elizabethprata

How Christ’s Character Reflects in Us

Posted on April 25, 2025April 28, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

And Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.” (1 Samuel 16:17-18).

King Saul is distressed. He gets these spells of despondency and near madness due to an evil spirit plaguing him. Music quells these incidences, and in v. 16, Saul is calling for help. Saul’s servant replies that ‘he has seen’ a young man of good character. We’ll come back to ‘he has seen.’

You notice that the servant didn’t just leave it at ‘plays well’. Anyone can hire a good musician. But when you’re feeling down, who do you want nearby to comfort you, even if it is through music with not much personal interaction? You want a good man. So the servant also included David’s character qualities in this verbal resume. He said that it is seen that David is known to be valorous, strong (man of war), and discerning. That’s the Hebrew word for ‘prudent in speech’. What is meant here is “intelligent, discreet, discerning, have understanding”. When you’re King and enter into a spell of weakness, you don’t want a blabbermouth running your private business all over town. You want someone compassionate.

Finally, the servant ends with a kicker: the Lord is with David.

In the New Testament times one would likely say “He is in the Lord”, or “The Spirit is in him.”

The saints of God are recognized by their fruit. One example is Samuel, “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man.” (1 Sam 2:26; cf Luke 2:40).

Luke 6:44 reminds us that a good tree will bear good fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us that the fruit is:

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Matthew 5:14 says we are to be light in the world. Light is not hidden but bright and high so all can see. We believers are to have evidence in our lives that we are one of the Lord’s. That evidence needs to be seen in our words and deeds. (James 2:14). We need to have observable evidence because sanctification means we are daily being conformed to the image of Christ. We must reflect His character in more observable ways as we grow though our life.

I am not talking about personal reputation. I am not speaking of a motivation where we cultivate the approval of man. I am not speaking of that at all.

As James M. Hamilton explained in his book Work and Our Labor for the Lord,

We live obediently and humbly “as a good testimony for unbelievers (1 Corinthians 9:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 5:14; 6:1; Titus 2:5,9). At many points in his letters Paul instructs Christians to live in a way that reflects concern for how non-Christians perceive Christianity and its adherents. That is to say, Christians are to work in ways that commend the faith to outsiders. Believers are to be winsome and attractive, not repulsive and obnoxious. This concern for how unbelievers perceive the faith is inextricably connected to a desire for others to know, enjoy, and glorify God in Christ. This aspect of doing good work links up with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Christians contribute to the task of making disciples of all nations by doing good work that gives the faith a good reputation.”

It’s the reputation of Christ that is at play here, not ours. If we are observably joyful, kind, faithful, self-controlled, good, patient, peaceful, loving, full of light, it will be obvious that it is Christ’s character in us, by the Spirit.

David’s character was observable and noted. Remember, whether you realize it or not, even if you work from home or work in a cubicle, people are watching you (us). They note your (our) character. The more we walk with Christ, the more our character will be His character.

What are people observing about you? Is Christ in you and evident? When someone wants to choose a person for a project or a team or a club, would they say you (me) are brave, prudent, skillful, with good presence, and the Lord with us? Like David? I hope and pray that people see the Lord in me, and not me in me, or at least less and less of me. Christ’s character is beautiful.

theology

The Divine Gift of Sleep

Posted on April 24, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I watch Nathan Fillion in his TV show “The Rookie”. It’s about LA’s oldest police rookie on the force, loosely based on a true story of an older man who really had switched careers mid-life and decided to become a beat cop.

In a recent episode, Fillion, playing police officer John Nolan, woke up, stretched, grimaced, and said, “Getting older means waking up every morning wondering, “Why does that hurt?”

He nailed it.

As I age, sleep becomes important proportionately to the amount it becomes elusive. I’ve always been a good sleeper, no issues with insomnia. Even now as I’m older I still sleep well, but now only for 5 1/2 to 6 hours straight. Then I wake up. It’s usually around 3am, and it takes me a while to return to slumberland. Which is irritating because on weekdays I get up at 4:30am.

