Author: elizabethprata

Christian writer and Georgia teacher's aide who loves Jesus, a quiet life, art, beauty, and children.
Posted in discernment, false teachers, God in a box

“God can use it…” Yes He can. But *will* He?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“I don’t agree with everything [insert false teacher’s name here] but there are some good things he/she says. God can use it.”

No.

EPrata photo, not EPrata

For people who say, well, ‘Don’t put God in a box, He can use anything’, you’re right, God can use anything. He can turn me into a giraffe. But will He? No, He created animals after their own kind. Just because God CAN turn me into a giraffe doesn’t mean He will.

There is the story of the demon-possessed slave girl in Acts which relates here.

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. (Acts 16:16-18)

Why didn’t Paul say, as so many pastors and teachers and women say today, “She is speaking truth. I don’t agree with everything she says, but God can certainly use her”?

Because it isn’t about the words such a person says, it’s the source. Paul taught,

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

He made four explicit points:

Righteousness v. lawlessness
Light v. darkness
Christ v. Belial (satan)
Believer v. unbeliever

He made four implicit points. The goal among believers is to be in:
partnership
fellowship
harmony
in common

Whatever flavor your favored partly or all-false teacher demonstrates from the second column, God will not use it. The dividing line is clear. Have nothing to do with those who are lawless, or dark, or of satan, or are an unbeliever.

He can do anything, even use a demon-possessed girl speaking truth – but He won’t. He didn’t. The Holy Spirit inside Paul was tormented hearing the slave girl speak heavenly glories from a satan-polluted mouth! (Acts 16:18). Any false teacher is demon influenced. In Galatians 1 Paul was astonished they were deserting the Gospel so quickly. In 2 Corinthians 11 he chastised them who put up with a different Gospel so easily. In Revelation 2, Jesus threatened the Thyatirans for tolerating a false prophetess. No, God won’t use falsity. His Son is too beautiful to Him and His Gospel is too pure. Why should he?

God chose to speak thru His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2), not through satan. So why would you limit God and put Him in a box by saying He can’t follow through on what He said He will do? Trust Him. If He said He will work through the Gospel given rightly, He will.

And what if…”God can use” a false teacher’s words not to draw women to Christ but to harden them in their sin? Be careful what you say “God can use.” God DOES use sinners, wolves, and false doctrine, but not in the way most people think.

I’ll end with a best quote from a sister in Christ. When the TV series “The Bible” was released by Roma Downey, Sunny Shell reviewed it. She put in a Q & A to her review. She was asked,

Q. “Even though there’s a lot of error in this movie, still, don’t you think it’s a great way to show people who God really is, I mean, can’t God use anything to save someone?

A. No, I don’t think this movie is a great way to reveal the truth about God since it’s filled with lies about God. And yes, I realize God can use anything to save someone, but He only chose to use the message of the true Gospel to save all men (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Nowhere in Scripture does God command or allow His children to use the work of Satan to proclaim His truth. And God is clear, anyone who denies Him and defiles His holy character or word, works for the devil, not for God. 

Since the beginning of time, the devil has attempted to minimize and blaspheme God’s holy character by lulling us to disregard His holiness, justice and righteousness. God has never called His children of light to partner with the works of darkness (2 Cor 6:15-16). As God’s children, we are commanded to pursue holiness, rather than try to find a way to compromise the glory of Christ in order to “reach more people”.

If I hear a woman saying “I know [such and such false teacher] doesn’t teach everything according to the Bible, but I like some things she teaches” then I know one thing for sure. Something in that false teacher’s doctrine appeals to her flesh and she is unwilling to give that up.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Posted in theology

Is there a scriptural basis for discernment?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

EPrata photo

Part 1 here: Why are there so many false pastors?

In these biblically illiterate days, many people focus their anger on the person calling out false teachers. They become angry with those who are warning against false doctrines or movements. Discernment is important! But, is there a scriptural basis for discernment activity, such as calling out false teachers, or warning the brethren of faddish leaven-soaked movements?

Yes.

The fact of the Spiritual gift: Some in the faith have been given the spiritual gift of “discerning of spirits.” Some translations say “distinguishing of spirits.” This is embedded in the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

The purpose of the spiritual gift: The reason some have been given this spiritual gift is to be a smoke alarm for the local body, an early warning system as it were. ALL spiritual gifts are to be employed for the good of the church and the glory of God. Discerners are to use their gift of discernment to warn others so that false doctrine does not creep in. False doctrine is deadly. It’s “leaven” that pollutes the whole loaf.

