Category: discernment

Posted in atheism, discernment, encouragement, Perry Noble, prophecy

A few good links: ‘One True God’ free download workbook; Meaning of Pastor, Atheism, CT quake swarm, more

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here are a few good links.

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One True God

Justin Peters wrote on Facebook this week,

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, download this free Bible study and tear into the Book. For your edification:

One True God – workbook PDF

Written by Paul Washer. I haven’t looked at the content, but I trust Peters and Washer to know good material. Take a look and see it if suits you.

Thank you Pastor, for developing good materials for us. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11)

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What does Pastor mean anymore?

A Pastor friend of mine from Maine posted this. I read it and I thought it was excellent. I don’t know the pastor who wrote it nor his church, but this particular article was very good.

Disembodied Bodies, Mark Driscoll, and How “Pastor” Has Lost All Meaning

With one simple click of the mouse, Christians can be pastored by their favorite pastor. Regardless of the miles between them, open your web browser and in just a few keystrokes, your preferred preacher is pastoring your soul…except, not really.

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. (1 Corinthians 4:1)

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Hail Satan

Tory MP comes out as atheist.
A Minister of Parliament (MP) of the Tory Party ‘came out’ as an atheist. He said that there is much pressure to at least pretend to believe in God. He said he can ‘come out’ now because his term is ending and he will not run again.

The MP was speaking at a debate on a private members bill which calls for prayers to be read at the start of council meetings. At the start of his speech, he noted that,

At a meeting of Lake Worth City Commission last month, the invocation was given by an atheist called Preston Smith. And he began his invocation with the words, ‘May the efforts of this Council blend the righteousness of Allah with the all-knowing wisdom of satan.’ The fact that the effect of the public sector equality duty on this bill is at local authority’s choosing to hold religious observance in their meetings will not then be able lawfully to discriminate against the observances of the religion of Satanism.

What the MP does not realize is that he is in exactly the same camp as the people who worship Allah and satan.

Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (2 Samuel 2:22)

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Earthquakes in Diverse places!

4th straight day of earthquakes in Conn.

A 2.2-magnitude earthquake has rattled eastern Connecticut again. In what’s becoming a daily seismic event, the Weston Observatory of Boston College said the earthquake occurred at about 4:40 a.m. Thursday near Plainfield, where previous earthquakes were recorded. It says two minor earthquakes were recorded on Wednesday and another on Tuesday. Several were recorded on Monday and last week, too.

Connecticut officials coordinate earthquake preparation

After daily earthquakes in eastern Connecticut over the past week, officials have met to discuss ways the state can respond and residents can prepare.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. (Matthew 24:7-8)

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SBC in full-on meltdown?

SBC-affiliated Beth Moore is allowed to speak God’s alleged prophetic word with no rebuke from the allegedly most conservative denomination. Perry Noble of the Southern Baptist Convention’s NewSpring church in SC re-wrote the ten commandments in a Christmas Eve sermon he delivered. As James Duncan at The Pajama Pages wrote,

On Christmas Eve, Perry Noble gifted the world a rewritten Ten Commandments. In so doing, he contradicted Scripture, celebrated his ignorance of the Bible, and ultimately rejected the gospel.

And LifeWay engages in fraud by trading on God’s word in heaven tourism for filthy lucre, causing an outcry and forced to pull one of the heaven tourism books, The Onion weighs in with a (deservedly) mocking opinion:

Publisher Pulls Book after Boy Admits He didn’t Go To Heaven

And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:2)

PS: Phil Johnson has published further statements from Tyndale related to the Heaven book which show demonstrably the publishing house knew the boy had repeatedly said he not gone to heaven and are lying about not knowing.

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And just in case you ever need it,

How to Give a Pill to a Cat

Posted in discernment, false teacher, joel osteen

I avidly used to watch Joel Osteen every week

Posted on by elizabethprata
Source

This is a testimony to the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said He would keep and protect His sheep, and He has done so with me.

He imparts spiritual life to the person who has faith in Jesus (2 Timothy 3:5; Ephesians 2:1; I John 5:11-12). He is the very Spirit of Truth,

that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14:17)

The Holy Spirit teaches us, and He has taught me faithfully since the moment of my conversion.

“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:25-26).

I was saved at age 42. I lived in New England. I had gone though several years of a trial, and I reached my wit’s end. Never had I not been able to figure things out myself, teach myself, handle things myself. But at rock bottom, I came to the realization that I couldn’t. This was the Holy Spirit convicting me, and through His work, I realized I was a sinner. I had always thought I was a good person, but now I knew I was not good. All those Christians talking about Jesus were right! Only He could make me ‘good’ as I clumsily called my sin. I cried out to Jesus and I was saved.

New England is the most godless place in America.

A 2012 Gallup Poll found that the five least religious states in the country, based on the percentage of self-identified “very religious” Americans living there, are all in New England. Vermont is the least religious, followed immediately by New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. At number 11, Connecticut might as well be New England’s shining beacon of faith. (source)

The landing place of the Puritans has been ceded to the devil. What is it like to grow up in a place like that? It means a person can live and work and never see a bible. Never see someone reading it. Never hear the name “Jesus.” Never go to a church. Never even have it cross your mind.

Oh, there were moments when I was stuffed into a Methodist church basement and given a workbook and gone through the motions in some weak accession to a pale and long evaporated cultural vapor. I remember guitars and sitting in a circle in a Unitarian church. One or two Catholic visits. But church, bible, religion was never part of a strong upbringing. It was decades-long self-glorification-fest punctuated by occasional spots of “religion.” Sundays were for Sunday car rides to Newport, picnics, and be quiet because Dad was napping.

So when the conversion happened (2004) it was a few months before it even occurred to me to get a bible. I’d never even seen a bible store. A male friend had suggested “You ought to think about getting a bible.” I was stumped. I didn’t have a clue even to where to get one. I called a female friend, and 20 minutes later she arrived at my office door with one to give me. [Lesson for me: Always respond immediately to anyone asking about anything related to Jesus.]

I wasn’t in a church yet.  I thought it was just as good to watch Joel Osteen. He was on TV during Sunday mornings at that time, in my area. 2004 was a big year for Osteen and Lakewood. I remember Joel speaking about how God was moving in their lives because after many bumps in the road, they had acquired the Compaq Center. I thought he must be a good preacher because of the size of the Lakewood’s growing congregation and how much money was pouring in.

I remember settling in on my big couch, with a notebook, an unopened bible on the coffee table in
front of me. I felt very good that I never missed Joel. For the next 6 months, every Sunday, unopened bible, listening to speeches that made me feel very self-satisfied. The rest of the week I went on as before my conversion. Yet I felt I was now a religious person.

I’d scribble down the biblical addresses as Joel spoke, and after a few months I began a pattern of scanning back over what notes I’d written. I frowned, because they were scanty. Not just the notes, but I noticed that there weren’t many biblical addresses jotted down. There is nothing like quantitative evidence staring you in the face.

So for the next few months I’d settle on the couch, still with a notebook, but this time with open bible, and listen religiously to Joel. Things went by too fast for me to both write and read the bible while he was speaking, so I’d jot down the main concepts in his speech. I had been an academic researcher and writer, and was at that time a journalist. I could grasp the main thought, and I paired it with every biblical address and reference Joel mentioned. I began to notice he mentioned people or events in the bible a lot, but not the address.

Screen capture from Osteen sermon,
audience repeating Osteen bible mantra

I began looking up the people and events he was mentioning in order to get a wider perspective. I used the internet for this, to Google names and events like this- “David, Saul, on the run.” Remember, I was coming from a completely godless society, tabula rasa, babe in Christ by a few months. ALL this was new to me. I did not have a discipler and I was not in a church.

After some months, almost a year now, I noticed a distinct pattern in Joel’s speeches. First, on the practical level, they were some of the best speeches I’d ever heard. The academic in me was interested in the high quality of their structure, the speech’s cadence, and their obvious intent: to make you feel good. I was amazed Joel had the ability to sustain this same rhythm and cadence every week. When it came time for the inevitable moment of climax, I always knew at least 30 seconds prior. You can see it coming. You know what he is going to say at minute 15, minute 22. It was spell-binding. Emphasis on spell. The academic in me liked this. The growing Christian in me was put off by this. It was confusing.

I began to get a kind of mental queasy feeling. Things weren’t adding up. Biblically, I mean. Rather than be carried along by the spell, it helped to have the notes, main ideas, and biblical addresses written down. This anchored me and kept me from being swept.

Meanwhile, the Spirit was doing a mighty work inside me. As He came to indwell my flesh, glimmers of holiness were growing. Tendrils of Holy Ghost smoke were encircling my mind, pushing away the pollution and giving it clearing from a lifetime of corruption.

After a while the Spirit had given me enough of a footing to be able to think about the verses as Joel was speaking. I distinctly remember the day that the Spirit’s sun broke through my mind. I was listening to Joel, open bible on my lap, knowing by now thanks to the Spirit to read above and below the mentioned verse. Joel ramped up to one of his main points, mentioned the verse, and as I looked at the bible and then looked back up at Joel, I shouted out loud, “THAT’S NOT WHAT IT MEANS!”

Eleven years later I still remember how deeply betrayed I’d felt when that moment came. It was as if I was looking at the great gulf fixed itself. On the one hand I was looking at my bible and what it was saying, and on the other hand looking at Joel across the room in the TV saying what he says the bible says. The two didn’t match up. I was shocked to the core and thoroughly horrified.

I remember muttering, “What a gyp.” It was exactly like the scene in Wizard of Oz when the curtain was drawn back to reveal not a powerful being but a crumbly old man with a squeaky voice. What a gyp.

It was exactly like the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie eagerly used the secret decoder ring to decode the secret message from the Radio program and it turned out to be an ad for Ovaltine. Ralphie said, “A crummy commercial?” The moment on the couch was my Ovaltine moment.

