Category: discernment

Posted in bethel redding, bill johnson, discernment, false church, jesus culture

“Activating” the kids at Bethel Redding

Posted on by elizabethprata

If there was any ever doubt about how satan grabs your kids early, this should erase it. Satan is a relentless enemy, unswerving in his plot to usurp Jesus from His throne, and unstinting on the number of low and dirty tricks he uses to thwart the Gospel at any age and every age. But we read God’s Word “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Here is a good essay written by a friend, at My Word Like Fire. It shows in devastating manner the ease with which satan goes after the children. We know that Jesus is a victorious King, and that no plan or scheme of satan will ultimately prosper against those who love Jesus…but it’s still difficult to see the kids being chewed up like prey by a bloody and evil enemy.

My question is, to what lengths do you go to protect your children from the schemes of satan? Are you diligent in doing devotionals with them? Reading the Bible to them, and with them? Sacrificially making sure they attend a good Bible-based church for Sunday School or Wednesday night lessons? Do they see your marriage as a metaphor for the sacrifice of Jesus for His bride and submission to Him?

Here is the essay “Activating” the kids at Bethel Redding. Please read.

Bethel Redding leaders continue to present an unbalanced and unhealthy preoccupation with signs and wonders–or, as I have come to call it, a bells-and-whistles theology. It should be no surprise that this is also present in Bethel Redding’s children’s ministry.

Here is just one more example of the blasphemy coming out of Bethel Redding as exposed from My Word Like
Fire-

Bethel Redding Children’s Pastor says Jesus asked him for forgiveness

He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. (Luke 17:1-2)

And in case you are thinking that Bethel Redding is just a faraway church on the other side of the country (or world) in California having nothing to do with you, Bethel Redding with pastor Bill Johnson has spawned both the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry where you, too, can learn to be a prophet; and Bethel Redding Music, which is exported all over the world. You might know Bethel Redding’s song One Thing Remains, for example. “Your love never fails, never gives up, it never runs out on me”… among hundreds of other songs infiltrating all churches everywhere. It is written and sung by the group Jesus Culture, formed at Bethel Redding.

See? Satan never gives up, never runs out on you…

Posted in discernment, paths, satan

The old paths

Posted on by elizabethprata

Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)

Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. (Proverbs 4:26)

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)

My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. (Job 23:11)

All our righteous walking with Jesus is not without intervention by angels, strength of the Holy Spirit, and the will of God, because satan the adversary always tries to hinder us. He attempts to knock us off the path. He works to misdirect us.

because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:18)

Gill’s Exposition says of the Thessalonians verse,

Satan does all he can to hinder the preaching of the Gospel, the hearing of the word, the profession of religion, and the saints coming together, and having spiritual conversation with each other; being, as his name “Satan” signifies, an enemy to Christ and his interest, and to the souls of men: indeed he can do nothing but by divine permission, nor can he hinder the will of God, and the execution of that, though he often hinders the will of man, or man from doing his will; he hindered the apostle from doing what he willed and purposed, but he did not hinder the will of God, which was that Paul should be employed in other work elsewhere. 

Stay true to the Lord and His ways. Stay in the Word, and stay praying. God promised to those who walk in His paths that they will find rest for their souls. Though as we see in the Jeremiah verse, some refused to walk in His ways.

The old way isn’t the popular way! It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better. They are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching. Seeker services are replacing old time worship of the Lord. Yet, God has not changed, Heb. 13:8. I can find no room to change myself. I think I’ll ask for the old paths and walk in them. How about you? The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will knows the way. Let’s ask Him and He will lead! (source)

Amen!

If satan changed the signs on your path, would you still know which way to go?

Posted in atonement, cs lewis, discernment, purgatory, sacred cow

Of C.S. Lewis and sacred cows

Posted on by elizabethprata
EPrata photo

A sacred cow is…

An idiom is based on the popular understanding of the elevated place of cows in Hinduism and appears to have emerged in America in the late 19th century. A literal sacred cow or sacred bull is an actual cow or bull that is treated with sincere reverence. A figurative sacred cow is a figure of speech for something considered immune from question or criticism, especially unreasonably so. (source)

Are there sacred cows in Christianity? Yes. Just ask young Jessica Lam, who dared to gently chide Beth Moore’s teaching, and Moore herself came down on Mrs. Lam like a bag of hammers. You can read about it here.

Sacred cows Ravi Zacharias and Billy Graham also get a pass, being untouchable from criticism, or even from examination of their teachings. The Pope and Mother Teresa are also sacred cows, but they are not in the faith to begin with.

CS Lewis is another sacred cow.

At Church Leaders.com, C. Michael Patton asked a great question. Why do we love CS Lewis and hate Rob Bell? Speaking to the notion of the sacred cow, Patton opens his essay this way

Theologically, there is some stuff people try to sweep under the rug as well. In fact, though I say C.S. Lewis is loved by all, I do remember walking into church one day years ago. They were giving away a bunch of the “overstock” books from the library. I saw a church elder throwing away a lot of books as well. They were all C.S. Lewis! When I inquired about his odd blasphemous actions, he said that C.S. Lewis was a heretic because he did not believe in inerrancy. While this is something of an extreme example, I think it is important to realize that not everyone likes C.S. Lewis. Almost everyone, but not all. Why? 

Because he had some “non-evangelical” leanings. Besides not believing in inerrancy, he also believed in the theory of evolution, denied substitutionary atonement in favor of a “ransom to Satan,” bordered on a Pelagian idea of human freedom, seemed to advocate baptismal regeneration, and regularly prayed for the dead. To top it all off, he held out hope for the destiny of the unevangelized, believing that Christ might save them outside of direct knowledge of him (inclusivism). With all of these foibles, I seriously doubt any evangelical church would take a second look at his resume were he to apply for a pastorate at their church today. In fact, this list alone would be enough for many to call him a heretic. However, we still love him. We still read him. We still defend him. We still hand out his books by the dozens to friends and family who are struggling with their faith. This man who had his Christianity affirmed by Dr. Bob Jones but questioned by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is beloved by just about everyone, making him off-limits for serious criticism. Why?

