SYNOPSIS: A lawyer tested Jesus about the greatest commandment, unknowingly standing before the only One who perfectly kept the Law. Christ’s humble answer reveals His majesty and calls us to deeper love.
Let’s think about this verse today:
And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” (Matthew 22:34-36).
This lawyer was an expert in religious law. By that time of Jesus’ incarnation, there had been added to the original ten, another 603 laws. The Jews were laboring under a heavy yoke of an expectation to keep 613 laws.
Here is a website with which I’m not familiar, but lists a simple version of all 613 laws with their scripture-
A quirky Victorian fad—women collecting seaweed because botany was considered too risqué—reveals how dramatically cultural norms can swing. Such shifts remind Christians that culture cannot define biblical roles. God’s design for men and women transcends trends, offering a stable standard amid constantly changing social expectations.
I am on a rotation for being a helper in children’s Sunday School once per month. It’s consistently edifying to see how the children respond to the truths presented in the lesson. It’s always gratifying to see that their growth is added to the foundation their parents are laying at home.
The lesson this week was about the people who mocked Jesus at the cross and the ones who did not. As the Bible was read sentence by sentence in the passage, the children were asked ‘Did this person or group honor Jesus, or dishonor Him?’ The children responded by taping a printed picture under a happy face or a sad face on one side of the board or the other.
As we neared the end of the lesson, one tyke noticed something about the way the pictures had been arranged. He said there was nobody in the middle. Which is perceptive.
Those who mocked Him were the Jewish crowds, the chief priests, scribes, & elders, Roman soldiers, and the two thieves crucified alongside him.
Those who honored Him were the centurion, eventually the repentant thief, the women who stood off from the crowd, Joseph of Arimathea.
There is no middle ground when it comes to Jesus. In our daily lives we ‘hedge our bets’ all the time on a score of things. We don’t utter an opinion, we sit on the fence, we take no chances, and stay on the safe side. This might be to keep the extended family peace, to keep the calm at work, and so on.
With Jesus there is only His safe side with Him, or against Him and destruction. You have to pick a side. Or as one little Sunday School student said about the centurion, “He was on God’s team.”
The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters. (Matthew 12:30).
Mark phrases it like this: For the one who is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:40).
Many of today’s people do not like to talk about destruction, wrath, or hell. But it is the default destination of all flesh if they reject Jesus’ offer of salvation.
On Judgment Day, each person will be judged one by one by Jesus. It will not matter if you were hiding in a crowd. It will not matter if you were refraining from speaking of Jesus at Thanksgiving ‘to keep the peace’. It will not matter of you desired a workspace unruffled by religious feathers. Not when it comes to the topic of the Gospel and Jesus. Each and every soul will be examined to see if you were with Him or against Him.
SYNOPSIS: This essay warns against Christian books that prescribe one “correct” lifestyle—whether radical missions, fasting trends, or wellness movements—while neglecting the gospel. Such approaches risk legalism, implying moral superiority through programs rather than justification, grace, and the New Testament’s broader principles of faithful Christian living.
Do you ever feel like such a terrible sinner that the very words of repentance and sorrow pouring from your lips in prayer to heaven is a blot on the name of Jesus?
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13)
I can relate to Isaiah (the lips part, not actually seeing the LORD!)
Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of armies.”” (Isaiah 6:5).
But then in His Day He will purify our lips and when we praise Him we will be clean! Imagine praising Him from pure lips!
“For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, So that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.” (Zephaniah 3:9)
Yesterday on her social media platforms, professing Christian Beth Moore announced that she is winding down her Living Proof Live part of her ongoing ministry and reducing her office staff to minimal personnel.
Beth Moore is a professing Christian who spent many decades as a Southern Baptist, eventually leaving that denomination to become Anglican in March 2021.
She began in her early 20s as a motivational speaker who also led an aerobics class at her church since the early 1980s. Noted for her ability to speak and connect with audiences, she became a Sunday School teacher at Houston’s First Baptist Church in 1984 and continued in that role for over a decade.
How old is Beth Moore?