Did you know that every New Testament book except Philemon warns of false doctrine or false teachers and outlines the impact falsity has on the church? It is a HUGE issue. It is something the NT does not ignore, and we should not either. So the Spirit installed discerners to help keep His church pure.

EPrata photo

Discerners do not have extra sensory perception, nor direct revelations from God. It’s not a mystical activity. They just know the Word so well, they can spot a counterfeit at 100 paces. It would insult the Spirit to have been given the gift of discernment by Him but to remain silent and not use it. Jesus rebuked the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2, for knowing the metaphorical Jezebel was teaching falsely, but did nothing about it.

Discernment for the layman: Though some do not possess the specific spiritual gift of discernment, ALL people in the faith are to work at honing their discernment. Hebrews 5:13-14 expects the believer to train in discernment. Acts 17:11 tells us all to be like the noble Bereans who consulted the word to compare whether what they were hearing was true or false. 1 John 4:1 tells us to test the spirits to see if they are from God.

So even if a person does not have the gift, they are to be working at being discerning themselves through constantly being in the Word and by training and practice of discernment.

Calling out the false: The folks that feel they possess the gift, or are pastors or teachers in charge of the sheep, have a DUTY to warn. Jude speaks to this, in just one of many examples. Jude 1:22 speaks of snatching some from the fire. Matthew 7:15 says to “beware” of false prophets that come in like hungry wolves. Beware is an action, we must be on guard. And many other verses…

So if one person who is more mature than another (Hebrews 5:14) sees that their friend is about to be devoured by a wolf, or led astray, or headed to a shipwreck (all allusions in the NT for what happens to the undiscerning), is it loving to look away, go home, and pray? Yes, prayer is effective (James 5:16). But paired with a gentle but direct warning, it is even more effective.

Discernment Police: The person who chides the discerner is usually one who likes their idols. They should be concerned with their own walk and its purity and holiness. Though I rarely receive this kind of reply, the reply I’d love to see is this:

“Oh no, you say So and So is false? Please tell me more. I want to honor Jesus with all my might, and would be crushed to think I’m polluting my faith by being unwary. Help me understand.”

THAT is the answer we all hope to get, SHOULD get, because Jesus is more important than anything.

People have too soft of an attitude toward false teachers and false doctrine. The serpent deceived Eve with one question. He tried to bamboozle JESUS of all people, tempting THE Word with the word of God. The concern for all of us should be holiness and purity of our walk, training in discernment, and being so knowledgeable of the word that we are immersed in truth as our armor.

Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10 in some form or fashion tell us to mark and avoid the false teachers. These are commands. We cannot mark nor avoid if we do not know who they are. We should thank discerners for helping us to do this.

WHY are there so many warnings about false doctrine in the New Testament? Because it’s important! And because we are all easily deceived: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Balance: Now it is true that some people get so consumed with discernment that they wind up looking for the dirt rather than focusing on Jesus. They are imbalanced, spending too much time on discernment and not enough in the word and other spiritual disciplines. Discerners like that give the spiritual gift a bad name. Balance and moderation is key.

Resource: Balance in our theology is important

Grace: If someone is charging you dear reader, with being too active in discernment, is it because they’re concerned for your balance? Do they think you call out TOO much? On the other hand, are your naysayers uninformed of the verses on discernment, or uninterested in battling against the false in themselves or in their sphere? Are they misunderstanding the importance, given the time and space the NT gives to it? In that case, give them grace and help them learn why it’s important.

Proverbs 11:30, The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Resources:

Part 1 here: Why are there so many false pastors?

What does the Bible teach about Discernment?

John MacArthur, “Defining Discernment” 

Ligonier (Sinclair Ferguson) “What is Discernment?” 

Posted in theology

Why are there so many false *pastors*?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I recently finished a short biography of RC Sproul by Nate Pickowicz. It was an excellent book. In it, I read of RC’s description of how false teachers do their work and why they are so dangerous.

“In my college days, there was a pre-ministerial fraternity for those who were planning to go on to seminary, and while I cannot read anyone’s heart, it seemed as if the majority of members of that particular club were quite hostile to all things Christian. I scratched my head and wondered, “What are these men doing preparing for the ministry when they’re so hostile to the things of Christ?” In time, it became apparent to me that one of the reasons why people go into the ministry is to refute the truth claims of Christianity.

Becoming a pastor is one of the easier ways to gain a public hearing; the preacher can air his views to a captive audience for an hour each Sunday Morning. However, those unbelieving men (and sometimes women) who are ordained to ministry usually find it difficult to sustain a viable ministry in the local church for any length of time, so they tend to gravitate to administrative positions, and before you know it, the unconverted control whole denominations.” ~RC Sproul, originally in “Matthew” (Wheaton: Crossway) 2013, p 656.