It had never once occurred to me that a famous preacher, such a capable speaker, would not be able or willing to present biblical verses simply and with conviction, explaining what they meant. It wasn’t a matter of his ignorance. No one can write such deft speeches week after week who didn’t have some mental chops. The man is obviously intelligent. That he used his intelligence to obfuscate the Word rather than illuminate it was devastating to me. I felt unhinged. I was angry and felt personally betrayed.

The precious and wonderful Holy Spirit kept me growing from there. He grew me rapidly. The entire period was about a year and a half. A year of watching naively and a half year of growing discernment. I never looked back. I moved to the Bible Belt and got into a Baptist church. A good solid, little rural church that sings hymns and meets on Wednesday nights for supper, and who prays together and who really care.

I personally believe that not only did the Spirit hold me but He allowed this to happen in order to teach me discernment. I lived the entire discernment process from my conversion to the eventual epiphany. There were many lessons. This is all to God’s glory and His Spirit who keeps us in His hand.

#5: False teachers obscure their false doctrine behind eloquent speech and what appears to be impressive logic. Just as a prostitute paints and perfumes herself to appear more attractive and more alluring, the false teacher hides his blasphemies and dangerous doctrine behind powerful arguments and eloquent use of language. He offers to his listeners the spiritual equivalent of a poisonous pill coated in gold; though it may appear beautiful and valuable, it is still deadly. Tim Challies, 7 Marks of a False Teacher

That thing Joel does at the beginning of each speech, where he holds the bible aloft and says the mantra “This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be the same, in Jesus’ name.” It’s brainwashing.

Source No Compromise Radio

Of course he has to brainwash us in saying ‘we will be taught the word of God.’ Because he doesn’t. What he says and what he does doesn’t match up. Lesson learned.

There are preachers out there who give speeches that they call sermons and say they’re giving the truth but it’s lies. That liars existed within a place they call the church was new news to me.

Large congregations and money pouring in and smooth talkers and popularity don’t equate to meaningful biblical exposition. Lesson learned. Don’t forget how easy it is for the babes in Christ to believe these things. Often, they don’t talk about them but they believe them nonetheless. I was so naive.

For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:18)

The key was, the absolute key, was that nothing happened to break me of Joel’s spell until I opened the bible for myself.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

What a wonderful lessons the Spirit gave me. The lesson was that there is nothing like the bible to explain the bible, that there is nothing more precious than the Word of God. However, as precious as it is, the Word of God does no Christian any good if it stays unopened on the coffee table.

Discipling: it’s critical. I was already older when I came to Christ, and then I went ahead and spent another year failing to glorify Him. I know that Jesus is in complete control and He allowed this for His reasons, but I still feel terrible of the wasted time.

Though this experience was ten and eleven years ago, I still remember the sense of personal betrayal and my spiritual horror when the scales fell from my eyes. The revulsion I felt was seeing that a person could use the bible for personal gain. This may seem a obvious conclusion to some people, but to a babe in Christ, this was a new thought. Oh, I knew there were religious charlatans out there, I saw their empires crumble all through the 1980s and ’90s with the successive televangelist scandals. I thought Joel was good because no such scandal had happened and after all, he held up his bible.

I have a sense of righteous anger over Osteen, a feeling of repugnance and hatred for what he does in God’s name. I feel the same about Beth Moore and what she does to women in God’s name. I agonize in white-hot fervency when I see those two do what they do to pollute, cast mud on Jesus’ name, draw away the babes, use God’s word for personal gain. I also feel a sense of relief and gratitude to the Holy Spirit, my Savior and Holy Father for allowing me that season of following a false teacher so I could repent and love Him even more. I went through a season of undiscernment-to-discernment very quickly. I still stand amazed at the power of the Spirit to clear my mind and illuminate the Word so clearly and powerfully. I am in awe of His power. I am eternally grateful for His ministry.

Now you know why I always urge prayer. Now you know why I always urge us to stay in the Word. I’m not immune to life’s distractions. I include myself in that urging.

In Galatians 5:12 Paul was urging the people in the Galatian church to beware of the circumcision group, who said one must be circumcised to be fully in the faith. Paul said,

“I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary explains,

“were even cut off—even as they desire your foreskin to be cut off and cast away by circumcision, so would that they were even cut off from your communion, being worthless as a castaway foreskin (Ga 1:7, 8; compare Php 3:2). … if circumcision be not enough for them, then let them have excision also; an outburst hardly suitable to the gravity of an apostle. But Ga 5:9, 10 plainly point to excommunication as the judgment threatened against the troublers: and danger of the bad “leaven” spreading, as the reason for it.”

Rough speech about these usurpers? Pitched holy anger? Yes. Just as it should be.

In Titus 1:11, we read of false teachers,

They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

The Commentary again, explains that silencing them means “mouths … stopped—literally, “muzzled,” “bridled” as an unruly beast (compare Ps 32:9).”

Alternately, seeing the purity of the Holy Spirit and His gentle leading me away from such unruly beasts, these dogs who must be muzzled, is so awe-inspiring. The Light the Spirit brings to the Word, His answer to prayer for discernment, His keeping us in Jesus hand, pointing to Jesus always, oh, what glory and blessing.

He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:14)

He does, dear brethren, He does. This is my testimony of discernment.

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Further Reading

What is the Role of the Holy Spirit Today?

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

January 2014: Watch Joel Osteen on ‘Larry King Now’ to Learn Why Megachurch Pastor Attracts Muslim and Atheist Followers
Larry King: Osteen has largest church, 10 million people see Osteen on TV every week, his broadcast is in 100 countries, 10.5 million people download the podcast every week, the arena itself has 16,000 seats.

Posted in beth moore, discernment, encouragement

Discernment: Flatteries of false teachers

Posted on by elizabethprata

We are told in many verses about the false prophets and false teachers coming to deceive the people. They use false words, flatteries, and smooth speech. The antichrist will be the most full version of a false prophet ever, being full of sin. His name will be Man of Sin. (2 Thess. 2:3)

All the false prophets and teachers that come before the Man of Sin will be less potent, but no less dangerous. They use the same methods. Satan sticks with what works.

Sometimes I discuss false teachers with friends. I might mention Beth Moore or Billy Graham etc. One thing that I hear most often when I discuss this with people is “But they talk about Jesus!”

This tells me we need to look at how false teaches deceive by using rhetoric, oratory and speech. Earlier this week I looked at false teachers’ motivations. Now let’s look at their methods.

For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:18)

In Greek smooth talk means a kind speech, from the word chrēstologias
In Greek flattery means praise and adulation, from the word eulogias. It’s our word eulogy, the kind and flattering speech given at funerals for the dearly departed.

Gill’s Exposition says,

“by good words and fair speeches”; either by making use of the words of Scripture, and a show of arguments taken from thence; … by using words and phrases that faithful ministers of Christ use, such as the grace of God, the righteousness of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, but in a different sense…or by an elegant style, a set of fine words, a flow of rhetorical expressions, great swelling words of vanity, which such men generally affect, and so work themselves into the admiration of the common people.

And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:3)

Here the term false words is from the Greek plastois, meaning made up, contrived, something artificial; from which we get our word plastic.

Gill’s Exposition says,
made words, words of their own devising, and not which the Holy Ghost teacheth…new words and phrases are always to be suspected and guarded against, great swelling words of vanity, having men’s persons in admiration

As Gill’s says, “they make use of scripture”. They use it, to further their own ends and satisfy their own appetites and to get money. Those are the motivations of the false teachers. They use scripture. That know scripture but they use it by twisting it, ripping it from context, referring to it but stripping the meaning from it.

Gill’s said, “They use words and phrases that faithful ministers of Christ use”. Every group has jargon. Christianity does too. False teachers will talk the same talk that pastors and ministers use. “Praise the Lord!” they’ll say when someone has a breakthrough,. “Bless your heart!” “I’m missional.” “You’ll receive a blessing.” “Gifted for ministry.” In other words, as wolves come in sheep’s clothing, they will imitate the sheep, right down to adopting the same phrases and terms we use every day. This makes them blend in.

Gill’s said they will use these terms but in a different sense. When a prosperity preacher talks about sending money to him or her, he or she will use the word blessing. ‘Sow a seed and get a blessing’ they will say. In the eternal words of Inigo Montoya, “You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means”.

Gill’s says also of the Romans 16:17-18 verse, false teachers will have an elegant style. They are good at what they do. Salesmen are salesmen because they’re talkers. If you’re not a talker, you’re usually a writer or a hermit, lol. False teachers’ apply their gift for talking to their dastardly work inside a church. Or within Christianity, as is the case with so many of them these days. Many are not even associated with a church. They’re smooth, plausible, facile with words and skilled at linguistic nuance.

People sometimes speak of sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins of commission are those sinful actions that are proactively done. Lying or stealing are examples of sins of commission. A sin of omission is a sin that takes place because of not doing something that is right. Examples could include not praying, not standing up for what is right, or not sharing Christ with others. James 4:17 is often used as a key verse regarding sins of omission: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” This overarching theme provides the basis for the concept of a sin of omission. Read more: source

There is one sort of sin that is a half-kind of sin of omission. It is not a sin of commission. It’s called being disingenuous. Here’s the definition:

The definition of disingenuous is: “not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does. …giving a false appearance of simple frankness … Pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated“

A “good” example of smooth speech designed to flatter and praise is rife in Beth Moore’s Heresy Hunting article and also in her emails to the woman she was writing about. Remember, compare what they say with what they do. Do not be deceived naively by smooth words. Moore said of the 22 year old woman she was writing negatively about,

Anyway, the odd thing of it is, I loved her immediately. My calling is discipleship and my focus is women. 

But the actions didn’t match up. Moore condescended about the woman’s age, her ability to discern, her ability to think for herself, and blocked her from commenting on Moore’s twitter stream, not to mention the entire article was uncalled for to begin with. That’s not love. But it is smooth speech.

