Posted in theology

About head covering and those who teach it: Madaline Mikayla

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This essay is not about whether you should wear had coverings. It is about discerning those who tell you you should wear head coverings.

The advent of the internet and all its social media platforms and availability of widely distributed material is a blessing, especially for those in closed countries, disabled, or are without other means of reaching Christian content. However it is also a curse, because of course satan uses it to promote his agenda, which is to disseminate false material and raise up false teachers to confuse the sheep.

There are many preachers, evangelists, and teachers out there who occupy and use the biblical title. Some are good, others are false. But beyond those, there are an abundance of what we call Christian Influencers or Christian Content Creators who do not occupy a specific title (and some aren’t even attached to a specific church) but they still influence the sheep within the faith by publishing Christian content.

All are claiming your attention and many claim to be the real deal within Christianity. Not all are the real deal.

Recently I was asked about Madaline Mikayla.

She is a 29 year old online personality, AKA content creator, who publishes at the time of this writing on Youtube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. She focuses on head coverings, for which she uses the term “veiling”. She also covers the topics of modesty and marital abuse of women.

Head Coverings

In her video linked here on Instagram, Madaline Mikayla says that a woman must cover her head. Ms. Mikayla states that it is not a personal conviction. It is not a passed-away cultural norm. It is a command from God.

She explains in her testimony video that in college, her “spiritual leaders” held a night of “prayer and deliverance”. When she got back to her dorm room she “strongly felt God’s presence”, and “out of nowhere I heard God tell me, ‘Cover your head’. (Source)

Unlike Bible believers who hear and obey when God commands them, Ms Mikayla disobeyed. For years. Jonah excepted. Her reason for disobeying was that “If this is something God wanted me to do, why aren’t more Christian celebrities doing it?”

We look to the Bible for confirmation of Gods commands. Second, we do not look around at celebrities to confirm that this is what God wants us to do.

Some years later, she said God spoke to her again. This time she knew it was God because of the first encounter she’d had when “he” had told her to cover her head. But she still refused for 5 more months. “That was how badly I didn’t want to cover my hair.” Mikayla eventually succumbed to the ‘command’ she’d heard.

However, Dr. Owen Strachan, Senior Director of the Dobson Culture Center at the James Dobson Family Institute, and a teaching fellow and director of ministry at Redeemer Bible Church, says that the First Corinthian passage regarding head coverings is one of the most difficult passages to exegete, and causes the most debate in seminaries.

But Madaline Mikayla has it figured out to the point of hardened certainty? Red flag #1: when someone claims to have THE answer on a passage that has caused debate and difficulty for 2000 years for everyone else, be suspicious.

Mikayla further details the amount and the type of covering, even though the Bible does not describe it. Mikayla says handkerchiefs, hats, bandannas and the like are not appropriate because the entire head must be covered, she says.

And even beyond that, all hair must be covered, Mikayla says. Not a bit of it can show. Although a bit of it in front is OK. Again, the Bible does not describe any such thing.

Red flag #2: When a Bible personality claims to have concrete stances about a Christian’s allegedly biblically commanded behavior in details that are not in the Bible, she is a Legalist.

GotQuestions excerpt on the definition of Legalism:

It is a term Christians use to describe a doctrinal position emphasizing a system of rules and regulations for achieving both salvation and spiritual growth. Legalists believe in and demand a strict literal adherence to rules and regulations. Doctrinally, it is a position essentially opposed to grace. … Many legalistic believers today make the error of demanding unqualified adherence to their own biblical interpretations …

Mikayla is making it a rule for women to wear coverings on their heads, prescribing the type and amount, and dictating the length of hair that allegedly satisfies God’s command. Ms Mikayla says her platforms (Youtube, Facebook, etc) are ‘Modesty School, and I am your teacher’. So she is positioning herself as a teacher of the word of God, but has no training. [I did contact Ms Mikayla to ask if she is a member of a local church and she graciously replied that she is a member at a Baptist church.]

Normally an untrained teacher can be acceptable since the Holy Spirit illuminates the scriptures to those whom He will, but some training is always desirable. Importantly, if one is a teacher, be warned. “Do not become teachers in large numbers, my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1).

Red flag #3: Ms. Mikayla misinterprets one of the verses upon which she hinges her stance that total head and hair coverings are a commend for today for all women-

For if a woman does not cover her head, have her also cut her hair off; however, if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, have her cover her head. (1 Corinthians 11:6).

Ms Mikayla says that “1 Corinthians 11 says if a woman refuses to veil, she should cut off all her hair. This is because the length of our hair is supposed to be covered.” (Source)

No…the Bible does not specifically say all strands of a woman’s long hair must be covered. Paul was using sarcasm. At the time, temple prostitutes signaled their profession by going about uncovered with short hair. Paul is saying, if you won’t cover your head, you might as well signal you are a prostitute, so go all the way and why don’t you cut off your hair?

Ellicott’s commentary explains the verse- Let her also be shorn.—The force of this argument depends on the fact that a woman’s head being uncovered would be regarded by others as implying the same shame as was indicated by a woman’s hair being cut short (i.e., shorn), or altogether removed (i.e., shaven). It is as if the Apostle said—If a woman insists on her right to pray and speak in an assembly with uncovered head, let her carry out this principle to its logical result; let her insist on her right to have her hair cut short, so as to show her equality with man—and what would be thought of her then! No woman with a spark of shame in her would think of doing that. ~Ellicott’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:6

Wiersbe on 1 Cor 11:6, The Corinthian women who appeared in the assembly without the head-covering were actually putting themselves on the low level of the temple prostitutes. The prostitutes wore their hair very short, and they did not wear a head-covering in public. Their hairstyle and manner announced to others just what they were and what they were offering. “If you are going to abandon the covering,” wrote Paul, “then why not go all the way and cut your hair?” Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 604). Victor Books.

Here is a resource for you regarding head coverings for women-

What about female head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11? 9Marks (Tom Schreiner)

“[T]he point of the passage isn’t the cultural practice but the principle of male headship in marriage and the church. In most cultures today, a wife’s submission to male leadership isn’t signified by whether she wears a head-covering or how she wears her hair. Yet it doesn’t follow from this that the text doesn’t speak to us or isn’t authoritative today, for we learn from these verses that there must be distinctions between the sexes and that the leadership of the church comes from men.

“We could compare Paul’s instructions about head-coverings to what he says about the holy kiss. Believers are to greet each other with a “holy kiss” (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26). Today, we’re not required to kiss one another when we greet one another. We obey this command when we greet one another warmly whether with a hug or a handshake. In the same way, the Lord doesn’t require us to replicate the culture of the first century by having women wearing head coverings when the church meets together. What is necessary is that women are submissive to male leadership in the church (of the elders).” –end Tom Schreiner

Red flag #4: Charismaticism. Ms Mikalya relies upon mystical encounters as part of her faith. I’ve listened to several of her videos, including her foundational testimony videos, and in most of them she relates some sort of presence, God personally telling her something, dreams and their interpretation, signs, and visions. Here are a few examples-

“They were having a worship night. Out of nowhere, I felt God’s presence for the first time in my life. It was like a supernatural experience. But I felt like the presence of a spirit. And I feel like most people experience like a dark spirit, but this was like God’s spirit, which is so different. And it was so cleansing feeling and like I felt peace for the first time. And so one of my friends in the [rehab] program who I really looked up to, she’d been a Christian. She was a Christian and she’d been in the program for a while. I told her I wanted to give my life to God. And so I think she and like a staff member walked me through a salvation prayer and I have been a Christian ever since then.”

But in that moment, I had this vision of me like on this road with other people and I was like helping people get off drugs. It was like the craziest thing because I that is not something that would ever cross my mind. But I like had this vision of me helping people.

Abuse

Red flag #5: Abuse. If you watch Ms Mikayla’s testimony video she is transparent about her past sins. Good for her. She went through the wringer. She’d endured arrests, violence, sexual abuse, being a runaway, homelessness, drugs, rehab programs, juvie… Her sins ran the gamut. In this season of her life as a Christian teacher of modesty, she also focuses her teaching on abuse in marriage. By her description, she was in an abusive marriage.