Eye opening, isn’t it? We know that 2 Peter 2:1 says the false teachers creep in to spy on our liberty, and Galatians 2:4, and so many other verses. But to see it laid out so clearly, that they are unconverted and abuse the pulpit to confuse and deceive the sheep, it’s startling.

I remember my conversion and when I first started to go to church. I felt a deep sense of relief, now I was safe! In one sense, I was safe, safe in the hand of Jesus where no one could snatch me out. In another sense I was now in more danger than ever. I had a new worldview, so I was the salmon that swam upstream from the crowd, whom the bear looks for and catches. Whom the lion roams around seeking to devour.

And this is how false teaching gets in, or, one of the ways.

The reason they get in is because the people want them. Believers who may turn out to be false themselves (Matthew 7:21-23), or even true believers who are unlearned and undiscerning…they do the action of heaping up the false teachers. 2 Timothy 4:3 tells us this

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

And there is a false teacher to match every flavor of sin. There’s the greedy money hungry false teachers, (Simon Magus of Acts 8) or the licentious false teachers (Revelation 3’s ‘Jezebel’), the heretic (Alexander and Hymenaeus), hyper-authoritative false teachers (Pharisees), teachers (OT prophets) who tell you what you want to hear, like peace when there is no peace, or prosperity or healing), and so on.

Challies outlines 7 False teachers in the Church today, listing 7 types. Seven certainly isn’t comprehensive.

Paul Washer said:

“False teachers are God’s judgment on people who don’t want God, but in the name of religion plan on getting everything their carnal heart desires. That’s why a Joel Osteen is raised up. Those people who sit under him are not victims of him. He is the judgment of God upon them because they want exactly what he wants and it’s not God.”

It’s the people who do the heaping up and clinging to false teachers. The catalyst is people, and satan is only to happy to provide them to the people who want their carnal desires stoked.

It’s the people who raise them up, and combined with Sproul’s outlook on one of the ways they get in, it’s clear we have a problem.

And the people who call them out often bear the brunt of the anger of the false converts or the deceived believer, who charge us with being mean or inappropriate. This is a way that satan uses the unlearned to protect his teachers.

Here are two resources that may help:

John MacArthur, “Defining Discernment” 

Ligonier (Sinclair Ferguson) “What is Discernment?” 

Tomorrow, more on discernment; what it is and isn’t, and the scriptural basis for discerning.

Posted in theology

Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

#1: Iddo (Old Testament)
#2: The List of Offenders (Old Testament)
#3: Trophimus (New Testament)
#4 Eutychus (New Testament)

I never forgot Voddie Baucham’s introduction to a certain sermon. It was back when he was preaching here in the US and on rotation with other pastors in his church. He said his turn came up in the expository preaching passage, and it was the list of names Paul wrote. The passage (I think it was Paul’s sign-off of Romans 16). He said preachers usually read the passage something like: ‘The verse says ‘And give my love to…all these names I can’t pronounce…’ “

Of course, Voddie always says there is a lot to learn from “just a list of names.” Voddie’s preached on the concept before, that ALL scripture has something to offer, even if it was just an introduction or sign-off of a bunch of names in one of Paul’s epistles. Names are important!

Today we see the name “Eutychus.” This young man is mentioned just once, in Acts 20:7-12, but was the central character in a miracle.

The scene is a home where Paul is preaching. The house is packed. Because the third story is mentioned, the dwelling was probably an insulae, a lower-class apartment building in an area where other apartment buildings were, AKA tenements. The poorer someone was the higher up in the building they lived. The insulae were configured as you might imagine apartments are today, but square with a central courtyard with a fountain. Many of the lowest class ones were not made of bricks but of wood. No such dwellings exist today in Troas, the city (now called Alexandria Troas) is mostly ruins. But in the city of Ostia Italy, we can still see many preserved apartment tenements (insulae). In fact, most urban dwellers lived in such apartments, the density of which would not be seen again until the Industrial Revolution. (Source)

Ostia Antica, regione I, via dei Balconi (public domain). Source

Apartments were cramped and many were not well made or maintained by their owners. Cicero admitted he was a poor landlord when he wrote:

“Two of my shops have collapsed and the others are showing cracks, so that even the mice have moved out, to say nothing of the tenants.  ‘Immortal gods, what do such trivialities matter to me?”

So perhaps Eutychus’ fall was not totally due to sleepiness but perhaps a poor condition of the window or the dwelling itself? … hmmm.