Everything in our lives, saved or unsaved, is from the Lord. He either allows it or causes it. As a Christian, sleep is a graceful gift from the Lord. He gives us sleep, peace, and rest.

Now, being the Bible, those three words have various meanings. Sleep in the Bible is used sometimes as a euphemism for death, because death for us is not final, our ‘death’ is only sleep until we are resurrected. Sleep can also mean a spiritual torpor. (Romans 11:8). Sleep also means actual 40 winks sleep.

Peace can mean a restful interlude that includes sleep or not, but it also means peace as in cessation from war and enmity against God due to our sin. Rest can mean actual rest as in the 7th day God rested and we do too, or it can also mean a rest from the struggle against sin.

But for now, let’s look at actual 40 winks sleep and rest. There is natural sleep, bad sleep, and good sleep.

Sleep is a natural human function and a good gift from God. He knows our body is temporary, gets tired, and needs sleep to continue to function. So sleep itself is a gift and is neutral. The human side of Jesus got tired, and He slept.

Psalm 4:8, In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, LORD, have me dwell in safety.

Psalm 127:2, In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

Bad sleep:

Then there is a sleep our mind uses to indulge the body or escape the conscience. Jonah the runaway prophet disobeyed God and ran in the other direction he was told to go. He scurried to Joppa and boarded a boat. He went “down below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep.” (Jonah 1:5b).

Now this is funny to me because I am a small craft mariner. I’d lived on a 37′ sailboat for two years. In Jonah’s storm, the sailors were hurling cargo overboard – so picture the bumps and scrapes of amphorae and trunks being dragged across the deck- the waves were crashing against the boat, the wind was screaming, the sailors were yelling, the sails noisily hoisted and reefed…a lot of noisy activity all around Jonah. Yet he not only slept, but the Bible said he slept soundly. The Hebrews word lists synonyms for soundly as a heavy sleep or a dead sleep.

As a mariner, I wonder HOW he could sleep deeply when all this activity and noise was going on?! We do know his journey to Joppa was full of emotion and stress. Stress and exhaustion can make one tired. Barnes’ Notes mentions this true fact, “Perhaps he had given himself up to sleep, to dull his conscience.” Sleep IS an escape.

In Jonah’s case, the LORD had not given Jonah the sweetness of refreshing sleep, instead He had given the ship a great wind and storm. (Jonah 1:4).

Also, as Ellicott’s Commentary says, “when a resolution is once irrevocably (as we think) taken, conscience ceases to disturb with its wakeful warning, and the restlessness of remorse has not yet arrived.“

So while a deep sleep is a gift from the LORD, our flesh can also give us a deep sleep, but the two are not the same. One is a heavenly gift and the other is a fleshly indulgence. Deep sleep can arise from sloth, avoidance, laziness (Proverbs 19:15), or just lain weakness of the flesh, as we see in this next example.

The Disciples slept in Gethsemane the night of our Lord’s arrest. The Lord Jesus asked Peter, John, and James to stay awake with Him. He said he was greatly distressed, grieved to the point of death and to stay and keep watch with Him. Yet their eyes were heavy and they fell asleep. Jesus returned from his little distance away three times and each time found them slumbering.

And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”. (Matthew 26:40-41).

The disciples’ flesh won in this battle.

And then Jesus was arrested and there were no more chances to be with Him! How guilty would you feel if a dear loved one asked you to stay awake and pray with him or her but you fell asleep and then they were taken away, or died?

Jesus told them that they were willing but their flesh was weak. And so it is. We forget just how child-like we are. We forget just how weak we are. We forget just how bound by our flesh we are.

Weird sleep

Several times in the Bible we see that God gave a deep sleep to someone for spiritual purposes. In Genesis 2:21 God gave Adam a deep sleep while he took a rib from the man. In Genesis 15:12 God again caused a deep sleep to come on Abram, when God was making the covenant with him. In 1 Samuel 26:12 the Lord caused a deep sleep to come over King Saul and his men while David crept in and took his water jug and spear.

