elizabethprata

Nemo, the Blizzard of 2013, found New England

Posted on February 9, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

The weather’s “historic” records have been tumbling quite quickly these days. It isn’t even months between catastrophic events any more, but weeks. Superstorm Sandy became the largest hurricane on record as it devastated New Jersey and New York in October 2012. In November 2012, a dangerous nor’easter hit NY and New England. Christmas Day 2012 will not be forgotten by those in the Midwest. That storm will go down as producing the most tornadoes ever recorded on Christmas Day in the United States since record keeping began, writes the meteorologists at EarthSky. In January 2013, the South received a rare and historic tornado outbreak. Now the blizzard of February 2013 for New England.

Nemo: mammoth blizzard turns fatal
“The Boston Fire Department says an 11-year-old boy has died of carbon monoxide poisoning after being overcome as he sat in a running car to keep warm while his father was shovelling snow. This is the third reported death related to the record-breaking blizzard named Nemo striking the US northeast in which 700,000 homes and businesses have lost power. Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the boy was helping his father shovel the snow Saturday, but got cold, so his father started the car and the boy got inside. MacDonald said the car exhaust was covered by a snow bank, causing the fumes to collect inside the vehicle. When the boy was overcome by the fumes, the father went into respiratory arrest, and emergency workers took both to a hospital. The boy was pronounced dead there. No names were released. The mammoth storm that stretched from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic coast dumped more than 90cm (35.4in) of snow across the Northeast, the National Weather Service said. Blizzard and flood warnings were in effect for the coast.”

“In Stratford, Connecticut, Mayor John Harkins said he had never seen such a heavy snowfall, with rates of 12.5cm an hour at times overnight, he told local WTNH television. “Even the plows are getting stuck,” Harkins said. The storm concentrated its fury on Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with the top snowfall 95cm in Milford, Connecticut. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee banned all travel on roads in order to aid snow plow crews. He told CNN that National Guard troops were rescuing stranded motorists, especially at uncleared on-ramps. The mammoth storm dumped 73.2cm (28in) of snow on Portland, Maine, breaking a 1979 record, and the weather service said there is more on the way.”

What of weather and the bible? On Blogos, I read about weather and how it is a living metaphor for how damaging our sin is. “All creation groans… When Adam and Eve ate that fruit and got kicked out of paradise, God cursed the Earth (Genesis 3:17). When the people grew so wicked that God had to wipe them out with a flood, He cursed it again. (How? One moment it was a planet where people didn’t eat meat and lived to over 900 years, and the next it was this place.)”

Further, “In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Romans 8:19-21 tells us, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.” (source)

MSNBC reported a couple of months ago, after Superstorm Sandy, “The January-to-November period in the United States this year was the warmest first 11 months of any year on record for the contiguous states. And 2012 will likely surpass 1998 as the warmest year on record for the nation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration….” But in seeking a reason as to why these storms are appearing so frequently and intensely, they also reported “nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of white evangelical Protestants say they think the storms are evidence of the “end times” as predicted by the Bible” which I am sure drove them crazy.

The earth is decaying under the weight of creation’s sin. Romans 8:21 says “that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Since the Fall, the earth and its people have been on a downward trajectory of decay.

As anyone who plays Jenga knows, there is a tipping point and then suddenly the whole things comes crashing down. The crash-down is not chaos, because God is in control. At His designated moment, He will call His Bride home, recall His Spirit from His retraining ministry, and let it all go to the full measure of sin and His full cup of wrath. (Daniel 9:24, Genesis 15:16, Romans 2:5-8).

Right now we are living in a home of unrighteousness. Jesus in us is perfectly righteous, and that is why we are not of this world. This place is of unrighteous and of the darkness, while God has made us righteous by installing His Spirit in His children. However, 2 Peter 3:13 reminds us of His promise, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Meanwhile, I hope that the shaking of the world by our Creator God reminds the lost to repent and the saved to revere His power. (Haggai 2:6; Hebrews 12:26)

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,” (Job 38:22)

“He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;” (Psalm 78:26)

“I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.” (Psalm 55:8)

“The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.” (Ecclesiastes 1:6)

Now, for some fun. As the blizzard progressed, the obligatory snow-door shots appeared on Twitter. I noticed a trend.