Ms Mikayla teaches that “One of the most common misconceptions that Christian women believe today is that they are Biblically required to stay in a marriage where they are being emotionally, verbally, psychologically, physically, sexually, and/or financially abused by their husband. However, Biblically, this is not true.”

I find nowhere in the Bible that ‘verbal abuse’, ‘financial abuse’ or ’emotional abuse’ qualifies as a legitimate reason for divorce. The Bible lists adultery and abandonment as the only allowable reasons, and bear in mind, those are not commands to divorce. Reconciliation is still the best outcome. Sadly, the 1 Corinthians 7:15 reason of abandonment has been broadened to cover a multitude of illegitimate reasons to leave a husband.

GotQuestions says,

Some counselors and clergy, wishing to be gracious, have defined abandonment in overly broad terms. Some say that it can refer to hardships experienced because of addiction, mental illness, prison sentences, or unkindness. That is not the biblical definition of abandonment, however—unless such hardships rise to the level of abuse, but that is a different topic.

Conclusion

The issue about head coverings as presented to us in 1 Corinthians 11 is a thorny and complicated one. As Dr. Strachan mentioned, it causes an exegetical problem and sparks much debate. Wherever you come down on the issue of head coverings for women, is up to you. If you believe it is a mandate, then do as your interpretation of the pertinent verses guide you, knowing that it is important not to go beyond scripture. If you believe it is a personal conscience issue, then go with God and your conscience.

The point of this essay is to warn about people who claim to have certainty in this cloudy issue. I warn about those who add extrabiblical revelation and charismaticism to their teaching, who claim to be a teacher but whose teaching indicates a naive understanding of a complex issue, as well as an interpretive error leading to Legalism.

Ms Mikayla may be well intentioned and earnest in her conviction to wear a covering on her head and her hair, and more power to her. But her conclusions AND the road on which she arrived at those conclusions is riddled with potholes of error. I’ll include some credible resources for women who seek information on head coverings.

This next is an aside, my opinion. There seem to be trends among the niche factions. Many in the Hebrew Roots movement insist on using the name ‘Yeshua’ in and writings. In the Head Covering/Modesty movement, many like Ms Mikayla, insist on calling it ‘veiling’. I find these kind of terms precious and fake. Yes, the word in Greek for covering is defined as covering OR veiling, but the centuries long commonly understood word has always been covering.

Additionally, Muslims veil. Their standards of covering the hair and head are as strict as Ms Mikayla insists upon. We do not want to align with or seem to be syncretic with such an evil false religion as Islam. In fact, many Muslim women follow Ms Mikayla and applaud her teachings. We share nothing in common with Muslims.

Further Resources

Discovering Head Coverings: podcast from A Word Fitly Spoken by Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley

Further Resources

Head Coverings for Women– Bible Q&A, John MacArthur

Discovering Head Coverings: podcast from A Word Fitly Spoken by Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley

A prelude to head coverings: podcast WWUTT by pastor Gabe Hughes

Q&A Head Coverings, Culture or Corporate, podcast WWUTT pastor Gabe Hughes

Posted in theology

You never know…

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Excerpts from Chapel Library’s Free Grace Broadcaster Issue #251. “Time Is Exceedingly Precious”. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.—Ephesians 5:16

We ought to esteem time very precious because we are uncertain of its continuance. We know that it is very short, but we know not how short. We know not how little of it remains—whether a year, or several years, or only a month, a week, or a day. We are every day uncertain whether that day will not be the last, or whether we are to have the whole day. There is nothing that experience doth more verify than this…How much more would many men prize their time if they knew that they had but a few months or a few days more to live! And certainly, a wise man will prize his time the more, since he knows not but that it will be so with himself.

Tragedy!

https://www.facebook.com/polkcountysheriff/videos/1670433018546401

I follow Polk County, FL Sheriff Grady Judd. I like his approach to Law Enforcement. He’s wise, funny, and transparent. He does a morning briefing highlighting a coffee shop of the day and then goes on to show one funny or silly case, which always end with a serious warning. ‘Florida Man’ is real.

He also puts up one cartoonized scene with a different law enforcement moment that had ended in an arrest, also funny. In the program ‘Stop Arm Saturday’ he seriously discusses how important it is to stop for school buses. And in a new outreach, Polk County has ice cream trucks that distribute ice cream for free to rotating selected communities as a LE Community Outreach.

On the serious side of things, there was apparently a horrific school bus crash the other day. I watched Seriff Judd’s Press Conference regarding this mournful scene. Multiple vehicles were involved, and multiple injuries occurred. Tragically, two deaths also occurred. One of the deaths was a student. A High School girl.

As a career educator, school bus accidents always capture my attention. Those precious little souls aboard the bus being carried to and from school need the highest protection and the most careful care. The highest protection. As Sheriff Judd said, once the child enters the bus “they are ours” and it’s imperative to return them to their family at the end of the day unharmed.

https://www.fox13news.com/news/bus-driver-hailed-hero-after-fatal-polk-county-bus-crash-killed-2-including-high-school-student

In the Florida incident’s press conference, the Sheriff showed the school bus video, explaining what had happened just prior to and during the crash. The road is a busy one he said. Morning commute loads the road with so much traffic it’s nearly impossible to drive over the speed limit. All 3 vehicles involved were traveling at an appropriate speed under the limit. An oncoming Malibu car weaved over the double yellow line just a bit, and hit the school bus at the rear tire, effectively in an unintentional PIT maneuver. The car ripped off the bus tire, making the bus unstable, which immediately swerved into an oncoming Jeep, then rolled over onto the embankment.

The driver of the Jeep was killed instantly. The Malibu driver sustained injuries. A student on the bus was killed. A total of 35 people were transported. Though some sustained serious injuries, all are expected to recover.

The Malibu was driven by a nursing student, who at this time is not being charged with anything. She volunteered for a blood draw and cooperated fully with vehicular homicide investigators and was not found to have been on her cell phone nor impaired in any way.

The Sheriff emphasized that accidents can happen “in the blink an eye”. It was instant. No one saw it coming. No one expected it. It could not be avoided. Likely the young man driving his Jeep to work was listening to music, or just planning his day. In one second, he is in his Jeep, the next second, he is in his eternity.

One second the High Schooler is joshing with friends on the bus, maybe thinking about her first day of cheer practice, the next second she is in her eternity.

We know our days are numbered, but it’s so hard to fathom the suddenness of death and the immediacy of landing in eternity. Situations like the Polk County Bus crash brings these things to mind. The Superintendent was choked up, saying it was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his career when he met with the parents. One second here. The next second…gone.

for He says, “At a favorable time I listened to you, And on a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation“. (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS ON THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, …But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:7-8, 13).

Have you settled your eternity? Do you know where you will spend it? Our sins make gaining heaven impossible. We may not enter that holy abode. But the Lord Jesus made a way. He descended to earth, lived a perfectly sinless life, and offered Himself to be slain as the sacrificial lamb. God poured out His wrath for sin upon Jesus while on the cross, who then died. He rose again after three days and ascended to heaven. If you believe in Jesus is Savior and His work on the cross and repent of your sins then the wrath due you is already poured out onto Jesus instead. He substituted for you in exhausting God’s wrath for your sin in your place.

Do not delay settling your account with God. Today is the day.

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Posted in theology

Be angry!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Ephesians 4:26 says, BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

The ALL-CAPS mean that an Old Testament passage is being quoted,

Psalm 4:4
Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah

It is one of the most ripped from the Bible verses we or even Gentiles are familiar with. But what’s the context? What does it mean “be angry”?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary has a word to start-

Should circumstances arise to call for anger on your part, let it be as Christ’s “anger” (Mr 3:5), without sin. Our natural feelings are not wrong when directed to their legitimate object, and when not exceeding due bounds.

Jesus became angry. He was angry with the Pharisees. He was angry with the merchants at the Temple ((John 2:13–16). He was even briefly angry with the disciples who forbade the children to come see Him (Mark 10:13–16). His anger was against sin, His anger wasn’t IN sin.

If we are angry, is it without sin, and against the right things? Against hypocrisy, sin, Legalism (Mark 3:1–6)?

