate grass. His nails grew long. He was an animal. He bellowed, and mooed, I imagine. And then he came to his senses, gave God the glory and was restored to his position of authority.

I have been in church services where people were barking like dogs and clucking like chickens and laughing like hyenas. I also saw people get up and walk out and say they wouldn't come back anymore either.

I am reminded of what Apostle Paul said, 1 Corinthians 14:40 "But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner." Also in 1 Corinthians 14:33 "God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints."

Suppose someone was considering giving their life to Christ that did not go to church? Do you think carrying on like this would make them come to Jesus? What if someone was suicidal? Would this type of carrying on draw them to Jesus? If you took a successful business person or maybe your boss at work to a church service like this, would they be impressed?

Punching people in the mouth, choking them, and knocking out their teeth as well as kicking old ladies in the face, well, I can't find where that is proper and in order. If someone can show it to me in the word then I stand to be corrected.

On the "Gold Dust" question, the God that I serve owns all the gold and all the silver (Hag 2:8) and since He owns it all, why would he just sprinkle a little dust on the crowd? Why not give the crowd a huge abundance to pay bills with since he owns it all? Why was Todd Bentley the only one who got thousands and thousands of dollars and not those attending the meeting? My God's name is El Shaddai not El Cheapo! I do not believe in this gold dust junk when the God I serve would pour out a much larger abundance than dust!

Speaking to an angel called Emma that comes from Kansas City? Where is that in the word? Show it to me because somehow in the studies I have done in the word I have missed it. I will tell you what I didn't miss though, and that is Gal. 1:8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."

Now if you do a search on Angel Emma you will find 1. EMMA-O: King of Hell. He lives the good life in a large castle covered in gold, silver, pearls and jewels. Now I know Bentley says Emma is a female but demons can appear as a male or female angel, which ever they choose. Satan is known as the deceiver. EMMA-0, The Lying demon that calls itself the angel that (it is claimed) ministered with Rev. William Branham, the famous faith healer who fell into much error before he died. He believed that he was god.

Let me say, that real revivals do not move on the power of angels. True revivals come by the Power of the Holy Spirit. God with sovereignty move, bringing people face to face with the state of their soul. He will convict them of sin and then reveal to them God's divine love and compassion that He sent His Dear Son, to suffer death in their place. Revival will sweep millions into the Kingdom of God. A demonic angel called Emma has absolutely nothing to do with salvation or miracles by the hand of God. The Holy Ghost will never lift an individual's personality up because The Spirit's job is to draw people to Jesus Christ, to convict and bring them to God.

Now I realize that some will attack me and try to say I am jealous of Todd Bentley and wish that my ministry was huge like his. Well I will stop that thought right now, because I am a high profile public figure and speak in some of the world's largest churches. I not only speak to huge crowds but I hold records in Australia and New Zealand for souls saved, and I did it by focusing on Jesus Christ and NOT an angel or barking like a dog!

I never kicked an old woman in the face either. I do not wish to attack any other person including Todd Bentley but when a fake comes along that is deceiving people that I have ministered to as well as friends of mine, then I know I have a duty to expose him as a heretic. I am in hopes he will repent of this nonsense but until he does, I am others will continue to expose him. I am not some Johnny-come-lately who has no one listening to him, so Todd Bentley should keep that in mind as he continues to fleece the flock.

Todd claims that Jesus literally stepped out of heaven and came down to visit him. http://www.christianresearchservice.com/ToddBentley1.htm

Todd claims he went to Paul's cabin in heaven and had a rap session with him as to the authorship of the Book of Hebrews. He claims that Paul told him Abraham helped him write it. Never mind the fact that Abraham had already been dead for many years before Paul wrote the book. I guess we are supposed to believe Abraham was allowed to return to life and help Paul write Hebrews even though Paul never mentions this. Don't you think something as important as this would be mentioned in the Bible? Are we supposed to believe that Todd Bentley is the ONLY one on Earth God chose to reveal this to? Well isn't that special? Oh my! Thank you for enlightening us Oh holy one!

The bottom line is this Todd Bentley is making all kinds of claims that does not line up with God's word. If we are to believe that God chose to reveal things like this to Todd Bentley so he can educate the rest of the world, even though they do not line up with God's word, then why not believe Bishop Carlton Pearson when he says things that do not line up with God's word in his new religion called "Gospel of Inclusionism" instead of labeling him a heretic? Why not believe Oprah and her new religion when she says there are other ways to get to heaven instead of just through Jesus?

Before anyone accuses me of being anti-Charismatic let me say I was mentored not only by Rev. Wade Watts but by Ps. Billy Joe Daugherty of Victory Christian Center who pastors one of the largest Pentecostal churches in the world with over 25,000 members back when I used to live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ps. Daugherty always taught that anything that is preached must line up with God's word and if it does not then it is not of God. I am thankful that Ps. Daugherty taught me this many years ago. I have carried these teaching in my world wide ministry and I always preach what I was taught.

Some people want a touch from the supernatural so bad they are willing to flock to these false revivals and believe anything as long as they can "feel good" and get a supernatural high. People need to stop acting like flakes and stop this insanity! If it does not line up with God's word then it is NOT of God, period!

Psalm 12:6-7 says, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Then we read in Psalm 100:5 that ". . . . his truth endureth to all generations," and Jesus said in John 17:17 that God's WORD is truth.

2 John 9 - Whoever fails to abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.

But following human standards - whether by failing to practice what Jesus teaches, or by practicing things He never authorized - is a failure to abide in the teachings of Jesus.

So I shall conclude with a word for Todd Bentley:

Revelation 22:18,19 - Whoever adds to Jesus' words, God will add to him the plagues in the book. Whoever takes from God's words, his part will be removed from the holy city.

Again, the basic error of human standards is that they show a lack of respect for the teachings of Jesus. All human standards are written on the presumption that weak, imperfect human beings can write a better standard than what was written by the all-wise, infallible God. This is why God refuses to allow His people to follow any other standard but the Bible.

TODD BENTLEY DIVORCES WIFE AND MARRIES HIS MISTRESS!

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23332/todd-bentley-9

Todd] Bentley has married the former Jessa Hasbrook, a former intern for his ministry. Last summer, his internationally famous revival campaign in Lakeland, Florida collapsed when it was revelead that he and Jessa had begun an “emotional affair”. Charismatic leaders C. Peter Wagner and Robert Ricciardelli, however, have reported that the affair was apparently sexual. Mr. Ricciardelli, furthermore, has indicated that this affair, whatever type it was, began in January of last year, which would place it well before Mr. Bentley announced that he was separating from his wife Shonnah. This is also well before Mr. Bentley brought Shonnah Bentley and his kids to Lakeland to show them to an international T.V. audience. Shonnah Bentley even preached in a local church to promote her husband’s revival.