Posted in encouragement, forgiveness, good shepherd, sheep

Our Great Shepherd: His care and love are everlasting

Posted on by elizabethprata

‎By Elizabeth Prata

In biblical times, a shepherd’s main concern was the welfare of the flock. Providing the sheep with food and waters as well as guarding them from predators and thieves were primary responsibilities. Highlighting this relationship, Jesus says in the scripture, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). [from Logos Bible Software]

But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness. (Psalm 78:52).

Since moving to this county twenty years ago, I have never ceased to enjoy the sight of numerous animals dotting the landscape. We are a high-producing agriculture county. Lots of animals around, domestic and otherwise.

There are many pastures. I regularly see cows, horses, donkeys, sheep, chickens, and sometimes emus, buffalo, hawks, foxes, and even coyotes.

Reading about the animals in the Bible is wonderful and interesting. However, being among the animals mentioned in the Bible and observing them is another layer of understanding entirely. WHee I lived for 13 years, for a period of time the neighbor on the other side of the duplex was a shepherdess. I love watching the pastured sheep next door. Their life cycle, cavorting lambs, the nursing, the hay, grass, and stubble that they eat, the wool, their grazing, their recent escapes from the field lol, all interesting.

The Bible refers to the body of Christ as sheep. Am I a sheep? Yes, says Jesus, metaphorically. He is my Shepherd. What a glorious metaphor. I love to think of The Perfect herding me, caring for me, leading me, protecting me. Everything He does is perfect so His care of the sheep will also be perfect, and I can and do rest in that knowledge.

It’s a good metaphor. He could have likened us to badgers, angry and contentious. He could have called us after the evil one who is god of the earth- a lion, a prowling predator seeking after sin and devouring others. He could have called us a spider, an insect nobody likes. I mean, really. A sheep is good.

In my Logos 6 software one can research by topic. I found these biblical facts about sheep:

The sheep is the first animal specified by name in the sacred writings. Abel, himself a shepherd, offered the firstlings of his flock to the Lord (Gen. 4:4). Abraham was very rich in sheep, and Job at one time had 14,000 amongst his herds. In 2 Kings 3:4 we read of a Moabitish shepherd-king who gave a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams; and this country is still inhabited by owners of vast herds of sheep, the Beni Sakkr sheikhs. Solomon celebrated the dedication of the temple by the sacrifice of 120,000 sheep. 

The Sheep is perhaps the most important of all the animals in the Scriptures. It formed the chief portion of the wealth of the patriarchs, and it is not merely as an article of food that its value is to be estimated. The clothing of those days was almost entirely made of wool; cotton, silk and flax being hardly known or quite out of reach until a later period. The number of flocks was the chief measure of property. Tillage was, comparatively speaking, but little resorted to in Palestine, and there was only very local or in most places no possession in land. Hence sheep were of primary value; and from its nature the country was, and is still, better adapted to the rearing and feeding of sheep than other domestic animals.

Source- Hart, H. C. (1888). The Animals Mentioned in the Bible (pp. 193–194). London: The Religious Tract Society.

Interesting! How about the beloved 23rd Psalm-

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Here is Matthew Henry Commentary on the famous first line of the Psalm, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.’

Confidence in God’s grace and care. – “The Lord is my shepherd.” In these words, the believer is taught to express his satisfaction in the care of the great Pastor of the universe, the Redeemer and Preserver of men. With joy he reflects that he has a shepherd, and that shepherd is Jehovah.  

A flock of sheep, gentle and harmless, feeding in verdant pastures, under the care of a skilful, watchful, and tender shepherd, forms an emblem of believers brought back to the Shepherd of their souls. The greatest abundance is but a dry pasture to a wicked man, who relishes in it only what pleases the senses; but to a godly man, who by faith tastes the goodness of God in all his enjoyments, though he has but little of the world, it is a green pasture.  