The writer goes on to defend Lewis despite Lewis’ aforementioned “theological foibles.” Pardon me but many of the things Lewis believed in, noted above and also including the Catholic concept of purgatory, are heresy, not ‘foibles’. But Lewis gets a pass. Why? On the strength of Lewis’ persuasive arguments? (Colossians 2:4). His well-written philosophies? (Colossians 2:8).

When I first became a Christian, people urged me to read CS Lewis’ work. I said “OK.” I read Mere Christianity. I did not like it. I read The Great Divorce. I hated it. I read The Screwtape Letters, and was amused by it, but that waned halfway through. I never finished. I never even started Chronicles of Narnia. I don’t favor animal stories. Miracles? Blech. Weight of Glory? Didn’t understand it, biblically. I really tried hard, too.

I thought to myself “What is the big deal all about??” So I looked up Lewis’ theology. I was shocked that anyone would regard him as an evangelical. The man’s theology was a mess.

But I held my peace and went on my way.

In 2011 The Gospel Coalition’s Kevin DeYoung cautioned us on Mere Christianity.

C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity is a classic. It is a winsome, thoughtful, well-written defense of the Christian faith. Some of its better known sections–like the famous liar, lunatic, Lord, trilemma–have become part of the way evangelicals think and speak. No doubt God has used Lewis and Mere Christianity to awaken affections for Christ, engage the mind for Christ, and remove obstacles for the Spirit to draw people to Christ. I’m thankful for all this. More than that, I’ve benefited from every Lewis book I’ve read. But C.S. Lewis was not an evangelical. Mere Christianity shows why. Let me highlight two significant problems.

In 2013 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary noted there were some difficulties with Lewis’ theology, but continued to value his contribution to the canon of Christian thought and literature.

CT writer J.D. Douglas paraphrases Lloyd-Jones, saying Lewis’ view of salvation was “defective in two key respects: (1) Lewis taught and believed that one could reason oneself into Christianity; and (2) Lewis was an opponent of the substitutionary and penal theory of the Atonement.” In the same essay, Douglas notes Lewis’ wide celebration among evangelicals and even credits Lewis with making “righteousness readable.”

In 2015 we hear a pastor urge us to quit Lewis. I always appreciate Pastor Mike Abendroth’s biblical stance and plain honesty. Here is this short clip, he says, “Stop Quoting CS Lewis”. I totally agree.

In discernment, the command in God’s word is, test all things. Hold fast to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The Jamieson-Fausset Commentary says of the Thessalonians verse,

Locke says, Those who are for laying aside reason in matters of revelation, resemble one who would put out his eyes in order to use a telescope.

Test ALL. You might be surprised at what you discover, cow plop and all.

Posted in america, christianity, discernment, heresy

The biggest heresy in America

Posted on by elizabethprata

Listening to John MacArthur’s second sermon this morning, on “Why The World Hates Christians, part 2” he mentioned an 11-month-old survey done by Ligonier and LifeWay Research. The research involved identifying the biggest heresy in America. Before MacArthur revealed what it was, I’d thought it might be Prosperity Gospel, or Charismatic errors. Nope.

Here is what Ligonier/LifeWay found: The biggest heresy in America was a denial of human depravity. Human depravity is the concept that after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, all humans from that point on are completely unable to see the things of God, to do any righteous deeds pleasing to God, or to respond in any way to God. We are completely unable. Our inability renders us dead in our sins, and being dead in our sins renders us unable. We need God to draw us to Him, to make us see Him, and to be able to respond to Him. This doctrine means, we as humans prior to repentance and justification, cannot “choose God.” As John MacArthur explains complete inability:

This doctrine has been called “Total Depravity,” but I feel that the “total depravity” is a misleading term.  If you look up “depravity” in the dictionary, it’s a synonym for viciousness.  It’s a synonym for being vile.  In fact, to be depraved, according to the dictionary, is to be degraded, debased, immoral to a dangerous degree like rapists and serial killers.  The word “depraved” sort of connotes a level of evil that’s just not applicable to everybody.  To say someone is totally depraved, you know, you think of Jeffrey Dahmers, or Charles Manson, or somebody who has not a vestige of human goodness, and void of all normal affection and restraint.  To call someone “totally depraved” would set them outside normal people as vicious perverts.  

That is not what is meant when theologians refer to total depravity because not everybody is as bad as they could be, and not everybody is as bad as everybody else.  What we’re talking about here is what I’ve chosen to call “absolute inability.”  What is true of everybody is we have no ability to respond to the gospel.  We are completely unable to raise ourselves out of a state of death.  We are completely unable to give our blind hearts sight.  We are completely unable to free ourselves from slavery to sin.  We are completely unable to turn from ignorance to truth.  We are completely unable to stop rebelling against God, stop being hostile to His Word.  

We are not only unable but we are unwilling to do that, unwilling to repent, unwilling to believe.  And if we are to repent and to believe, then it must be like it was for Lazarus, where God who commands the dead to rise has to also give them the power.

The church I used to attend is just such a church, participating in promoting the biggest heresy in America. From the pulpit and in Sunday School the Calvinist-hating pastor used to promote the notion of “free will” and our ability to choose Jesus as Savior. He would talk about our minds having just a ”flawed rationale’ and ‘clouded thinking’, not the fact that the Bible states we are completely blind (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) and totally unable to do anything for God. (Romans 3:10). Five minutes into one Sunday School lesson he explained free will and on that same Sunday in a 20 minute sermon he mentioned it again 5 more times. Talk about indoctrination. And this was just a dinky little Southern Baptist Church in a rural county.

Here is a web page listing all the verses which explain man’s incapability to choose God.

With such indoctrination about the false concept from churches from east to west, and on television and in books and in movies that we have freedom to choose Jesus, it’s no wonder that this heresy has grown so monstrously pervasive. I’m glad Ligonier/LifeWay named it a heresy.

Here is an excerpt from their research conclusions-

Thanks to a recent survey by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research we now know the biggest heresy in America. Pushing errors regarding the trinity and the church into second and third place is the denial of the Bible’s teaching about the doctrine of sin, especially in the related areas of human depravity and human inability. I say “related” because what we believe about human depravity impacts what we believe about human ability; what we are determines what we can or cannot do.