Anger is a natural feeling. Be angry, it’s OK, as long as it’s not because of sin or wounded pride.

Secondly, as JFB Commentary stated, ‘not exceeding due bounds’. Remember when the Disciples were at a Samaritan village that didn’t welcome Jesus? James and John asked Jesus if they should call own brimstone upon them. (Luke 9:54–55). We don’t need an ax to kill a mosquito. Anger should be within bounds. JFB Commentary again-

Thus indignation at dishonor done to God, and wrong to man, is justifiable anger. 

Far from the media and other secular outlets portraying Christians as ‘Ohm,’ meditative, placid, never angry people, we aren’t.

Gill’s Exposition says anger is justified…

…when his anger arises from a true zeal for God and religion; when it is kindled not against persons, but sins; when a man is displeased with his own sins, and with the sins of others: with vice and immorality of every kind; with idolatry and idolatrous worship, and with all false doctrine; and also when it is carried on to answer good ends, as the good of those with whom we are angry, the glory of God, and the promoting of the interest of Christ:

But why shouldn’t we let the sun go down on our anger, as the second part of the verse says? Here, RC Sproul explains,

Anger is the emotion most prone to sinful abuse, and this is why Paul also tells us to put anger away in this same passage (v. 31). This is not a contradiction of verse 26, Paul is only recognizing that our anger, even if it is godly at first, is too often perverted into feelings of malice instead of a longing to see offenders repent. When this happens, we are in danger of giving root to the bitterness that destroys (Heb. 12:15).

That was an important point. ‘Anger is the emotion most prone to sinful abuse’. Not coveting, lust, depression, rejection, or other emotions. Anger. Al Baker at Banner of Truth wrote,

“Proverbs 25:26 says, ‘Like a city that is broken into and without walls, is a man who has no control over his spirit.’ Anger, left unchecked, can be a deadly emotion, causing people to say or do things they later regret, causing those in the destructive path to live with intimidation, resentment, and fear. Are you an angry person? How does your anger reveal itself?“

“When your child breaks loose from your grasp, runs into traffic, and narrowly escapes being hit by a moving car, you are justified in your anger. God has set the world in such a way that bad things happen to children who are hit by moving automobiles. But when you are angry because your one year old has kept you up for several hours in the middle of the night for five nights in a row, then that’s unrighteous anger. You see, unrighteous anger comes because we say, ‘I have my agenda, my goals, my plan, my vision, my space and you are resisting or thwarting me. I am right in what I want, and you are wrong.’ Actually, unrighteous anger reveals our failure to trust God’s plan.”

The idea is to take stock of your anger. And remember, not all anger is violent, raging, throwing things. A person can seethe quietly. Assess why you are angry. Is it because your plans were foiled? Your comfort disturbed? Your name or reputation sullied? God’s name profaned? Hypocrisy uncovered?

Mark Dunn at Founders Ministries wrote: The apostle’s intention is to warn us against nursing anger. If we become aware of some sinful or selfish element in our anger, then it is time for us to cease from it.

I was angry when it came to light that former Dean of Ministry at a seminary and vaunted conference circuit speaker Steve Lawson had been an adulterous hypocrite for 5 years while striding around stages preaching holiness. I was angry again when he wrote a book for money touting his lessons learned, while still unreconciled to his wife and publishing against godly advice from godly men.

I believe my anger was justified because Jesus’ name was besmirched. But I had to work through my anger ‘before the sun set’, or only allow it space for a short time, and then seek the Lord to resolve it for me. I did not want the tendency for the anger to harden and thus skew my vision of the church and the head of the Church.

Even justified anger can turn into sin of allowed to fester.

So those are a few tips on anger. I encourage you to follow up with the links I’ve included, they are good ones from solid ministries on the topic. Think on the noble things, forgive others early and lavishly, and enjoy your days under the sun.

Further Resources

Sermon, Sinclair Ferguson. A Radical Transformation: Living As a New Person in Christ

RC Sproul- Be Angry, Do Not Sin

Mark Dunn, Founders Ministries: We Encourage Each Other

Al Baker, Banner of Truth- Anger

Posted in theology

Discerning Leslie Vernick

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Occasionally I’m asked if so and so is a false teacher or a credible one. I like these kind of questions because it assures me there are women out there who care about their soul and what they absorb into it.

The advent of the internet and all its social media platforms and availability of widely distributed material is a blessing, especially for those in closed countries, disabled, or are without other means of reaching Christian content. However it is also a curse, because of course satan uses it to promote his agenda, which is to disseminate false material and raise up false teachers to confuse the sheep.

There are many preachers, evangelists, and teachers out there who occupy and use the biblical title. Some are good, others are false. But beyond those, there are an abundance of what we call Christian Influencers or Christian Content Creators who do not occupy a specific title (and some aren’t even attached to a specific church) but they still influence the sheep within the faith by publishing Christian content. Singers/bands, counselors, bloggers (like myself), para-church ministries (like Ligonier and IF:Gathering), podcasters, writers…the list goes on.

All are claiming your attention and many claim to be the real deal within Christianity. Not all are the real deal.

To that end, we hone our discernment before allowing such a one inside our home, access to our children, or inside our mind.

Now while I always hope that people can do their own research into discerning the answers, I’m always happy to help those who are unsure. This reply is as much a ‘how-to’ find out information in order to form a basis for discerning, as it is a single answer.

Recently I was asked about Leslie Vernick and Madaline Mikayla. Today I’ll answer about Vernick. In a day or two I’ll answer about Madaline Mikayla.

Here is what I found in researching Leslie Vernick. You may find different results in your own research or come to different conclusions.

Leslie Vernick

About Leslie - Leslie Vernick

I always start with a biography of the person. What does she say about herself?

BIO: From her About page at Amazon: “For more than 35 years, Leslie has worked as a biblical counselor and licensed clinical social worker. She is a licensed clinical social worker (Academy of Certified Social Workers- ACSW), and Licensed Clinical Social Worker- (LCSW) who has her own private counseling practice and more than twenty years of experience counseling Christians from a biblical worldview” as the About states.

She received her Master’s degree from the University of Illinois and is an adjunct professor at Philadelphia Biblical University (which was renamed Cairn University in 2012). Leslie has authored several books. She said in a recent video that she has been married to the same man for 50 years this year, and has 2 grown children.

Then I looked up ACSW and LCSW, and learned what those initials stand for. Answer is in the above paragraph. It’s the licensing for social workers.

Leslie is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). This is not to be confused with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Vernick conducted her postgraduate training in biblical counseling and cognitive therapy.

Cons

The difference is that the Association Leslie belongs to uses secular psychology and professional clinical methods overlaid onto the Christian faith, whereas the ACBC rejects secular psychology and relies strictly and exclusively on the Bible for counseling. Many have warned about using secular psychology in biblical counseling. Or is is Christian counseling? Confusing. Here is an excerpt explaining, from Got Questions:

On a related note, what is usually called “Christian counseling” is different from “biblical counseling” in that Christian counseling often uses secular psychology in addition to the Bible. This is not to say that a Christian counselor is not also a biblical counselor, but often Christian counselors are Christians who integrate secular psychology into their counseling. Biblical or nouthetic counselors reject secular psychology wholesale.

Leslie does contribute to the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC) which is broader philosophically, looser denominationally, and contains a greater openness to clinical research than is ACBC.

Though Vernick identifies herself as a Biblical Counselor, I asked Google how much of her therapy uses clinical psychology. This reply is from AI, which I am using because I am not familiar enough with the terms and strategies in professional Clinical Therapy sessions. The answer was yes, Vernick heavily uses psychology.

Heavily Rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Vernick’s core approach to personal transformation is clinical cognitive therapy.

  • Identifying Cognitive Distortions: Her “Roadmap Strategies” focus on identifying the “lies” or faulty core beliefs that individuals maintain.
  • Reframing Action: Her CORE framework teaches clients to actively challenge irrational or destructive self-talk, which is the textbook application of Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Aaron Beck’s CBT.

Is secular psychology helpful or unhelpful to use when counseling Christians? John MacArthur gives a logical answer.