Anyway, Paul was leaving the next day, and he wanted to impart as much as he possibly could to his beloved friends. Paul liked to wring out every minute for Jesus.

And he did. He began preaching probably after dinner when they had completed the Lord’s supper, and Paul continued on past midnight.

By iessi – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1259830

The three-story house was filled with people, all the lamps were lit, and it was a Mediterranean evening. Lamps in the first century usually emitted a great deal of smoke and it would have become hard to breathe, so, since the crowd was staying in one spot for a long time, shutters were opened to allow fresh air in. All this to say, hot and stuffy. With not a lot of movement, with dinner in their bellies, and the length of time they were sitting still, young man Eutychus nodded off.

This happens. Who can blame him? I get sleepy at all-day meetings when they resume after lunch. The difference is, Eutychus was perched on the open windowsill. When he fell asleep, he fell out the window. He fell to the ground and was pronounced dead.

Imagine the scene. Hazy, warm lamplight, wafting breeze, cicadas, a murmuring voices, all was hushed, then- SUDDEN DEATH!

What a shock!

Jerusalem old city. Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for he is still alive. When Paul had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. (Acts 20:7-12).

They didn’t have to plan a funeral but could continue to learn from Paul immediately and deepen their love for the Lord through His word!

See similar event in 1 Kings 17:21 where Elijah also fell on the widow’s son and asked the Lord to resurrect the lad. And the same in 2 Kings 4:34 with Elisha.

Eutychus was dead. Not mostly dead, but all dead. The first century people saw death often. They knew dead. Luke the physician wrote Acts, he records that Eutychus was dead, and Luke would know. Yet Eutychus came alive!

Imagine having your name inscripturated forever. You’re mentioned in God’s holy word! Anna’s faithfulness, Mary’s submission, Lydia’s hospitality…wow. And on the flip side, also Jezebel forever linked with deep evil. Cain always known as the rebel. And more innocently, Eutychus, the sleeper, lol. Forever known as the guy who fell asleep.

But the positives are these. He was young, but desired to attend a meeting where Paul would be preaching. He didn’t say instead, ‘I’ve got sheep to herd or nets to fix or a girl to date.’ He chose to go and be present where the word of God was taught. Sleepiness at midnight is normal, but then he became the central figure in a display of the power of God! God can resurrect the dead, using ordinary men like Paul and young men like Eutychus!

So now, Eutychus is forever known as the man whom God resurrected from the dead! The man God obviously had plans for. I wonder how Eutychus lived his life for Christ in his remaining days on earth.

The scene in the home where Eutychus fell, crowded with earnest and eager listeners, desiring to have a firehose of theology aimed at them, clinging to as much as they can from the learned lecturer, reminds me of another scene in these present days.

It happened shortly after the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union disintegrated. The loosely united regions and nations under Russian control splintered into their own little countries, and Kazakhstan was one of them. Pastors who had been persecuted or exiled collected in a first-ever conference, and who did they ask to come and teach them? John MacArthur.

They gave MacArthur 6 days to teach them all the doctrines of the Bible. 1600 men came from all over the region, traveling and staying where they could. They crowded into hot, stuffy room to listen to Dr MacArthur and be taught all day and all night, previously not having had the benefit of seminaries or even openly learning because of the atheistic Communist regime which oppressed them. MacArthur said the sessions were about 12 hours long.

Such things as the Eutychus house still happen. Anywhere or at any period of time on earth, if there are people of the Lord there will be people eager to gather and learn more about Him. Eutychus’ time wasn’t up, the Lord had more of a number of days for him. And we will meet him in heaven! Remember, the people we read about in the Bible are real, and those who are said to be believers we will see and commune with in heaven, praising our Savior!

Sources:

EUTYCHUS IN TROAS: THE ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF HIS FALL by Mark Wilson in Biblica.

Roman domestic architecture: the insula By SmartHistory

Logos 9 Bible Software.

Other entries in the series:

Little Known Bible Characters #8: Tryphena and Tryphosa
Little Known Bible Characters #7: Salome
Little Known Bible Characters #6: King Chedorlaomer
Little Known Bible Characters #5: Harbonah the Eunuch
Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus
Little Known Bible Characters #3: Trophimus
Little Known Bible Characters #2: ‘The List of Offenders’
Little Known Bible Characters #1: Iddo

Posted in theology

The Great London Exhibition of 1851: The Crystal Palace

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The other day I wrote about transparent gold How, when gold is stripped down to a few molecules at the nano-level, it becomes transparent.