Regarding human depravity, the research showed: 

  • 67% agree “Everyone sins at least a little, but most people are by nature good.”
  • 40% agree “God loves me because of the good I do or have done.” 

Regarding human inability, the statistics were: 

  • Only 16% agree with the doctrine that says “people do not have the ability to turn to God on their own initiative.
  • 71% of Americans agree that “an individual must contribute his/her own effort for personal salvation.”
  • 64% of Americans agree “a person obtains peace with God by first taking the initiative to seek God and then God responds with grace.” 

In summary, the vast majority believe that: 

  • Though we sin a little, by nature we are good.
  • We can do good and God rewards our good deeds by loving us.
  • We have the ability to turn to God on our own initiative.
  • Salvation involves us taking the initiative that God then responds to.

Go to the link above for more information and Ligonier’s infographic. Their conclusion was this:

“The future belongs to Christians with conviction.”

Is that you? Do you stand by what you believe? Are you strong on biblical knowledge and exhibiting a practical holiness? Because now is the time to know what you believe, why you believe it, and be ready to defend it- at all costs. Luke 14:28.

Posted in children, discernment, satan

Here is an example of how satan targets children

Posted on by elizabethprata

Satan is targeting your children. You know this. But do you really know it?

We read the newspapers about what the world is doing to children in schools, with the teachings on the false theory of evolution, with gender-neutral bathrooms, the homosexual agenda in “sex ed.” But outside of schools behind the scenes there is monstrous pressure, relentless, shark-like never ending pressure to succumb to evil. Here is an excerpt from an unsolicited email I received this week. It is one of many I receive from authors and publishers wanting me to promote their books. If they are sending me, a small, insignificant blogger, emails like these, you can be sure they are papering their doctrines of demons from wall to wall, top to bottom.

I would love to send you a new book that teaches The Law of Attraction, and other metaphysical ideas, to children. The author is a Reiki Master and proficient in the Bowen Technique, as well as has a diploma in Energetic Healing. Even if you do not typically review books, we did want to offer the book to you in case you felt so inspired to share it with the children in your life, and, if they enjoy the book, perhaps post about it on social media or in your newsletter or recommend it among like-minded friends.

It’s gut-wrenching and startling to read something like this, isn’t it? Satan is at work, prowling like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. Be honest, when you read that verse, you picture in your mind that satan is going after you, or friends- adults. But instead, picture satan the lion devouring a child. He rips their little souls to shreds, their innocent faith crumbling under massive badgering to see the world satan’s way.

From the beginning of the Bible, we see that human-kind understood that children are a blessing from God, given by Him. Eve said,

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” (Genesis 4:1).

In Genesis 33:5 we read,

Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.

The LORD thinks highly of children. He blesses a family by giving a child to them!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5)

So if children are a blessing, a heritage, and a reward, how should we be raising them? In the knowledge of the LORD and His ways, of course. But these days, easier said than done.

Now, I do not have kids, so even commenting on parenting children and raising them in the Lord is a tough row to hoe for me. However, I am an educator in an elementary school and have been since 1983. I’ve seen the decline of morality, and the foundation of family crumble, from a mass perspective if not a personal one. in looking at classroom after classroom of wide-eyed innocents. Let me tell you, the decline is precipitous.

So given how high-risk these days are, and given how hard satan is going after the children, here are a few good resources for parents and relatives to peruse and perhaps use in contending for the spiritual safety of the kids.

Parents—Don’t Leave Teaching to the Church

The church is not the only place our children should be taught biblical truth. Parents can do many practical things to combat the evolutionary indoctrination their children face. In addition to ensuring that their children receive meaningful instruction from church, parents are responsible to build a biblical worldview in their children on a daily basis.

On. A. Daily. Basis.

Don’t wait until the children are one year old, or two years old. Or entering daycare. Or wait until Pre-Kindergarten. From birth, teach Jesus on a daily basis. AND live it in front of them.

Michelle Lesley wrote a series entitled The 10 commandments of Parenting.

Commandment 1: Thou Shalt Be A Believer
Commandment 2: Thou shalt put God first in thine own life
Commandment 3: Thou shalt have a Christ-centered marriage 
Commandment 4: Thou shalt make a pro-active decision that thy household will be a Godly one
Commandment 5: Thou shalt train thy children in the words of the Scriptures
Commandment 6: Thou shalt teach thy children to pray
Commandment 7: Thou shalt consistently and lovingly discipline thy children
Commandment 8:
Commandment 9: Thou Shalt Be Forgiving
Commandment 10: Thou Shalt Love

Grace To You: Ten Commandments of Parenting

One of the most common questions I get from Christian parents is about parenting.  They want specific and practical advice for rearing their children in the very best way. Couples usually understand their general parental responsibility, but will often speak of the need for help in specifically framing their biblical commitments to optimally shepherd and train their children.

Children don’t know when their innocent and correct worldview is being chipped away at. But it is, since the first moments they take a breath. Guard the kids!

Posted in death, discernment, hell, jesus, love, sin, wrath

When love includes hate

Posted on by elizabethprata

I had a Twitter interaction this week. With an opening like that, you know how the rest of this is going to go.

There are Christians on Twitter who tweet verses about God’s love. This is fine and great. I do that too! But there is an overemphasis in social media on God’s love, and rarely presentation of our personal sin, or His wrath, or the world’s curse or death, or hell. Yet Jesus spoke more of hell than heaven.

As the writer at Bible.org stated,

It may be worth noting that in Deuteronomy 28 (and following), the blessing section (28:1-14) is a great deal shorter than the cursing section (28:15-68). 

Speaking only of hell or wrath isn’t good either. God is a balanced and perfect God, and speaking of any and all of His attributes is always fruitful. But the excessive focus on “love” is, well, sickeningly sweet to me. Presenting only the ‘good’ attributes like love to the world, gives the world a picture of a Holy and Sovereign God as needy and wimpy.

Here is how the Twitter conversation went. I saw this tweet being re-tweeted by someone who I follow and follows me:

So I replied with this from Revelation 19:11,

And she valiantly and staunchly tweeted back:

She didn’t even tweet back a verse of love, but instead chose to deliberately cut out the part of the verse that says He makes war and judges. Those attributes are not so popular, and they get very little airing on public forums like Facebook, comment sections, and Twitter. So I answered:

And there was no reply.