@AbbyDiaz1 @JimCantore Little boy, big snow drift at our door

@4castrnh: @JimCantore, I think this is a more iconic image 4 #nemo!

South Portland, with Wgme Portland, Lori Gray-Chase and Monica Custeau

Maggie Koerth-Baker ‏@maggiekb1 This photo is older than #Nemo,

but think of it as a fun DIY project for those of you snowed in.

death, ecclesiastes, grief

A lamentation

Posted on February 9, 2013 by elizabethprata

Death came suddenly to our circle today. A woman is a widow, a son is fatherless, a daughter is brokenhearted. Grief descends and lays a heaviness on our hearts. Never more clearly are we reminded of the words of the bible,

“yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)

“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Selah” (Psalm 39:5)

Barnes Notes says, “For what is your life? – All your plans must depend of course on the continuance of your life; but what a frail and uncertain thing is that! How transitory and evanescent as a basis on which to build any plans for the future! Who can calculate on the permanence of a vapor? Who can build any solid hopes on a mist?”

And so now we clamor of Christ, our solid hope! We are entreating for Him to listen to our pleas as we lift up the grieving ones. Lord, wipe their tears. Lord, heal their heart. Lord, show them grace and comfort.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Every matter under heaven. It is time for others to rejoice, to dance, to speak. It is our turn to grieve.

deception, evil, faith

Evil men and impostors

Posted on February 9, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

There is a lot packed into these two verses! Our Lord is truly great in the way He speaks in such depth in so few words!

The verse is connected with a comma and the word “while”. It is plain- Christians are going to be persecuted. And persecution is going to happen because evil men and impostors flood the world and the church in ever increasing numbers. So no, it is not your imagination that things are getting worse. It is because they are getting worse.

The verse says evil men “and impostors” will go on. The word impostors is Greek, “goētes”. This is translated as “shameless cheat pretending to use supernatural power; an actor (cheap impostor), looking for self-gain, i.e. posing to be someone he isn’t…’a charlatan’, used only in 2 Tim 3:13, refers to a seducer (properly, a wailer) – a fraud who “sounds off” like a whining enchanter. This person uses their verbal spells and incantations to give the (false) impression they can do miracles.”

The entire comment is linked to the description at the start, a long list Paul records for Timothy, and us, to be warned by. He’d mentioned Jannes and Jambres, two of Pharaoh’s sorcerers who (for a while) copied God’s miracles He performed through Moses. What we should be wary of is the fact that we’re being told that these aforementioned evil men are going to use their verbal skills to deceive, and I’m not just talking about the obvious ones like Benny Hinn or Joyce Meyer. Or even Joel Osteen. These were sorcerers who can charm you and deceive you like no others. Remember, the two that Paul mentioned copied God’s miracles one for one during the first few plagues! They are powerfully deceptive.

Paul had said that the deceivers are evil. MacArthur wrote, “They are evil. That’s poneros, it’s used of Satan in Matthew 13:19, they’re as malicious and wicked as he is.”

OK, so that’s pretty evil.

And they are going to get worse and worse. Each individual man will wax worse and worse, and the general deceptions will get worse and worse. Attendant with the deceptions will come persecution.

Barnes Notes explains,

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse – That is, it is the character of such men to do this; they may be expected to do it. This is the general law of depravity – that if men are not converted, they are always growing worse, and sinking deeper into iniquity. Their progress will be certain, though it may be gradual, since “nemo repente turpissimus.” The connection here is this: that Timothy was not to expect that he would be exempt from persecution 2 Timothy 3:12, by any change for the better in the wicked men referred to. He was to anticipate in them the operation of the general law in regard to bad men and seducers – that they would grow worse and worse. From this fact, he was to regard it as certain that he, as well as others, would be liable to be persecuted. The word rendered “seducers” occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, properly, a “juggler, or diviner;” and then, a “deceiver, or impostor.” Here it refers to those who by seductive arts, lead persons into error.”