He often came to the Prophets when they slept to deliver a vision.

Jeremiah 31:25-26, for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.” / At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

I am glad for Jeremiah for his good sleep. For once the Lord had not given him dire visions or terror warnings in his dreams, but instead Jeremiah had received a vision that was actually pleasant. Phew.

Good Sleep

Psalm 3:5
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.

Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

Jesus slept on the boat in the storm. The disciples were heaving water overboard as fast as it came in. The wind screamed. The sails flapped wildly. The men were yelling. So finally they woke Jesus up. What a similar but different scene with Jonah on his boat. This was an example of both Jesus’ humanity- the man Jesus was exhausted. And it is also a spiritual picture of his deep, unwavering trust in His Father. This is a sleep of trust in the good gifts of the Father.

When you lay your head down tonight, thank the Lord for making us weak and needing sleep to keep going. Thank Him for the sweetness of an unencumbered sleep. Ask Him, if you are troubled, to give you the gift of an uninterrupted night of rest.

theology

Understanding Ruth’s Character through Her Choices

Posted on April 23, 2025April 23, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Ruth And Naomi by Pieter Pieterszoon Lastman, 1624

We’ve all had to deal with bitter and negative people. Even when the nicest thing happens, these people turn it into a gloomy object of sadness, or exhibit a woe is me attitude. Such a woman was Naomi in the book of Ruth. Naomi was Ruth’s mother-in-law, which sometimes complicates matters, as every daughter-in-law knows, lol.

When famine came to the Bethlehemite family of Elimelech and Naomi and sons Mahlon and Chilion, they decided to sojourn to Moab, where conditions were better. Sadly the verses in Deuteronomy 7:3; 23:3 forbid the Israelites from associating with the idolatrous Moabites, but the family went anyway. Settling down, the sons intermarried. In due time, the sons died, as well as Naomi’s husband. Three widows fending for themselves…the outlook didn’t seem good.

So Naomi decided to return to her former hometown, now that the famine had passed. She urged the daughters-in-law to remain in Moab with their own people. Orpah did, but Ruth’s devotion to her dead husband’s mother was solid. In good conscience, could a family member let an aged woman travel alone, facing uncertainty upon her arrival, even if it was her hometown? Decades had passed. Who knew what awaited Naomi.

No, Ruth made her famous statement, ‘where you go, I will go, your people will be my people, your God will be my God’. Such loyalty and devotion Ruth had! Ruth could have cut ties at that point, rationalizing that bitter and negative Naomi should be left to her own devices. But Ruth’s character overlooked it.

While in Bethlehem, Ruth was gleaning in Boaz’s field. When the two met, Ruth-

fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. (Ruth 2:10-11).

Ruth was humble upon meeting Boaz. She flung herself to the ground, in deference to him as landowner of the field from which she was gleaning, and in acknowledgement of her alien status.

Throughout her life, Ruth demonstrated loyalty and humility. She displayed diligence (“She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” Ruth 2:6b).

When speaking to Boaz, Ruth was gracious – “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” (Ruth 2:13).

Let’s go back to Boaz’s statement, “Fully reported to me.” Ladies, what we do and who we are can’t be hidden. We saw major glimpses of Ruth’s character before she arrived in Bethlehem, and since arriving, her character shone all the more. Ruth was known as a good woman. People knew this because they were watching. Our character is noted and reported, pro or con, whether we like it or not. Nothing is ever really hidden.

The deeds of Ruth were an extension of what was already inside of her. It was the bundle of different positive qualities in her that made the reports and observations of her deeds so Godly.

When my deeds have been fully reported to friends, church members, my family, or my employers, will that report be good, or bad? Will the characteristics the Spirit desires to grow in me be evident? Is the fruit evident? I hope so. I pray so.

How about you? As your deeds are fully reported to others, what would the report say?