I had heard a Phil Johnson sermon this weekend that I enjoyed. (What Phil Johnson sermon ever isn’t to enjoy? 🙂 Here is the part where Pastor Johnson was explaining how an overemphasis on Jesus’ love diminishes even the holy attribute of His love to a man-centered false notion of love that is far from the truth. Here is Pastor Phil Johnson:

Love Not The World

Now this is vital, because there are a lot of people who want to make the principle of love a kind of ethereal goodwill that is strewn about indiscriminately on every conceivable object. In fact, in the culture of American Christianity, if you include the mainstream denominational groups and everyone in our society who uses the label “Christian,” I think it’s fair to say that the prevailing notion of Christian charity in society at large is an idea of love that is always benevolent, always congenial, always positive about everything. 

I hear this all the time. Years ago, when I first began to investigate and catalogue the Christian resources on the Internet, I made a large list of links to other Christian Web sites. And in order to keep them all straight in my own mind, and in order to help Christians who might not be very discerning about doctrinal dangers on the Internet, I classified my links to other web sites Web sites according to their doctrinal soundness. So there’s large a category of links I have labeled helpful, and then there are other categories called “Bad Theology” and “Really Bad Theology.” And then a few years ago I found I had to add a category called “Really, Really Bad Theology.” And I’ve annotated every link on those pages to help explain why I categorize them as bad.

And to this day, nearly every week of my life, I get e-mail messages from people who are convinced that it is inherently unloving to label anyone else’s ideas bad theology. And they write me to chide me for posting my disagreements with other Christians’ doctrine on the Web. 

But the love that is called for in the New Commandment is not a vague, indiscriminate congeniality. Real love for the truth necessarily involves hatred for error.

Real love for God includes hatred of error. One error is the gauzy exclusive focus on Jesus-as-boyfriend, “in love” with His bride wearing a wrath of braided daisies and never the Crown of many diadems. Here is where the rest of the Revelation 19:11 verse takes us. To verses 12 and 13:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

The picture of Jesus than the one where He is smilingly depicted as sitting among the disciples among a field of, um, daisies is the one that social media and immature Christians exclusively present. The picture of Jesus as a bloody, judging, sin-avenger? Not so much.

Both pictures are true. Always tweeting, showing, describing, or even living, one picture of Jesus exclusively and not the entirety presents a false God.

John MacArthur’s sermon “Why the World Hates Christians, Part 1” also urges us Christians to speak of Jesus and His holy attributes of wrath, sin, judgment etc. It’s important. Don’t neglect putting them out into the world, he said, because it’s sin if we don’t. Here is Pastor MacArthur:

The world will hate you if you “start identifying evil as evil. We don’t want to do that. Let me help you. The Pope is evil. He is from the Kingdom of Darkness. He is anti-christ. Anyone who would say atheists are going to heaven, is anti-christ. Jesus said you will die in your sins and where I go you’ll never come because you believe not on Me. Not only do you need to believe on god but on Jesus Christ.

Homosexuality is evil. Gender identity tampering is evil. Adultery is evil. Fornication is evil. Lying is evil. Pride is evil. Self-centeredness is evil. Self-righteousness is evil. That’s why they killed Jesus, because He said their religion was evil. … 

John 7:7 says that the world hated Me before they hated you, because I testify of the world that its deeds are evil. If we don’t SAY that, we’re sinning. You can say it in love, but it has to be said.

Call evil what it is: evil.

We must love and talk of the attributes of God that the world hates to hear about, such as judgment, hell, wrath, and sin. If we don’t, who will?

Posted in critical issues commentary, discernment

Putting God in a box?

Posted on by elizabethprata
Bob Dewaay’s work at Critical Issues Commentary is wonderful. Mr Dewaay writes thorough essays covering a particular issue that is affecting Christians. As it’s written on his About page,

Critical Issues Commentary is … a series of carefully researched essays on important theological issues. Since 1992 more than 80 articles covering more than 60 specific “critical issues” have been published. Each article contains Biblical exegesis as well as interaction with famous teachers and teachings. Our prayer is that God uses this effort to help readers grow in their faith and be strong in their witness. Critical Issues Commentary was founded to help people find their way out of unbiblical teachings that confused their understanding of the faith.

In an excellent essay covering the topic of Christian Contemporary Divination, a particular paragraph piqued my attention.

Putting God in a Box?
I have debated people about these techniques many times. They often say, “God can do anything and use anything, you are tying to put God in a box.” You probably have heard that argument. When I was doing my research on divination for the previous issue of CIC, I thought about the “putting God in a box” accusation. The Biblical record shows that it is God who purposely limits the ways we can come to Him. If there is a “box” God made it. I think a better analogy than a box, is a sheepfold. It is a Biblical analogy.
Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). The true sheep enter the sheepfold through the door, Jesus Christ (John 10:7). He as the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). He protects His sheep from the wolves, gives them pasture, and abundant life (John 10:10-15). Being in the sheepfold may seem restrictive compared to the adventures of exploring the bigger world out there unencumbered by the guidance of the Shepherd. However the restrictions are there to save our spiritual lives. 

The restrictions God places on how and by what means we may legitimately come to Him and receive spiritual truth are for our own good. The spirit world that Christian mystics like Morton Kelsey want to explore is far more complex than even Jung and Kelsey give it credit for being. The dangers of deception are far more real. In fact, if we journey into the world of the spirits by means other that what God has ordained, we will be deceived, not may be deceived. The spirits who inhabit that world have been there for many thousands of years practicing the art of deception. They willingly give people whatever experience they would tend to think is from God. Jose Silva, who is Catholic, when he went into his alpha level to gain guides received Jesus and Mary.The spirits will give you what you would expect is from God in your own context. They will provide any experience that serves their deceptive purposes, including sending a spiritual “Jesus” (see 2Corinthians 11:4). The prohibitions on divination are there to protect us from these malicious entities. 