The Latin phrase ‘nemo repente turpissimus’ is translated “No man becomes a villain all at once.”

And the last part of the verse, ‘being deceived” is explained thus by Barnes Notes,

And being deceived – Under delusion themselves. The advocates of error are often themselves as really under deception, as those whom they impose upon. They are often sincere in the belief of error, and then they are under a delusion; or, if they are insincere, they are equally deluded in supposing that they can make error pass for truth before God, or can deceive the Searcher of hearts. The worst victims of delusion are those who attempt to delude others.”

MacArthur wrote,

These are dangerous times…dangerous times. The closer we come to the time of our Lord’s return, the worse men get. And the worse their influence gets and the accumulation of all the lies and false teaching mounts and escalates and we’re in dangerous times. And dangerous times call for strong people.”

Are you strong? Jesus said in Matthew 12:29

Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.”

You ARE strong! Barnes tells us, “A man could not break into the house of a strong man and take his property unless he had rendered the man himself helpless. If he had taken his goods, it would therefore be sufficient proof that he had bound the man. So I, says he, have taken this “property – this possessed person” – from the dominion of Satan. It is clear proof that I have subdued “Satan himself,” the “strong” being that had him in possession.”

Jesus is the strong One in you! He has busted satan out of your house (your body) and delivered you from the dominion of darkness! There is no one more strong that Jesus, and it is He that is in you. He is the best,t he top, the most, the superlative among all superlatives. There is no possible way you could be stronger than to rely on the Strong One who is inside you and loves you and made you His child. It is He that is in us who resists satan and overcomes that old serpent. No charms or deceivers can come if you rely on Jesus because even though things on the outside of us go from bad to worse, HE IS ALWAYS THE SAME. (Hebrews 13:8)

Victory in Jesus!

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

photo credit: Sprengben via photopin cc

ahmadinejad, iran, khamenei, nuclear, tribulation

Has Iran become a nuclear nation?

Posted on February 8, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Matt Drudge had a headline under a compelling graphic yesterday afternoon.

I am a child of the cold war, born in 1960 and raised in my formative years with Sputnik at my back and the ‘sending a man to the moon and returning him safely to earth’ to my front. The 70s and 80s are still vivid in my memory of the Russkies, Reds, Commies that were neck and neck militarily with the US and someday might even invade. And nukes. Goodness, the nukes we all worried about.

In the 90s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a new generation was raised without the Red boogeyman as a political specter. We all went on to “greener” pastures, literally, with worrying about the environment and global warming and population control. The Bomb was so passe.

But in 2007 when the Russians started to make a surprise comeback, those of us who were old enough to remember the Cold War, Iron Curtain, East Germany, Berlin Wall, and the military buildup, collectively shuddered. The bomb is back. Oh, boy, is it back.

In God’s economy, the bomb never went away. But more on that in a minute.

Yesterday Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (above, right) and Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei (left) revealed that they already have the bomb. This may be true. It may not be true. We will see. But the point is, they want it and one way or another. Iran is going to wind up possessing a bomb, if they don’t already. Here is the news article-

Ahmadinejad: Iran already a nuclear state, but has no intention of launching attack on Israel
“Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that while Iran is already a nuclear state, it has no intention of attacking Israel. Ahmadinejad was interviewed on the eve of his visit to Cairo, where he will attend the 12th Islamic Summit Conference, due to open there on Wednesday. … Ahmadinejad said the world must now treat Iran as a nuclear country. “They want Iran to go back to what it was in the past, but they won’t succeed. They assume we’ll give in to pressure; such thoughts are misguided. We’re already an industrial and nuclear country, a country that has conquered space.”