After scanning some of Leslie’s content on her page, on her Youtube, and downloading her ‘Quick Start’ bundle, I saw that Leslie Vernick is a counselor who focuses on women in difficult marriages. Every professional has a niche or specializes on a topic. Difficult marriages is Vernick’s chosen niche.

I notice that Vernick’s motto on the About page states-

“We believe God wants you to live with safety, security, and emotional strength – whether your spouse changes or not.

Does this square with the Bible’s admonitions for life on this present earth? No. Nowhere in the Bible does God promise safety or security before He comes again. It’s the opposite. In addition, Jesus emphasizes through His word spiritual strength- which then gives rise to emotional strength. Example, Mary’s spiritual strength was well in place before her emotional trial. This allowed her to emotionally endure the taunts of her community believing she was a wanton fornicator.

There are many difficult marriages in the Bible, or marriages presenting with significant emotional obstacles. Adam and Eve, Sarai and Abram, Abigail and Nabal, Leah and Jacob, Esther and King Ahasuerus, Hosea and Gomer, Joseph and Mary…

As for ‘safety’, Paul lived one of the unsafest lives ever as a Christian. What God wants is for us to grow in His likeness, obey Him, and pursue sanctification by mortifying our sin.

I also notice Leslie focuses on ‘emotional abuse’. Emotional abuse is real, but difficult to define. In my opinion it is such a nebulous term that practically anything can be called emotional abuse and then the phrase is then used to justify things that the Bible doesn’t allow.

Leslie apparently offers helpful tips and strategies to help women in difficult marriages. I can sympathize. I was an observer of my parents’ difficult marriage and was in my own difficult marriage (neither were Christian marriages). I think being in a difficult marriage is one of the hardest paths a woman can walk.

Leslie said in an interview, that God values the safety and sanity of the people in a marriage more than sanctity of the marriage. I’m not so sure about this. Nebuchadnezzar was married, yet God made him go insane for 7 years. Didn’t God care about the King’s wife? God put Esther in a position to be killed by her husband when she approached Xerxes. Didn’t God care about her safety?

Leslie also said in that same interview that the verse in Malachi 2:16 stating “God hates divorce” “is mistranslated in the KJV. Whether you want to get involved in this interpretive dispute, and it IS a dispute, further in Malachi it says that whoever divorces splatters his garments with filth. Jesus reiterated God’s standard of marriage as a one-flesh, permanent union in Matthew 19. I can’t see in the Bible where it says the wife may divorce a husband because the husband is emotionally stunting the wife.

Pros

On the plus side, Vernick has been featured many times on interviews and podcasts at Focus on the Family.

Her adjunct work seems to be in a solidly biblical higher educational setting.

Also, Cairn University is stated to have a firm commitment to Biblical fidelity. All students at Cairn U must take a Bible minor. The University adheres to a conservative, Protestant outlook and has a strong focus on biblical integration into life.

Conclusion

Whether you agree or disagree with the extent, if at all, that clinical psychology should be used in counseling will determine your conclusion as to whether to absorb Vernick’s material. I am suspicious of secular psychology and if it was me, I’d choose an ACBC therapist or her materials instead. Others may differ in this opinion. Of those Christian or Biblical counselors who integrate psychological frameworks into their professional settings, Vernick may be the best of those hybrid counselors- IF you want to open the door to a fortress of philosophy that needs to be torn down.

Personally, I’d advise looking for an ACBC counselor instead. Recommended counselors’ materials are the passed-away David Powlison, Martha Peace, and Greg Gifford. If you wish to find an ACBC counselor in your area to meet with, here is the ACBC find page:

https://biblicalcounseling.com/find-a-counselor/

Posted in encouragement, marriage, unmarried, singleness, virgin

Singleness: blessing or curse?

Posted on by elizabethprata

In part one (two years ago) I introduced the basic facts. In part 2 & 3 I looked at specific verses and passages that address marriage, singleness, celibacy, and eunuchs (old and modern-day). I’m reposting only this part four from 2024.

Joyful in singleness part 1
Joyful in singleness part 2
Joyful in Singleness part 3

Are you one of a partly hidden minority in the body of Christ who has felt led by the Lord to remain single and celibate for all your days? I’m not talking about unbiblical vows of celibacy like the false Roman Catholic Church forces on its priests and nuns. I’m wondering if you are one of the blessed recipients of what apostle Paul called a gift of singleness.

Though marriage is the norm for most people, and it is indeed an institution created by God, and it is a picture of our coming union with Christ, marriage is not given to everyone. Never mind that the average person on earth is single for a good portion of their lives. Americans now spend more years of their adult lives unmarried than married.

Singles are reflected in the average church congregation. Some churches such as mine hold to a biblical view of singleness and lovingly embrace all from any demographic, while in others, ministry and interpersonal attitudes have not kept up. Some permanently single people feel marginalized or overlooked.

In this part I’ll look at the impact that single people have made for the kingdom. I’m not focusing on the status of temporarily single people who will marry at some point. I am looking at those people who are beneficiaries of the God-given gift of singleness, a status designed purposely by God for His glory through His use of these individuals. (1 Corinthians 7:6-7).

I admire married people with children who labor in the church. I can’t imagine their exhaustion, the time it takes to raise children, and still have time to study that Sunday School lesson he will be teaching, or her volunteer work in the nursery, or their ministry to the community hungry…and remain diligent in personal Bible study and family devotions. Phew! There seems not to be enough hours in the day. Jesus designed it so that a majority of people will at some point in their lives marry and most of these will likely have children. Their focus is naturally on their family lives. And naturally, their interests are divided. (1 Corinthians 7:33, 35).

We know of famous married couples in the Bible, Adam and Eve, Ruth and Boaz, Jezebel and Ahab, Abram and Sarai, Jacob and Rachel/Jacob and Leah, David and Michal/David and Bathsheba, Solomon and all his wives, Mary and Joseph, Zacharias and Elisabeth, Priscilla and Aquila, Ananias and Sapphira…In each case God ordained for the person a spouse and in each case their marriage as recorded in scripture became something the Lord used for His glory and our instruction.

However, remember, marriage is not an institution that will last forever. In his exposition of 1 Corinthians 7:25-40, S. Lewis Johnson said,

The central thought of the apostle is that celibacy is desirable; it’s not demanded. Why? … Well, from reading the passage here and from knowing the things that our Lord had said with which the apostle was familiar, evidently for him he thinks of marriage as a temporary covenant for the propagation of the human race. But the relation to the Lord is an eternal relation — relationship.

And so in the light of that, what he seems to be suggesting to us is that we, as believers, should remember that we are heading to an eternal destiny in the presence of the Lord. … He wants to focus our attention upon the fact that we are on our way to eternity. And this is temporary. And we are to spend ourselves during this temporary period of time in seeking the Lord and ministering as believers for him in the society of which we are apart. I gather that that’s what — that’s why Paul says the things that he says when he says, “Marriage is good. It’s alright to marry, but it’s better to give yourself holy to the Lord.” And now he is going to talk about why it is so.

The unmarried man or women does not have divided interests and can focus solely on pleasing the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:32, 34b). Let’s look at some people in the Bible who were specifically and notably single, devoting all time and energy to ministering to Him. First will be people from the Old and New Testaments we know were single, and then a list of others we can say might have been or were probably single.

Jeremiah, by Michaelangelo

Jeremiah

A prophet of the Lord and author of the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations, Jeremiah never married or had children.

The word of the Lord came to me: 2“You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. (Jeremiah 16:1-2)

The LORD said He was planning to still the voice of the bride and bridegroom, and plagues and hardship were going to come upon the land. Gill’s Commentary explains Jeremiah’s single status,

Thou shall not take thee a wife,…. Not because it was unlawful; for it was lawful for prophets to marry, and they did; but because it was not advisable, on account of the calamities and distresses which were coming upon the nation; which would be more bearable by him alone, than if he had a wife, which would increase his care, concern, and sorrow.

Apostle Paul alludes to the times also as a reason not to marry. (1 Corinthians 7:26). Sometimes God ordains singleness not to test a person in endurance or deny a person a pleasure, but to spare a person grief in coming calamity.