The Lord gives quiet and contentment in the mind, whatever the lot is. Are we blessed with the green pastures of the ordinances, let us not think it enough to pass through them, but let us abide in them. The consolations of the Holy Spirit are the still waters by which the saints are led; the streams which flow from the Fountain of living waters. Those only are led by the still waters of comfort, who walk in the paths of righteousness.

Do you have confidence in God’s grace and care? Do you have quiet contentment of the mind, knowing the Great Shepherd would not only lay down His life for the sheep, but He has done it? Are you consoled by the knowledge that His protection is mighty and everlasting? That His pastures remain green? That the waters are always living and fresh?

We are blessed with good care. Though we stray, the Good Shepherd brings the lost sheep home. This is the ultimate blessing, forgiveness of our many sins, and promise of eternal joy.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:3)

As Jonathan Edwards said in his “Farewell Sermon“,

Whoever may hereafter stand related to you as your spiritual guide, my desire and prayer is that the great Shepherd of the sheep would have a special respect to you, and be your guide (for there is none teacheth like him), and that he who is the infinite fountain of light, would “open your eyes, and turn you from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God; that you may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified, through faith that is in Christ;” that so in that great day, when I shall meet you again before your Judge and mine, we may meet in joyful and glorious circumstances, never to be separated any more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading

Exposition of The Lord is My Shepherd

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Praise for the Light

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Before I was saved I breathed in the air of common grace, grace that is filled with the creation knowledge of Him. It was poison to my lungs. I flopped around like a caught fish on the deck, breathing grace but longing for the murky waters to envelop me once again, the weeds wrapping around my head, because I loved the darkness. (cf Jonah 2:5b)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (John 3:19).

as it is written:

None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
(Romans 3:10)

And yet He loved me, a sinner, and set me upright, washed me, had given gave me common grace all my unsaved life and now added saving grace to my soul.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.(Romans 8:2).

After salvation I breathe in the sweetness of special grace, the savor of Jesus and His sanctifying work of atonement. The Light came.

Posted in theology

Prata Potpourri: Women, 9Marks, Discernment sans cynicism, Emma Lion, More

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

It’s Friday of Spring Break week off from school, and that means I’m on the downward slide toward resumption of work on Monday. I enjoy the Spring here in GA, before pollen and before humidity that is. Even with those two factors, it’s beautiful here. I love the greens of the fresh grass and buds. I love seeing the birds come back (though the trees are never totally silent as some birds winter-over here in north Georgia).

EPrata photo

I’ve had time to read, hang out at home, do little chores and jobs, and watch TV/listen to music. It makes me eager for eventual retirement, though I know myself and would have to watch out for sloth.

I haven’t published a Prata Potpourri in a while. This is the type of essay where I gather links to present to you. It seems like it would only take a short time to publish an essay like that but it’s one essay that takes me the longest. I need to vet each link and I abandon many as unsuitable before coming to rest on the ones I eventually pick. With more and more ministries falling under reproach, it takes even longer nowadays.

But take heart! As many ministries that go woke, turn progressive, or just become unpalatable, there are many more hidden gems. Jesus never leaves us without a remnant! Here are a few you might enjoy:

Dave Jenkins at Servants of Grace presents a podcast teaching How to Discern False Teachers Without Becoming Cynical,

In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins explains how Christians can practice biblical discernment without becoming cynical, suspicious, or hardened in heart. After being burned by doctrinal drift or unbiblical teaching, many believers swing between gullibility and distrust. Scripture calls us to something steadier, discernment shaped by the Word of God, grounded in love, and practiced with humility and spiritual stability.

Many people have noticed a wobble in the trajectory of the parachurch ministry IX Marks (or 9 Marks). Here in this substack Jon Harris lays out The Problem with IX Marks (And Their Social Justice Compromises). Buckle in, it’s a long one but a good one.