Let me share one small example of how a false teacher can be disingenuous, by performing a half sin of omission. Let’s look at how a false teacher uses smooth language to present a different appearance to the naive. This is from Beth Moore’s recent blog essay about heretic hunting. Moore wrote:

I only have one small desk from which to watch our world so I miss a lot but, among the things in my eyeshot…

Not Beth Moore. However, it’s the impression Moore’s scene sets
in your mind. Just a small desk and a sliver of a view. Source.

Really think about the words here. This is the woman who has a 2000+ square foot home in a nice subdivision in Houston. Her corporate office is three floors and 8000 square feet. The first floor is where the workers pack and ship. There is also a conference room with candles and pillows and tissues. Moore’s private office is on the third floor. (source) The entire property, including the 18,000 sf land, is worth $673,397.

This is the woman who travels the country on a constant basis. She is President of a multi-million dollar corporation, one which employs 16 people (or did in 2010.) Perhaps her desk is small in fact. Likely not. Her ‘eyeshot’ is certainly not small. However, think about the picture Moore’s sentence creates in your mind  – and then compare it to the reality. It’s the exact definition of disingenuous.

BTW here is the reality.

Actual property at Living Proof offices

Another example of being disingenuous, by using speech to appear to be transparent but actually obfuscating, was Diana stone from the She Reads Truth Editorial Board. I also wrote about this recently.

With a sweet daughter in tow, Diana clings to God’s Word daily through the struggles and beauty of being a woman who loves her Lord. You can find her in the mornings with a cup of coffee and her Bible flung open, preparing for the day ahead.

The website She Reads Truth is a mommy oriented site, lots of bible studies and devotionals for ‘busy moms’. (I do NOT recommend their studies or devotionals). The impression the women want to give is they’re harried moms just like you. Just like you! doing the mommy thing and trying to get the laundry done and making sure to read our bible every day. And all that is no doubt true. Except in order to have enough time to write about all this stuff, Diana drops her kids off at daycare first. A stay at home mom with out of the house kids. Now, she didn’t lie, she wrote about switching from having a nanny to to using daycare (First world problems!) on her blog. But the disingenuous impression put forth, especially in the bio, is the overwhelming mommy appearance. The nanny-day care appearance…you have to dig for it.

This is what it means by having sheep’s clothing. Sheep’s clothing is not skin. You’ll see frays, tears,

it might be ill-fitting. Sheep’s clothing is a disguise. At some point, their mask slips.

The Romans 16:18 verse also said that false teachers use language to deceive the naive. The Bereans were not naive. They listened to Paul but then eagerly went home and compared what Paul said to scripture to see if it was so. He was an effective speaker, certainly knowledgeable. The Bereans were called noble, because they checked it out. There were lots of apostles in Paul’s day, some true and many false. What if the Bereans did not check to see if it was so, but instead were impressed with his speaking ability, his ability to connect with audiences, his charisma or his sincerity.

Now let’s say that next comes along Hymenaeus and Philetus. (2 Timothy 2:1). They preached that the resurrection had already taken place. The duo had gone astray from the truth. No doubt they were also effective speakers, charismatic, plausible, sincere. Failing to check against scripture meant that they easily upset some in the faith. Titus wrote that in Crete, whole families were being upset by the false teachers over there.

Check any teacher’s words against the bible! Dig! Pray! Check again! Look at their lives to see if it is above reproach!

No matter how many scriptures they use, no matter how long they carry a bible around in their hand, no matter how charismatic and fervent ‘for the Lord’ they may sound, don’t be deceived by being naive. Not all who claim Christ are one of His. Beware. As Matthew Henry said, “it is an easy thing to be godly from the teeth outward.”

But do you know what else is easy? Praying to the Holy Spirit for discernment after hearing a teacher. Opening the bible to check. Asking a trusted elder for advice on the credibility of teacher so-and-so.

The Lord’s glorious Word is so precious, wonderful, filling, and good. When a false teacher USES God’s word to deceive, get money, destroy people, or lie about Jesus, it is one of the very worst things I can think of. What a terrible thing to do, take the holy word and pollute it for carnal gain.

But we can use it for its intended purpose- to point to Christ, to edify , encourage, build up, and train. We can use it to know Jesus better. We can use it to cut a heart to the quick, unto salvation. (Acts 2:37).

As precious as the word is, O joyous day when we see Him glorified, in person, in holy heaven! No more false teachers. His blessings are manifold.

Posted in discernment, false doctrine, false teachers

"But you can’t know that [false teacher’s] heart! You can’t ascribe motivations!" Yes. Yes we can.

Posted on by elizabethprata

One of the common accusations from defenders of false teachers lodged against Christians who make the claim, is that no one can know their heart. That no one can know their motives. They say therefore it is not fair to make such claims. Only God can judge.

Once you know how to spot them, the fakes are easy to see.

That’s a synopsis of their argument, an increasingly frequent one. But is it true? Let’s look at the Bible.

First, in order to make a determination whether a teacher is teaching according to the bible or is straying from Christ’s doctrines, we test them. (1 John 4:1). We test what they teach against the bible- no matter who they are! (Acts 17:11). If they preach a different Jesus, (1 Timothy 1:3-4; 2 Corinthians 11:4) fail to affirm His word, deny what the bible says (or that God said it), bear no fruit, or has a life that is below reproach, among other identifiers, they are false. They must accurately teach the full counsel of God through a life that stands up to scrutiny.

Once you’ve tested a teacher and they have fallen short, you know that they’re false. Now we can look at bible verses about false teachers to learn more about what motivates them and how they operate.

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— Galatians 2:4 (cf. 2 Peter 2:1).

  • Their motivation is jealousy.
  • Their purpose is destruction of the true brethren.
  • Their method is by adding works.

[The above in context were the Judaizers preaching works, circumcision].


And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:3)

  • Their motivation is greed.
  • Their purpose is exploitation.
  • Their method is oratory.

Trivia: the Greek word for the term “false” above is from a root of plastós –  which is the root of the English term, “plastic”


Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. (Romans 16:17-18)

  • Their motivation is their own appetites.
  • Their purpose is personal satisfaction.
  • Their method is flattery.

Conclusion:

Once a person has been deemed a false teacher, we DO know their heart. We DO know their motivations. The bible states them, not just in those three verses, but in many others too. A false teacher’s motivations and heart are evil and at enmity against God. They do not seek to glorify God and worship Jesus in His authority (they hate authority) but they seek to–
  • Blight Jesus’ name
  • Destroy you
  • Satisfy themselves
  • Get money

FMI on false teachers, these New Testament books were written to educate us as to the false teachers’ methods: Please read Galatians, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude

False teachers and their plastic words … one after another. Beware.

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

Further Reading-

How to Treat False Teachers

The Strange Case of Brenda Maxwell

Posted in annunciation, catholics, discernment, esther, immaculate

Comparing Mary’s "Yes" to Esther’s "Yes"

Posted on by elizabethprata

There is a doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church that has to do with Mary and the Annunciation. When the angel Gabriel came to announce the impending conception of Christ in Mary’s womb, Mary said yes. By the way, did you know that Catholics do not refer to this as the Immaculate Conception? The Immaculate Conception is Mary’s conception, they say she was conceived without sin. Catholics believe Mary was supernaturally preserved from all sin, and so was sinless throughout her life.

Back to the annunciation. Catholics believe that due to free-will, if Mary had said “No” then Jesus would not have been born and the entire Plan of God would have been thwarted. Mary is exalted and elevated to a position that is unscriptural, because really, the Catholics are all breathing a huge sigh of relief that she said ‘yes’. Here are quotes from various Catholic Doctrine sites:

Catholic.com

God permitted the Redemption of mankind to depend on the free-will decision of a human being. Whether or not we would have a mediator was dependent on Mary’s “yes.” Had there been no “yes” from Mary, there would have been no mediator.

EWTN, Global Catholic Network:

St. Irenaeus (late second century): “By obeying, she became a cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.”

From the Archdiocese of Perth, Australia:

“Without Mary’s “yes”,” the Archbishop said, “without her “let it be done to me as God wills”, the Lord Jesus would not have been born and we would not now be preparing to celebrate his birth in just a few weeks’ time.”

In this way, the Catholic Church denies the sovereignty of God.

I’d like to bring your attention to a book of the Old Testament that has some parallels to the Annunciation scenes in Luke. In Esther, we have a young girl, put into a dramatic position with weighty consequences to herself personally and to her nation of people, the Israelites, just as Mary was. Esther is presented with a choice, to become engaged in God’s work in the saving of all Israel, or to decline. Would Esther say yes? Or would she say no?

ESTHER: Andrea Del Castagno (~1450).
Esther was actually a Queen

Esther is an interesting book because it is the only book that has no mention of God. Yet His providential works via His total sovereignty are saturated throughout the book. God’s plan did not depend on Esther. If she had said no…well read the scripture yourself.

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Deliverance will come from another place. Will. Not “if.” Nothing was dependent on Esther, except her personal obedience and trust of the LORD in whom she had declared faith. She was providentially put into an important moment of time and her answer would say more about her faith than any disruption of God’s plan, which was going to come to pass anyway.

Besides, I don’t recall that the angel Gabriel asked Mary anything. He arrived to tell her what God said will happen.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

There are seven “wills” in those verses. Not seven “pleases.” If Mary had said no, would Gabriel have had to return to heaven and say, “Sorry God, what you said will happen…won’t happen after all?”

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:10-11)

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

Mary with the Child 1520-25,
Albrecht Altdorfer.
The biblical Mary is not a queen.