Wait, back that up- a ‘nuclear country’? Well, maybe they mean nuclear power. Like, electricity.

Maybe so, maybe not so. The interview went on-

“Mentioning the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran, Ahmadinejad said that while it might be easy to launch missiles or attack using fighter jets, Iran’s response and defense capability were important in this context.”

Ahmadinejad is being cagy, perhaps to save face in recovering from the terrible loss of the Fordow nuclear processing plant, sabotaged two weeks ago. Maybe Ahmadinejad is telling the truth.

Is there a biblical take on nuclear war?

Yes, and no. The bible does not explicitly mention nuclear missiles in the Tribulation, of course. But it is my opinion, nuclear exchanges will take place. I will offer scriptures on why I think so and leave it to you as to whether the future portends nuclear war, or not.

Zechariah 14:12 tells of the time when Jesus returns. His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and the mount will split during a major earthquake and make a huge valley. At that time, the armies of satan will be surrounding and attacking Jerusalem. Jesus’s return stops it. He says, “And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.” (Zechariah 14:12-15).

The ‘plague’ could be an actual plague like the one that attacked Herod when worms ate him and he died. But the description here sounds much more like hat happens to flesh during a nuclear blast. I looked it up. The eyes, tongue, lungs, internal organs etc literally melt.

Revelation 6:14 speaks of a great earthquake and other signs happening: stars disappear and the sky recedes like a scroll. In my research about what happens when a nuclear blast detonates, I learned that there is a shock wave that travels in the air. The shock wave travels at supersonic speed, as well as the wave that travels upward, carrying the dirt, ground, and debris with it. A vacuum immediately around the blast occurs during this time. It is like the atmosphere rolls up and then rolls back.

In the aftermath of Gog Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39, there is a scene which is explicitly described. Ezekiel 39:11-16 has it:

“On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord God. They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make their search. And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. (Hamonahe is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.”

The specifications for cleanup are similar to a bio-hazard protocol which would be instituted after a nuclear blast. In addition, the name “Hamon Gog” means “multitude of Gog.” In the Hebrew it bespeaks of a multitude, multitude. A LOT of bodies. And we see that there are so many it takes 7 months to bury them and an entire valley has to be set aside for the mass graves. It seems that nuclear blasts would be one kind of weapon to cause such massive casualties.

In Isaiah 17:1 the oracle states that Damascus will cease to be a city. Instead it will be heap of ruins. Even during the London Blitz of 1940 by Germany with conventional weapons, the city was not reduced to a heap of ruins. And Hitler tried his best. 348 German bombers escorted by 617 fighters blasted London for 12 hours. However, a nuclear blast could reduce a city to rubble…

In Revelation 6:8, Death and Hades ride out on a pale horse. A quarter of the earth’s people are killed and after that in Revelation 9:15 another third of the world is killed. As a matter of fact, so many die during the 7 years that Jesus said no flesh would be saved if He does not cut short the time. (Matthew 24:22).

Now, God does not need me to make a case for Him. He could move His hand and that many people would succumb to death at any moment. But it seems that with so many nuclear weapons still in the hands of man, the high level of deaths during this prophesied time of total war, and the verses which seem to indicate nukes are used given the effects recorded in Isaiah, Revelation, Zechariah and Ezekiel, that it seems logical to conclude that nuclear weapons are launched at some point.