As I worked through the verses in Revelation, and checked old-time Commenters to see how they handled the Revelation verses about the transparent gold in the New Jerusalem (because they didn’t know about nano-tech back then), I came across Barnes’ Notes on it.

Albert Barnes lived from 1798 – 1870. He was an American theologian, clergyman, abolitionist, temperance advocate, and author. He’s best known for his extensive Bible commentary and notes on the Old and New Testaments, published in a total of 14 volumes in the 1830s, says Wikipedia. You can read his Commentary online, here.

By Read & Co. Engravers & Printers – View from the Knightsbridge Road of The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for Grand International Exhibition of 1851. Dedicated to the Royal Commissioners., London: Read & Co. Engravers & Printers, 1851., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48718934

Barnes was alive and an adult when the 1851 London Exposition occurred.

The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its 990,000 square feet exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution. Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet long, with an interior height of 128 feet, and was three times the size of St Paul’s Cathedral.

The 60,000 panes of glass were manufactured by the Chance Brothers. The 990,000 square foot building with its 128 foot high ceiling was completed in thirty-nine weeks. The Crystal Palace boasted the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building. It astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights. Wikipedia

The Industrial Revolution was surely a marvel for the people living in that time. For them to witness the construction of such a magnificent building, the likes of which had never been accomplished before, must have been a memorable moment! All that glass…no need for interior illumination…wow.

Just as we in this day and age still struggle with some of the descriptions in the Bible (Cherubim in the shape of a wheel within a wheel with eyes all around, anyone?) so also the old time people had a hard time envisioning describing what the New Jerusalem will look like. Until that is, The Crystal Palace was built.

The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. (Revelation 21:18).

Revelation 21:18 Commentary by Albert Barnes, “Barnes’ Notes”-

Perhaps the reflection of the sunbeams from the “Crystal Palace,” erected for the late “industrial exhibition” in London, would convey a better idea of what is intended to be represented here than anything which our world has furnished. The following description from one who was an eyewitness, drawn up by him at the time, and without any reference to this passage, and furnished at my request, will supply a better illustration of the passage before us than any description which I could give:

“Seen as the morning vapors rolled around its base – its far-stretching roofs rising one above another, and its great transept, majestically arched, soaring out of the envelope of clouds – its pillars, window-bars, and pinnacles, looked literally like a castle in the air; like some palace, such as one reads of in idle tales of Arabian enchantment, having about it all the ethereal softness of a dream. Looked at from a distance at noon, when the sunbeams came pouring upon the terraced and vaulted roof, it resembles a regal palace of silver, built for some Eastern prince; ‘when the sun at eventide sheds on its sides his parting rays, the edifice is transformed into a temple of gold and rubies;’ and in the calm hours of night, when the moon walketh in her brightness, the immense surface of glass which the building presents looks like a sea, or like throwing back, in flickering smile, the radiant glances of the queen of heaven.”

A Christian’s future is to live in the Crystal Palace of God, glittering and bright, filled with the glory of God

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; (Revelation 21:22-26)

Posted in theology

Don’t worry, the tiger can’t escape…

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Ocelot. Photo by Pamela Newton on Unsplash

I discovered the series of children’s books by The Millers. I found “Missionary Stories with the Millers” which is aimed at 6-10 year olds. The stories are about missionaries and are intended to be inspiring and interesting for kids. Here is the blurb:

“Experience thrilling adventure as the Christian missionaries on these pages meet witch doctors, disease, drought, hate-filled guerillas, a Bible thief, and killer cats. Each story is based on actual happenings from the lives of real people.”

I was inspired and entertained myself by this story in the book, one of many. It’s called “The Tiger Can’t Escape” featuring pilot missionary Jack McGuckin. Colonel Jack served 4 years as a pilot in Peru with Wycliffe Bible Translators before going on to be a global evangelist for 30 years. Before all that, Col. Jack was a Marine Corps fighter pilot who served in WWII and the Korean Conflict. Col. McGuckin had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Bronze Star and the Presidential Citation. Born in 1921, he died in 2007. Here is the adapted anecdote from the book Missionary Stories, called “The Tiger Can’t Escape!”

“The tiger cannot possibly escape from the basket,” said the sergeant. “Are you sure?” Jack the missionary pilot stood beside his small plane pushing back his cap as he wiped a trail of sweat from his forehead and looked doubtfully at the huge wicker basket.

Inside the basket, which had been made from reeds and strips of bark, crouched a fierce looking spotted cat. The tiger was really an ocelot, a tiny South American panther.