The always honorable and wise Chris Hohnholtz writes defending women who discourse about theological things in public. Despite the biblical examples of many women speaking of theology in public (not preaching, just conversing, evangelizing, or discussing), many men online are less than enthused about this fact. Chris rebuts it:

“One such example, especially within biblically conservative Christian camps, is the twisting of Scripture by some men to silence any woman who dares to engage in public discourse about the things of God.” More here, “Can Women Speak On the Things of God?“

Speaking of women, in his substack, David Ziffer asks the question: What is Radicalizing Our Women? It is good to remember that satan went after Eve first. Ever since then, women have always been vulnerable to satan’s attacks, since he thinks women are susceptible to deception. It worked then, it works now. If you doubt this, look at women’s ministries. They are rife with false teacers and false teaching.

In this essay, Ziffer notes that modern literature, including novels, that are aimed at women is glutted with radical feminism. Worse, female romans genres are basically soft-core pornography, and worst of all, men don’t know this. Ziffer only became aware because he set up his wife’s Kindle and scanned the titles that were “suggested” for her. He did a deeper study and found

Women’s romance fiction is an addictive form of pornography that outsells every other book category. It’s sprinkled with Marxist ideology that preaches…

Check out his essay at the link above.

Here is Tim Challies with a poetic-styled encouragement. Winter’s Cold and Heaven’s Joy

On the cultural side of things, the movie Project Hail Mary is being praised by secular people and Christians like. Fairly clean, great production values, super acting, and a heartwarming, virtuous storyline is the consensus. Read World’s review here. I had read the book last summer and enjoyed it.

As far as books go, I am enjoying The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower. There are 8 volumes of these witty fiction novellas. Each book in this unfolding saga is so well written I felt bereft after I finished #5 and didn’t immediately have #6 to turn to. She creates characters and a setting that are so atmospheric, so alive with well-drawn characters and a sense of place and time, that it virtually felt like I was there. Set in London in 1883, Emma is an unforgettable lady you will definitely want to meet.

So that is the Potpourri for this time, thanks for reading and enjoy your day!

Posted in theology

The Covenant Seasoned with Salt

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In 2 Peter 3:15-16, Peter wrote that there are some things Paul wrote that are hard to understand. The unstable distort those things. Perhaps the Holy Spirit did that on purpose so that it would weed out who truly sought understanding and who likes to find a chink and crowbar it further apart in order to insert their own wrong interpretation (so as to lead followers astray). This is my speculation. After all, He sends false teachers in order to test us (2 John 9-11, Deuteronomy 13:3, etc.).

But the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of God’s word through the minds and personalities of the Bible writers is remarkable for so many reasons, but for my purposes today, for its honesty.

There are hard things to understand in the Bible. The following phrase is one of them: “covenant of salt”. It is mentioned a few times in the Old Testament.

GotQuestions has some ideas, also giving a historical context as to the importance of salt. Phrases we use even today harken back to the days when salt was a precious commodity. For example, GotQuestions wrote-

There is more to salt than meets the taste buds. Salt has been used in many cultures as a valuable commodity. The word salary comes from an ancient word meaning “salt-money,” referring to a Roman soldier’s allowance for the purchase of salt. Someone who earns his pay is still said to be “worth his salt.” 

EPrata photo

Salt was used in that culture as part of a legally binding contract. That notion was carried forward into the Old Testament Law. King Abijah mentioned it in 2 Chronicles 13:5,

Do you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

The Israelites were commanded to use salt as part of the grain offering and reminded not to forget that part of the offering, ever-

Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God will not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (Leviticus 2:13).

Matthew Henry on Leviticus 2:13, “Salt is required in all their offerings, v. 13. The altar was the table of the Lord; and therefore, salt being always set on our tables, God would have it always used at his. It is called the salt of the covenant, because, as men confirmed their covenants with each other by eating and drinking together, at all which collations salt was used, so God, by accepting his people’s gifts and feasting them upon his sacrifices, supping with them and they with him (Rev. 3:20), did confirm his covenant with them.”

Among the ancients salt was a symbol of friendship. The salt for the sacrifice was not brought by the offerers, but was provided at the public charge, as the wood was, Ezra 7:20–22. And there was a chamber in the court of the temple called the chamber of salt, in which they laid it up. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? God would hereby intimate to them that their sacrifices in themselves were unsavoury.