In the same way, nothing about God’s plan was dependent on Mary’s yes. Of course, God’s omniscience was such that He already knew her answer. In addition, His will is irresistible. (Romans 9:19a). His plans will come to pass. (Lamentations 3:37). God hadn’t spent a thousand years organizing the genealogies of each man and each woman and hadn’t providentially preserved each baby birthed in that line of Mary’s forefathers and foremothers from each tribe so Jesus would emerge as the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, just so it could boil down to one teenager’s answer. God wasn’t in the balcony of heaven wringing His hands and wondering if Plan B was going to have to be drafted.

Please have compassion for Catholic believers. If their entire salvation throughout all the ages depended on one girl’s yes then they must not have very much peace of mind, or security. If their god can be thwarted by one moment of time, by one girl, by one answer, then what kind of god do they have faith in? A god that perhaps cannot hold them to His plan, either. Or hold the earth. Or be sovereign over anything.

Do they believe Job when Job says I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. (Job 42:2)

Do they believe Isaiah’s words speaking for God, when it was written, Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:9-10)

I’ve read several of the Catholic Apologetics sites. The Catholic apologists do a good job of using scripture to support their unscriptural stances. They make reasonable answers to these very questions and are well written enough to confuse a weak Protestant or strengthen a weak Catholic. So what is the key to evangelizing Catholics?

Mike Gendron was a Catholic for many years before the grace of God opened his eyes to the truth. His apologetics site is aimed at Catholics and discussing in Catholic issues & doctrines. Under the heading on this “Articles” page, is the essay Evangelizing Catholics.

We have the faith in a sovereign God who providentially makes His will come to pass. There is enormous security and comfort in knowing this God. The Catholic god is not one who completely saves, not one who is strong enough to withstand a girl’s no, and is not strong enough to bring His will to earth. Share our Mighty God with them, in the ways advised at the site above. Show them this God-

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

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

Further Reading

The Counterfeit Mary of Catholicism

Posted in billy graham, discernment, false teacher

Why does the world love Billy Graham?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Gallup: Billy Graham Among 10 Most Admired Men in World–for 58th Time

Ninety-six-year-old pastor Billy Graham, arguably the most influential Christian preacher of the last 60 years, was ranked No. 4 in Gallup’s Most Admired Man List for 2014, the survey group reported, adding that Billy Graham has been in its top ten list 58 times between 1946 and 2014, the most appearances of any man in the world since Gallup started the survey.

What comes to mind when I read this are several things.

1. He is not a Christian, that’s why the world loves him. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own;but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:19)

2. The mark of popularity is a curse and a warning. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)

“Woe unto you; that is, it would be a bad sign that you were not faithful to your trust, and to the souls of men, if you preached so as that nobody would be disgusted; for your business is to tell people of their faults, and, if you do that as you ought, you will get that ill will which never speaks well.

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume

3. Lauding a man as Christian who denies the exclusivity of Christ as sole entry to heaven, exalts Mary beyond her place, partners with Catholics, sends seekers to counselors of false religions, fails to preach the whole counsel of God, and gives credence to evolution, brings to mind Hosea 4:6, “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.“

Though this isn’t in the bible, I thought of the old saying from poet Thomas Gray: “all that glitters is not gold”.

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

Further Reading

Exposing the False Teachers: Galatians 5 exegesis & commentary

In his exposure of these false teachers, Paul gives us six identifying marks that can guide us to discern the presence of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” in our midst today

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Posted in Amanda Bible Williams, Ann Voskamp, discernment, IF:Gathering, liberal, Raechel Myers, She Reads Truth, social justice

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 4: Women teachers

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is part three of a four-part series. I’m examining the website, teachings, and women of “She Reads Truth” in 2 parts (What They Say, and What They Do). Part 3 (this part) looks at the conference known as the “IF:Gathering” in which many of the She Reads Truth women are involved. In part 4 I will discuss women teachers in general from a biblical perspective, and provide a list of solid teachers (men and women) of the Word.

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 1 (What They Say)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 2 (What They Do)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 3, (the IF:Gathering)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 4 (Women Teachers)

I like being in a discernment ministry. How could I not? One of the Spiritual Gifts is Discerning of spirits. (1 Corinthians 12:10). If the Spirit sees fit to distribute gifts as He chooses and He chose this gift for me, to hate it would be rebellion. I do not want to suffer from gift envy and secretly covet another’s gift. I also do not want to suffer from the sin of gift projection, where just because discernment comes easily to me I think everybody should be discerning. There are people in my church with the gift of hospitality and I sure wouldn’t want them to project their gift onto me by secretly berating me because I am not hospitable enough. See this article by Tim Challies FMI on gift envy and gift projection.

What is discerning of spirits? GotQuestions answers that question. Here is an excerpt:

There are certain individuals, however, who have the God-given ability to distinguish between the truth of the Scriptures and erroneous and deceptive doctrines propagated by demons. Although we are all exhorted to be spiritually discerning (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1), some in the body of Christ have been given the unique ability to “spot” the forgeries in doctrine that have plagued the church since the first century. But this does not involve a mystical, extra-biblical revelation or a voice from God. Rather, the spiritually discerning among us are so familiar with the Word of God that they instantly recognize what is contrary to it. They do not receive special messages from God; they use the Word of God to “test the spirits” to see which line up with God and which are in opposition to Him. The spiritually discerning are those who “rightly divide” (2 Timothy 2:15) the Word of God in a thoughtful and diligent manner.

Discernment comes easily to me because the Spirit made it that way. It is HIS intelligence and enabling, not mine.

There is a current backlash against discernment ministries. Some of it it is warranted. Some of it is not. It’s de rigueur to pooh-pooh discernment people as negative cranks that the more spiritual folk have to put up with. (“We love you anyway.”) The clamor comes especially from the love-only emergent crowd but it also exists in the conservative crowd. (BTW, I am not speaking from experience in my current church. I am speaking in generalities of what I see in the wider picture.)

To be sure, I use the gift He has given me firstly in the body of Christ, in my local church, where I warn, admonish, encourage, and exhort. That is the point of gifts, to edify in the local body. (1 Corinthians 14:12). One of the warranted criticisms of discernment ministries comes where people become armchair Christian quarterbacks from home and are not in a local church.

An unwarranted criticism of discernment ministries is their openness, online. Some say that all that negativity should be kept quiet, to stay within the walls of a local church, and not name names so distastefully publicly. As mentioned in the series part 3, satan sure is using technology for HIS purposes. We should be using ours also wherever the battle is, given time and priorities. Because we live in such a technological age, in addition to using His gift at church among the people with whom I’ve covenanted, I also use the gift He has given me online.

If you want to see a manifestation of the Spirit, employ the gifts. (1 Corinthians 14:12). It’s as simple as that. No one gift is better than another. No gift is worse than another. We are all in a body.

However another warranted criticism of discernment ministries is that many of them cry wolf at every leaf blowing in the breeze, like an undiscerning puppy chasing after both the withered leaf blowing by and the burglar at the door. It takes maturity and patience to discern. It also takes a great deal of watching, observing, noticing trends and movements. It’s not easy.

Last, another warranted criticism of discernment ministries is that some only point out problems and do not offer solutions or encouragement. It is very easy having been given a jaundiced eye as it were, to sink into a ‘woe woe woe’ mentality. Easy. It takes work and prayer to stay balanced. Vigilance. We all have to stay vigilant for one thing or another, and in discernment ministries a balance should be given with some encouragement once in a while and some solution-offering more than once in a while.

That is what this essay is about. I’ve pointed out the theological problems in the movement the She Reads Truth ladies are fomenting, and the dangers in the IF:Gathering. The ladies involved in both those endeavors are not worth your time.

So who is? Where are the good teachers? If the She Reads Truth women are not profitable, who IS profitable? Where can a woman turn to be connected up with good female teachers? That’s what I’ll offer you in this essay. I do not want to leave you hanging!

In discussing this matter, dear Sisters, I want to suggest something…you don’t HAVE to have a woman teacher. I know, I know, many women say they enjoy being taught by a woman because they have the same outlook, needs, priorities. Moms like moms. But Christianity isn’t always segregated. Yes, there are Titus 2 older women teaching the younger, but not everyone is a mom. Not everyone is the same age or place in the life continuum.

We’re not learning the scriptures through our gender because the Word transcends gender. The man teaching you spiritual truths isn’t teaching the men different spiritual truths. Truth is truth.

I understand that the bible suggests that women teach women. I know that the bible forbids women teaching men, so if you’re more comfortable with a female teacher, then by the grace of Christian liberty, that is fine! But I wanted to let you know you can consider a male teacher, your teacher doesn’t have to be a woman.

One piece of advice, be very wary of any book study or blurb that touts the study or book is fresh. Fresh is usually just code for unbiblical. Why? An author who thinks they are seeing the bible’s doctrines in a fresh way just means that he thinks everyone else saw it wrong and he is just now discovering the true meaning. Not so. The bible is always fresh.

  • Be wary of books that promote social justice or authors who seek it.
  • Beware of books that use the word reconciliation, because that word is often used in a different way than the biblical way.
  • Be wary if the author or a blurb reviewer is proud that the book or study will appeal to all denominations– this often a code meaning “Catholics, too” or “Mormons, too.” It’s implicit that a Protestant book will appeal to all denominations, because we’re all on the same side. If it appeals to “all denominations” they’re saying it will contain doctrines or concepts appealing to people who are not Protestant and who aren’t really a denomination.
  • Beware of authors who use the word unity. As Dr. Ron Bigalke explains, The emphasis in Emerging Churches is upon mystical and sensual worship experiences that foster unity, as opposed to doctrinal truth that divides. It’s popular nowadays to seek ‘unity’ with the Roman Catholic Church, but this is a false unity that will result in the final unification of all peoples under the Antichrist and the False Prophet’s false religion during the Tribulation. The Reformation, which was a split off from the stranglehold the RCC had on the people, is in full force now swinging back the other way. Beware.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Book reviewers~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where can you find good information about the new book for women that all the moms are talking about? How can you get a glimpse or a clue as to whether a new devotional is any good, before spending money to purchase it? Bestseller lists? Reviews?