“Oh, si Señor,” the Peruvian soldier assured Jack. His white teeth flashed in his face as he grinned. “The tiger cat will be quite safe in your plane. My basket is very strong.” Jack was not enthusiastic about having a wild ocelot aboard the plane. He looked pretty mean. He was flying alone on this trip with a cargo of supplies for different missionary stations.

“I’m already carrying four live chickens and two turtles in a box,” Jack mused. “This plane is turning into Noah’s ark.” But Jack remembered the missionary director’s rule always cooperate with the government people whenever possible we are in their country by permission to preach the gospel, so be courteous.

“Yes, I will take your tiger along and deliver her to your friend,” Jack agreed. The two men loaded the big basket behind the back seat. The plane skimmed lightly over the river on its pontoons and rose into the air. Jack was flying one of the small fleet of mission planes which soared daily over the most savage dangerous jungles of South America. Any mistake on his part could bring his plane crashing down to vanish in the trackless expanse of jungle where death waited in many forms; from poisonous snakes… poisonous plants…and man-eating fish with sharp razor-sharp teeth… or head hunting Indians.

Not the actual plane and not Peru. Photo by Brandon Pierson on Unsplash

They all lurked in the thick green rain forest before airplanes came to the South American missions. The missionaries and the Bible translators had needed to travel on foot through the treacherous jungle trails or by small boats on the rivers. A trip to the nearest town or doctor might take days of dangerous travel. But now pilots like Jack took the same trip in an hour.

This made things so much easier for the brave missionaries who were risking their lives to bring the gospel to the Indians.

Jack whistled happily thinking about this as his hand skillfully held the controls. He peered through the plexiglass windows of the cockpit. Feet below were the lush jungles of the northern Peru with the strangely black waters of the Nanay River churning through them.

Suddenly a flurry of squawking noises erupted from the seat behind Jack. It sounded just like the noise of chickens that had made on his father’s farm the time a fox had crept into their hen house late at night. Whirling around in his seat, Jack saw that the ocelot had escaped! She was climbing over the seat yellow eyes gleaming as she hungrily looked at the chickens. Grabbing his canteen, Jack threw water at the big cat. Snarling, she slunk back into the luggage compartment. In just a few moments though, she started over the seat again. Frantic, the chickens flopped their wings and fought to free their feet from the vines that tied them together. Jack hurriedly hurled his empty canteen at the cat. He missed and the ocelot pounced, landing in the seat beside the chickens. Snapping the weed vines around their feet, the panicked chickens exploded in all directions. Their wings beat against the windows and in Jack’s face as the ocelot stood up on her hind legs.

Photo by Cecilia Rodríguez Suárez on Unsplash

Sharp claws swinging for a drumstick, feathers flew everywhere. Jack forgot all about flying the airplane and began grabbing for chickens. But it was no use. The ocelot soon had a chicken trapped on the floor under Jack’s seat and he could hear its sharp teeth crunching on flesh and bones.

The plane was three thousand feet up in the air and no help was near. What could Jack do? Would the ocelot be satisfied after a chicken dinner and sleep for a while, or would she decide to hunt for more meat?

Slash! One tiny foreleg tipped with steely claws shot out from under the seat toward Jack. For an instant the ocelot’s claws hooked into the pilot’s pants and then tore free. Jack’s pounding heart seemed to be squeezing the breath from his lungs. The tiger was hunting him with all of his might!

Jack kicked back at his enemy she held a blood-curdling cry of rage that filled the small plane. “Lord what shall I do? Help me find a place to land!” Jack prayed desperately looking out the window he spotted a small settlement by the river below. Jack rolled down the flaps of his plane and began to circle around for a landing. Kicking the cat with his heels every time she reached for his leg, he finally got the plane down to the water.

EPrata photo

A crowd of men appeared as Jack taxied the plane up to the bank. “Help!” he shouted out the window. “I have a loose tiger cat in here!” A dozen men jumped onto the pontoons at the same time all trying to see into the plane which began to sink.

“No!” cried Jack, “Not all at once!” The men jumped off again and their leader sent for a coil of rope. Soon the angry ocelot had been lassoed and safely tied up. Sighing with relief Jack thanked the Peruvians.

Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash

“Oh, it is nothing,” the leader smilingly told Jack. “We are just so glad you landed here. One of my men had a heart attack this morning, and may die if we cannot get him to the hospital. Will you take him along to the city?”

“Of course I will take him,” Jack agreed.

“So the Lord had a purpose in allowing the tiger cat to break loose,” Jack mused as he helped lift the sick man into the airplane. “God used a snarling ocelot and a scared pilot to get his plane to the right place and save this man’s life.”