Beth Green was born in Green Bay Wisconsin in June 1957, so as of this June 2026 Moore will be 69 years old. She was raised in Arkadelphia Arkansas.
When did she found Living Proof Ministries?
Moore founded Living Proof Ministries (LPM) in 1995 as a non-profit Christian corporation.
When did she publish her first Bible study?
Beth Moore’s first published Bible study is A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, released in 1994 through LifeWay Christian Resources. She and Lifeway had a publishing relationship for many subsequent years, formally parting in 2021 when she left the Southern Baptist Convention and her SBC church. Lifeway even paid to charter jets or provide first class airplane accommodations to Moore as she traveled, paying half such costs. A LifeWay representative said that at her height, “no one’s products raise as much revenue as Beth Moore’s”.
At that time, “Although still without any formal theological education, LifeWay Christian Resources’ publishing arm Broadman & Holman (later B&H) began publishing her Bible studies in 1994, leading to a national speaking ministry for Moore.” (source Christianity Today- “Why Women Want Moore“)
Many say they are, and the number of these studies and the popularity of them would confirm this to the undiscerning. For a long while, anyone who said anything negative about Moore would receive heated and immediate pushback. Luke 6:26 however warns against universal popularity,
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Others say her studies are not good, that they are rife with direct revelation, teach the unbiblical stance of learning to hear from God directly, are emotionally driven, and contain a twisted hermeneutic riddled with eisegesis, and many other issues. She preaches another Jesus, many claim.
What was Beth Moore’s Announcement?
As Moore said she is nearing her end phase, her Board of Directors said that “According to the protocol of a nonprofit organization like ours, after I turned 65, my board of directors asked me to propose a transition plan with just some idea of what I foresaw concerning Living Proof.” (source youtube video as above).
This is normal. It is wise to prepare a succession plan, but according to Council for Nonprofits, only 29% actually do. It makes sense as Moore looks at turning 70 in 18 months that she not only slow down but prepare a future vision for what she wants to do with the corporation.
Moore said in her announcement: “The plan includes downsizing Living Proof Ministries in June 2027 to minimal staff and minimal office space so that turning 70 I’ll have less responsibility overseeing a very busy ministry“
Both her daughters and her son-in-law work for LPL, so this is definitely a family discussion.
Why is Beth Moore slowing down? Is she retiring?
In truth, she has already tapered off these last couple of years with reducing the number of heavily scheduled and widely traveled large scale LP Live events. Moore has still been actively speaking but only at small venues such as colleges, churches, ship cruises, and so on. Her IRS Tax return states she puts in 50 hours per week, in the past in addition to that, she spoke at up to 12 LPL events per year (every other week according to The Atlantic article) hosted a weekly TV show, went on book tours, led Sunday School at church or Bible Studies/prayer meetings at LPM offices, and wrote more books. In a lengthy article in the Atlantic Monthly magazine she was called an ‘evangelical superstar’. She was busy.
Moore said in her announcement this serves as a path toward retirement-
“So though it may sound like retirement unless the Lord wills it, it’s meant to actually delay retirement.” (source, video).
So she is slowing down and dispensing with some of the heavier responsibilities so that she can focus on her plans to speak, write, and teach.
How many Living Proof Live events will there be now?
Only 7 more, and two of those are already sold out. It is keenly insightful from an economic standpoint for her to create scarcity. It only makes the object one wants to consume all the more desirable.
What is Beth Moore known for?
It depends on who you ask. Supporters say she is known for passion for Jesus, long-standing expertise in teaching Bible to women, notable skill and verve in speaking, and excellent at her craft of writing.
Detractors say she is a Christian in name only, a false teacher who spreads seeds of false doctrine throughout the faith, a rebel who preaches to men, and a stiff-necked, self-identifying obnoxious woman unable to control her mouth or submit to correction.
–She was sexually abused by her father for a number of years starting at a very early age.
–She dislikes President Trump so intensely his candidacy and eventual winning of the Presidency shook her to the core. She sees the world through a lens of abuse. “Moore believes that an evangelical culture that demeans women, promotes sexism, and disregards accusations of sexual abuse enabled Trump’s rise.” (The Atlantic).