However even the bestseller lists and Book Reviews can be manipulated, skewed toward a positive review through money, deceit, and cunning, as we learned from Mark Driscoll and the debacle with ResultSource, which artificially propelled his book Real Marriage up the charts with good reviews. Here are two trustworthy Christian Book reviewer sites I recommend-

The Discerning Reader

About Us: Discerning Reader is a site dedicated to promoting good books–books that bring honor to God. At the same time, we hope to help Christians avoid being unduly influenced by books and teachers that are not honoring to God. We do not seek to be harsh or judgmental. Rather, we seek only to be discerning as we compare books to the written Word of God. We let the words of authors speak for themselves and simply hold the books up to the light of Scripture. In doing so, we are building a database of reviews which we feel cast a discerning light on the books that are found in Christians homes, churches and bookstores.

The people on the reviewing team are listed here

They have NOT recommended Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, Don Piper’s 90 Minutes in Heaven, or Beth Moore’s Get Out of That Pit. They DO recommend John MacArthur and Susan Heck. They offer reading lists and author interviews. Bookmark the site!

Tim Challies

Another trustworthy Christian book reviewer is Tim Challies is pastor, book reviewer and husband. He is a prodigious blogger and reviewer, so there’s a lot he has covered over the last ten years. He has a section on women and here is his page on recommended reads for women.

He said,

Because I am a husband, I try to read at least the occasional book that is meant to encourage or equip my wife. Here are some of the best of the books I’ve read for women.

Challies said, “One popular book for women I do not recommend is Created To Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl.” You can find his review of that book on his site, too.

If you like the books or studies by any of the recommended women at Discerning Reader or at Challies’ site, then expand your search to look for more material from the same women.  Once you’ve found a trustworthy author, keep widening the circle to find more of her works. Search to see who she learns from or attaches to. We all know that the Victoria Osteen-Beth Moore-Joyce Meyer partnerships are not good, or that Moore mentoring Christine Caine and Caine mentoring the women at She Reads Truth/IF:Gathering are not good partnerships. Like attracts like. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 22:24-25). This works in reverse too. Good attracts good. While associations and partnerships alone are not an indicator of doctrinal trusworthiness, they do say a lot about a teacher.

Paul is telling us that in associating with false teachers, we will be adversely influenced by them. The truth is that false teachings do not lead to holiness. As such, it is critical that we are careful whom we form relationships with, especially those outside the church because unbelievers can cause even the strongest Christians to waver in their faith and adversely affect their walk with Christ and their witness to the world. This is why Paul tells us, “Do not be misled.”  (Source)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Women’s Ministries to trust~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 Every Woman’s Grace

John MacArthur’s church and his Master’s Seminary are edifying many good men and women. At his Grace Community Church there is a huge women’s ministry called Every Woman’s Grace. The Sunday School lessons are broadcast and the curriculum outlines are online.

Judy Lunenbrink is one of the GCC Sunday School teachers who I like. But any of them would be a good start. We are still Bereans and checking the scriptures, but you know if a teacher has come from the environment of GCC or The Master’s Seminary they bring with them a great deal of credibility because they have been educated on a solid foundation.

Here is the page for some of the current sermons by women to women in the teaching ministry at GCC.

The current teaching is “The Secret of Contentment.”

Below you will find all the text associated with the women’s ministry at GCC, a ministry titled Every Woman’s Grace. You’ll have to search a little to find the video sermons/teachings that match up with these curricula & outlines, but you can search by teacher so that makes it a bit easier. There really is a lot at GCC for women, by women.

All current files and documents available from Every Woman’s Grace.

GCC has a Recommended Reading page too. Some of these books are written by men, others are written by women.

At GCC you can go through a lesson each week by watching the video online. Most of the lessons are an hour long. For many moms or working singles/widows that is too long of a stretch of time to sit at one go. You can always watch for 15 minutes and then journal about it for a few minutes, and then resume the next day. In this way you have created a good devotional for yourself each day and then when the next Sunday rolls around you will be ready for the next lesson from the women at Grace Community Church.

At MacArthur’s website, gty.org, there are many studies, small group curricula, workbooks, that are either free or a nominal charge. Please do take a look at the educational materials available to you there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Individual Women to trust~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michelle Lesley: If you’d like to know more about me, personally, click on the “Bio” tab at the top of this page. If you’d like an in depth look at what I believe, doctrinally, click on the “Statement of Faith” tab.

Jen Wilkin:

Pastor Challies recommends Jen Wilkin. Her book, Women of the Word has a purpose to “teach you not merely a doctrine, concept, or story line, but a study method that will allow you to open up the Bible on your own. It intends to challenge you to think and to grow, using tools accessible to all of us, whether we hold a high school diploma or a seminary degree, whether we have minutes or hours to give to it each day.”

Wilkin’s book introduces a five-part method to bring about biblical literacy. Please read the review at the link above and consider Ms Wilkin’s book.

Elizabeth George: She writes bible studies for women with her husband Jim, and her intended audience is women who want to grow in feminine Godliness. The Discerning Reader reviewed her books positively. A notable series is her “A Woman After God’s Own Heart.”.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss. The Discerning Reader reviewed her book, “Choosing Gratitude” positively with a green light recommendation. Reviewer Leslie Wiggins wrote,

In Choosing Gratitude, DeMoss elevates gratitude to the status of spiritual discipline. She is convinced that Christians ought to be most the expressive people when it comes to gratitude.

After the panentheist-romantic unbiblical treacle that Ann Voskamp presented in her gratitude book, A Thousand Gifts, DeMoss’ book is a welcome alternative. Wiggins further wrote,

DeMoss does not want this to be another good book that we forget about as soon as we’re done reading it. Therefore, she provides a 30-Day Devotional Guide to help us begin practicing gratitude. Each reading includes a scripture passage, a meditation that further discusses the content of the book, and practical exercises to help us become more thankful people.

Elisabeth Elliot. I mentioned her in a previously unconnected blog essay. She was the wife of Jim Elliot. Her talk to women given some years ago, which is available on Youtube, “Under the Shadow of the Almighty, about Psalm 91:1, is one of the best talks I’ve ever heard aimed as missionary women.

Jim and Elisabeth Elliot were on mission in Ecuador in the 1950s and Jim was killed by the Auca Indians. Their mission and the men’s death (four others were killed that day also) was made into a movie, “The End of the Spear”. Elisabeth wrote about it from her perspective, in the autobiographical book “Through the Gates of Splendor, along with 20 other books she has written.

From the website linked on her name: “Good news on Elisabeth’s past radio programs! On April 14, 2014, BBN (Bible Broadcasting Network) began re-broadcasting Gateway to Joy, Monday through Friday at 11:15am on BBN radio. A listing of their stations across the US can be found on their website, and if you are out of range for that network, don’t fret – daily broadcasts are available on demand here, so you can choose your own hour.”

Kay Arthur Precepts for Life, programs, lessons, etc. are studies that teach you the bible but also teach you how to study the bible. Mrs Arthur has been around for years and decades, so that means she has a wealth of studies to enjoy! I’ve taken three of Kay Arthur’s studies myself. Yes I am aware that her ‘About Us’ page says her studies are appealing to ‘all denominations’. In her case that is not code for “Catholics too”. As a matter of fact I read on several forums that Catholics take umbrage at her sola scriptura approach. This is to Mrs Arthur’s credit. The ‘all denominations’ mantra is not a maxim but simply something to watch for, particularly when younger women say it.

UPDATE 8/2015: Naomi’s Table with Phil Johnson have assessed Mrs Arthur’s current studies and associations. I have taken Mrs Arthur’s studies in the past and I still believe her early studies are good. Pastor Phil Johnson said her early studies were based on a lot of John MacArthur’s material, so that is why. However her current associations and approaches to bible study are less than solid, hence my warning above to watch her carefully. I agree with this assessment from the women at Naomis’ Table, and it appears that her beginning slide has accelerated. This essay is therefore important to read. “The Question of Recommending Kay Arthur”

Martha Peace The page has free online resources such as Audio Teaching Sessions, Video Teaching Sessions, Counseling the Hard Cases, Downloadable Bible Studies, Salvation Worksheets, Sanctification Bible Study, Put Off/Put On Bible Study etc. Her book The Excellent Wife was recommended by The Discerning Reader.

Susan Heck With The Master. She is a biblical counselor, has resources available and studies (for purchase) and also is on the radio to listen for free. More at her page.

Erin Benziger writes at Do Not Be Surprised, which is a great resource in itself, and has begun a new endeavor called Equipping Eve. Benziger wrote, “Welcome to the website of Equipping Eve, a ministry for ladies who love the Lord. From the twice-monthly radio show, to the original articles that will be posted, to the resources that will be provided, Equipping Eve exists to equip women with “fruits of truth” from God’s Word so that they will be prepared to stand strong in an age that is ripe with deception.”

At Equipping Eve you will find articles addressing the topics of sola scriptura (God did NOT ‘tell’ you), doctrine, the role of women in the church, Roman Catholicism, and more. There are twice-monthly 30-minute radio programs archived, and other resources. Free.

Aimee Byrd is Housewife Theologian, blogger, author, book reviewer and part of a triumvirate along with Carl Trueman and Todd Pruitt at the radio show Mortification of Spin. She wrote the book Housewife Theologian: How the Gospel Interrupts the Ordinary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Other~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You By John MacArthur

Readers will be challenged and motivated by the book Twelve Extraordinary Women, a poignant and personal look into the lives of some of the Bible’s most faithful women. Their struggles and temptations are the same trials faced by all believers at all ages

Twelve Extraordinary Women Workbook.
Perfect for group or individual study, this workbook includes:

  • Daily Bible readings
  • Engaging and thought-provoking questions and journaling
  • Fascinating and helpful applications for your daily life
  • “Adding to your Scriptural Vocabulary and Understanding” sections
  • Instructions for facilitating your own small group study

Ladies if you are looking for a solid, moving, and worthy devotional, I personally believe there is none better than Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening. As a bonus, during the month of January 2015, Christian Audio is offering a FREE recorded version this month, as their free audio of the month.