The blessing is that the believer will not be here to endure any of that. Jesus Christ is not going to put His bride thought nuclear winter and radiation fallout. We will be take up to be with Him where He is- in the place He has prepared for us, (John 14:3) New Jerusalem

So Iran claims to have the bomb. Well…the Tribulation will be a time when man’s inclinations of evil will be a time when nukes will most likely be used. What do you think?

ring of fire, volcanoes

Four different volcanoes, four separate eruptions happening at the same time, unprecedented

Posted on February 7, 2013 by elizabethprata

Fox News reports,

A team of Russian photographers were able capture an incredibly rare event as four volcanoes erupted simultaneously within about 100 miles of each other. The amazing display occurred in the Kamchatka region in Russia’s far East. The photographers also attached a video camera to the outside of their helicopter, and it rotated 360 degrees to capture all of the eruptions. Martha MacCallum discussed the phenomenon with Corey Powell of Discover Magazine, who said the Siberian region is home to 29 active volcanoes and about 150 dormant ones. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like this. Four different volcanoes, four separate eruptions happening at the same time, unprecedented,” said Powell, who went on to explain why this activity is occurring in that part of the world.

“Geologic frenzy” lol. “No one has ever seen this before”. This is the same area that is tied in with the Ring of Fire earthquakes I reported on Sunday and yesterday.

Revelation shows that volcanic activity will be prevalent in the Tribulation,

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,” (Rev 6:12). The sun turning black as sackcloth seems to be a reference to what we now call volcanic fog. I wrote about that here

Joel’s end time, Day of the Lord references contain one about pillars of smoke:
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.” (Joel 2:30)

NOT that the Tribulation/Day of the LORD has begun, no. But that the increased activity certainly is noteworthy. When scientists say “unprecedented” then personally I take it as another birth pang. Combined with the huge earthquake last night at the Santa Cruz Islands, and being part of the same Ring of Fire, then I just take it all the more as another sign of God’s work in the world.

You know the verse in Revelation 22:12 where Jesus “Behold! I am coming quickly”? Some translations say ‘soon.’ Others say, ‘quickly.’ But the word for quickly/soon is tachu, from where we get tachometer. A tachometer measures speed, not time. It gives the sense that the engine is revving up, and up, and up. The speed is increasing. A tachometer measures the revolutions per minute of the engine. Strong’s explains the word’s use:

“used of God’s promptness characterizing how He has ordered all physical scenes of life to happen on His perfect timetable without unnecessary “delay” (Rev 1:1, 22:6). It does not mean “immediately” or necessarily “in a very short time” but rather “without any delay.”

There are indications of another financial collapse in both America and Europe fairly imminently. There is the nuclear problem of Iran (which I have a post partly prepared for tomorrow) and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. The Chinese and Japanese tensions inched closer to flashpoint this week. Fighting in Damascus got worse yesterday. There is a lot going on and I don’t know where we are on His timetable, nor what events there still are to endure in this world before the rapture comes. But it definitely seems to me that things are speeding up.

earthquake, tsunami

UPDATED–Major earthquake at Santa Cruz Islands

Posted on February 6, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Update below.

Last Saturday, three days ago, I’d mentioned that the Ring of Fire earthquakes were increasing. I listed the ten major quakes that had been happening and noted that the majority of them occurred at the Santa Cruz Islands, east of Australia.

This evening an 8.0 magnitude quake occurred there and two 6.4 aftershocks. (Some scientists are saying they were foreshocks). A tsunami watch is up for Australia, New Zealand, and American Samoa. A three foot tsunami was measured at Solomon Island. Stay tuned for more reports of tsunami or damage/casualties. This is the first quake over 8.0 magnitude since 4/11/12 when M8.2 occurred off Sumatra.

The Solomon Islands 8.0 earthquake last night generated a small but deadly tsunami. Solomons officials reported two 4-foot, 11-inch waves hitting the western coast of Santa Cruz Island. According to George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister, 70 to 80 homes and properties were damaged.

A tsunami of 3 feet was measured in Lata wharf, The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported. Smaller waves hit Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Some villages have been flattened and at least 4 people are dead. Aftershocks in the 5.5 plus range continue.

bible gateway, geneva bible

Geneva bible now available on Bible Gateway

Posted on February 5, 2013 by elizabethprata

Some of you have asked in the past about the different translations of the bible. There is always ongoing debate as to which translation is the best, and there are always discussions about the translation process.