The saints, who are living sacrifices to God, must have salt in themselves, for every sacrifice must be salted with salt (Mk. 9:49, 50), and our speech must be always with grace (Col. 4:6), so must all our religious performances be seasoned with that salt. Christianity is the salt of the earth.

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 153). Hendrickson.

Again the salt covenant is mentioned in Numbers-

Numbers 18:19, “All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a permanent allotment. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you.“

JFB commentary on Numbers 18:19, “it is a covenant of salt—that is, a perpetual ordinance. This figurative form of expression was evidently founded on the conservative property of salt, which keeps meat from corruption; and hence it became an emblem of inviolability and permanence. It is a common phrase among Oriental people, who consider the eating of salt a pledge of fidelity, binding them in a covenant of friendship. Hence the partaking of the altar meats, which were appropriated to the priests on condition of their services and of which salt formed a necessary accompaniment, was naturally called “a covenant of salt” (Lev 2:13).

Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, pp. 108–109). Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Here are a few resources on the fascinating topic of salt in the Bible!

TableTalk: Salt

There is a book of the history of salt by Mark Kurlansky. I thought was pretty interesting: Salt: A World History.

Finally, Mark 9:50 says,

“Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Posted in theology

…As far as East is from the West…

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Resurrection Sunday has just passed. I celebrated the monumental work of our Lord in His redemption of us to the Father. He will present a spotless bride thanks to Him living a sinless life, becoming sin for us, dying on the cross after exhausting God’s wrath for those sins. He paid the penalty we were due.

that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.(Ephesians 5:27).

But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence— (Colossians 1:22).

The resurrection is a gateway to eternal life! And now our sins are as far away as the east is from the west!

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us. (Psalm 103:2).

The Bible is so perfect in every way, so detailed and complex, but so clear a child could understand it, that there is a reason it is written ‘east from the west’ and not as far as the north is from the south. There is a difference between those cardinal directions.

You can travel north to the Pole. But once passing the North Pole you are now traveling south. However, if you travel east, there is never a time when you are now traveling west. It is endless. You always travel east and never get to the west. It is a measureless distance. It is an infinite distance.

Because the earth is a globe, a sphere, the lines of latitude circle endlessly. North and south lead to specific, finite points—the North and South Poles and you can’t go any further in that direction before it stops and becomes another direction.

Source SkyLights.org, https://sky-lights.org/2021/02/22/qa-why-there-are-no-east-or-west-poles

Jesus’s love for us is such that He not only bore the wrath for our sins but He removed them from us to an immeasurable infinity. When we repent, our sins are gone, boundlessly extinct. God’s immeasurable love is never distant from us though. Our sins are thrown to a point as far as the east is from the west, but God is Immanuel: God with us!

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14.

Praise the Lord who was born, lived sinlessly taught, died, and rose again! Our sins are now taken care of, if we repent and believe.

Posted in theology

Book Review: From digital fatigue to analog renewal- Thom Rainer’s “The Revival of the Analog Church”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Introduction

Have you heard of the new trend sweeping through our society from Gen Z-ers to Boomers? It’s analog. Yes, the new fashioned word for an old fashioned life- one filled with tactile hobbies like knitting and crosswords in real books and newspapers. Design trends where prospective house buyers seek a home like grandma had- with real rooms, not open concept, afghans, wallpaper, hardwood floors, sunrooms, even sewing rooms. They call it ‘a grandma house.’

The last 30 years has seen a rise of the digital, and a resulting loss of the tactile. People are tired of the constant notifications, intrusive surveillance, annoying advertisements/pop-ups, and anxiety known as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). When we’re always ‘connected’, we tend to compare our lives to others and covetousness, jealousy, and unease rises. Frankly, we’re tired.

The Book

The church has not escaped the impact of the rise of digital lifestyles. Into this rising trend of concern and yearning for simpler times is Thom Rainer’s forthcoming book, “The Revival of the Analog Church: Why Your Church Should Be Personal and In-Person (Church Answers Resources)”. It is due out in October 2026, and it is being published by Tyndale Momentum.