Anna

St. Anna the Prophetess by Rembrandt Van Rijn

Here is a woman who lived in apostate times, the worst of times. Her generation had drifted fully from the Old Testament law and lived under the oppressive and false rule of Pharisaical law, as we know from the many admonitions and warnings Jesus gave to the Pharisees, and Paul’s initial terrorism against the early Christians. God had been silent 400 years, since the close of the Old Testament canon in Malachi in approximately 430BC. The last chapter of Malachi is short, but contains a warning about the Day of the LORD, a warning to follow the Law given to Moses, and this, the last words Israel heard said to them by God–

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

Malachi’s warning was not without cause. The Jewish people were mistreating their wives, marrying pagans and not tithing, and the priests were neglecting the temple and not teaching the people the ways of God. In short, the Jews were not honoring God. (Source)

Things only worsened as 400 years ground on. Yet there were a few that remained pure in heart and pleasing to the LORD. In approximately 27-29BC, Jesus was born and was presented at the Temple according to the Law. Anna was there.

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38).

A widow can know what it is to face a long, lonely and cheerless life, and a solitude made more acute because of the remembrance of happier days. But it was not so with Anna. When as a young, motherless wife, God withdrew from her the earthly love she rejoiced in, she did not bury her hope in a grave. In the place of what God took, He gave her more of Himself, and she became devoted to Him who had promised to be as a Husband to the widow, and through her long widowhood was unwearying in devotion to Him. She “trusted in God,” and her hoary head was a crown of glory (Proverbs 16:31). Repose of soul was hers for eighty-five years because the one thing she desired was to have God’s house as her dwelling place all the days of her life. Source.

Paul

Paul writing his epistles. Valentin de Boulogne

In 1 Corinthians 7:6 Paul declared he himself had the gift of celibacy, so we know that he was not at that time married. Had he ever been married? We don’t know for sure. At some point, if Paul had been married, his wife either had died or was not in the picture. Paul’s tremendous conversion showed that the redemption available in only Jesus Christ is not beyond even the “chief of sinners”, a murderer and terrorist of His people. (1 Timothy 1:15).

In his life lived and in the strength of Christ, Paul founded churches all over the region in his three missionary journeys, pastored them, discipled young men for the future labor in Christ, contended for the faith alongside many men and women, ‘redeemed’ a slave and reconciled him with his master, and wrote Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.

From conceited, legalistic terrorist, Paul became a humble, powerful witness for the glory of Christ.

Mary/Martha/Lazarus 

This sibling trio were single. They were used mightily of Jesus. In His Incarnation He lodged with them, all three of whom He loved. (John 11:5). He used Lazarus to show the glory of God, Martha illustrated her “love and piety alike found adequate and satisfying expression at all times in the ordinary kindly offices of hospitality and domestic service” according to Lockyer, and Mary loved to sit at her Lord’s feet and absorb heavenly truths.

Philip’s four unmarried daughters

These women (Acts 21:8-9) prophesied.

Philip’s household included four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. That Luke describes them as virgins suggests that they may have been set aside by God for special ministry (cf. 1 Cor 7:34).

(Source: MacArthur Commentary on Acts).

Apocalypse of Lorvao.

The 144,000

 Revelation 7:1-8 and Revelation 14:1-5 records that the Lord reserves 144,000 virgins and will supernaturally seal them from harm during the judgments of the Tribulation, in order to use them for His glory. They will evangelize the world during the Tribulation. Multitudes and myriad come to faith in Jesus Christ during this time, thanks to the supernatural energizing of these unmarried singles.

We, in the Christian church, perhaps in our day are not giving proper credit to those who, by the grace of God, have given themselves to a celibate or single life. The unmarried woman, for example, and the unmarried man who have given themselves to service for the Lord and have eschewed marriage; we should give them credit for what they have done. ~S. Lewis Johnson, Marriage Counsel III

Lydia

This woman ran a profitable business and had a home large enough to accommodate the entire missionary team. (Acts 16:14, 15, Acts 16:40). No husband is mentioned in association with ‘Lydia’s business’ and ‘Lydia’s household’ so it was likely she was single via widowhood. She provided a safe haven for Paul and his mission team time and again, in loving hospitality so they could rest and recover. Her home is where Paul and Silas went after being released from prison, and it was there the brethren received solace and encouragement. Baumgarten says,

“This assembly of believers in the house of Lydia was the first church that had been founded in Europe”.

Of Marriage and singleness in general, S. Lewis Johnson remarked,

I never quite understand why married people who have the comforts of home often speak in a disparaging and unkind way of unmarried people. It should be that if marriage is so delightful, that married people would speak in a very tenderness and — tender and sympathetic way of people who have not married. But instead of that, they speak sometimes in such a contentious way. I never like to hear people say, “Oh she’s just an old maid’ or “he is just an old bachelor.” Wait a minute! He whom you so designate may be glorifying the Lord in a way he could not have done if he were the head of a household and she of whom you speak, may be one who is rendering wonderful service to God and humanity. I repeat, some of most devoted Christians I have ever know have been unmarried men and women who gave themselves holy to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All honor to them. I agree with that. ~S. Lewis Johnson, Marriage Counsel III

Rachel Saint
Wikipedia

In modern times we can point to many people who chose to remain unmarried for the sake of the kingdom, like Pastor John Stott, for example, who was single all 90 years of his life and served the Lord actively as pastor for 65 of them. Some chose to stay unmarried after the death of a spouse, Rachel Saint, for example. MacArthur says of Mrs Saint,

“Rachel Saint served as a single missionary among the Auca Indians of Ecuador for many years without companionship. She poured out her life and her love to the Indians and found great blessing and fulfillment”. (source)

S. Lewis Johnson said of single missionaries,

Many of the missionaries who have gone out from the shores of the United States have been women missionaries who’ve gone out, spent their lives in heathen lands and the jungles, and in the countries where things are not nearly so nice as the United States of America, and have been responsible for many, many people having an opportunity to hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve known of some who have gone to Mexico, translated the language of tribes themselves and then written the Bible for them, so to speak, translated it, and made it possible for people to have the Bible in their own language. What a marvelous ministry. And when you remember that we are here just a short time and eternity is fairly long, you can see what a marvelous choice has been made by some people to not be entangled in marriage.

Whether God has destined a mate for you, or has consecrated you to Himself as an unmarried/single earlier than eternity, His glory always shines through His people when we submit all to Him. Whether married or unmarried, single temporarily or permanently, we are His children, loved perfectly and endowed with His Spirit to do His work. We have all been gifted, and when we look upon each other, we should not see married or single, at odds in misunderstanding or apprehension, but equally gifted individuals co-laboring for Christ’s name and His glory.

 




Posted in end time, euclid, hypercube, prophecy

Non-Euclidean geometry in the Bible?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Crucifixion, by Salvador Dali

Humans live in a three-dimensional world. The three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and height. A cube is a typical three dimensional object:

If you unfold a cube you get this:

In Euclid’s famous “Elements” treatise two thousand years ago, Euclid, the father of Geometry, said that “a point has no dimension at all. A line has only one dimension: length. A plane has two dimensions: length and breadth. A solid has three dimensions: length, breadth, and height. And there it stops. Nothing has four dimensions.”

Euclid’s axioms spawned Euclidean Geometry, and for two thousand years that was it, there was only Euclidean Geometry (and three dimensions). Then “In 1854, George Bernhard Riemann broke the cult position that the Euclidean geometry had for two thousand years with the introduction of the theory of higher dimensions. In the paper  “On the hypotheses which lie at the foundation of geometry“, Riemann exposed the novel properties of higher dimensional space and demonstrated that Euclid’s geometry is based only in the perception.”

In other words, it seems there ARE more than three dimensions!

If it was only in 1854 that mathematicians began experimenting with geometric representations in space and in math of objects in the fourth dimension… If Euclid said that there’s ‘length, breadth, and height and there it stops’, how then could the Bible speak of four dimensions two thousand years ago as here in Ephesians?

“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge …” (Ephesians 3:17-19a)

Do you want depth of vision? A four dimensional world has length, breadth, height, and depth!