I use the English Standard Version most often, though I also own a New American Standard bible and a Holman Standard Christian bible. I own a John MacArthur study bible and that one is the ESV so that’s the one I tend to use most.

But my favorite is the Geneva bible. In studying about the translations, (I was really trying to figure out what the furor over the KJV was all about), I came across information about the Geneva. It predates the King James by at least 50 years, lol, and is a much better translation.

The only difficulty is that the Geneva isn’t one of the selections on BibleCC.com or Biblegateway. I downloaded it here (the link also contains the interesting history of the Geneva bible) but it’s awkward to get straight to the verse you want.

Now BibleGateway has the Geneva online as one of their selections.

Now on Bible Gateway: the World’s First Study Bible!
“What would you say is the most significant English translation of the Bible? Most of us would probably nominate the King James Bible for that honor—no English Bible can match its profound and ongoing influence on English literature and religion over the last 400 years. But there’s actually an English Bible translation that predates the King James Version by over 50 years, and which has an equally important place in Western Christianity: the Geneva Bible, which we’re pleased to announce has just been added to Bible Gateway’s online library! … The Geneva Bible can be found in the Bible version drop-down on the Bible Gateway homepage; you can also browse it from our Geneva Bible page. For the best experience, we recommend making sure you have footnotes and cross-references turned on as you read it online—it’s in the footnotes that you’ll find the original study notes that made this Bible so useful to readers.”

The essay goes on to explain about the bible and how to access it from their translations drop-down menu. I’m not interested in starting a discussion about the best or most useful translation- I am only offering information about a valuable resource, Biblegateway, which just got even more valuable. Enjoy your research and your perusal of the bible- in whatever translation you choose 🙂

potter, sanctification

Of Pottery and Christian living, honor and beauty

Posted on February 5, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

When I visited Italy with a friend, we went to Deruta, a town near Perugia. It is a pottery town, where the major ‘majolica’ comes from. Somehow we ended up at the 13th oldest family run business in the world: U. Grazia Maioliche.

Ubaldo Grazia was on hand and we were personally escorted by him around the facility. When I say ‘facility’ picture a 16th century Umbrian rambling farmhouse. However the age of the place can’t hide the fact that they make high-end pottery in both traditional and cutting edge designs and the world’s top importers clamor for Grazia maiolica. Williams Sonoma, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany import from Grazia, who is one of the better ceramics producers.

We were allowed to take photos, so here are some that I took and others are from the Grazia website.

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:6)

The LORD formed Adam from the dust of the ground and His breath (Genesis 2:7). To heal the blind man, Jesus “spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud.” (John 9:6)

He is sovereign and He makes us as He wills. Can the clay speak back to the Potter? No, we are depraved, unfit for any use!

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6).

Yet our Father, who is holy, makes us useful for His glory. He cleans us. Then He uses us. This is a privilege. He doesn’t need to use us, as He is perfectly self-sufficient. But He does use us and what an honor it is.

Grazia workers hand painting the vessels

We are cleaned inside when we become born-again. And as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, (Philippians 2:12) we become brighter on the outside too. Slowly the Potter’s hand adorns us with righteousness as the Spirit’s sanctification process saturates us even more each day.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

While here on earth, we can see the progression of a person’s sanctification, dimly. We see the transformation of their lives in their speech, and their acts, and in their countenance. They shine.

But imagine what shining countenances and trophies of grace we will see in each other when we are fully glorified! We will see Him as He is.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)

Like the unfinished pottery above, the Potter’s hand is always at work upon us. The dish is pretty, its design is nice and the color is sweet. However, not until we get to heaven will we see the full effect of His work upon the formerly shapeless lump which He formed, and made, and decided for which use, and then adorned with good works. (1 Timothy 2:8-10).

Jesus’s life, death and resurrection; the Spirit’s ministrations, the Father’s creation of us work together to make a vessel which has been made holy and beautiful. In all eternity, I will never comprehend the Goodness of a Savior who redeems polluted lumps of clay to His very bosom, and then spends our lifetimes making us beautiful.