The Problem

The church never escapes being influenced by the world around us. Even diligent churches that resist worldly trends have to fight hard to push back. Church is composed of people, and people for the last 30 years have grabbed onto all things digital. Many churches have suffered for it.

Rainer wrote, “Have we digitized what was meant to be deeply personal? The digital world gave us tools. Helpful ones. We could reach farther and faster. Sermons went online. Groups went virtual. Resources were available with a click.”

But all these tools come with a cost. We are suffering from ‘digital fatigue’ and this includes churches. It’s no so much the tools that churches use, such as streaming the sermon or digital Bibles, it is the pace at which the digital world has taught us to run. It is the brain, always pumping for more, the new, the next. Digital is a tool, but it has overpowered us and taught us that we need to always be moving. This constant movement includes a hurry-up pace in church. Yet, Rainer writes, church is exactly the place where we need to slow down, pray pensively, linger in relationship, be present emotionally, mentally, physically. He advocates for “the sacred simplicity of a Sabbath-like presence.”

Rainer’s point is synopsized with this- we are digitally numb, and ‘Digital numbness leads to spiritual numbness.’

The chapters, 11 of them, describe the problem and offer solutions. Rainer includes reflection questions at the end of each chapter.

My Review

Rainer begins with a solid explanation of the difference between analog and digital, and how this is impacting the church. He humbly relates that he himself had fallen into the fast-paced digital world, at one point, to the detriment of his family. He loves the digital and assures the reader he is no naysayer, writing, “We have not sinned by embracing digital tools.”

However, Rainer makes the case that we must mindfully slow our pace, be present at church, and restore an unhurried worship.

This book is positioned well to capture this wave of analog yearning to return to an unhurried pace with real relationships. The realization that digital has its limits is fueling the desire to return to unhurried worship and discipleship in its fullest sense. In his book, Rainer describes how.

There is no doubt that digital media has drastically changed how people communicate and how people commune with each other, and the change has impacted not only worship but witnessing and evangelism. This must be a concern for us all.

His point is that “People are weary of a life that feels like it’s always in motion but never truly grounded.” It’s true that the digital world has taught us to live in fragments, when Jesus actually taught to live by thinking deeply, slowly, and intentionally in worship.

Positives:

–The author captures and crystallizes and amorphous unease many people seem to be dealing with regarding the digital lifestyle,

–His end-of-chapter questions are thought provoking,

–Rainer provides solutions, not just identifying the problem,

–He Humbly includes himself in the digital problem.

Negatives:

–I saw a few scriptures, maybe 3 or 4. I’d like to see more scripture use in a book about the importance of relational worship,

–His likening of listening to vinyl records or playing board games to church life as examples of analog were a bit of a stretch. In my opinion, he could have written more deeply about analog church life. I felt the book was more overview than deep theology. Of course, this is fine for someone new to the concept of the problem of digital vs. analog.

–The writing style was very much digital. Too many sentences beginning with ‘And’, staccato short bulleted sentences, and lots of “it’s not this, it’s that.” Rainer mentioned several times how he has absorbed and enjoyed the digital life and pace, and this absorption shows through in his writing, which definitely mimics the digital.

Conclusion

If you are new to the idea that digital fatigue is rising and beginning to permeate our society -and the church- from the oldest adult generation to the youngest, then this would be 4-stars for you. If you are already familiar with the concept and want a more deeply theological examination of the issue, then this book is a 3-star for you, with other suggestions below.

Further Resources:

Out-Of-Doors in the Holy Land by Henry van Dyke. Published 1908 and considered a classic of Holy Land travelogues. Blurb: “Van Dyke’s beautiful descriptions and thoughtful reflections on the landscape, the people, and the spiritual significance of the places he visits make this a must-read for anyone interested in travel, religion, or culture. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important”. The premise is that Christianity was an out of doors religion, where walking, pondering, contemplating and considering were all slow processes.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. (2019). Blurb: “a book that proposes a philosophy for using technology intentionally to support your values, rather than letting it control you, advocating for a focused life by drastically reducing low-value digital activities”.