Other men to learn from!

Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Years of sermons here. They are breathtaking in deep understanding of the word and worthy of your attention. A new documentary coming out on his life, too, in April 2015. He was called “Logic on Fire” and so is the film.

S. Lewis Johnson. With his comforting twang and slow delivery saturated with love for his people and for Jesus, you can benefit greatly from his sermons. They are online, and also are transcribed so you can print them or follow along while you listen. Along with Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones and MacArthur, Johnson is a titan preacher of the faith. You cannot go wrong listening to these men but only grow in love for the word as it is patiently and correctly explained to you. Hearing the verses explained about women, motherhood and the women of the bible will only benefit you in your spiritual education, as well of course as the doctrines and theology of other topics in addition to these so many women are interested in. Sermons and transcriptions here.

J. Vernon McGee. Born in 1904, the Lord took this ordinary man and made an extraordinary ministry from it. McGee led a church as pastor for 21 years, then moved McGee to radio, where he taught the bible over the airwaves for another 23 years.  Through the Bible radio ministry is still ongoing. Archived McGee sermons can be found at OnePlace, here.

Alistair Begg. Truth for Life. Pr Begg is British and served as pastor in England then came to the US and pastors in Ohio now at Parkside Church. The teaching on Truth For Life stems from the week by week Bible teaching at Parkside Church. The website link on his name brings you to a page where you can-
–See Alistair Live at his church on Sundays
–Hear Most Recent Broadcasts (Now preaching part 1 of Introducing Esther)
–Browse Alistair’s Sermons from the archive
–See a list of Recommended Books

It goes without saying that any books, studies, or devotionals Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, MacArthur, Johnson, McGee, or Begg wrote are also good food for you.

I hope this encourages you. Though Christianity is rife with false teachers, many of them women gunning for YOU dear Sister, there are good teachers out there of both genders whose life mission is to feed you good food. The Lord is good and kind. He raises up people for each generation and does not forget His sheep. He is mindful of you, sorting laundry, corralling kids in the grocery store, reading bedtime stories when you would like to be in bed yourself. He knows your life in all its mundanity and glory. He has women and men out there for you to learn from.

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks ford a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9-13)

Jesus loves His daughters very much. If you ask Him for the good gift of wisdom and discernment He will give it to you. If you ask Him to lead you to good educational materials and good spiritual food, He will do it. He is a loving Father who protects us. Ask. Seek. Knock.

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

Further Reading

What is Biblical Discernment and why is it Important?

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 1 (What They Say)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 2 (What They Do)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 3 (IF:Gathering) 

Posted in Amanda Bible Williams, Ann Voskamp, discernment, IF:Gathering, liberal, Raechel Myers, She Reads Truth, social justice

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 3, the IF:Gathering

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is part three of a four-part series. I’m examining the website, teachings, and women of “She Reads Truth” in 2 parts (What They Say, and What They Do). Part 3 (this part) looks at the conference known as the “IF:Gathering” in which many of the She Reads Truth women are involved. In part 4 I will discuss women teachers in general from a biblical perspective, and provide a list of solid teachers (men and women) of the Word.

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 1 (What They Say)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 2 (What They Do)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 3, (the IF:Gathering)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 4 (Women Teachers)

Have you ever heard of the IF:Gathering? No? I hadn’t either. But after reading this today, you will.

I’m 54 years old. I was born before the internet, before cell phones, CD’s, DVD’s, laptops, personal/desktop computers, cable television, wireless, GPS, robots, and almost before satellites. I remember what it was like to roam around the neighborhood for hours, unsupervised. To ride my bike to the creamery to get an ice cream. To be dropped off at the mall and picked up 8 hours later. I listened to Sgt. Pepper on 8-track. My telephone was hooked into the wall, tv was black and white, and there was a test pattern that came on when broadcasting ended at 11:00 (or 1:00) and the National Anthem was played.

We watched a man walk on the moon and thought we had reached the heights of technology, marveling that just a few decades prior, the Wright Brothers had first flown a very few feet. Now we were in space. When the astronauts landed, they were given ticker tape parades in the streets. I read that the computer in the Apollo manned rockets processed 4,000 times slower than the ones we use today for space. They were no more powerful than a pocket calculator.

Even though I was born before all that, I am no fuddy-duddy when it comes to technology. My father bought Pong, the first mainstream video game. (1972). I was hooked from the start. I grabbed a computer when they became affordable in the mid-1990s, and got online at 360 baud.

Today’s crop of young women are known as Millennials. They were born approximately from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. These kids were born entirely in the digital age. They have a natural proclivity toward accepting the digital. If you ever saw a toddler pop a CD into the computer or use joysticks on a video game you know what I mean. On Wikipedia regarding the Millennials and technology, a large-sample (7,705) research study of college students was conducted.

They found that Next Generation college students, born between 1983–1992, were frequently in touch with their parents and they used technology at higher rates than people from other generations. In their survey, they found that 97% of these students owned a computer, 94% owned a cell phone, and 56% owned an MP3 player.

As each new invention comes along, they are in themselves neutral. Each new invention has the potential for good or for bad. Laptops have no doubt made life easier, from grad students to executives. But they also revolutionized the porn industry, which is a #1 problem in America today. I remember when the Swedish X-rated, commercially aimed porn movie I Am Curious Yellow came out (1967). It created a huge stir in our town in RI. It was banned in Massachusetts. I remember certain older women who wanted to see it, but didn’t dare, because they would be seen going into the public movie theatre. Nowadays you can watch anything, anything, on your on computer in the dark secrecy of your LCD-lit bedroom.

IF:Gathering combined a unique scriptural message with viral marketing through online networks. ~Christianity TodaySo technology is neutral, it’s how we use it that matters. What does this have to do with the IF:Gathering? Becuase the technology these women use to promote their unbiblical agenda is almost entirely digital. That’s why you never heard of the IF:Gathering- it is a viral, digital movement.

We exist to gather, equip, and unleash the next generation of women to live out their purpose.

Sounds … interesting. On the one hand it is good to find a place where women can be equipped. It is good to live out our purpose, as long as we have a solid understanding of the biblical purpose of our lives, first as children of God, then as our gender. The part that makes me unsettled is the “unleashing” part. Am I leashed? Have I been leashed all my life? These young women are going to take off the collar of leashing and let me go? Who leashed me in the first place? To live out my purpose? I haven’t been living my purpose all this time? Have I missed the boat for 54 years? Good thing these women exist.

I try to alert you to buzzwords. Here we are concerned with the word ‘unleashed.’ In 2006 John MacArthur explained the emergent’s language, particularly the use of “unleashed.” (Even though in the last 9 years we have gone from emergent to post-modernist to post-Christian to anti-Christian). His reference to the ‘facts’ is to the emergent’s notion that nothing can be known to be absolutely true in scripture anyway. Uncertainty is king.

What is more important than truth is ennobling the heretofore disenfranchised masses who have been subsumed under the dominant European white male culture. And so in order to “release” these oppressed women and minorities, we have to reinvent truth because the liberation of these…of these abused people is more important than facts, since we might not have any reality about what facts are anyway. So history gets twisted, everything gets twisted. … This mentality of post-modernism is being applied to the Scriptures and to the church.

As a woman feminist Jewish professor I know says, “Surviving the patriarchy.” In other words, a Millennial woman who calls for unleashing is saying that women have been wrongly oppressed by misinterpreted scriptures and they are here to unchain us from patriarchal bondage.

Hopefully you can see the hubris and foolishness
in the IF:Gathering mission statement

Do you know that the IF:Gathering title means?

“If God is real, then what?”

IF God is real? (Genesis 3:1). Hath God said? The title of their movement starts with questioning the existence of God. This is not a good start. There is nowhere to go but down.

#IFGathering trended on Twitter throughout the weekend, ranking among the top hashtags used around the world. ~Christianity Today
It is even worse than Genesis 3, because in the scene in the Garden of Eden with Eve, satan acknowledged God’s existence. He went on to questioning what He actually said.

Under the “Equipping” pages on their website, for example, they will put up a verse. Then they will explain it. Today’s is Genesis 46:30-47:12 with an emphasis on Genesis 47:5-6,

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 You can choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if they are skilled shepherds, they can also care for my cattle.”

Below the verse, which is artfully pasted into a softly blurred mountainscape photo-scripture, is their explanation of the verse.

Below that, a journaling question. Here is the question:

IF you believe this is true, what does this mean about God? You? The world?

If I believe? If Joseph really existed, you mean? If Pharaoh existed? If Joseph and Pharaoh talked together? If Egypt existed? If Goshen existed? If cattle existed? What would not be true about that verse?

The postmodern person rejects the biblical absolutes that there is an immutable God, that God is sovereign, and that the only way to salvation is through the blood sacrifice of Jesus.
~Matt Slick.
The ‘equipping’ of the women of “IF:Gathering” is the same ‘equipping’ satan helpfully treated Eve to in the garden. You must understand that the emergent church post-modernist person questions everything about the bible, they absolutely believe that nothing can be known for absolutely true.

Jen Hatmaker is one of the women of  IF:Gathering along with founder Jennie Allen and including Ann Voskamp and Angie Smith and some others. Hatmaker explains IF’s inception as ‘a movement for our generation.’ Unlike all the other movements every other generation has experienced?Read Ecclesiastes 1:4. Hatmaker wrote,

We’re building a tribe, in my bravest moment I’ll call it a movement. With humility and thankfulness, we are mentored by Christine Caine, Debbie Eaton, and Shelley Giglio.