In the end, there is one full report that none of us will escape. On the Day of the Lord, the books will be opened, and we will account for what we said and did post-salvation. (Romans 14:10–12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Though it is not a judgment for us believers, it’s a reward ceremony, still, we will be called to account. The full report will be there, laying before the King and before His subject, each one of us in turn. Are we mindful each day that what we do on earth reflects on His Great Name? We will discover to what extent, when we get there.

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

Further Information-

Trivia: Did you know that Oprah Winfrey’s name on her birth certificate is Orpah? However when people pronounced it, it was constantly spoken as Oprah, so that is the name that stuck.

Commentaries: Challies’ recommendations on Ruth

Best Book Series: Nate Pickowitz on why Ruth is the Best Book in the Bible (one in a series of 66, also, this link is to the cached version, the live version has gone dead).

Overview of the Book of Ruth: John MacArthur’s overview and introduction

theology

The Mystery of the Trinity: Embracing God’s Fellowship

Posted on April 22, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I think most Christians probably have heard the hymn Holy, Holy, holy. The refrain is

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Your mind is humming it right now, isn’t it? 🙂

Our finite minds can’t grasp the notion of one person in three persons. So we don’t usually delve into the mystery of the Trinity. We don’t ponder it so much. It is a doctrine that just is.

“Theologian J.I. Packer noted that the Trinity is usually considered a little-thought-about piece of “theological lumber” that no one pays much attention to. But whatever your level of understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity, one thing you can know for sure: The Triune God is unchangeably committed to including you in the wonderful fellowship of the life of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.” (Source).

The concept of the Trinity is mentioned a lot in the New Testament. I was surprised when I started thinking about this and studied it, there are more verses that mention it than I thought.

Jesus is teaching. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:7).

Philip asks, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus replied, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works.” (John 14:10).

As our pastor taught, this is a concept called mutual indwelling. He explained in his sermon,

“He said something similar in chapter 10, verse 38; know and understand that the father is in me and I am in the father. That’s the language of mutual indwelling. What Jesus had been teaching them all along was his unity with the father. He is so united with the father, the best way to express it is mutual indwelling. The father dwells in him and he is in the father. Now that doesn’t mean that Jesus and the Father are identical in personhood. After all, according to verse 12 here, He was going to the Father, which indicates a distinction between them. And so their oneness doesn’t mean they’re identical in all respects, but to see Jesus is to see the Father in essence.

It is a mystery how all three Persons of the Trinity are one but separately they are three individual people, with their own wills, purposes, tasks. But God is one. I am glad He is a mystery. I would not respect a God I could understand. He has deigned to stoop to our level of understanding in magnificent ways. He gave us His word. He gave us His Son. He gave us the Holy Spirit to indwell us. He raised up the prophets. He have us this world in order to see his wonderful works. He gave us providence, where we can see in hindsight how He takes care of us.

Mutual indwelling as a term describing the relationship among the persons of the Trinity is an easy to understand term. Theologians also use a more technical term, perichoresis or circumincession.

Perichoresis is “the mutual intersecting or “interpenetration” of the three Persons of the Godhead and may help clarify the concept of the Trinity. It is a term that expresses intimacy and reciprocity among the Persons of the Godhead. Perichoresis is the fellowship of three co-equal Persons perfectly embraced in love and harmony and expressing an intimacy that no one can humanly comprehend. The Father sends the Son (John 3:16), and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and was sent by the Son (John 15:26)—another example of perichoresis, with the result that God’s people are blessed,” says GotQuestions.

“Though one Person or another may be emphasized in a particular work, no one person does any work exclusive of the other two persons, for as the classic dictum states, “the external works of the Trinity are undivided.” ~John MacArthur, Biblical Doctrine.

Our comprehension of this doctrine will always be beyond our mind’s finite grasp. But by faith we know the unity of the Godhead is perfect, the works of the Trinity are ongoing, the Trinity’s essence is shared perfectly yet without blurring each person’s distinctions.