Twelve Ways Your Phone is Changing You, by Tony Reinke. (2017). Blurb- “Drawing from the insights of numerous thinkers, published studies, and his own research, writer Tony Reinke identifies twelve potent ways our smartphones have changed us—for good and bad. Reinke calls us to cultivate wise thinking and healthy habits in the digital age.”

Competing Spectacles by Tony Reinke. (2019). Blurb- “We live in a world full of shiny distractions, faced with an onslaught of viral media constantly competing for our attention and demanding our affections. These ever-present visual “spectacles” can quickly erode our hearts, making it more difficult than ever to walk through life actively treasuring that which is most important and yet invisible: Jesus Christ.”

God, Technology, and the Christian Life by Tony Reinke (2022). “Highlights: Biblical, Informed Look at Technology; Gathers Ideas from Industry Experts and Theologians by Interacting with Christian and non-Christian sources on technology and theology including John Calvin, Herman Bavinck, Wendell Berry, and Elon Musk, and is Educational: Discusses the history and philosophy behind major technological innovations.”

Amazon Bio: Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers. Prior to Church Answers, he served as president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. He also served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelve years where he was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. He has been a pastor of four churches and interim pastor of ten churches. He has written several books, including “I am a Church Member” and “Simple Church”.

DISCLAIMER- My Advanced Reader Copy was provided via NetGalley. I received a free digital copy of this book from Tyndale, the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Professional Reader

Posted in good friday, theology

The World’s Most 3 Important Days: Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Can you imagine the pit of despair the Disciples felt on Good Friday? To them it was a hellish and confusing Friday. They were confused, they scattered, Peter even denied Jesus.

Jesus’ separation from the Father while on the cross (Matthew 27:46) is the loneliest and most poignant moment any person ever felt in the history of the universe, bar none.

But the disciples’ sudden and unexpected separation on Friday from their spiritual Father they’d been following so hopefully for three years came upon them cruelly and brutally, throwing them all into states of panic, despair, and spiritual depression. Even though Jesus had told them ahead of time, and even though they had studied the scriptures, they didn’t understand. To them, it wasn’t Good Friday. It was just bad Friday and the seeming end of the long trail of hopes and highs they’d been experiencing for three years with Jesus in discipleship to Him. They did not know as we do, Friday’s here, but Sunday’s coming!

We worship Jesus every day. We worship and praise Jesus collectively in services on Sunday. We exalt Him each year on Resurrection Sunday. We know Him as Resurrected King triumphant over sin and death!

His ultimate moment will be His return, when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10, Isaiah 45:23).

“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.” (Zechariah 14:9)

Everyone will know that Jesus is MESSIAH! They will finally know the Resurrected Jesus is the only name. He is all names. He is the beginning and the end!

And it started with the cross on Friday, when it was finished.

Posted in poetry, theology

“Risen and Ascended” Poetry by Kay Cude

Posted on by elizabethprata

Elizabeth Prata

Kay Cude is a Texas Poet

HE IS RISEN AND IS ASCENDED

HE IS RISEN AND IS ASCENDED
ANON COMES THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
And as His ascension, His second coming will be personal, visible, and to the Mount of Olives.
Revelation 19:11-16; Zechariah 14:4

“And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11

THEREFORE, the Redeemed Reconfirm
“Tis all my business here below to cry, ‘Behold the Lamb!’ We are to point sinners to Jesus – all the while looking at Him ourselves, and praying that they also may look to Him, and live.”
~BRINGING SINNERS TO THE SAVIOR, Charles Spurgeon, 1901

“Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die, I rest my eternity.” ~IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION, Charles Spurgeon, 1890

kay cude Easter 2018AD
Image source https://observandoelparaiso.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/la-transfiguracion-carl-heinrich-bloch.jpg

Posted in theology

Passion Week 2026: Good Friday

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Holy Week is that period between Psalm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday. It is a period rightly somber, and many Christians meditate on the meaning of the different things Jesus did in His last week of earthly life.