Yes, the Tribe of Doubters in the Slough of Despond.

But wait, it gets worse.

We’ve talked about the IF part. There is the gathering part, also.

The women don’t just promote their doubts online in digital fashion. They gather in real life. They say,

Our desire for you to be brave and to dream about what it would look like to gather, equip, and unleash women in your city. This is not going to happen because of us, this is going to happen because of you. Period.

Maybe they are forgetting Someone? The Holy Spirit?

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

So I don’t know about the brave part, but the bible does talk about weakness an awful lot.

Their graphics always show blurred or softened farm tables artfully filled with flowers and seated around them are young, trendy, (slim) women in cool glasses and artfully arranged scarves “wrestling with questions.” Like, Hath God said? They describe the IF:Local Gatherings this way-

IF:LOCAL

IF GOD IS REAL… THEN WHAT? This 2-day gathering will bring women together from around the world to wrestle with belief that God is real, the places in our lives where we are struggling with unbelief, how can we overcome unbelief and then what God can do with our belief.

If you don’t believe then you need something different than a table full of biblically unknowledgeable women sipping refreshing drinks on lawns. If you do believe then edify and equip takes on a different meaning. If they invite unbelievers to a table for Gospel sharing purposes, then that is one thing, because it is the Word that saves. (Romans 10:14). That’s mission. (Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 14:23). If they’re believers, then they trust the Word, believe it, and are being trained by it. (2 Timothy 3:16). The path these women are taking is the middle ground, But there is no middle ground. (Revelation 3:16).

I wish people wouldn’t complicate things. It really is black and white. Belief and unbelief. Saved and sinner. Narrow road and broad road. Hot or cold. In or out.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:6)

IF:Gatherings are ongoing in living rooms and lawns by the thousands. See?

Are you astounded? I was. White pins represent private gatherings. This means that they are invisible to you and me in daily Real Life. But they are not invisible to the Millennial (Digital) Generation. They are going on, all over and all the time. Each one of those pins represents a place where impressionable women will gather to plant or nurture seeds of doubt. Do you see this as the monstrous ecclesiastical tragedy that it is? Do you mourn these women?

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Christianity Today wrote on the IF:Gathering and its viral and volcanic impact, in February 2014.

The first-time event had a vague premise—If God is real, then what?—and no speaker lineup when announced this fall, but sold out in 42 minutes, forcing organizers to coordinate local watch parties across the U.S. and 22 other countries to accommodate interest. teachings from women like Christine Caine, international speaker from Hillsong Church; Jen Hatmaker, Christian blogger and author of 7; Ann Voskamp, author of A Thousand Gifts; and Shelley Giglio, a leader alongside her husband Louie Giglio at Passion City Church.

Allen brought together 60-some influential bloggers and leaders from across churches, denominations, and theological positions, convinced that God was calling her to rally for unity among the splintering factions of the church. IF focused distinctly on spiritual formation, with both inspirational and practical takeaways. Based on the directive in Hebrews 12 to “throw off everything that hinders” and “run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” dozens of speakers encouraged women to chase their calling. Since the event details were kept secret, IF attendees were drawn to the overall concept, rather than popular speakers “from their camp” or sessions on hot topics, said Amy Brown, IF communications director.

“”We’ve been slow to step into our giftedness or strengths. For a long time, that wasn’t an option,” said Allen.”

Just think about that last statement for a moment. For 2000 years, the Holy Spirit has been distributing Gifts, all that He determines (1 Corinthians 12:11)  but it hasn’t been an option to step into them … until now?

This new wave of evangelical women is fueled by an ever-growing online culture of high-profile women bloggers and savvy social media types who have laid the groundwork for the new focus. … “We’ve grown up in a different context,” Allen said. “The technology is unprecedented.” ~HuffPo

Would you pay to attend a conference that had a vague premise and a secret lineup of speakers? Doing so is just foolish.

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2)

But foolishly, they bought into it…in 42 minutes.

How can a woman test the spirits, if the premise is vague and the lineup a secret? (1 John 4:1)

What this is about is, encouraging women to be Christian feminists, and be teachers, pastors, and leaders. THAT is what this is about. And of course you must disbelieve the Word to do so because the word is clear on what women’s roles are. To be what the IF women propose, one must abandon truth. “Hath God said?” IF God is real, then what? IF God isn’t real, then what?

for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. (Isaiah 9:16)

Where are the men holding on to these women as they hang precariously over the Pit!?

Stallone, in Cliffhanger

He, therefore, that went before, (Vain-confidence by name), not seeing the way before him, fell into a deep pit [Isa. 9:16], which was on purpose there made, by the Prince of those grounds, to catch vain-glorious fools withal, and was dashed in pieces with his fall. ~John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

The worse tragedy is that these women do not know the danger they are in.

Source

IF God is real? Doubt is not noble. The bible says doubt is a destroyer of life. (James 1:5-8). There is no such thing as a bible “study” that has as its premise, “IF you believe this, then…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Conclusion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How can we help these young women? They are or will be mothers, and mothers are the architects of the next generation. Young doubters are leaving the church in droves, and this is where they are going, to home gatherings led by the LCD display on their monitors, not by the bells of church.

First, pray. Pray for the youngsters in your midst, in church and those who have left church. Prayer is a magnificent and primary way to change things.

Second, disciple. Disciple. Disciple. Titus 2:3-5.

What does it mean to be a Titus 2 woman, exactly? It begins and ends with discipling. I listed some good articles below that are theological AND practical. Please refer to ‘Further Reading.’

Pray, disciple, and third, be a good example yourself. A Titus 2 woman is to be reverent. Young women leave the church (and young men too) because they can’t stand the hypocrisy in church people and can’t stand to see sin tolerated. Hypocrisy is always there, but try not to add fuel to the fire with what you say and what you do.

Fourth, always strive to be biblically knowledgeable. The word washes us, bathes us in holiness, trains us. If you are not a student of it how can we expect the young women to be? How can we be in a spirit of readiness to share, encourage, and instruct, if we don’t know what the Bible says? (2 Timothy 4:2).

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 1 (What They Say)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 2 (What They Do)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 4

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

Further Reading

Six months after the conclusion of this series, Lighthouse Trails researched the IF:Gathering also. Please read their extensive research here

What does the bible say about doubt?

Study Guide: Making Disciples

Woman to Woman: Answering the call of Titus 2
This article has excellent practical advice for both older women and younger women.

Being a Titus 2 Woman
Also practical advice

‘IF:Gathering’ Of Evangelical Women Focuses On Social Justice In Austin, Texas

If a Brand-New Christian Women’s Conference Goes Viral, Then What?

Posted in Amanda Bible Williams, Ann Voskamp, discernment, IF:Gathering, liberal, Raechel Myers, She Reads Truth, social justice

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 2

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is part two of a four-part series. I’m examining the website, teachings, and women of “She Reads Truth” in 2 parts (What They Say, and What They Do). Part 3 will take a look at the conference known as the “IF:Gathering” in which many of the She Reads Truth women are involved. In part 4 I will discuss women teachers in general from a biblical perspective, and provide a list of solid teachers (men and women) of the Word.

This is part 2, looking at the teachers at She Reads Truth and their lifestyles, “What They Do,” to see if how they live lines up with scripture. In Part 1 I looked at “What They Say”, meaning, their teachings.

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 1 (What They Say)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 2 (What They Do)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 3, (the IF:Gathering)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women Bible teachers. Part 4 (Women Teachers)

 

In being a Berean, (Acts 17:11) which means examining the scriptures to see if what we are being taught is so, there is a second part to that examination to determine if a teacher is credible. If examining the scriptures is the “What They Say” part, then the second part is just as important to look at. It’s looking at their lives, or, “What They Do.”

In the verses speaking to qualifications for pastors, teachers and elders, there is only one that is of the gifts. “Able to teach.” (2 Timothy 2:24). The rest are character qualifications, which speak to how the potential pastor, elder, or teacher lives his or her life. In addition, teachers should not be young, but be tested first. (1 Timothy 3:10-11).

In 1 Timothy 3:6 it is said that overseers (pastors) must not be new converts, lest they become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. This is practical advice and I would hold that it also applies to teachers, male and female.

So looking at the lives our teachers lead makes sense and is biblical. Do they live what they preach? Please excuse me for making this long. There are 6 women who write for the She Reads Truth (SRT) site. That’s a lot of lives to examine. Please bear with me.

The women of She Reads Truth, “What They Do”

Raechel Myers is CEO and founder of She Reads Truth. She is 32 and married to Ryan, with whom she has 2 children. Myers states She Reads Truth’s purpose, that Myers along “with an amazing team of writers, write in response to the scriptures we’re reading to create daily devotionals for the community to enjoy and discuss together.”

So please bear in mind that these ladies are not writing what the scriptures mean, but are writing emotional and personal responses to them. What you are ‘devoting’ yourself to when you read their reading plans are their thoughts and emotions, not necessarily biblical truth. FYI.

Myers’ bio is a fresh, American cornucopia of motherly mundanity. “Raechel is learning what a daily diet of the Bread of Life looks like in the “in between” – on laundry day, grocery day and Tuesday.”

Sounds normal and mundane…except … it’s not. Raechel is “Crazy busy and super happy” as a sewist, writer, photographer, designer, author, CEO of a Limited Liability Company, Conference Fundraiser, Conference speaker, and world traveling Justice Activist. Oh, And mom. And wife.

From her website.

As for her project regarding “Style for Justice” travel to Rwanda in July 2014, “We journeyed with an influential group of storytellers and introduced them to Rwandan women who have overcome injustice and have been empowered through economic opportunity.”

