elizabethprata

God is faithful to his Gospel

Posted on July 6, 2017 by elizabethprata

The Great Tribulation is a time prophesied to occur in the future, where God will pour out His stored-up wrath on the unbelieving world, and onto Israel. The church will have been raptured prior to the beginning of this 7-year period. (Revelation 3:10). The church is not under wrath, but our sins have been forgiven. In us there is no condemnation, that’s why we will be removed beforehand.

The Tribulation is not the general time between His first and second comings where believers will have the promised trials and persecutions. The tribulation is a distinct time referenced as THE Tribulation. It will exist for a set purpose, certain things will happen in an progressive fashion (as prophesied in Revelation 6-18 and elsewhere) and it will cease at its end to usher in a 1000 year kingdom on earth of peace where Jesus walks and reigns with His people. (Revelation 20:2-7, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, Daniel 9:24-27, Matthew 24:3-28…)

During this Tribulation, it will be a hell on earth, literally. The abyss is opened and many chained up demons are let out to wreak havoc. (Revelation 9:1-12). It’s a time when God’s 4 sorest judgments will occur. He releases 4 horsemen to have their fill of death and chaos and sin and evil wrought upon the people. It will be a time of punishment, vengeance, retribution, and wrath. Many millions upon billions die. (Revelation 6:8, Revelation 9:15).

Before I get to my main point, let’s turn aside for a comment. People incorrectly view the God of the Bible as a split personality. There’s the God of the Old Testament who is wrathful, and the Jesus of the New Testament who is nice. Jesus “hung out with sinners” and spoke the Beatitudes, after all.

God is God and He changeth not. In the OT He rendered wrath, but He was also compassionate and kind. I can give many examples. He spoke gently to Hagar in the wilderness. He sent angels to feed and comfort Elijah. He answered Habakkuk’s complaints gently. He gave Hannah the son she prayed for. He spoke to Moses as a friend. And so on.

In the NT, God is kind but He is also wrath. Wrath is mentioned many times in the NT. It’s mentioned in Matthew, Luke, John, Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, Hebrews, and most of all, 11 times in Revelation, where Jesus is rendering it or ordering His angels to deliver it. If you read the Jesus of Revelation, there exists no sissified, needy Jesus at all. He never existed. THAT Jesus is a figment of man’s imagination.

Now to the point, despite the horrors of The Tribulation, despite the wrath and death and chaos and sin, God still seeks souls. He saves. He saves many, multitudes one cannot number! They are saved from every language and nation and tribe and tongue! His grace abounds even in wrath.

By what process does He save?

1. His Two Prophets. Their story is contained in a Revelation 11:3-13. Their ministry begins:

And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.

They preach in Jerusalem and according to prophecy, it’s for a set number of days. People will try to kill them. Those who hate the LORD will hate their message of sin and wrath and judgment. But while they are prophesying God’s word on earth during the allotted number of days, nothing can harm them. As a matter of fact, they can spew fire and kill those who try to kill them. (Revelation 11:5). When the allotted number of days is up, they will be successfully killed. (Revelation 11:7). Their bodies will lie in the street for three days, and the world rejoices that their devastating message will have been silenced, or so the world thinks. They are resurrected and ascend to heaven before the world’s astonished face. (Revelation 11:11-12).

The result is that for 1,260 days the world hears two indestructible witnesses preach the everlasting gospel to the world, whether they want it or not.

The 144,000.

Their story is contained in Revelation 7:3-8 and Revelation 14:1-5. God plucks 12,000 from each Jewish Tribe as His firstfruits of Gospel salvation in their Messiah. Though none of the verses explicitly say that the men from the 144,000 evangelize, it’s highly likely that they are agents of the Gospel. The fact that they are chosen, sealed from harm during the judgments indicates that they have work to do. One’s relief and joy in Christ always yields a loosened tongue to proclaim His glories. How much more so in the Wrath? Also, the very next scene after they are saved and sealed, we see multitudes of redeemed from the earth. Imagine 144,000 Apostle Pauls running around, lol. People are going to be saved.

The Three Angels at Midheaven.