Less than two hours later the sick man was safely in the hospital at Iquitos. The army officer had his ocelot and Jack was on his way back to the mission station.

This loose ocelot incident occurred in the 1960s on almost one of Jack’s first missionary flights. Jack was fairly new pilot with Wycliffe then.

When people complain about God’s election of individuals to salvation, they say ‘Well what about the native in the deep jungle who never heard of the Gospel or of Jesus?’

First of all, because God is wholly in charge of a person’s salvation, when the appointed time for them to be saved comes, God is perfectly capable of sending a missionary to them, or bringing that person to a pastor, or having the word go out in some way.

Secondly, He made the entire world, nothing is too far for the Lord to reach His intended sheep. Nothing is too difficult for Him to bring the spirit of repentance on a person, whether they live in London apartment or a Mongolian hut or a Peruvian jungle.

God’s work is pure, holy, and always perfect. He is powerful and delights to bring people to salvation. He must have had plans for the man whose heart attack necessitated a trip to the city hospital. So God arranged for the ocelot’s escape on a plane than landed out of nowhere! God is amazing!

Posted in theology

You never know where your words will go, or who will be impacted

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve written before about how, when I was not saved yet but the Spirit was strongly drawing me, that there was a pastor of a Bible believing Baptist church in my town. I used to work at the Post Office putting up the post office box mail. The wall didn’t go all the way to the ceiling and of course the boxes were open at my end and with a door at the customer’s end.

So, I could hear all conversations in the lobby. When the pastor came in he would always mention blessing, or Jesus, or the Savior, or something that was like acid on my soul. I used to shove the mail into the boxes while grinding my teeth, thinking, “Why does he always talk of Jesus? How foolish! Doesn’t he know that no one’s listening!”

Of course, I was listening. The Lord used throwaway words, not even aimed at me, to grab me at the scruff of the neck and force me to look at my sin like a bad puppy.

I’ve also mentioned before how John Bunyan heard conversations from three or four ladies at their doorstep, and how Bunyan marveled at how they seemed to ‘know’ the savior, who to Bunyan at that point, was a remote God. Their grace-filled words words carried to his heart and eventually were used to bring him to Christ.

Famously, Augustine heard a child’s song in the next-door walled garden, of a child singing a song Augustine had never heard before (or since) including the words “Tolle lege!” which means ‘pick up and read’. He felt a compulsion to do so, and he did pick up the Bible and read. He was convicted by what he read in Romans. We know the rest from there.

Wholesome words are never wasted even if they seem throwaway. God’s word never returns void. It always makes its intentions sure and profitable, and this includes words in conversation. (It’s why we mustn’t gossip or slander, because those words have an equally negative impact as much as wholesome words have their positive effect).

Charles Spurgeon never knew the following anecdote until the end of his life, though the incident occurred at the beginning of his pastorate. The following are his own words from “The Autobiography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon“.

THE FAST-DAY SERVICE AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

During the time of our sojourn at the Surrey Gardens, it was my privilege to conduct one service which deserves special mention, for it was the occasion on which I addressed the largest congregation to which I ever preached in any building. This was on Wednesday, October 7, 1857, when 23,654 persons assembled in the Crystal Palace to join in the observance of the day appointed by proclamation “for a solemn fast, humiliation, and prayer before Almighty God: in order to obtain pardon of our sins, and for imploring His blessing and assistance on our arms for the restoration of tranquillity in India”.

[link to Spurgeon’s Fast-Day Service at the Crystal Palace]

About a month previously, in my sermon at the Music Hall on “India’s Ills and England’s Sorrows”, I had referred at length to the Mutiny, and its terrible consequences to our fellow-countrymen and women in the East. The Fast-day had not been proclaimed, but when it was announced, I was glad to accept the offer of the Crystal Palace directors to hold a service in the centre transept of the building, and to make a collection on behalf of the national fund for the sufferers through the Mutiny.

The Lord set His seal upon the effort even before the great crowd gathered, though I did not know of that instance of blessing until long afterwards. It was arranged that I should use the Surrey Gardens pulpit, so, a day or two before preaching at the Palace, I went to decide where it should be fixed; and; in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words, and they came like message from Heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God. Years after, he told this story to one who visited him on his death-bed.

 It was a service I was not likely ever to forget, and one result upon my physical frame was certainly very remarkable. I was not conscious, at the close of the service, of any extraordinary exhaustion, yet I must have been very weary, for after I went to sleep that Wednesday night, I did not wake again until the Friday morning. All through the Thursday, my dear wife came at intervals to look at me, and every time she found me sleeping peacefully, so she just let me slumber on until–“Tired nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep,”

I was greatly surprised, on waking, to find that it was Friday morning; but it was the only time in my life that I had such an experience. Eternity alone will reveal the full results of the Fast-day service at the Crystal Palace.

