Jesus Is Still Calling You Through His Word And Sacraments -- Not Through A So-Called 'Christian' Bestseller!

Sorry for the cross-post (for those of you who already saw this posted on my Facebook page today), but I'm more convinced than ever before that this needs to be shouted from the rooftops as often as possible.

 

READ: God Speaks To Us Through His Word And Sacraments -- Not Through Sarah Young's 'Jesus Calling' 

This is going to be an unpopular one for sure. 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." 

Please stay away from "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. Just because something is wildly popular and on the "Christian Bestseller's List" does not mean it's Biblically accurate let alone good for your soul. Friends, the author of this book claims to have heard Jesus Christ speak to her directly and privately and that's what she has written down here for others to read. That is simply wrong on so many levels let alone the fact that a majority of what He supposedly said to her privately actually contradicts what He already said to each and every one of us that's recorded for us throughout the Bible! That should be the only red flag we ever need to determine whether or not we should be spending any time at all reading this book. 

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." 

However, that doesn't seem to be enough to get Christians to think twice about this book. So, I'm afraid I have no choice but to share this comprehensive and thorough review of this so-called "Christian" Bestseller today and will continue to pray that those I care about and love so much will heed its many warnings. It was written several months ago in regards to a specific situation that came up, but it needs to be shared here today due to another recent experience with this book. It also contains many helpful resources including some recent ones in the Comments Section to help you see why this is so dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. 

Why? Someone has to do it, because no one else will, including the Pastors who are allowing these types of things in the churches that God entrusted to their care and protection. Sadly, I'm seeing more and more dear family members and friends falling for the half-truths and outright lies in this book and I'm just worried about them. I care about them and the truthfulness of God's Word too much to remain silent just for the sake of "keeping the peace" and am willing to do this even if it runs the risk of them becoming angry at me for bringing it up. That being said, please know that I would be happy to sit down and discuss my many concerns with anyone and everyone who wants to do that one-on-one over a cup of coffee or a quick bite to eat (or via email), especially if you have some questions and/or still disagree after seeing all the evidence here for yourself. 

Lastly, please know that this is not a "Lutheran" issue, but a "Christian" one. No Christian should be placing their faith in this book or deriving any kind of spiritual benefit from it. My guess is that there are a lot of good-intentioned and well-meaning Christians out there -- like the family members and friends I mentioned earlier -- who are reading this (or who have already read it) who simply have no idea about any of this. In fairness, that kind of lack of discernment is not necessarily your fault as much as it is your Pastor's who should be teaching the flock entrusted to his care how to identify and reject false teachers and their damnable distortion of Christ and His Word in order to protect them. Even so, now that you have been given the truth here today, it's up to you to respond appropriately to it (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 4:2; Proverbs 27:5-6; Proverbs 27:17; Luke 17:3; Ecclesiastes 7:5). 

I know this was a long comment to introduce a blog post, but it's also a very serious subject not to be taken lightly. Bottom line? This is not how God speaks to us today. If you are waiting to "hear from God" outside of His Word and Sacraments, then you are saying that His Word and Sacraments are not enough for you. More importantly, you are opening yourself up to "hear" from deceptive and lying spirits (if not your own sinful flesh and deceiving heart; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38) that are always bent on leading you away from the truth already given to us from the Truth Himself. You want to hear God's voice speaking to you audibly or out loud? Then simply open up your Bible and read the Scriptures out loud. Grace and peace to you and yours!

In a Lutheran layman's terms, Sarah Young is a false prophetess and her book "Jesus Calling" is overflowing with dangerous false doctrine, which no steadfast Lutheran (no Bible-believing Christian of any denomination for that matter!) should be toying with.

His Word and Sacraments are enough.



NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little more than 2 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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