So we are not putting God in a box, God is putting us in a sheepfold if we are willing to be there. The practices of “thinking outside the box” that are so popular today are fatal when it comes to spirituality. God has not left access to spiritual truth in the hands of innovative thinkers who like pioneers blaze new trails. God has given access to Himself, once for all, through Jesus Christ who is our heavenly High Priest. The truth is revealed once for all in the Scriptures.

Posted in balaam, cain, discernment, jesus, jude, korah

Jude 1:11- The process of apostasy revealed

Posted on by elizabethprata

Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. (Jude 1:11 NASB).

In reading Jude this weekend, a new aspect of this verse jumped out at me. Notice within the verse, there is a progression. Jude found it necessary to contend for the faith and urge the saints to whom the letter is addressed to contend for the faith, and contend against “ungodly people who have crept in.”

Jude means people who are false Christians, and teachers who teach false doctrines. The ungodly always grow in satan and never grow in grace.

These ungodly people are not immediately noticeable. Why? They creep in. Creeping indicates stealth, a purposeful attempt at NOT being noticed. They do unseen damage to the faith meanwhile.

However they do not remain unnoticed forever. The ungodly are subject to a certain progression that is indicated in the Jude 1:11 verse.

First, they “go.” Going brings to mind John’s wonderful verse from 1 John 2:19.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Here is Strong’s on the word “go” in Jude’s verse–

to go: 4198 poreúomai (from poros, “passageway”) – properly, to transport, moving something from one destination (port) to another; (figuratively) to go or depart, emphasizing the personal meaning which is attached to reaching the particular destination.

The very act of going (out from the faith into personal sin or loving the world, or both) indicates they are likely ungodly. I say likely because sometimes we have a person who wanders briefly, a prodigal. Sometimes someone persists in a sin for a short time and seems to be going, but repentance and grace brings him back. (James 5:19-20). That’s why it’s important to be patient with those who are sinning, and it’s why the Spirit-inspired the writers wrote about the actions to perform within the church to help that person. If a brother truly is a brother or a teacher truly is of God and you go through the actions that Matthew 18:15 or Luke 17:3 and other verses tell us to do, and they repent, they will grow in grace once again and will not leave the faith.

If the person refuses to listen and persists in their ungodly way it will become evident. Cain’s example is not brought up simply because he was the first human murderer. Cain’s murder of his brother occurred after an internal wandering from the truth and a probable unseen-by-Abel rebellion against God. However it was seething inside Cain. Genesis 4:3 and Genesis 4:5 shows us this. When God addressed Cain’s sin directly, and in our case today, if a brother or sister or pastor might bring it up to the person, Cain’s rebellion, anger, jealousy, and hatred of God came out and was seen in his talk and in his subsequent actions.

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. (1 John 3:12)

Pulpit Commentary says of the Jude verse–

As in 2 Peter 2:15, the darkest passages in the Old Testament history are again appealed to. While Peter, however, refers only to a single instance, Jude introduces three, and prefaces the whole by a Woe! such as the Gospels repeatedly attribute to Christ himself. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain; rather, they went in the way of Cain. The phrase is the familiar one for a habitual course of conduct (Psalm 1:1; Acts 9:31; Acts 14:16, etc.).  

But what is the point of the comparison? Cain is supposed to be introduced as the type of murderous envy, of the persecuting spirit, or of those who live by the impulse of nature, regardless of God or man. In 1 John 3:12 he is the type of all that is opposed to the sense of brotherhood, the murderer of the brother whose righteous works are an offence to him; but in the present passage he is introduced rather as the first and, in some respects, the most pronounced example of wickedness which the Old Testament offers – a wickedness defying God and destroying man.

Sometimes if I bring up something to a person gently and lovingly, even though I’d posed it in the best possible way and have the best possible relationship with the person, they become angry. If the person accepts what I’m sharing and after prayer and searching the bible they repent, I have won my sister. This is a great feeling because to me it is visible evidence of the grace of the Spirit working in Jesus’ Body. If the person remains angry and in fact become even more harsh or lashes out, (like Cain did) I know there is a deeper sin there. Wasps are fine unless you poke their nest. Look for the immediate and the subsequent reaction to a correction, it is the more telling part of the process.

The second part of Jude’s process of go-rush-perish is the break point. After a person goes the way of Cain, they begin to rush. Some translations say rush headlong. Here, Strong’s defines the word more clearly for us in the Greek–

to rush: pour out, gushed (1), poured (5), rushed headlong (1), shed (3), spilled (1).

The picture that comes to mind of the pouring out is of a river that once was held back, but then breaches a dam, and spills out everywhere in a tumble of a powerful rush, leaving destruction in its wake.

Pulpit Commentary continues exposition of the Jude verse, now focusing on the rush to Balaam:

And ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward. The “error” in view is a life diverted from righteousness and truth. The verb rendered “ran greedily,” or “ran riotously,” is a very strong one, meaning they “were poured out,” and expressing, therefore, the baneful absoluteness of their surrender to the error in question…

Here, Hebrews 6:4-6 helps us. For the ungodly person to have wandered from the truth and then rushed headlong into unrighteousness and darkness and finally and absolutely is revealed to have succumbed to error, evil and sin, they cannot come back.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

We are not talking about Christians losing their faith. No one who is a true believer will ever lose their place in heaven. (2 Corinthians 1:22). We are talking about the unmasking of the ungodly. Those whom we thought for a time were truly righteously saved, who looked saved and who acted saved but who begin to wander from the truth, don’t self-correct via repentance and don’t  correct via a rebuke, and are seemingly suddenly not a believer anymore.

The final end of the people of which Jude wrote is that they perish. Here is the Strong’s definition of the word perish as it’s used in verse 1:11–

perish: 622 apóllymi (from 575 /apó, “away from,” which intensifies ollymi, “to destroy”) – properly, fully destroy, cutting off entirely (note the force of the prefix, 575 /apó).

Words like perish fully, entirely, and with force should engender a shudder from even the most mature and secure Christian. The fate of those who we decry, like Beth Moore, or Benny Hinn or Joel Osteen is a fate in which we derive no pleasure.

More to the point, for us today here are two take-away thoughts.

First as always we must check ourselves. Are we drifting from the Way?

For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God. (Psalm 18:21)

When you pray, pray not only for the Lord to keep you in His statutes, but to keep you on the center line of His narrow Way!