The Gospels were not written chronologically so it is hard to exactly tell when Jesus did what during that specific week, except for Thursday. Yesterday was the day Jesus washed the disciples’ feet,(John 13:3–17), established the Lord’s Supper, (Luke 22:19–20), and was the evening of His betrayal and arrest. (John 18,John 19,Isaiah 52:13-53:12). Also, today we know Jesus was crucified.

Today is known as “Good Friday”. What is ‘good’ about it? What can possibly be good about an innocent man executed in the most brutal way, making Him a spectacle? What is good about death and the cross? What is good about a perversion of justice, where betrayers are monetarily rewarded and notorious murderers set free?

That is the finite, human view. What is ‘good’ to us is quite different in God’s economy. It was good that the Son willingly left glory to incarnate on earth, live all the phases of a human male until an adult, and teach and preach truths for 3 years. It was good that the Son submitted to the Father’s will for all His life, including death on a cross. It was good he was sinless and sacrificed Himself for those who would believe or we would all be doomed to God’s wrath for our sin in hell for all eternity. Now, anyone who will repent and believe will enjoy the gift of eternal life. All this is good.

He laid down His life for us. He was stripped, nailed, and speared. Why? For us. His love for us. His love for the world. Spurgeon says in his sermon, The Death of Christ for His People,

Come, now, my soul, and worship this man, this God. Come, believer, and behold thy Saviour; come to the innermost circle of all sanctity, the circle that contains the cross of Christ, and here sit down; and, whilst thou dost worship, learn three lessons from the fact that “he laid down his life for us.”

The first lesson should be,—Did he lay down his life for us? Ah! then, my brethren, how great must have been our sins that they could not have been atoned for at any other price!

Secondly, did he lay down his life for us? Ah! then, beloved, how great must have been his love! He would not stop short anywhere, until life itself had been resigned.

Thirdly, did he lay down his life for us? Ah! then, my soul, be of good cheer; how safe art thou! If such an atonement hath been offered, if such a sure satisfaction hath been given to Almighty God, how secure thou art! Who is he that can destroy him who hath been bought with the blood of such a Redeemer?

The cross of Jesus is all in all. Paul preached about the cross 19 times in the Gospels, said Horatius Bonar in his essay The Cross of the Lord Jesus.

Bonar wrote “The crucifixion transformed the evil into good.” Bonar unpacks each of these in his essay, but for brevity’s sake here are the themes:

One. It is the place of propitiation (Lev 16:15; Rom 3:25). The altar was there for the burnt-offering. The place without the gate for the sin-offering was there. He “his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1Pe 2:24). The sin-bearing work was completed there when the cry went up, “It is finished” (Joh 19:30).

Two. It is the meeting-place (Exo 29:42). It is the place where we meet with God, and God meets with us in friendship, and love, and joy.

Three. It is the place of love. God’s love is there, shining in its full brightness, unhindered and undimmed. “God so loved the world” (Joh 3:16) gets its interpretation at the Cross.

Four. It is the place of acceptance. Here we become “accepted in the beloved” (Eph 1:6). Here the exchange takes place between the perfect and the imperfect.

Bonar goes on to explain 20 accomplishments of the cross. He summed up-

The right knowledge of the Cross is everything to a sinner; and error respecting it must be fatal. It is by the knowledge of Himself and of His Cross that the Father’s righteous Servant justifies many; and to be ignorant of the Cross is to be ignorant of that which justifies. To be in error as to that Cross is to be in error as to that in virtue of which God forgiveth sin and receives the sinner into favor.

To add anything to that Cross is to destroy its efficacy as well as to deny its completeness; to take anything from it is to rob it of its saving virtue. It can only save as it stands—the perfection of God’s wisdom and the revelation of His righteous grace.

It is finished.