Stay with me here: “Three-dimensional objects are bounded by two-dimensional surfaces: a cube is bounded by 6 squares. A four-dimensional cube, known as a tesseract, is bounded by 8 cubes.” A tesseract is a hypercube, a square figure with four dimensions to it, like a cube has three, and a square has two. Since we are three-dimensional humans, we can’t really accurately depict a four-dimensional object, but the closest we can come is this: a sort of cube within a cube with other cubes adjacent along each plane-

The 4D cube (tesseract) can be unfolded into eight cubes, just as the cube can be unfolded into six squares. There are three cubes meeting at every vertex … You see it gets complicated fast. If you unfold a 4D (tesseract, also known as a hypercube) it will look like this:

And once more for effect, an unfolded 3D cube and an unfolded 4D hypercube next to each other:

Albert Gleizes said, “Beyond the three dimensions of Euclid we have added another, the fourth dimension, which is to say, the figuration of space, the measure of the infinite,” The fourth dimension is the measure of the infinite. As soon as we go from the 3D solid to the 4D we go from known and understandable solid to the infinite. In the Ephesians passage, the breadth and length and height and depth of His love, is so far from our limited understanding,”it surpasses knowledge”.

Salvador Dali captured the infinite love of God in his work, “Crucifixion.” In that famous work, Dali showed Christ on an unfolded hypercube, ascending. If unfolded again, the shadow of the 3D hypercube hovering over the tiles below becomes a 2D representation of the tiles on the ground. Dali knew the mathematical principles behind his work and was purposeful in showing Christ as Master over four dimensions, and three, and two. Just as Ephesians says. The ‘son of God’ Himself is, by the way, a 3D representation of the 4D God.

The point in all this is not only that the Bible once again wrote about maths and science that humans didn’t “know” until centuries later (a spherical earth, gravity, four dimensions) but of the infinite depths of His love, love that exists in dimensions “which surpasses knowledge.” 

And he loves you. He knows you: your name, the number of hairs on your head. He knew you before you were born. He wants to be with you, He delights in you. Aren’t you grateful He sent you grace through faith to repent? You can praise His gift of love and can be with Him in His word, commune with Him in prayer. His love may surpass our knowledge but it certainly doesn’t surpass our ability to receive it.

Further Resources

Flatland, by Edwin Abbott Abbott

Posted in theology

What a ‘bam!’ verse this is

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Isaiah contains some of the loftiest, majestic, and beautiful poetry in the Bible. It also contains some of the most startling truths, which are made all the more startling by their being wrapped in such vividly lyrical, beautiful language. I was struck the other morning by this verse in Isaiah 50:11,

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with flaming arrows, Walk in the light of your fire And among the flaming arrows you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.

The reader is involved with the imagery, the poetry of the words and then BLAM! the blunt ending.

Wow. Isn’t the Bible amazing! Truth, unspoiled because it is from the mind of God. Pure and perfect, set down for us puny humans to gain insight as to who this Great God is.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says of that verse-

“Behold, all ye that kindle a fire – This verse refers to the wicked. In the previous verse, the Messiah had called upon all the pious to put their trust in God, and it is there implied that they would do so. But it would not be so with the wicked. In times of darkness and calamity, instead of trusting in God they would confide in their own resources, and endeavor to kindle a light for themselves in which they might walk. But the result would be, that they would find no comfort, and would ultimately under his hand lie down in sorrow. The figure is continued from the previous verse.”

“The pious who are in darkness wait patiently for the light which Yahweh shall kindle for them But not so with the wicked. They attempt to kindle a light for themselves, and to walk in that. The phrase, ‘that kindle a fire,’ refers to all the plans which people form with reference to their own salvation; all which they rely upon to guide them through the darkness of this world. It may include, therefore, all the schemes of human philosophy, of false religion, of paganism, of infidelity, deism, and self-righteousness; all dependence on our good works, our charities ties, and our prayers.”

“All these are false lights which people enkindle, in order to guide themselves when they resolve to cast off God, to renounce his revelation, and to resist his spirit. It may have had a primary reference to the Jews, who so often rejected the divine guidance, and who relied so much on themselves; but it also includes all the plans which people devise to conduct themselves to heaven. The confidence of the pious Isaiah 50:10 is in the light of God; that of the wicked is in the light of people.” –end Barnes’ Notes

I turned to the commentary to confirm what I had interpreted. It was the same. It is a grief that there are so many people walking about trying to save themselves. Praying and worshiping a fictitious god. As Barnes said, ‘The phrase, ‘that kindle a fire,’ refers to all the plans which people form with reference to their own salvation’. How many false religions are there? Too many to count over the millennia. How subtly the devil creates an ‘almost right religion’ (Catholicism, 7th Day Adventists, Mormons…) who claim Jesus. But almost right is wrong. Self-salvation doesn’t exist.

How many people are already in torment because of their refusal to give up their sins… O, heartbreak!

BUT GOD! He did not leave us in our pitiful, hopeless state!

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (Ephesians 2:4-8).

For us sinners, mercy is the greatest thing He is rich in! The gospel is law and it is grace. It is hell and it is heaven. It is wrath and it is love. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached through Ephesians. His sermon outline for Ephesians 1:1 is as follows,

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The epistle to the Ephesians reveals the glory, mystery and riches of God’s redemption through Christ.
  2. The epistle provides a panoramic view of salvation from the heavenly realm.
  3. The epistle exalts God, His glory, greatness, majesty and sovereignty.
  4. God is eternal, self-sufficient and dwells in His own glory.
  5. God’s sovereignty is displayed through His will and control over all things.
  6. God’s ways are a mystery which we cannot fully comprehend with our finite minds.
  7. The epistle reveals the riches and abundance of God’s grace.
  8. The epistle holds us face to face with God and what He has done.
  9. The epistle’s theme is God the Father who is over all.
  10. The epistle also focuses on the Lord Jesus Christ through whom God’s purposes are accomplished.
  11. There is no gospel or salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
  12. We have redemption and forgiveness through Christ’s blood.
  13. God’s purpose is to gather all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth.
  14. God’s plan of redemption was necessary due to the fall of man and the work of Satan.
  15. God began working out His plan of redemption through calling the nation of Israel.
  16. God’s purpose is now seen through the church where Jews and Gentiles are united in Christ.
  17. The church provides an example of God’s purpose to unite all things in Christ.
  18. The epistle calls us to live out the Christian life in light of God’s purpose.

It’s great to ponder these things in love for our Savior.

Posted in theology

What a wonder the Bible is

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14).

John MacArthur note from MacArthur Daily Bible for September 29:

“sealed…with the Holy Spirit. God’s own Spirit comes to indwell the believer and secures and preserves his eternal salvation. The sealing of which Paul speaks refers to an official mark of identification placed on a letter, contract, or other document. That document was thereby officially under the authority of the person whose stamp was on the seal. Four primary truths are signified by the seal:

1) security (Da 6:17; Mt 27:62-66);
2) authenticity (1Ki 21:6-16);
3) ownership (Jer 32:10); and
4) authority (Est 8:8-12).

The Holy Spirit is given by God as His pledge of the believer’s future inheritance in glory (2Co 1:21).” —end MacArthur comment

Someone once asked his friend, “WHat’s your favorite book of the Bible?” And the friend answered, “The one I’m reading now.”

LOL. It’s that way with me too. I started Ephesians this morning and I am reminded all over again what a beautiful book that is. I pondered the seal for a while. What a gift Jesus gave us in the Spirit, and then knowledge of the Spirit’s work in us as sealed forever through another great gift, His word.

What a joy to know our salvation is secure. What relief to know this word is authentic. Ownership is a hot button word these days, but the fact is, we are either owned by satan or owned by God. The Potter created us and the Potter owns the clay. Authority- how wonderful to know through and through that Jesus will never abuse His authority. How great to understand to whom we must submit. Governors change. Presidents change. Bosses change. Jesus never changes. He is THE authority!

So often we pray for the ‘big things’ and that is right and good. We pray for salvations, for healings, for big provision. We pray in thanks for these if they are granted. But also pray praises for the ‘little things’ which really are big. Like praising Him for the Bible. For preserving it and getting it translated in our language. For the seal of the Spirit and knowing we are secure. Can we find authenticity and security in this world? No. Nothing is secure! Authenticity is in short supply. I don’t know about you but I’ve been lied to, even by those closest to me. Jesus’ word is ALL truth! Guaranteed.