Their story is in Revelation 14:6-11, but the first angel in verses 6-7 is the one who proclaims the eternal Gospel to the entire world, every nation, tongue, tribe, and people. Every. One. Hears.

What a God we serve! He pursues even as He concludes the last moments of His Age.

ecclesiastes

encouragement, Uncategorized

The ever-present peril of God’s wrath, removed

Posted on July 5, 2017July 5, 2017 by elizabethprata

I mentioned the other day that I’ve started Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading Plan. You read ten chapters a day from books in the OT and the NT. One thing I enjoy about this approach is that I go through such a variety of books at the same time. Historical narrative, poetry, wisdom, philosophy etc. I am getting a feel for the “voice” of each writer. Which is doubly amazing because the uniform voice is God’s, through the Holy Spirit, But He washed His words through man’s brain and out his pen and so the distinctive style of each man come through.

Paul’s warm regards in Thessalonians is so different from his clinical lawyerly philosophy in Romans. Below is one verse from Romans that caught my attention yesterday, and the Commenter’s note about it. Sometimes the shortest verse gives the most opportunity to meditate on His word.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9)

Barnes’ Notes:

Much more, then – It is much more reasonable to expect it. There are fewer obstacles in the way. If, when we were enemies, he overcame all that was in the way of our salvation; much more have we reason to expect that he will afford us protection now that we are his friends. This is one ground of the hope expressed in Romans 5:5.

As I grow by His grace in sanctification, the feeling of escape from wrath of God becomes more present. The wrath of God abides on all the lost. (Romans 1:18, Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6…) This is something the lost feel, whether that admit it or not or whether they suppress it or not. Post-salvation, the relief one feels from having escaped the wrath transforms into wonder and gratitude. That terrible feeling of ever-present peril is removed.

I am reminded of the story about the Sword of Damocles, from Wiktionary.

Damocles was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, a fourth century BC tyrant of Syracuse. Damocles exclaimed that, as a great man of power and authority, Dionysius was truly fortunate. Dionysius offered to switch places with him for a day, so he could taste first hand that fortune. In the evening a banquet was held where Damocles very much enjoyed being waited upon like a king. Only at the end of the meal did he look up and notice a sharpened sword hanging directly above his head by a single horse-hair. Immediately, he lost all taste for the amenities and asked leave of the tyrant, saying he no longer wanted to be so fortunate. Dionysius had successfully conveyed a sense of the constant fear in which the great man lives.

In Jesus, we have the ever-present hope, instead of the ever-present wrath. Such a simple fact, but profound. It’s one upon which we should be thankful every day. Never let this get old.

poetry, Uncategorized

Kay Cude Poetry: No Condemnation for the Redeemed

Posted on July 4, 2017 by elizabethprata

Kay Cude poetry. Used with permission. Excerpted Artist’s statement below.

THE BALM OF GILEAD AND SOURCE OF MERCY

We know this world is not our home; it is the residence of the Adversary’s “world-system” and its participants. As “strangers” we sojourn here for the specific amount of time measured-out by God Himself. In His perfect and inerrant will He has not notified us about that exact day, the specific hour or the year of our departure, whether it be by death or by our catching away. But He has forewarned and made clear that during our sojourn we will have trials and tribulations, and that it is He (not us) Who is the Source of our peace, courage and endurance. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) and “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27) and “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5).

We will recognize and remember that “our failures” are temporary. We will remember that we are new creations in Christ, living according to the Spirit. We will remember that we ARE NOT who we used to be! We ARE the redeemed; and as such, know that the redeemed of Christ will be perfected in and through Christ. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6).

For the redeemed of God, the remedy for anxieties or stresses encountered during trials and tribulations is Christ, the Balm of Gilead. Let Him apply upon us lavishly His balm through His inerrant, revealed Word!

encouragement, Uncategorized

I finally found a Bible reading plan that works for me

Posted on July 3, 2017July 3, 2017 by elizabethprata

I’ve failed at every Bible reading plan I ever tried. I’ve tried The Chronological method. I’ve tried ‘read the Bible in 90 days’. I’ve tried the audible, listening to Max McLean read Robert Murray M’Cheyene’s plan. I’ve tried the Five Day reading Plan. I’ve abandoned them all.