Hebrews 1:3 says- And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

The God-head’s fellowship has opened up to include humans. Our fellowship with God becomes possible after we repent and by faith we are saved through grace. Then, as JI Packer says:

fellowship becomes a possibility; and it is only as the Holy Spirit enables us to speak to others, and others to us, in such a way that Christ and the Father are made known through what is said, that fellowship is made a reality. When we seek to enjoy fellowship together, we should do so in prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, whose office it is to reveal Christ to us. ~Source, God’s words : studies of key Bible themes, JI Packer

theology

The Impossible Escape: North Korea’s Harsh Defection Reality

Posted on April 21, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I was watching a Youtube video titled “How North Korea Finally Made It Impossible to Escape“. (also below) NK is the only country in the world where it is impossible to leave. Even moving within the country from province to province is fraught with paperwork, obstacles, and suspicion.

The video is interesting and seems factual. The narrator goes over what happens when someone defects and where they can go if they defect north, west, or south. Options are limited. China and Russia have extradition treaties, so a defector must make it through to Mongolia or Taiwan of they are to be successful. This is extremely difficult. Even more difficult is that Jong Un has closed the border physically and tightened it dramatically, and also digitally. He seeks to be a digital and physical island in the world with no outside contact. In this, he is succeeding.

I was happy to hear that South Korea’s stance is that all Koreans on the peninsula are Koreans, and if a North Korean defected from North Korea to South Korea (more often in the past, see chart below) they would be taken in as a citizen. However, reports are, that the vast climate differences, social differences, and some prejudice from the South Koreans make it difficult for a North Korean to thrive. But at least they are out of the most closed and oppressive country in the world.

in 2023 only 37 people were able to defect from North Korea as opposed to up to 3000 just a decade prior.

Life in North Korea ranges from difficult to daily horrors, if reports that happen to make it out of the country are to be believed, and they should be believed. The three dictators of the nation after the NK-SK split in 1945 Kim Il Sung beginning in 1948, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un who is dictator now. The current dictator’s regime brutally enforces any breeching of any law. Sentenced people are usually sent to a prison, a euphemism for hard labor camp. In fact, in 2016 an American tourist on an organized tour was alleged to have stolen a propaganda poster, and sentenced to prison on a charge of subversion. Months later he was released back to America in a vegetative state with no explanation. He died shortly after.

In the video the narrator made mention of this terrible situation that occurred a a few years ago but we are just hearing about it now. Two parents were discovered to be in possession of a Bible. They were arrested and imprisoned for life. Their two-year-old child was also imprisoned for life!

North Korea: Two-year-old sent to life imprisonment after Bible found in parents’ possession

It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 North Korean citizens have been imprisoned for ‘being Christians’. An entire family, including a two-year-old child, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 simply because a Bible was discovered in their possession. This shocking case highlights the extreme measures taken by the North Korean regime to suppress religious freedom.

According to Wikipedia in North Korea, Religion (2020)
73% no religion (officially an atheist state)
13% Chondoism
12% Shamanism
1.5% Buddhism
0.5% other[Including Christianity, Islam, and Chinese folk religion]

It is encouraging that a Bible had made its way into the country. It is also encouraging that the parents took such a risk in possessing it, they honored Jesus with their life by making the choice for Him rather than their physical life. But the brutality of North Korea’s dictator against a baby reminds one of Herod who killed the children, or Pharaoh who allowed his own people to be killed in all the plagues, famines, and firstborn deaths rather than capitulate the greater Power of God.

As we come off the glow of yesterday’s Easter celebrations, let us remember that our happy family pictures on a grassy lawn in front of a thriving church where we celebrated the resurrection of Christ is something to be treasured and appreciated. The ease with which I drove through three ‘provinces’ (aka counties), walked freely into my church, sang and worshiped without fear of reprisal for me or any of the children in the congregation, is a gift we presently enjoy.

From the Economic Times article: Defectors from North Korea have revealed that the state promotes an ideology called “Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism,” which involves intense study of the teachings of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un. While this ideology does not explicitly declare the leaders as gods, they are described as exceptional beings capable of supernatural abilities.