Someday the work will be complete, and we shall see Him, and we shall be like Him…

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)

We will adorn His table at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Matthew 22:2; Revelation 19:9). All praise the Lamb who was slain!

“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:11-12)

Thank you, Jesus. Just…thank you.

adam, calvinism, conrad mbewe, super bowl

Stuff from other writers you may enjoy

Posted on February 5, 2013 by elizabethprata

Here are some uplifting or interesting essays from some elders in the faith that you might enjoy. This first one is by Thabiti Anyabwile, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman in the Grand Cayman Islands and a Council member with The Gospel Coalition.

And Such Were Some of You: “If we’re Christians, we’re not now what we once were. A great change has been wrought in our souls and our future.” Uplifting short story of a Muslim’s conversion. Salvation gets me crying every time.

Clint Archer writes about the biblical position of “Dad” and uses a sports analogy even this book nerd enjoyed.

Let’s not forget the moms. The Christian Pundit opines about The Stay-At-Home-Martyr? Not so, it’s about how blessed moms are.

If you have longer to spend, Pastor John Downey posted two video sermons by David Platt on biblical manhood and biblical womanhood.

Theologian Caleb Schumacher expertly addresses the Top Five Misconceptions of Calvinism. Read this if you’re confused about why all the hubbub, or just want to know more.

Conrad Mbewe writes from the land of Victoria Falls about The African Phenomenon of The Rented Crowd. Important to note when looking at photos and reports of filled-to-bursting congregations in Africa.

I thought this essay from the Reformation21 blog on “Losing Adam” was extremely interesting in light of the discernment essay I’d written yesterday about the recent attack on the accepted interpretation of Adam and Eve by Rabbi Manis Friedman. Jeremy Walker opened his essay by saying, “Losing Adam means losing so much more besides. That is because losing Adam is likely to prove the beginning of losing our Bibles.” “In the beginning” is in the beginning for a reason.

In The Daily Bible John MacArthur reminds us of God’s special provision for widows and orphans:
“Exodus 22:22 widow or fatherless child. God reserved His special attention for widows and orphans who often had no one to care for them. He also reserved a special reaction, His wrath, for those abusing and exploiting them. This wrath would work out in military invasions as the sword reduced the abusers’ families to the same status of being without spouse or parents.”

God is such a wonderful God- “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

Whether you’re in America or Africa, east to west, here or there, whether you’re a young man struggling with the sins of the Super Bowl half-time spectacle, a widow or orphan, a dad or mom keeping the family together, or just a sinner (we all fall under that category!) then just remember His eyes scan the earth, miss nothing, and see you there, little one, valiantly going forth day after mundane day, serving Him the best you can for His glory

alton brown, barley bread, gospel grains

Gospel Grains: barley bread and Alton Brown

Posted on February 4, 2013 by elizabethprata

In the Tribulation it is said that a day’s wages will only buy a loaf of bread. That is, the good, wheat bread. A day’s wages will buy three quarts of barley grain, for three loaves.

Revelation 6:6

“And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

A denarius is about a day’s pay, or roughly equivalent to 22 dollars today. You remember that the woman who poured the alabaster box’s contents of spikenard onto the feet of Jesus was chastised by Judas for wasting 300 denarii, or a year’s pay (Mark 14:5)

The lesser grain was barley, it is why even in the Tribulation you can buy more of it than you can buy wheat grain. The more refined grain was wheat.

Here, Food Network’s Alton Brown (who is a Christian & lives in GA) does a short spot as a sermon introduction on the Right from the Heart Ministries web page, a media ministry of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Metro Atlanta. It is called Gospel Grains, and he shows how the women of bible times made barley bread. It is very interesting. As always, I hope it brings to life for you the reality of the people who came before us were not just bible characters, but real men and women who carried the lamp of faith forward to you and I here today.

Gospel Grains – Sermon Intro from Johnson Ferry on Vimeo.