But now I found Grant Horner’s Bible reading system and I just love it. Rather than talk myself into reading every day, I can’t wait to read every day. I adore the way it’s set up. Here is Tim Challies introducing the system. He had spent the first paragraphs explaining his own previous unsuccessful attempts to stick with a plan, too.

It’s unique among the systems I’ve attempted in that it requires more reading and yet somehow makes all that reading seem so much easier, enjoyable and attainable.

Yes. I have found this to be true.

The system is quite simple–every day you read ten chapters of the Bible. That seems like a lot, so stick with me as I explain it.

What?! Ten chapters!? Yes. Don’t bail out. The plan suggests that you read at somewhere between speed-read and skim. Just read normally. Don’t deep study and don’t go so slow you focus on every word. The reading consistently only takes me about 35 minutes. That’s really only as long as it takes. Challies again-

Each of the ten chapters will be from different books, which is to say that at any given time you’ll be reading ten books of the Bible concurrently, one chapter per day. So on day one of the system you will reading the first chapter of Matthew, Genesis, Romans, 1 Thessalonians, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Joshua, Isaiah and Acts. You will read each of these books, one chapter per day, and then go on to other books before repeating it all again. This means that every year you’ll read through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters 4-5 times each, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the Old Testament History and Prophetic books about 1 1⁄2 times.

Scripture begins to interpret scripture. You don’t need the deep-study while reading on this plan because the volume and variety of readings you do each day begin to knit together of themselves. You can deep-study at another time, but if your goal is to read the Bible through, despite the seeming length of material expected to be read daily, this Bible plan is excellent.

Professor Horner says of his plan,

After just a few days the reading gets much easier; in a month it will be a habit, and in six months you’ll wonder how you ever survived before on such a slim diet of the WORD. And then — you’ll tell others to start the system!

I have found this to be true as well. Here is Challies with a few tips with which I agree:

Stay somewhere between speed reading and deep meditation. Get through the text without dawdling, looking up cross-references and so on. Get to know the Bible and these things will explain themselves.
Stick with one Bible, not just one translation, but one actual Bible. I would try to ensure it’s a printed Bible, not an electronic one.
Read in the order he suggests, which means you’ll be moving from Old Testament to New and back again several times every day.
Don’t be legalistic. If you miss a day, pick up and keep going. Don’t quit.

The link to the various styles of bookmarks already have the numbers on top. The ones I printed out didn’t, so I just added a post-it tab on top. I use my MacArthur Study Bible to study, I use this Bible to read. I like using this one because I’m not distracted by the study notes on the bottom and wander off to chase rabbit trails. I just read. 🙂

Since not all the chapters are the same length, and on Day 15 you won’t necessarily be on chapter 15 of all the books, I also use a post-it tab to show me where to begin each day. One thing I like about this plan is that once I printed out the bookmarks and put the tabs on them I was done with organizing. (5 min) There is no paperwork or fussiness to this plan.

I have small note papers next to my laptop. Even though the plan demands you read at a regular reading pace, I do have questions as I read, make comparisons, draw insights. If necessary, I stop very briefly to jot them down on a small paper. It’s small so I won’t interrupt my reading for very long, just a quick note to follow up later.

That’s it! Last time I write about beginning a Plan and then abandoning it, someone had suggested in the comments that I try the Horner plan. Well I finally did! Thanks readers!

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Further reading:

Professor Horner explaining how he developed his system

Here is a link to Professor Horner’s system itself:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/12349985/Professor-Grant-Horners-Bible-Reading-System

Here is a link to printouts of different styles of bookmarks, the bookmarks help you keep track.

Sunny Shell reviews Horner’s Bible Reading plan.

discernment, Uncategorized

Is America ‘called 2 fall’ on our faces as it says in 2 Chronicles?