–Beth and Keith have two daughters, one divorced and remarried, the other still married to her original husband, and several grandchildren. Beth and Keith are still married.
–She owns the two homes on her 50-acre compound, (one a 4,537 sf home and the other a 2,126 sf home); and a ranch in Menard TX, all managed by the Keith & Elizabeth Moore Family Trust.
–Beth’s given first name is Wanda and Keith’s given first name is Ivan.
Conclusion
I am glad Moore is stopping her Living Proof Live events. I attended a Live Event and also a simulcast at another time. She is a false teacher and the fewer venues she pumps out her version of a false Christianity and the fewer women she reaches, the better. It is not a sign of God’s approval that He allows a teacher to teach for so long, nor is it validation of doctrinal solidity that she is so popular. God uses false teachers to hone the true believer’s discernment, to test us, and to separate the false from the true body.
I owned my own business at one time, so I definitely understand the need to look ahead and plan for succession. I am also in the same age bracket as Moore, so I also understand the desire to slow down. I pray she stops completely soon, for even though she has plied her ungodly trade for so many decades seemingly unperturbed by Jesus, He may indeed still ‘stop her mouth’ as it says in the KJV,
Titus 1:10-11
For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.
In any case, Beth will have a lot to answer for when she meets the true Jesus whom she does not currently know.
SYNOPSIS: Christians must measure cultural female role models by Scripture. Figures like Oprah Winfrey may show admirable traits, yet their influence often celebrates self-exaltation. Oprah’s spirituality illustrates the danger of becoming your own authority, urging believers toward discernment and identity in Christ.
SYNOPSIS: Examining trends in Christian publishing, the article warns that bestselling breakout books often gain popularity through marketing and consumer demand rather than sound doctrine. Because false teaching can spread through widely read titles, believers should approach popular books cautiously, seek counsel, and practice discernment carefully.
Reviewing The Shack book was the first big discernment essay I wrote. The Shack was hugely popular, you might not know that since it’s been 19 years since it was published. But it swept the churches in tsunami waves. Opposing it and speaking negatively about it was a risk.
One thing that stands out to me after having re-read my review from 18 years ago is that I’m just as opposed to false doctrine as ever. I am also just as sad over how satan persistently deceives many, even the faithful. A sequel to The Shack has been commissioned and is in the works right now. More on that tomorrow, along with insights about Christian publishing.
My work here involves encouragement, theology, and discernment. I have not done any discernment work on the NAR, an acronym which stands for New Apostolic Reformation. I have not felt the pull of the Holy Spirit to do so. I can’t cover everything.
However, the NAR is a deadly false movement, with sub-topics within it containing their own dangers, which demand attention and discernment from us to avoid. To that end, Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley have done a ton of work to alert us ladies to the errors of this movement, and I want to highlight their work on this topic since it is making such inroads to the faith.
Amy Spreeman of Berean Research collected testimonies from people who have left a NAR church. She wrote that the spiritual abuse is real, and it lingers in the heart and mind long after their church departure:
“The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a dominionist movement which asserts that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of Prophet and Apostle. Leading figures in this seemingly loosely organized movement claim that these prophets and apostles alone have the power and authority to execute God’s plans and purposes on earth. They believe they are laying the foundation for a global church, governed by them.“
At Michelle Lesley’s site we have “What is the New Apostolic Reformation?”
The Podcast A Word Fitly Spoken hosted by Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley featured Dawn Hill recently, who spoke about a growing subset of the NAR- ‘Deliverance Ministries’. It is an interesting and informative discussion-
“There’s a growing movement within the charismatic and New Apostolic Reformation camp that we’re hearing more and more about these days: deliverance ministry. If you’ve ever seen a video of someone practicing deliverance, or if you have a friend who’s dabbling in deliverance, you might wonder if it’s biblical, and if it’s OK for Christians to take part in. Our friend, Dawn Hill, joins us to explore what the Bible has to say about deliverance ministry.“
Both women have many more resources at their sites for you to explore on this important topic. I hope this helps you if you decide to research this important topic.
the-end-time.org 