We never know the effect of words spoken from His word either to the direct listeners in the pew or behind the radio or TV, nor do we know the effect of His word on those we have no idea are listening nearby, or even unseen within in hearing distance, like that workman. Spurgeon didn’t even know the workman was there, the Bible believing pastor didn’t know I was behind the wall, nor did the child in the garden know there was a spiritually agonized sinner named Augustine behind the garden wall.

God is great and His purposes ALWAYS accomplish exactly what He intends. He is worthy of so much praise.

Posted in theology

Jewels #3: Rubies

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Photo by Jason D on Unsplash

The Bible makes mention of many precious and semi-precious stones. I mean, who isn’t curious about the giant pearl as a gate to the heavenly city, said to be over 200 feet high? (Revelation 21:21). Or the foundation of the heavenly city studded with these:

The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. (Revelation 21:19-20).

It’s glorious to try and imagine. The things we considered precious and sought after on earth, will simply be construction materials of the heavenly city! The REAL jewel of surpassing value is Jesus. Rubies are nothing compared to Him.

But in earthly economy, we do love jewels. They are beautiful and charming, and we seek after them. How often does the Bible talk about rubies, and in what manner?

In Exodus, the High Priest’s breastplate is studded with rows of gems. The top row is described as having a ruby. The gems were engraved with the names of the 12 tribes. Each gem represented a tribe. (Exodus 28:21, 39:14).

Breastplate reproduction, circa 1900AD. Source

Did you know that before his fall, Lucifer was covered with every gemstone, including the ruby?

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.” (Ezekiel 28:13).

No gemstone can make the corrupt and the evil look any better. For God knows the heart. It is too bad the gems were wasted on Lucifer, his ugliness showed through soon after when he defied God.

The Bible describes “agates” which can be transparent, and “carbuncles”, which literally means sparking gem. If a carbuncle is held up to the sunlight, it glows like a burning coal. The Bible also mentions jewel-like items such as coral and pearls. As for rubies,

“A comparison is made between the value of wisdom and rubies (Job 28:18; Prov. 3:15; 8:11). The price of a virtuous woman is said to be “far above rubies” (Prov. 31:10).” Easton, M. G. (1893). In Illustrated Bible Dictionary

The King James Version & NIV mention that wisdom obtained is more precious than rubies, though other translations use pearls for the jewel, or just the word jewel.

EPrata photo

She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. (Proverbs 3:15)

The same with Proverbs 31:10, describing an excellent wife-

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels (rubies)

The Hebrew and Greek use different words for the various jewels, including ruby. And the words change meaning so it’s hard to get a handle on which verse exactly mans ruby and which doesn’t.

“The exact meaning of the Hebrew word for ruby is uncertain. Some render it “red coral;” others, “pearl” or “mother-of-pearl” says Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.

As symbols used to compare various concepts, though, using jewels for the comparison is something to which we can all relate. We know that rubies are expensive, rare, and beautiful. To compare wisdom to it is a notion we can intuitively understand.

Do we seek wisdom as much or as cunningly as we seek a ruby for Christmas?

And the idea that gold will be street pavement and rubies are just one of many jewels studding the walls of new Jerusalem, is remarkable. Earth’s economy isn’t heaven’s economy. What is precious here will not be precious there. And why would it? Jesus is the MOST precious in the universe. His beauty the most astonishing. His rarity, the rarest.

Other essays in the series-

Jewels #2: Gold
Jewels #1: Pearls

Posted in theology

Creation Grace: Some beauty to rest your eyes on

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Today just some lighthearted creation grace and beauty.

God made all this in 6 days!! Just think on that!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1518960077385969664

God’s creation is amazing!

“The Indonesian Ayam Cemani chicken, with its unrelenting darkness, is one of the world’s most fascinating chicken breeds. Its feathers are black, but so is its skin, muscles, bones, and organs!” Source in caption.

Source: @BeachDog15

God is amazing. His creation is beautiful and even more amazing, it’s temporary. He will burn it up in a fervent heat, and make all things anew. I wonder what the NEXT world will be like! Paul said even glimpsing the current third heaven was inexpressible. Isaiah saw gems and jewels and creatures up there he could barely comprehend. John too! God’s intellect is bigger than the universe and His mind’s depths are unfathomable. I am grateful that He was mindful of me! And saved my polluted, sinful soul and is transforming it into a thing of beauty.

Have a great day everyone!