Posted on July 2, 2017 by elizabethprata

Today, Sunday, July 2, a nationwide effort is underway to get people/churches to fall on their faces and pray in repentance and for God to heal America. The movement is biblically based, so the organizations says, because the movement is founded on the verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14,

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

The movemenent is titled Call2Fall and the website FAQ is here

From the website:

Q – What’s involved?
A – The Call2Fall is not a fancy program or a big show. Simply set aside a definite time during worship on July 2, 2017 when you call your people to get on their knees and faces before the Lord in repentant prayer for God to reshape our lives and renew our land. Click here for free church resources that may be helpful.

Q – Who can join?
A – Call2Fall on our knees is for every Christ-follower in America. Specifically, there are multiplied millions of believers who realize that America is in trouble and that neither Washington nor Wall Street has the answers. We are hoping that at least 40,000 churches will join in a corporate act of humility, repentance, and desperate prayer on our knees before the Lord.

Q – Why a Call2Fall?
A – First, the Scriptures teach it. The key verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14…

The first requirement on the path to renewal is to “humble ourselves,” to fall on our knees and faces before the Lord in repentant prayer. Over and over the Scriptures teach this. Click here for examples.

Second, our history records it. Our founding fathers sensed the need for a Call2Fall in view of the monumental struggle we were engaged in with Britain. The First Continental Congress called for a day of public humiliation, fasting, and prayer throughout the Colonies on July 20th, 1775 just after war broke out.

“Christ-follower” Sigh. Never mind the comment about what our Founding Fathers “sensed.” Most of them were either atheists, libertines, or deists who believed in a different Jesus.

Is a call to prayer wrong? No. Is calling the people to repent wrong? No. However, basing a movement such as this on the verse from Chronicles is wrong, because this is one of the most misused, out of context verses in the entire Bible.

The verse that the Call2Fall movement is founded upon is a verse that is aimed directly at Israel, not America.

Here are three men with theological essays explaining what exactly was happening in history before and after the 2 Chronicles 7:14 verse and then explaining the verse correctly. I’d encourage you to click on one or all of the links and read their piece in its entirety.

The second issue is that though we might love where we live, and we are grateful the Lord raised up nations (and puts them down) (Acts 17:26), we are citizens of heaven. Our minds should be trained on the fact that we are part of a global body, an invisible kingdom of which there is a King who reigns. We love America, but please watch out that excessive patriotism hasn’t made an idol of the Stars and Stripes. Many nations have come and gone within just my lifetime. Here is a list from Business Insider of 9 countries that ceased to exist in the 20th century. There are tons of countries that have gone away, ceased to exist, changed names, expanded or contracted borders, or simply vanished. Biafra, Bundu, Tibet, Alsace-Lorraine, Bremen, USSR, Yugoslavia, Rhodesia, and many other nations have lived, thrived, and died in the 20th century. How does a former Rhodesian pray the 2 Chronicles prayer? If someone does pray the 2 Chronicles prayer, the answer might be unexpected. The Lord DID heal East Germany, by wiping it from the map and uniting it with West Germany.

America’s borders have changed dramatically in just the 241 years of our own existence. What I’m saying is it is not wrong to love your country. It’s just that we shouldn’t get too attached to it.

Here are some essays explaining the context of the 1Chronicles verse-

Steve Kozar at Pirate Christian Media:
Frequently abused and misused Bible verses

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Again, this is not a universal promise to all believers in all times. This verse starts in the middle of a sentence-that should give you a clue that it is being taken out of context. This promise is given specifically to God’s covenant people Israel, and it shouldn’t be universally applied to the church, or especially to any nation.

Truthfully, we are blessed much more so in our time, because of Jesus and His sacrifice to atone for our sins-no matter which country we live in, or how much worldly prosperity we have or don’t have.

Delivered by Grace, Josh Buice
Butchered Bible Verses

Explanation of how the text is misused-

As we’re getting near the summer, we can expect to hear sermons from preachers who, with good intentions, will cite 2 Chronicles 7:14 or preach an entire message on that single verse while applying it to America. Most of the time it’s an attempt to demonstrate the need for repentance in our nation. At times we hear of preachers who use this verse to call out our national position on abortion, and in most recent days, our President’s opinion about homosexual marriage. As we examine the text, it is abundantly clear that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is not speaking about America – the home of the brave!