My favorite book is the one I’m reading now- Ephesians!

Posted in theology

Should I read Steve Lawson’s book?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve been watching the discussion around the new book for sale apparently written by fallen Reformed Teacher Steven J. Lawson. I said ‘apparently’ because due to its seeming AI content, many wondered if it was written by Lawson or if it was a totally generated piece put out by a counterfeit. Phil Johnson and Justin Peters did confirm it’s by Lawson. It apparently contains a lot of AI however.

Why is there a discussion on whether to read his book? Well, in September 2024, Lawson, formerly professor of preaching and dean of D.Min. studies at The Master’s Seminary (TMS), highly sought after conference speaker, and guest preacher at many well-known churches, was discovered to have been engaging in a 5-year-long sexual affair with a younger woman. Lawson is married. Worse, when the affair was discovered, Lawson delayed speaking about it and apparently was forced to come clean. Most people understood he would not have done so if the other party and her family had not outed the affair first.

Lawson separated from his wife and to this day are living in separate states. It took 6 months for Lawson to publish an apology or repentance open letter on Twitter, now X.

Strangely, a mere year after his fall, in September 2025, a post appeared promoting Lawson as speaker at Brown Baptist Church’s ‘Contending Conference’. Then it disappeared. Justin Peters has the screen shots, reproduced below.

The same thing happened less than a year after that, in July 2026, Lawson was promoted again as a speaker by Brown Baptist for their Contending Conference. The posting included details on which day Lawson was scheduled to speak, a bio, and the title and synopsis of his upcoming session. There was an outcry. The post disappeared. Lawson’s entry was deleted from the conference promotion. Lawson did not appear at the conference.

Now in September 2026, a posting appeared announcing a new book. It is called “Mercy in the Wilderness: Why I fell and What I Learned” by Steve Lawson. It is self-published. Initially the publisher was listed as ‘But God Press’. However, the publisher link went to a Japanese page. Soon the publisher on the Amazon listing was changed to “Steven Lawson”.

Is it any of our business?

This event has caused no little discussion. Many of the questions and points being raised are good ones. I have been thinking about them and sorting through my conclusions about how to react to a re-emergence of a fallen pastor.

Of late and disappointingly, several pastors have fallen who I previously enjoyed. Art Azurdia, RW Glenn, Ligonier’s Samuel Renihan, and Steve Lawson are ones in my section of the faith who have shown themselves to be adulterers. It’s crushing.

Seeing this happen over and over raises many emotions that bystanders impacted by their fall need to sort through. I posted one lady’s feeling on that below. Hopefully the sorting through is done graciously and according to standards set by the Bible.

And rather than naysayers chirping “It’s none of your business,” I recall a years ago investing hard earned money in Todd Friel’s Drive By Discernment series. There were 72 lectures and most of them with Friel paired with RW Glenn. After Glenn’s fall, the series was revamped with solely Friel and Steve Lawson. Oops. And again it was revamped.

Mainly, such events concern us because the name of Christ is reproached. Psalm 23:3 says

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name.

Righteousness and His NAME’s sake go hand in hand. In Ezekiel 36:22, God rebukes the house of Israel because they have profaned His name-

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “It is not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

Even if you don’t care about the Lawson issue, his affair, or his book, do care about the name of Christ and how you conduct yourself from day to day so you will not be rebuked for profaning it.

Why do leaders fall?

This is the first question such a situation raises. We invest in our local pastors, teachers, and leaders near and far with our reputation, money, time, and goodwill. When they sin, it’s as if they betrayed us as well. But as David said, “Against You and You alone I have sinned”. All sin is ultimately against our Holy God.

But the damage left behind is enormous. For example, not only was I personally affected by the RW Glenn situation as I remarked above, but I attended and promoted the G3 Conference. I went to two of them and publicly promoted the whole scenario with that organization. It turned out to be a rat’s nest of secret sin.

Scandal: The Fall of G3 Ministries

Even more personally, years ago I was in a church where I discovered the pastor was plagiarizing every sermon he spoke, word for word. He even adopted and preached the family anecdotes and illustrations as if he had lived them. Worse, he was taking sermons from Charles Stanley, Rick Warren, and Joel Osteen! I was so heartbroken and physically ill it took me 5 days to recover. I gathered the evidence, brought it to one trusted leader (that’s another damage, who can I trust with this? Will the elders do right by the evidence? They didn’t at first with Glenn). Eventually after proper biblical standards were met, the plagiarizing pastor was ‘encouraged to resign’.

So whether it’s our own local pastor or a leader in whom we’ve invested in some way, we care about their fall, their soul, and their life after- for the sake of Jesus NAME. We’re all one Body. (Not to say we get involved with another church’s business in discipline, but only that we care and we must sort through our own feelings and stances in the aftermath).

“Trust, but verify” to quote President Reagan. In the Christian world, this is where discernment comes in. Trust in grace, but verify by the Word.

The “WHY?!” of it is a hard one to answer. It’s also easy. Why do pastors fall? We are human and we sin. Humans are sinners, and I am a sinner too. Why some pastors fall and others don’t is the everlasting question I leave to Jesus.

What happens after the fall?

We all sin and we all need to repent and receive grace. We are fortunate to believe in the One True God who is love, who dispenses grace to those who humbly come to Him. If a layperson sins, repent. You and I will be forgiven. For leaders though, there are more dire consequences.

Do not become teachers in large numbers, my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a stricter judgment. (James 3:1).

While we all must behave well, remembering we were bought with a price, (1 Corinthians 6:20), pastors and teachers have a heavy burden on them particularly. They speak and teach in Jesus’ name. They are front line. Nothing must be done doctrinally or behaviorally to besmirch His name or ruin His reputation among the flock.

But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)

But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11).

Since God is God and is the most supremely intelligent Being in the universe, and since He is our creator, He knows us. He knows we will sin and He knows leaders will fall. His word contains many directions for what do to after.

1.First, Matthew 18 gives advice on how to handle a sinning congregant. If the person does not repent, there is a process that ultimately leads to excommunication. If they do repent, we forgive him. However, there is an additional layer of protection and procedure to follow when an accusation is made against a pastor/elder. Erik Raymond at For the Church explains in this essay on the basis of Matthew 18:15-18 and 1 Timothy 5:21-

Is There a Different Process of Church Discipline for Elders?

Keep in mind that there may indeed be 5 Situations in Which Matthew 18 Does not Apply

2.Second, the issue of restoration. It’s this issue that’s sparked the most discussion in recent years. Some say that we forgive the person and eventually after a period of reflection and humble living, they can resume their pastoral or teaching position. That they can be restored to their office. David who committed adultery is often cited in support of this stance.

Differences with David:

-David’s kingship was civil position, not a religious one.
-David instantly confessed. He confessed without qualification or prevarication. There was no delay.
-David wrote Psalm 51. Notably, he did not package it as a stand-alone essay and sell it.
-He endured dire consequences afterward but did not blame God, nor did he shift the topic to himself and exclude God. He kept the focus on God’s righteousness and his own sin.

Others say they can never be restored to office but can be restored to God’s good graces. Forgiveness is the restoration. The support for this viewpoint is 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6-7.

EPrata photo

I’d like to add Proverbs 6:32-33 NASB to the mix, which says-

One who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;
He who would destroy himself commits it.
He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.

This means when a pastor/elder commits adultery, he can be forgiven, but he is permanently under reproach because his shame for this sexual sin remains forever. It is never removed. Pastors who have fallen due to this sin can never be a pastor, elder, deacon, or teacher again. They are not above reproach anymore, as 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6–7 says they must be.

Shame. Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

Personally my stance is that the fallen pastor or teacher can never be restored to that office or position. He squandered it. The shame of his reproach remains. YES, definitely forgive him if he is repentant. YES definitely ‘forget’ his sin and treat him as the beloved brother he is. But no, he cannot re-attain that official position of leader.

People say. ‘But, but, DAVID! He was forgiven and remained king!’ King was a civil position, not a religious one. Also, be aware that David was disqualified from building the temple, something he dearly wished to do. He also lost his children, and endured many other dire consequences due to his sin.