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. (Proverbs 4:27)

Second, after checking ourselves, check your friends and loved ones. Are they turning from the Way? Are they, as Jude warned, ‘going’? If it is a matter of a temporary swerve, snatch them back as of from the fire, as Jude said in verse 1:23.

Speak openly and honestly about sin, judgment and hell, so that sinners can flee it. ~John MacArthur

Sin is a process, sometimes it’s a process leading to a revealed apostasy. Sometimes it is a process that leads to a revealed glory of the Lord as He brings a wayward one to repentance and restoration. Read Jude and camp on it for a while. I’ll end as Jude does,

24Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Posted in chris koelle, chris powers, discernment, evil, halloween, jesus, william blake

Potpourri: Halloween, Demons on a leash, evil in art, Jesus triumphant

Posted on by elizabethprata

Potpourri:
1. a mixture of dried petals and spices placed in a bowl or small sack to perfume clothing or a room.
2. a mixture of things, especially a musical or literary medley.

Remember the category “potpourri” on the long-running game show Jeopardy? I always liked that show, though I enjoyed host Art Fleming who MC’d the show from 1964 to 1975, more than Alex Trebek, who started in 1984 and is still hosting 31 years later!

Here is a mixture of items for you, potpourri-style!

Halloween is coming, a holiday that is impossible to ignore when you work in a public elementary school among the youngest of students, as I do. I have an abounding abhorrence to anything related to Halloween.

As a child with Aspergers my particular dislikes involved costumes, makeup, mascots, noise and chaos, so being among ALL of that was a trial for me. I also didn’t like approaching homes and talking to people. So, ditto. But I loved candy, running around outside with friends, and being allowed out after dark was thrilling too.

As a Christian adult, promoting a night of evil and buying into satan’s lies galls me too. Some churches forgo the evening entirely and do nothing regarding a “Fall Festival” or “Harvest Fest” while others change the name of their event from Halloween to ‘Hallelujah Fest’ and invite the community in for hot dogs and games as a Gospel outreach. I’ve wrestled with both sides of the argument: I hate satan…I love outreach. I eventually decided that I want nothing to do with the holiday, not even if it has been re-constituted into a more innocent guise like a ‘Trunk-Or-Treat’. However since it is a question of Christian liberty, I tried to do all as unto the Lord and not cause anyone to stumble, so I remained silent about my decisions and simply helped where I could and then bowed out where my conscience came in. Make your decisions thoughtfully and prayerfully, and remember not to become prideful about whatever you decide.

Here are a few balanced essays discussing the question of Christians celebrating Halloween.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Where Did Halloween Come From? Can a Christian celebrate it?

Christians and Halloween

Speaking of evil spirits, here is a terrific essay on demonology from Answers in Genesis. In American culture we are so sanitized, so scientific, such a high-falutin’ advanced First World country that even Christians find mention of demons or evil spirits distasteful. The subtle or not-so-subtle undercurrent to such discussions even in church is “haven’t we gone beyond that?” Well, no. And certainly satan has not, either.

The opposite problem holds true as well. Churches, especially ones that are starting to absorb Charismatic doctrines, tend to attribute every negative thing to satan, as if he was hiding behind every tree and was the evil force behind everything from spilling your coffee to the paper cut on your finger. Here is a biblical view of satan in an excellent article by noted scholar C. Fred Dickason. Professor Dickason is known as a biblical expert on angelology and demonology. He presents the truth of satan’s influence, extent, and limits, while focusing on the grace of God and the hope we have in Jesus. I recommend the article.

Demons on a leash
Demons are alive and active today, but we can rest in the reality of our Father’s gracious and powerful control.

He examines the following topics in the article:

Biblical Perspective on Satan’s Role
Demons Through the Ages
Demonic Activity in the World
Demonic Opposition to Believers
The Time of Satan’s Fall (and refuting the popular ‘Gap Theory’)
God’s Provision in Our Battle
God’s Sovereign Control
Our Authority in the Battle

Some artists have done an interesting job depicting biblical evil. As a blogger, I am aware that the world is not just words, but desires or needs visual images to accompany and enhance the written works. Yet whenever I write about anything from the dark side of biblical concepts, it’s always a struggle to find appropriate, biblical, measured, and interesting art to go along with the writing.

William Blake was not only a poet but a master artist. He was proficient in engraving, where he served an apprenticeship, and also watercolor and oils. Blake sought to emulate the example of artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Dürer in producing timeless, “Gothic” art, infused with Christian spirituality and created with poetic genius. I do not believe William Blake adhered to orthodox Christianity, but his interest and focus over time allowed him to produce some interesting works.
Blake’s patron Thomas Butts commissioned from Blake a series of illustrations to the Bible that included about fifty tempera paintings and more than eighty watercolors. These focus on Old Testament prefigurations of Christ, the life of Christ, and apocalyptic subjects from the Book of Revelation. (Source, Metropolitan Museum of Art). Blake also is famous for 21 copperplate etchings illustrating the Book of Job in the Old Testament. Here are but two examples from the prolific works of William Blake. His art is in many major museums from around the world, including this at the British Museum

Satan inflicting Job with boils

and this from the Tate Museum, Agony in the Garden (of Gethsemane)

It is a dicey proposition, for an artist to biblically depict evil without idealizing, sanitizing, or glamorizing it. As for a more modern artist, I refer you to Chris Koelle. Mr Koelle illustrated the Book of Revelation a few years ago and his depictions are compelling. The book blurb says,

192-page graphic novel (paperback) Featuring almost 600 illustrations Including all 404 verses of the final book of the Bible Translation by Mark Arey & Philemon Sevastiades Adaptation by Matt Dorff Illustrations by Chris Koelle

Here is his page where you can buy the book and see thumbnails

Of course you know if you read my blog often enough that I enjoy artist Chris Powers. His visual theology is biblically accurate and aesthetically beautiful. Where Blake or Koelle’s depictions of evil both stir and frighten, Powers’ work has a lighter feel. However he still does a magnificent job visually depicting sin, wrath, and death in a way that is thought provoking. Since Mr Powers’ creates his works specifically to be shared, he includes explanations of the verses the powerful images depict and includes his thought process of what he wanted to convey. Like this from Isaiah 42:13-

Source

“The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.” – Isaiah 42:13

In this passage, the YHWH is talking about His zeal-fueled, end-time action against the enemies of His people and that will bring lasting joy and life to those who trust in Him, and as you read the whole of this chapter there will be many allusions that point us to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

As we read this verse in light of the cross, we know that YHWH did in fact “go out as a mighty man” when He came as a man and dwelt among us journeying unstoppably to the cross…It was there at the cross that He cried out and shouted aloud and showed Himself infinitely mighty against all His foes in a way they could never have anticipated. What glory and beauty that our God so zealously pours Himself out for the sake of His glory and the sake of our joy.