Explanation of the text
The wrong application of 2 Chronicles 7:14 is to lift it out of its context and apply it to America or any other single nation. Anytime we attach a text of Scripture to America, we must be extremely cautious. Because in that act we are saying this is a reference to God’s promise for America when in reality – it isn’t. The key is found in two specific places in the text.

1. The verse begins by a key reference to “my people.” This is not a reference to all people in America or any other nation, because we know that by that phrase the Chronicler was referencing the people of God – specifically of Israel.

2. Within that framework, the people of God were under judgment for sin. This involved pestilence, drought, and exile from their land. It would be wrong to suggest that America is under judgment, as the children of God, and that God is calling us BACK to Him. For the most part, America has never known God, so God isn’t calling America to come BACK. If anything, God is commanding unbelievers in America to repent, but they don’t need a rededication card at the end of a service around July 4th, they need a new heart created by the Spirit of God, paid for by the Son of God, and accomplished by the will of God the Father.

Empowered by Christ, Richard Haas
Is 2 Chronicles 7:14 for us today?

As always context must be our rule of thumb when dealing with any verse or group of verses in the Bible. So Let’s take a quick look at the context around this verse. Understand that the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem had just been completed. King Solomon led a massive week-long celebration to dedicate the temple. When the people returned to their homes following the celebration, we read the following:

If you continue reading the remaining verses in 2 Chronicles 7, it becomes abundantly clear that this was a particular promise made by God to the Jewish people during the time of the first temple.

As it can, we see the use of this verse is quite a bit different than Christians using this verse as a promise from God to fix the problems in the United States of America.

I think there are certain principles we can use from 2 Chronicles 7:14. Such as, it is always a good thing for God’s people to humble themselves and pray for their nation. As Christians, we absolutely should and need to pray for our nation; this is biblical. We also can learn from this text that as Christians we should pray for our neighbors, friends, loved ones, and even our politicians–even the ones we don’t agree with (1 Timothy 2:1–4). It would be wonderful if every Christian would humble himself or herself and pray for our nation.

However, we must understand that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is not a divine promise to Christians in the United States today that God will fix our nation. We don’t have such a guarantee in Scripture. We must always be careful to make sure we use verses in the proper context. Remember the three rules of proper biblical hermeneutics; Context, Context, and Context.

Here is an explanation of what 2 Chronicles 7:14 means from GotQuestions-

What is the meaning of 2 Chronicles 7:14

The key to understanding any verse of Scripture is context. There is the immediate context—the verses before and after it, as well as the larger context of Scripture—how the verse fits into the overall story….

The immediate context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 shows that the verse is tied up with Israel and the temple and the fact that from time to time God might send judgment upon the land in the form of drought, locusts, or pestilence.

When ancient Israel repented and sought the Lord, they were doing so en masse. The nation as a whole repented. Obviously not every single Israelite repented and prayed, but still it was national repentance. There was never any indication that a small minority of the nation (a righteous remnant) could repent and pray and that the fate of the entire nation would change. God promised deliverance when the entire nation repented.

Here is some food for thought by John MacArthur as to whether the American Revolution was even biblical.

Why Government Can’t Save You

Over the past several centuries, people have mistakenly linked democracy and political freedom to Christianity. That’s why many contemporary evangelicals believe the American Revolution was completely justified, both politically and scripturally. They follow the argumentation of the Declaration of Independence, which declares that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are divinely endowed rights. Therefore those believers say such rights are part of a Christian worldview, worth attaining and defending at all costs, including military insurrection at times. But such a position is contrary to the clear teachings and commands of Romans 13:1-7. So the United States was actually born out of a violation of New Testament principles, and any blessings that God has bestowed on America have come in spite of that disobedience by the Founding Fathers.

John MacArthur
The Christian’s Responsibility to Government

But Christians, even though they have struggled to answer the question of what is their relationship to government, have not always answered it properly. And throughout the history of the church, there have been revolutions in the name of Christianity where people decided that the Christian thing to do was to revolt militarily against the government that’s in power, and demand their rights. There have even been wars in the name of Christianity.