Moses disobeyed God and also was disqualified from entering the Promised Land. Eli and his sons were actually killed for their sins and squandered their opportunity to honor Jesus while occupying their priestly positions.

Trust lost by a leader or pastor is trust gone for good. Disobedience has consequences. Personal relationships can recover, beautifully and according to the grace of the Gospel but not the office.

I am often puzzled by people who reject this reality. Never mind the Bible verses that state so, but there is illogic of re-installing someone who has disqualified themself from the job. In the secular world, would a company hire an embezzler to be their treasurer? A pedophile to run a daycare? A gigolo to manage a singles ladies night? A drug addicted doctor? There are ethical standards for secular jobs and consequences for falling under those standards. A spokesman for God has an even higher calling and a more weighty position. Thus the consequences are deeper and more lasting.

I agree with MacArthur’s advice in his essay Should Fallen Pastors Be Restored? Restored to the pew- yes. Restored to the office- no.

Should I buy/read Lawson’s book?

Some say that Lawson’s book should be read, because even if he has selfish or greedy motives, if Christ is proclaimed it’s worthwhile. They cite Philippians 1:15-18, where Paul rejoiced that even though a group may have had selfish motives, Christ was proclaimed. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary says of the Philippians verse,

“‘The proclamation of Christ,’ however done, roused attention, and so was sure to be of service. Paul could thus rejoice at the good result of their bad intentions (Ps 76:10; Isa 10:5, 7).

Yet others cite Acts 16:16-18, where a demon possessed slave girl was following Paul & Co. saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation” and Paul was mightily grieved by her proclamation, even when he hadn’t been grieved by the selfish crowd with ill-intent in the Philippians verse. Barnes’ Notes explains why-

(2) Because it might be said that he was in alliance with her, and that his pretensions were just like hers;
(3) Because what she did was for the sake of gain, and was a base imposition;
(4) Because her state was one of bondage and delusion, and it was proper to free her from this demoniacal possession.

So in that vein, if Lawson is not saved and is in bondage, buying his book is an affirmation on which he would rest, which won’t lead him away from the dark and into the Light. And while we’re on the topic, let’s talk about filthy lucre and the sake of gain by peddling the name of Jesus.

Others who say they will not read Lawson’s book mention Simon Magus, who tried to BUY the Holy Spirit, as Barnes had said, “a base proposition”. In today’s language, GROSS. This sentiment on X hit the target for many who read it-

Nonna on X wrote, @Nonna6Hearts

I’m a legit nobody over here, but I feel a sharp sting of betrayal by Steve Lawson for 1. Selling me many books and studies for years during his affair. 2. Wanting me now pay to read of his repentance. I wish he would have shown his face, his heart and done an interview for free.

Lawson has already gained lots of money from his hypocritical books and teaching positions, speaking honoraria while having his affair. Justin Peters shows a clip in his Youtube conversation where Lawson is explaining to a young seminarian how not to become an adulterer, WHILE Lawson was engaged in his 5-year adulterous affair! Hypocrisy to the highest order.

Challies has some good words here on the very topic of whether to read a book by a fallen leader-

“First, I don’t think all of us will respond to this question in the same way, and I don’t think we need to. It is not a matter of clear right and wrong as much as a matter of wisdom and conscience.”

Should You Read Books by Fallen Pastors?

Is Steve Lawson saved?

Much of how we deal with sinners in the faith depends on if they are saved or not saved. Some say we shouldn’t even broach the topic at all, ever. ‘We don’t know their heart’ they say. That is true, usually. In some cases the Bible tells us that their behavior reveals their heart. 2 Peter 2:2-3 says this regarding false teachers,

Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

“Heart motives are reflected in actions.” DB Harrison

Or they say ‘Leave the judgment to Jesus, don’t judge’. However there are many verses which instruct us to do exactly that- judge. Meaning- discern, assess, evaluate. How will we know the false teachers by their fruit if we do not examine their fruit? How will we know who to mark and avoid if we never assess who to mark?

A significant indicator is Lawson’s behavior of being able to resist the Holy Spirit’s conviction in him, if he indeed has the Spirit. And resisting the Spirit’s pointing to righteousness and to Jesus. Remaining un-reconciled to his wife and living in different states is another indicator the situation is not moving toward a resolution in a godly way.

That’s why we wait a while before deciding whether the fallen leader ‘s walk is worthy or false. Fruit takes time to grow, both before AND after a fall. After the fall the fig tree is withered. Will figs grow back? Or will the tree remain fruitless?

Challies has some ideas as to why some fallen leaders push for restoration to their platformed position. The religion career is all they know.

Why Fallen Pastors So Rarely Walk Away

“Have you ever wondered why pastors who have been disqualified from ministry so rarely concede to the reality of their disqualification and just move on? Have you ever wondered why they so often disappear for a year or so and then turn up at another church or in a different denomination? I have wondered often and have formed a theory about the matter.”

Justin Peters hosted a good conversation on Youtube with Steve LeBlanc and Jim Osman. All three men pastor their own churches. I recommend it. Didaché – Steve Lawson’s New Book: Should It Have Been Written?

In addition, Peters reviewed Lawson’s book (he read all the sample pages but did not buy or read the entire book):

Justin Peters’ review of Lawson’s book on Amazon excerpt.
1 out of 5 stars

Justin Peters: “This book should have never been written – don’t buy it. …Peters said, “If you have a true godly sorrow over sin (2 Cor. 7:9-11), the last thing you would ever want to do is make money off it.”

Peters explains his reasoning in the review linked above.

My Conclusion (yours may differ)

My decision is I am not going to read anything by Steve Lawson. In fact, the one book of his that I owned I threw out. It’s my own conscience, my own need to read wholesome material unpolluted by obvious sin’s taint. For the sake of my discernment and my walk with Jesus I strive to absorb sermons, speeches, books, essays, and podcasts that are MORE wholesome rather than LESS wholesome.

If you stayed with me this whole, long essay, thank you. What are your thoughts?

Posted in theology

Why does the air smell so fresh after a thunderstorm?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I love a nice rain, don’t you? We haven’t had rain here for a long time. We are in a drought of varying levels up and down the state. Ours is ‘Extreme drought”. I miss a nice, gentle rainy day, with rumbles of thunder far off and some lightning.

The air smells (people tell me) so fresh and vibrant after a rainy thunderstorm. I never thought about why. Then this week Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis wrote the following. There is a scientific reason. The air actually DOES smell different after a storm!

By Ken Ham @aigkenham

Trees glow during thunderstorms. A recent study of tree leaves has revealed what scientists have long suspected but have never been able to observe: The tips of tree leaves shimmer as a thunderstorm passes overhead. This “glow” is called the corona and is caused by a weak electrical discharge. It’s invisible to the naked eye, but technology has allowed researchers to observe and document the phenomena. And this glow is actually really important. As the corona is discharged, it releases hydroxyl radicals, which clean the air, removing pollutants. It’s such a powerful cleaning force that it’s known as “nature’s detergent.”

This whole process is just another example of how our Creator God has lovingly provided for the needs of His creation. God’s creation is truly amazing, and every discovery of the things He’s made brings glory to Him. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, as well as its fullness; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before Yahweh, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness” (Psalm 96:11–13).

From the magazine Science Daily: Scientists just captured trees glowing with electricity during storms

Scientists chasing thunderstorms in a retrofitted minivan finally captured something never seen before in nature: faint electrical glows shimmering from treetops during a storm. These “corona discharges,” long suspected but never observed outside a lab, appeared as tiny UV flashes at the tips of leaves. The discovery could reshape how we understand forests, since these bursts may help clean the air by breaking down pollutants.

Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (Genesis 1:9-13)

God did all that in one day! He is an amazing, powerful creative, holy God! He made this for US, so we could live on a beautiful planet. So many places are still so stunningly beautiful even with the Fall of man polluting and corrupting it. Imagine what heaven will be like! God’s dwelling place with no sin to stain it. Imagine what He has in store for us in eternity to do for Him! It will not be boring, that is for sure. It will be beautiful, good, and true.