So, in this image, I wanted to represent the Cross-Event in light of YHWH’s infinite, warrior-like zeal that we read about here in Isaiah

If you write for an online journal or run a blog, I recommend Chris Powers’ work as the visual enhancement to your writing, especially because of the artist’s explanations of the verses that accompany the visual pieces and his willingness to share for the good of the Body and the glory of Christ.

http://www.fullofeyes.com

So there is your potpourri for the day. As Halloween approaches evil is increasingly on the mind of the pagans and even the Christians. Our eyes are assaulted by movie posters lauding the latest graphic depiction of the underworld. Our eyes avert from the neighbor’s brutal yard art depicting scenes of evil, all in “celebration” of Halloween.

Our sensibilities will be assaulted by seeing yet another child absorbed into accepting the occult as normal, or another adult who succumbs to performing an evil crime on that most dastardly of days. Or simply enduring the abounding sin that Halloween seems to loose. Yet we take heart. Jesus has overcome the world.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33).

The reality is,evil exists in the actual person of satan and his fallen demon-angels. However, we trust in Christ who has overcome and in whom we rest assured of ultimate victory.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

He made a spectacle of them in His triumph of the cross!

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:15)

Posted in audacious, beth moore, discernment, false, wolf

Beth Moore’s Simulcast "Audacious", her new book, and a discernment lesson

Posted on by elizabethprata

Mrs Sharon Lareau has written several excellent blog essays preparing to review and then reviewing Beth Moore’s simulcast which was broadcast this past September. She used the simulcast to illustrate HOW to prepare to absorb biblical truths, and HOW to discern. I recommend the series.

Evaluating Beth Moore’s Upcoming Live Simulcast
Evaluation and Red Flags:
To that end, I would like to use this opportunity to do an exercise that can help increase discernment. Today we are going to do a pretest. It is a short investigation into the official, available material that we have about the simulcast. This is something we can do whenever we are heading to any Christian event. It can help us get an indication of the soundness of the message or teacher before we even show up.

Class on Discernment: Living Proof Live Simulcast
I invite you to do something as you watch. I invite you to turn the simulcast into a class on discernment. This means, we will use the simulcast to practice the ability to confirm truth and detect error in a Bible message or teaching. Some may feel it is unnecessary to do that with a Beth Moore event since she is so established and well liked as a Bible teacher. I would respond that it is always necessary to be discerning at every event or service where God’s word is taught. It is necessary even when the preacher you’ve sat under for 20 years gets up to preach.

Simulcast Review Update
I have had a couple of inquiries about if and when there would be a follow-up post regarding the Living Proof Live simulcast from September 12, 2015. Since almost two weeks have passed since then, I thought it might be a good idea to give an update here. After viewing the simulcast, I did decide that I would write a review. There is a lot to cover, and I am being careful in my analysis. It is taking time and my health situation comes into play too, but I do hope to have it ready in a few weeks. Please pray for me as I work towards presenting a fair and thorough review. There are definitely some things worth writing about that I hope to share with you.

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When Mrs Lareau posts her actual review I’ll post it here. Meanwhile please refer to her previous entries for great lessons on how to discern.

After all this, I became curious as to Mrs Moore’s new book, Audacious. Moore said that she tailored the book specifically for simulcast and that for the first time her simulcasts would have a theme (read: book to buy AKA merchandising). The book Audacious will be released November 1, but online buzz about it is heightened to a fever pitch.

Regular readers of the blog know that I am not a fan of Mrs Moore or her teachings. I have written extensively regarding the unbiblical nature of her teaching, her poor interpretive capabilities, her twisting scripture, pop psychology substituting for biblical truth, her legalism, and her unbiblical direct revelations. There are also issues with her lifestyle, all of which combine to show her not only below reproach as a teacher of the Word but a false convert. She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I have used scripture to show these things and have prayerfully considered all the ramifications of my statements.

Now, turning to the blurb for Audacious, we read some troubling things just in those two short paragraphs, things which not only definitively show in short order the ‘living proof’ of Moore’s unworthiness to teach. These things also genuinely stir me to a righteous anger and a deep sorrow over the women who follow Moore. The righteous anger comes in because I am zealous for the name of Jesus, and Mrs Moore says and does things which impugn His name and character. I am sorrowful for the women who follow Moore because I know these women are in bondage somewhere and attachment to Moore is the out-working of it.

Here is the book blurb for Audacious:

Thirty years in the making, “Audacious” is a deep dive into the message that has compelled Beth Moore to serve women around the globe. Glancing over the years of ministry behind her and strengthening her resolve to the call before her, she came to the realization that her vision for women was incomplete. It lacked something they were aching for.

Something Jesus was longing for. Beth identifies that missing link by digging through Scripture, unearthing life experiences, and spotlighting a turning point with the capacity to infuse any life with holy passion and purpose. What was missing? Well, let’s just say, it’s “audacious” and it’s for “all” of us. And it’s the path to the life you were born to live.”

1. Mrs Moore is fulfilling HER vision for women? God gives us HIS vision set down in the Bible, which we fulfill by obeying it. (Mt 12:50).