And so Christians have struggled with this, and sometimes they have rightly understood what their role was, and sometimes they have overturned their God-given role and become revolutionary. There has been violation of law in the name of Christianity. I don’t know if you realize this, but there have been, even in our own country, certain law violations, civil disobedience, subversive attempts to overthrow the powers that be on a local level, a state level, or a national level that in some cases were led by people who claimed to be Christians, all of this in the name of Christ.

We should fall on our faces not because we’re using 2 Chronicles 7:14 out of context, but because Matthew 28:19 says to make disciples of all nations-

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit

Because Acts 1:8 says to make disciples to the ends of the earth-

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Because Mark 16:15 says we preach the Gospel to every creature-

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

We are not called to fall because we misuse the 2 Chronicles verse but because we love the LORD, because we understand His word in context, and we are mindful of the fleeting nature of nations and boundaries and nations, and because know the eternality of the saved in heaven.

Prata Place Graceful Garlands 22 fireworks

Prata’s Place: Graceful Garlands 22: Fireworks Forever

Image• Posted on July 1, 2017July 1, 2017 by elizabethprata

discernment, Uncategorized

No such thing as a carnal Christian

Posted on June 30, 2017June 30, 2017 by elizabethprata

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9).

Paul balances four activities: “learned and received” and “heard and seen.” It is one thing to learn a truth, but quite another to receive it inwardly and make it a part of our inner man (see 1 Thes. 2:13). Facts in the head are not enough; we must also have truths in the heart. In Paul’s ministry, he not only taught the Word but also lived it so that his listeners could see the truth in his life. Paul’s experience ought to be our experience. We must learn the Word, receive it, hear it, and do it. “But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 96). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

The demons had learned, but they have not received. The difference between intellectual and saving faith is the evidence. A lived lived in obedience to God is evidence of a regenerated and converted heart.

Therefore, there is no such thing as “a carnal Christian.”

Has the Gospel gone from your head and saturated your heart, then radiated from you in glorious acts in Christ?

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What lurks within…

Posted on June 29, 2017 by elizabethprata

We read in Job that-

His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. (Job 1:4-5).

What a sweet picture of Job, in these pre-Patriarchal times, performing his function as priest over his family. His ten children certainly had a father upright in integrity and faith in the one true God. Job was concerned not just with their behavior in terms of moral vs. sin, but their thought life. Have they cursed God in their hearts? Are they holding on to some sin for which they have not repented? Have they cursed God inwardly? Job continuously sacrificed to God as a cover for them.

As we know from so many biblical examples, people can appear as moral but inside, in their mind or heart, they can be holding on to many sins. The Rich Young Ruler claimed to have obeyed the commandments, yet he was revealed to be holding on to greed and materialism. The Pharisees tried to appear holy on the outside, but inside they were raging hypocrites, uncaring for widows and sinners and their fellow man in general!

The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life are hidden inside a person’s mind and heart. The bottom line is, people are good actors. There are some we will never know if they are truly saved or not, until the Day. (Matthew 7:21-23).

We can surmise that perhaps Job’s ten children were indeed faithful to Yahweh. They loved each other, didn’t seem to have in-fighting, liked to spend time with each other. They lived near by enough to partake of family doings on a regular basis. No prodigals, in other words.

We know Job was a righteous man. Ezekiel 14:14 declares Job one of three most righteous men (along with Daniel and Noah).

It’s Mrs Job that was a problem.

Job spent time covering his children’s sins with daily sacrifices…but what of Mrs Job? When the pressure became unbearable and the grief too deep, she showed her true colors. Rather than a gentle help-meet who encourages and supports her husband, she suggested to Job that he curse God and then die (by his own hand).

An excellent wife, who can find? (Proverbs 31:10). As Matthew Henry says of an excellent wife,

She can be trusted, and he will leave such a wife to manage for him. He is happy in her. And she makes it her constant business to do him good. … Above all, she fears the Lord.