Hadn’t the Pharaohs claimed to be gods? And the Caesars? Wasn’t Herod Agrippa killed and eaten by worms that God had sent because he accepted worship? (Acts 12:22-23). Unless Jong Un repents, the wrath of God abides on him.

A comment on the youtube video’s page also reminded us that China is no friendly act, either:

Also, a reminder that North Korea can only do most of what it does thanks to massive support from China. China sends regular supplies to North Korea, in direct violation of sanctions, to prop up the autocracy. Because the only thing worse to China than the shit happening in North Korea is having no buffer between themselves and an American allied country. Without this critical support, both official, and under the table unofficially, North Korea probably would have collapsed long ago. Or at least they’d be a minor player who would increasingly have little ability to enforce the oppression they have upon their population.

Here is the video I’d watched. And remember to pray for any Christians in North Korea. Praise the thank God for your own ability to easily and freely worship Him here in America.

theology

He is Risen!

Posted on April 20, 2025 by elizabethprata

He is Risen indeed!

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 24:2-3)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all. (Acts 4:33 )

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

Though Jesus is enthroned, becrowned, reigning in love and wrath, seated next to the Father, today is a day we remember what He did. Today is the day we know death is dead, but the Lord lives.

Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone.

Love,
Elizabeth Prata

theology

Jesus: Our Unshakable Foundation for Eternity

Posted on April 19, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

From whence does your hope spring?
From this thing or that thing?
They will pass away.

On what does your foot stand?
On filthy mud? Unstable sand?
You will fall.

On what does your eternity rest?
Your works? Your deed or words you thought best?
They will be rejected.

Jesus is the hope, the rock, eternal life.
The narrow path, the bread of life, the door, the gate-
In Him we reach eternal state.

In Him and only Him is the way.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

poetry by EPrata

good friday, theology

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

Posted on April 18, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

cross, theology

Exploring the Cross: A Symbol of Christ’s Glory

Posted on April 17, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I designed this picture to stare at and better ponder its truths. The mental picture of it as I was reading was so vivid before my eyes I had to draw it out.

Initially I drew just the wavy line and the cross. The cross is lifted up, the sole item on the bloody landscape. To view it, all eyes must look UP. The cross of Christ is the only thing has any meaning in the world. When I was an unsaved person I rejected this notion immediately. As a saved person, by the grace of God, I am humbled to kneel and stare at this wonderful, terrible cross.

The line represents not only the hill, for the Son of Man must be lifted up, and it was a hill He died on and a hill he will return to. (Zechariah 14:4).

The line is also the dividing line of all human history. The above and below, the hell and the heaven, the line that divides before Christ’s birth and after Christ’s incarnation and is both the starting point and the ending point of all that is and all that will be.

On the day of His death the sun was darkened. This is only right, for Jesus is the Light of the world.

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until [u]the ninth hour, 45because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (Luke 23:44-45).

“Christ’s victory is the spectacle that holds the attention of the universe.” ~Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles

Christ’s glory is the spectacle of all spectacles, and its power is most clearly seen in how it equips and motivates and animates our faithful obedience in all other areas of life.

Christ was not merely made a spectacle on the cross, the cross became a shorthand reference for everything glorious about Christ- His work as creator and sustainer of all things, his incarnation, his life, his words, his obedience, his miracles, his shunning, his beatings, his crucifixion, his wrath bearing, his resurrection from the grave, his heavenly ascension, his kingly coronation, and his eternal priesthood- all of his glory subsumed into his heavenly spectacle. ~Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles

To be able to love Jesus and not hate Him any longer is the joy of my life.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

theology

“The last words of a dying man”

Posted on April 16, 2025April 16, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

If you collapsed and were unresponsive, but woke only long enough to get two words out of your mouth to your ambulance driver, what would they be?

In December 2019, Pastor Tom Ascol was ministering to his congregation when he suddenly collapsed. He lay unresponsive on the floor. Some people were crying, most were praying. One was singing.