2. Anyone who has taught for 30 years and is just realizing that a critical component of “her” vision for women has been lacking all this time, is not a very good student of the Word. We’re not talking about increasing sanctification where the disciple gains deeper insights atop earlier insights, but language expressed here and elsewhere that states “OOPS, Here is something new to know that I overlooked for 30 years, and you ALL need it!” That is an audacious statement. A classic ‘tell’ of the false teacher is that they have the heretofore unknown or undiscovered answer to the fulfillment of some fleshly lust or want, NOT they they will use scripture to show who Jesus is so that we may glorify Him. (2 Peter 2:18)

So the true teacher asks, “What has God said in his Word?” The false teacher asks, “What do people want to hear? What will appeal to their flesh?” (Source)

3. Mrs Moore flatly says she is speaking for “all” women. I resent a person speaking for me, saying I have been aching for something unbenownst to me and that Mrs Moore knows what I ache for and that she has the answer to that ache. This is simply ridiculous on the face of it. More than ridiculous, it’s audacious to claim to be speaking for “all” women. It is the basest appeal to the flesh: ‘I have something you “all” need.’ (Genesis 3:5-6). I’m sorry, but I am not aching nor am I incomplete. (Colossians 2:10).

4. Mrs Moore spends much time inflaming emotional and spiritual lusts and she tempts women with how she can fulfill them with her new revelation/information/book/method… Of course satisfying fleshly lusts never lasts, which is why you need another Beth Moore book so you can try again.

5. Worst of all is her statement that Mrs Moore purports to know what is in the heart and mind of Jesus, and that He is “longing.” Get a close grip on what Moore is saying here. Moore actually says in her book blurb, ‘It [her message] lacked something they [women] were aching for. Something Jesus was longing for.’ Beth Moore has a message Jesus is longing to hear? I think not. (1 Timothy 6:4, Isaiah 14:14). When I hear statements like these and their blasphemy sinks in, I become righteously angry.

The book publication date is known to be Nov. 1, and in essays, write-ups and interviews she consistently says that it would “spoil” the simulcast to “reveal” it ahead of time. This is one reason the buzz has become so inflamed but if you pierce the buzz you will see how unbiblical this kind of merchandising is. (2 Peter 2:3). We will pierce the buzz and expose Mrs Moore’s message by comparing her approach to teaching this ‘new’ message and how Paul approached the same at Mars Hill.

Paul had been preaching in Athens, Greece for a while. The message of the Gospel was igniting among the populace as Paul preached on hillsides and the synagogues. (Acts 17:17). His message, which really WAS new at the time, aroused a buzz, and the Stoics and Epicureans (who were always ready to hear some new thing, Acts 17:21) invited Paul to speak at Mars Hill in the Areopagan arena to a large number of people.

Let’s say between the time of the Philosophers’ invitation and the time Paul preached to the masses in the arena was 6 weeks, the same amount of time between the first Audacious-themed September 12 simulcast and the publication of the Moore book. Let’s say Paul said and did what Mrs Moore is doing. Let’s use actual Audacious FAQ language but overlay it to Paul’s experience at the Areopagus at Mars Hill in Athens Greece.

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Areopagus FAQ

I have a teaching from God that you ALL need to hear, it will fulfill you and you will ache no more.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” (Acts 17:19-20)

You must attend the Areopagus to hear it. The Stoics and Epicureans must pay 800 sheckels to host me in the arena, and you must pay $20 individually to attend.

May we hear your special message or read it on the scrolls prior to your speech you’ll deliver at the Areopagus?

I wrote this message down in a book called “Mars Hill Explosion”, with Athenians at the Areopagus participants in mind with the idea that it would be used as a follow up to my message on that day. You can buy it later, after I reveal the secret message on the day. The book is a great way to continue walking out the Mars Hill weekend’s theme through personal reflection or group discussion at local synagogues or house churches. While it is possible that some could receive my book before the event at the Areopagus, I do not recommend spoiling my message by reading it beforehand!” (actual language, source)

For now, people of Athens, here is the book blurb:

“Mars Hill Explosion” is the newest book written by Paul the Apostle. He wrote it specifically thinking of YOU, the Areopagan audience! “Mars Hill Explosion” is an exclusive pre-release for arena participants! Do you have the audacity to make an unseen Savior the Supreme romance of our lives? I pray you are already walking in a brand new sacred romance with Jesus.

If you don’t attend the Areopagus, you can always buy the book later. For now, just let the anticipation of my new message and the new book build up. *Just a little bit of a hint I’ll give you. What is your dream? What is your vision for the future? I don’t want to give away the message, but I do want you to know this, I added some audacity to that vision statement. I added some audacity to the dream that I have for men, and I do mean all men. I am hoping and praying with all my heart that my message at the Areopagus will become the place where men will remember that was where they fell head over heels in love with Jesus. My vision for men will result in the path to the life you were born to live.

*actual Beth Moore words.

I thought it was Jesus’ vision revealed in the Bible that results in us living the life we were born to live. But that’s just me.

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Hard to picture Paul promoting HIS message and selling it secretly? Hard to see Paul writing a Mars Hill FAQ like that? That is because Paul openly shares the message of God unconnected to money, self-promotion, or secrecy; while Mrs Moore makes merchandise of you. The merchandise and the money is her point, not the message. Mrs Moore would do well to follow Christ’s example:

Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. (John 18:20)

Finally, a tidbit. We read from this excerpt of Audacious that Mrs Moore says that her good friend Travis Cottrell gave her a book and it impacted her greatly. She based her Audacious message on that book, adding a word to the seminal question posed within it. Was it the Bible that impacted her so greatly she felt compelled to write Audacious in response? No. Was it a great theological tome authored by one of the towering men of faith in history? No. The book that impacted her so mightily is–

21 Great Leaders: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Influence by Pat Williams, a motivational speaker and senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.

I look very much forward to Mrs Lareau’s review of the September 12 Beth Moore “Audacious” simulcast. I reiterate, Beth Moore is not to be trusted, followed, or taught anywhere at any time in any part of Christendom. Her teachings lead to bondage, impugn both Christ and the scriptures, and only serve to fatten her wallet and puff her pride.

The word audacious has two meanings.

1. showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks. “a series of audacious takeovers”
2. showing an impudent lack of respect. “an audacious remark”

Mrs Moore meant #1, but with all she says and does, she betrays #2.

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Aimee Byrd reviews Beth Moore’s book Audacious

Further Reading

5 Ways to Spot the Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

7 Traits of False Teachers

Wolves Among the Sheep

UPDATED: Five Reasons It’s Time to Start Exercising “Moore” Discernment