Inward sin will not reveal itself until or unless there is pressure. Whether it is the pressure of too much unrepentant sin, or the pressure of circumstances, the sin will eventually be revealed. Mrs Job, and indeed Mrs Lot too, showed that despite living with biblically-declared righteous men, they had sin inside lurking within them. Their disdain for the Holy One, Yahweh was fatally revealed for Mrs Lot when she turned to look back at her life in Sodom, and in Mrs Job when her excellent husband needed her most.

What lurks within is ugly. We should take care of sin daily, by picking up our cross, slaying our sin, and repenting. (Matthew 6:12, 2 Corinthians 7:10).

Don’t be a Mrs Job or a Mrs Lot. Deal with what lurks within. Your husband and children need you.
mrs job
Illustration by William Blake

encouragement, Uncategorized

Wednesday Word: Three thoughts and a video

Posted on June 28, 2017 by elizabethprata

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

Persisting in Prayer

Are you praying for the lost? Do you have a burden for the lost? Do you live your life as a witness, a poem, a hymn, to the strength and power of the grace of Jesus? No? Now is the time to start. If you are, thank you. May you not dwell in a spirit of fear but of confidence, sure of His promises and the glories to come. For as His witnesses when we see Him smite the armies at Armageddon with a single word, (Revelation 19:14) and the blood floods to valley 180 miles long, to heights of the horses’ bridles, you will be glad that you spent all the time you could in worship of Mighty Jesus. Meek servant in first Incarnation, Mighty Warrior of Enemies in His second Coming, this rapidly dwindling time we use for His purposes, one of which is persisting in prayer. We were put here for just such a time as this. I hope we pray with an urgency for the lost like no other time in our lives.

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Pondering Prophecy

Author Ayn Rand said in her famous book, Atlas Shrugged, in ‘The Money Speech’,

When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming self-sacrifice – you may know that your society is doomed.

Jesus and the Bible writers said quite a bit about money. We know the famous line, that love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10). We know we cannot serve Jesus and money (Matthew 6:24). This page lists many other verses about money.

Money is the invisible infrastructure to any culture. It helps define who we are as a society. Where the money goes and what we do with it brings light to our morals. During the Tribulation, which Jesus states would be the worst time on earth that ever was or will be, (Matthew 24:21), the antichrist will control the global economy by gaining control of the money. He converts the financial system into a one currency system and unless one chooses to participate in it (by taking his Mark, Revelation 13:16-17), one cannot buy nor sell. In other words, those who opt out will starve. It is a time where God will be allowing sin to come nearly to the full. Money figures prominently in that mixture of rampant sin and corruption and oppression.

What Rand described, though likely she did not know it and was perhaps thinking of communism, is a picture of what is to come in the Tribulation with how the world handles money.

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Common Grace

The Amos scripture below is representative of the character and nature of God, who wants His children to turn to Him. In the verse’s case, it was speaking directly about Israel. However in concept it’s the same for any nation, like, America. The US has for too long refused to return to Him, and may be suffering the consequences of that decision, in many ways, one of them being as Amos describes, a wet harvest in one area and drought in another.

Rain is a common grace, not thought of while it’s there, thought of quite a bit when there isn’t any, or when there is too much. Here is what Amos prophesied to Israel of God’s activity-

Amos 4:7-9 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

As Roy Gingrich says in his Amos outline, in this reproof of Israel, “note that God times and directs the rain.” How comforting to know that everything has a purpose, and that God is sovereign, even in reproof.

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The Story of Flowers

Speaking of common grace, let’s enjoy flowers for a moment. I love botanical illustrations, those 19th century drawings of flowers and fruits. When I bought a new-to-me couch, I bought a new piece of art to go over it.

botanical

Here is a 3-minute animation in botanical illustration style that extols flowers, the pollination process, and perennial rebirth of our flora. It’s a common grace, and we should praise the Lord for it.

Here is the animator’s blurb:

Many different flowers are growing beautifully and strongly in this world. Taking their roots in the earth, sprouting, blooming, pollination by birds and insects, living on in spite of rain, wind and storms. They pass on the baton of life, rebirth and decay. Everything is so in a continuous, endless cycle. This is the story and message of this animation.

