1 Timothy 4: 1,6 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…… In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, {constantly} nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.”

Additions to Scripture
Since the Bible is no longer welcome in most places of public gathering, it is no wonder that our ever increasing secular society is finding alternatives to the Word of God. We have spent the last 5 Saturdays on the radio program discussing the various teachings of so called “christian psychologists” and how they are not found anywhere in scripture. In fact, many of their teachings directly contradict the Word of God. Our concern is not just with these false teachers and teachings but with anyone who adds to or subtracts from the Word of God.

The Bible is inspired and infallible(2Tim.3:16,17). As a result of these truths, we also believe that the Bible is sufficient and efficient. In 2 Peter 1:3 Peter writes “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence”. Everything I need to be a good father or a good brother or a good Christian or a good husband or a good child or a good employee has already been provided for me. His divine power has granted to us everything I need to live a godly life. This comes through a true knowledge of Him and not through the extremes of experiential theology offered by the charismatics nor through the man made theories of the psycho babblers. Through knowing Him, through studying His Word and through being led by the Spirit, I have everything I need for life and godliness.

Newsletter News
We are getting quite a few responses to our newsletter. We are now archiving all of our Newsletters on the, of all places, the Newsletter page. Go to http://www.fellowshipofbelievers.org/newsletter.html and sign up or check out past issues.

The Christ “Mass”
Christ was not born in December. The only reason that the world celebrates His birth in December is because of ancient pagan rituals that took place at this time of year. These pagan rituals were dragged into the church by the Roman Church in the early 4th century. Most of the customs surrounding the holiday have as their origin these pagan rituals. For more info so you can decide for yourself, check out these web sites or listen to the program on the Internet Sat. the 21st @ 3:05 PM central. Mike and I discuss most of the pertinent info on this challenging subject.

http://www.faithfulword.com/tracts/Christmas.html
http://www.geocities.com/pinkled5/xmas.htm
http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualnls/Xmas_ch1.htm
http://www.korpios.org/resurgent/NoChristmas.html

Please be good Bereans and check out these sites carefully. We present them to you only for the info they contain about the Christ Mass and we do not recommend them for further study. Be a good Berean and check this out carefully.

More on the Christ Mass
"They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them." Psalms 106:35-36

If the above Scripture does not describe the church and society today, then I don't know what does. Christmas is one of those holidays in which we have "mingled among the heathen". I'm not going to go into all the history of Christmas and its links with paganism; I want to go another route. The thing that drives Christmas today is MATERIALISM! Coveting is in every eye at this time of year. I want this and I want that. And if you don't think you’re caught up in it, then ask yourself if you could celebrate without the gifts. We are a country that is blessed, even in our recession. We waste so much money, time, and energy on a pagan holiday. In a recent poll, 68% of Christians go into debt for Christmas. Neh. 5:2-11 shows us what God thinks of His people using usury. What part of this holiday is Christ-like so far?

What about commercialism? To what do commercials and ads appeal? They appeal to our flesh!! Commercials are filled with sensuality, greed, coveting, etc. Whatever happened to being content with what the Lord has blessed us? Commercials only feed our lusts for more things and encourage us to go in debt to get the things we lust after. SIN!!! Would a God that tells us in His Word that these things are evil, turn around and tell us to use those things to celebrate something?

"I celebrate Jesus’ birthday and don't get involved with the pagan part of the holiday". Have you heard someone say this? The problem with this statement is its worship. Christmas is a form of worship, especially if you claim it’s Jesus’ birthday. John 4:24 says the true worshippers worship in Spirit and in TRUTH. December 25th is not Jesus’ birthday. That is a LIE!! How can you be worshipping in truth, when it is a lie? The truth of the matter is that Christmas is rooted in paganism and encourages us to go against Biblical teaching. But my main concern is not Christmas, but the believer’s way of thinking. Some Christians have bought into the lie that we need to pursue pleasures. I will call them the James 5:5 Christians. They seek to find pleasure in houses, cars, boats, fashions, jewelry etc. Compare them to how the Apostle Paul found his pleasure in 2Corinthians 12:10. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” In America, I think we have it all backwards. What is our focus in life? Think about your life and see what your pursuits are, and compare them to the pursuits of Christ and the Bible.

Consider the following:
C.T. Studd- Gave up glory and riches for the missionary field
Hudson Taylor- Gave up all his comforts to go to China and spread the Gospel
David Livingstone- Gave up comfort and lived in the jungles of Africa
Paul the Apostle- Gave up power and position for the spreading of the Gospel
God did not call these men to earthly pleasures. But, they pursued God’s pleasure with everything in them.
I plead with you to pursue Christ with everything and not some dead tradition that has a form of godliness, but no power. Please search the Scriptures for the Truth, and you will find it.
Mike Charleston

A Study on Islam
Like it or not, America is doing business with a people group that has an entirely different world view then we do. Whether we go to war or just continue to trade with them, we as Christians need to know what Islam teaches in order to communicate the gospel to them. Take some time to learn the basic fundamentals of Islam and prepare yourself and your family to share the good news of Christ. A helpful site and a good place to begin your study is http://www.arabicbible.com/christian/islam.htm . It would be a great idea for family devotions to teach your older children how to present the gospel to a Muslim.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not to thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths”
From the very beginning of our relationship with Christ, this truth has ministered to Christie and I over and over again. When we had obeyed the Lord and things did not work out exactly like we wanted, through the many years of raising children, when we broke down moving from Dallas to New Orleans and the hotel where we stayed had the scripture on the wall behind the check out, when we got sued by another preacher for obeying the scriptures, when the churches we were pastoring seemed to be filled with more unbelievers then believers, when my grandson made 4 trips to the hospital for injuries ranging from a severe burn on his stomach to a stitched cut below his eye…..I think you get the idea. Whenever our world seemed to turn up side down, Christie and I were always brought back to this truth. When the events of our lives did not make sense, we always chose to trust in Him. When our understanding failed us, we trusted in Him. When the path of obedience seemed to bring strife and struggle, we trusted in Him. When people we loved were injured or sick, we trusted in Him.

Perhaps you are in a similar situation. You have prayed and sought the Lord’s will about a decision in your life. You have embarked by faith to accomplish what the Lord has directed you to do. But it hasn’t quite turned out the way you thought it would. Make the decision to trust Him! Go back and review your times of prayer and encourage yourself with the assurances that in deed the Lord has led your decision making in spite of the fact that it has not worked out like you expected. Build yourself up in the most holy faith through prayer and study of the Word and praise. Come to the place that the writer of Pr.3:5,6 came to; I do not understand what the Lord is doing but I am going to trust Him no matter what! And He will direct your path! Mike Indest

The Church
So simple but yet so hard. Any theology of the church needs to come from the pages of Scripture and not the ideas of man. Yet the so called church in America seems to thrive on new programs, new ideas and whatever man’s mind can come up with. Why not look to the Word! Everything necessary for life and godliness has been given to us. It is all there for all to see, believe and practice. The quote below spotlights the problem of depending on man’s ideas instead of God’s directions.

“I wish they would remember that the charge to Peter was "Feed my sheep", not "Try experiments on my rats", or even "Teach my performing dogs new tricks".