Have a wonderful rest of the week everyone!

prophecy, Uncategorized

The Greatest Revival That Ever Will Be?

Posted on June 27, 2017 by elizabethprata

Yesterday I looked at what true revival looks like. True revivals are far from the superficially but temporarily euphoric “revivals” we have sadly become used to. Jonathan Edwards wrote about the massive and immediate deep changes that occurred during the Great Awakening. In reading his “A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton,” written in 1737, we learned that new converts and those who were revived all had one major thing in common: an awareness of their sin and a growing hatred for it. The outgrowth of this fact is that people became more temperate, taverns emptied while the pastor’s house filled. Neighbors became loving helpers of one another, and left off their previous bitter gossip, and so on. The change was overnight, that was one of the “surprising” things Edwards remarked upon.

So the hallmarks of a true revival include awareness of sin, understanding of the wrath of God for it, and a relief and love of the grace that has been bestowed in spite of it.

Those were also the hallmark of another major revival in the Bible, though not the one I’ll focus on mainly today. In an essay I wrote recently, “What was the greatest revival ever?” the Ninevites responded to God’s message through Jonah by repenting in dust and ashes. Through Jonah, God had foretold coming judgment, and the worst people on the planet at that time people believed him.

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. (Jonah 3:5).

As a revival continues, the people remain in Christ, they continue in good works (the evidence of saving faith), and they give glory to God in all they do and say.

If Nineveh was the greatest revival that ever was, what is the greatest revival there ever will be?

The Great Tribulation.

There are prophecies remaining to be fulfilled. Most of them were fulfilled in Christ, praise God. The prophecies remaining are:

The rapture of the Church,1 Corinthians 15:51-53, (the church members, living and dead caught away to heaven to be enclosed and protected from the judgment of the Tribulation.)

The Tribulation, the promised wrath and judgment upon the world for sin. Daniel 9:24-27 has the reasons and the outline of what is to happen. So does Matthew 24 and Revelation 6. Many prophecies are to be fulfilled during this 7 year period. The antichrist will come, who will be a real man, the false prophet, the great apostasy, an uncreation of the earth, the Two Prophets (likely Elijah and Enoch), the 144,000, Mark of the Beast, Armageddon, and so on, all occur during this time.

The judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). This occurs in heaven and it involves assessing believers in their faithfulness in service to Christ, not a judgment for sin.

Return of Jesus: AKA The second Coming. At the close of the Tribulation, Jesus returns in power and glory and smites the armies at Armageddon. This concludes the Church Age, or the Last Times/End Times.

The judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31–46) where Jesus judges the nations for how they treated Israel and also judges who is to enter the Millennial Kingdom, the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth. Since believers and non-believers alike will be alive at the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will sift one from the other, and cast non-believers into hell and believers will be granted entry into the 1000 year Kingdom.

Millennial Kingdom: Jesus is alive and reigning over the world and Israel is living within all the promises made to that nation of people, their lands, their King and their identity all intact and thriving. More here.

The Eternal State: After the Millennial Age, eternity begins. It is prophesied that the earth will melt in a fervent heat and be remade. (2 Peter 3:10). All prophecies will have been fulfilled. After that, there is nothing in the Bible that tells us what we will be doing or what the next Age will be like.

Back to the greatest revival that ever will be.

People think that when the rapture happens, there will no longer be any chance for people to be saved. That there will not be salvation during the Tribulation. The opposite is true. The greatest revival ever will occur. It will be a time of evangelism unparalleled in our human history.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9).

But are these people from the Tribulation? How do we know they aren’t just believers from the Church Age?

A little further along in Revelation that question is answered for us:

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:13-14)

And this:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. (Revelation 6:9)

God is always working to bring people to His Son. At no time does the Spirit cease drawing souls to glory. During the Tribulation, though it will literally be hell on earth, a time that will be shocking and upsetting in the extreme (Luke 21:26, Matthew 24:22), people will be saved. They will be truly saved, not false converts. We know that they’ll be true, because though they know they will die, they praise the Lamb and remain true to His glory even unto martyrdom. (John 15:13).

Psalm 145:3, Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

jesus poster