Myers high-fiving over successful fabric selection
with Rwandan women to overcome injustice in Sub-Sahara Africa

She stated up front that the Rwanda journey wasn’t a mission trip, but a social justice trip. I wrote at length of the biblical and the unbiblical notions of social justice, here. Myers’ is the unbiblical interpretation. Her trip, she said, had nothing to do with planting churches or handing out bibles, she wrote. It had everything to do with helping women in Africa sell jewelry. (Myers: The second half of this trip is taking a very “Project Runway” turn and I think it’s sort of awesome and redemptive and exciting!) That’s why she was leaving her children and her husband to travel halfway around the world? Let me find that in my bible.

If you ask God for justice, you are asking for hell. Ask for mercy. ~Steven J. Lawson

In an Instagram photo Raechel Myers published of her two young children perched on a chair and on a table watching a laptop playing a video of their mother being interviewed at If:Gathering, with this caption, My husband just texted me this photo of the kids watching our @shereadstruth interview at the @ifgathering. Seeing my baby girl perched on the table watching her mommy talk about her Jesus- so blessed!!!!

She has a choice, let her children watch her talk about Jesus through a laptop, or let her children watch her at home living the obedient life Jesus called her to live.

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

Amanda Bible Williams is 36-year-old Editorial Director for She Reads Truth. She lives in TN in a farmhouse near Nashville and is married to husband David. I believe Mr Williams runs a Chick-Fil-A. Williams says she is a work-at-home mom to three small children. In addition, she is a blogger, writer, magazine contributor, Editorial Director, Co-CEO of a Limited Liability Company, and Graduate Student (Religious Studies). Oh, and a mom, And a wife.

She considers herself an Enneagram #9, which tells us she does not have discernment. Enneagram is an occultic practice stemming from Hinduism, and is another of the pagan practices Christianity has syncretistically adopted from pagan religions. Nancy Leigh DeMoss of Reviving Our Hearts explains the occult background of Enneagram.

Mrs Williams also is a Grad Student at Vanderbilt University, working toward attaining a MS in Religion. Most colleges, certainly, and many seminaries, have become anything ranging from liberal-to-secular. Women need to take care when submitting to religious instructors because of our proclivity toward being seduced away from the solid doctrines of Jesus. (2 Tim 3:6, 2 Cor 11:3, 1 Tim 2:14). Mrs Williams has already demonstrated an undiscerning interest in the practice of Enneagram, and whatever discernment she may still retain will no doubt soon be lost under the secular, Christ-hating agenda that Vanderbilt pushes. According to Al Mohler, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President,

Just a few decades after its founding, Vanderbilt had transformed itself into a secular university, embarrassed by its Christian founding. … In more recent months, Vanderbilt’s administration decided to push secularism to the extreme — launching a virtual vendetta against religious organizations on campus.

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

Diana Stone (age 30), is married with a child. Her husband is in the United States Army. In addition to her writing on She Reads Truth, you can also find her work on her own blog Diana Wrote, and at Babble.com, Babble Parenting, Still Standing Magazine, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post. Smaller glimpses into her day are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on Pinterest. Mrs Stone is busy. Nevertheless, we read that “You can find her in the mornings with a cup of coffee and her Bible flung open, preparing for the day ahead.” Awww, admirable! “With a sweet daughter in tow, Diana clings to God’s Word daily.” Wow, inspiring.

Is that the truth? Really? Er, only partly.

Mrs Stone relaxes with the bible “flung open” … after she drops her daughter to daycare.

For the past two and a half years, the couple employed a part time nanny care for their daughter in their home so Mrs Stone could work as a freelance writer. After bumping along with several nannies, they eventually decided to put their child in daycare so Mrs Stone could continue to write at home.

And countless are the mothers who ignore, neglect, or abandon their children in pursuit of self-centered “fulfillment”–motherhood is an inconvenient interruption to their lifestyle.~JMacArthur
As a mother and a working mom, Mrs Stone is not sure where her priority should be. In her own words, at the journal Liberating Working Moms, Stone wrote about making the switch from nanny to daycare.

“There’s a constant tug on me to be in both worlds 100%. Work should come first. Life should come first. What is a priority? Who gets my time that day – and is choosing one over the other wrong? When I’ve committed to being a mama and being paid to write, both need my top priority.”

First of all, there should be no distinction between “life” and “work.” Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,”

Secondly, Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (Psalm 127:3)

Mrs Stone’s mothering gets in the way of writing about being a mom, so the mothering is outsourced. Let me find that in my bible.

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

Hayley Morgan, is approximately 28, married, with 4 kids. I haven’t found a name for her husband, nor a job description. Mother to 4 boys. Mrs Morgan co-founded The Influence Network and organizes the annual Influence Conference (complete with the blatantly unChristian classes in, “there’s no such thing as Holy Yoga“) held in Indianapolis every fall. She is author of a book to help you with the daily question of “What do I wear?!” “The wisdom in the book has helped hundreds of women get dressed with more confidence and less fuss.” She blogs, writes at SRT, speaks at Influence Conference and is Editor-In-Chief of the Influence Magazine. Oh, and a mom. And a wife.

The Influence Network and its attendant magazine have nebulous mission statements, other than for women to “make their online life mean something”. The Magazine’s mission statement reads,

“This Magazine is the physical embodiment of what I’d imagine a woman of influence being. It’s bright and vibrant, it’s stylish and smart, it has a lot to say about a lot of things. It has a lot of white space and margin. It’s also going to grow in front of you, equal parts wobbly and beautiful. We’re going to try new things and we’re going to push a lot of doors wide open…”

Turning biblical womanhood in its head
in pursuit of barely cloaked self-fulfillment

For a woman who communicates for a living Mrs Morgan is very good at hiding the meaning in her intent and mission. That was about as clear as, “Let’s leverage our core competencies so we can think out of the box while the paradigm shifts during our journey.”

As for the mission statement, her declaration of the magazine’s purpose contained lots of buzz words that mean nothing and isn’t clear. Except for the overall tone … that was very clear. It was unbiblical. I invite you to read the session topic synopses at the Influence Network (and a biblical definition of influence is never given, though it purports to be a Christian conference). At this “Christian” conference you will learn to throw out the “shoulds” and “not live by the rules”, to be “intentionally leaning in to what might feel imperfect”, to “use God’s gift of work to transform the lives of the poor,” and “how to use life’s valleys to build momentum for your journey.” Because, it’s all about us. Being disobedient.

Yet the woman lauded in the bible are humble mothers, wives, widows, honest and submissive, not having a lot to say and not being pushy with doors. (1 Timothy 2:11)

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

Rebecca Faires, married, four children, lives in TN. Sister of SRT CEO Raechel Myers. “Loves the idea of international justice” and for that reason tries “not to be an oppressor at home.”

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

 Debbie Eaton, wife for 27 years, mom to teenage son. Worked at Rick Warren’s Saddleback church as woman ministry leader, which should say all there is to say about her discernment level. On Twitter Mrs Eaton describes herself as “Christ Follower, Wife, Mom, Women’s Ministry Leader, grateful for life and the influence we have to one another.”

With these women it is all about influence. Yet Jesus calls us to service in humility. He who has the most influence of any person ever born or who will be born, humbled Himself to the point of the cross, and commands us to be the same. (Philippians 2:3)

The overall tone of these women’s lives is to be influential in the world, leading corporations, being the generation to solve injustice and poverty, living strong and bold (and stylish and trendy).

Do the women of She Reads Truth and the Influence Conferences seem like a Titus kind of woman to you? Titus 2:3-5 says,

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:3-5)

Sisters, the women of She Reads Truth and their friends (Shauna Niequist, daughter of Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church), Ann Voskamp, Christine Caine and etc, are not living a life submitted to the word. In Part 1 I mentioned a good article at The Gospel Coalition titled “Is Your Church Functionally Liberal?” in which the author says there are doctrinal statements, and then there is how the church lives it out. Many churches have a conservative doctrinal statement but are in fact “functionally liberal.” I apply the same concept to individual lives. Anyone can set up a blog, publish a faith statement, but is what they DO matching with what they say? Or are they doctrinally conservative but functionally liberal?

This matters, because the bible consistently curses the succeeding generations of idolaters. God does so many times in the OT and in the NT. Jesus tells the Pharisees they were making sons of hell twice as bad as they were. He curses the church at Thyatira, saying that their tolerance of the false prophetess ‘Jezebel’ made spiritual daughters who needed either to repent or He was going to kill them. Sin always gets worse from one generation to the next unless it is corrected through repentance.

Comparing the Titus verses with today’s spiritual mentors to these young women, the older women failed to teach the younger to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, because they weren’t. Beth Moore (age 57) began this erm, “journey”, into Christian feminism with her lifestyle. She speaks a good doctrine, but she does not live it. Other spiritual daughters coming up quickly noted the tolerance evangelical Christianity had for Moore’s calling-all-the-shots, CEO leadership, wide-traveling, park the kids with hubby, look at me celebrity, bring in the bacon kind of lifestyle. Tolerated … as long she gave a wink and a nod to the party line of certain doctrines and cloaked the lifestyle feminism in words like giftings for corporate talent and ministry rather than work or career.

The next generation of these Christian feminists were such as Christine Caine (age 48) who leapt onto the liberation mantra of ‘stepping into giftings‘ and went global with boldness and joy. The third generation is this crop of twenty and early thirty something women mentioned here on this blog, are even more bold about their feminist lifestyle, actually thinking they are unleashing it all and pushing open closed doors for the benefit of the world, and have learned how to use technology to their severe advantage. More on this technological savvy in part 3, where I also explain further why I am being so hard on women who promote this lifestyle

The women at She Reads Truth do not have discernment enough to teach, do not know what it is to live out lives as Christian women. They do not have the wherewithal to teach you anything close to what Jesus would have for His women to know.

And yes if you detect a tone in which I am upset, I am. I am offended by Christian feminists who re-define the biblical word for “gifts” and “ministry” just so they can live lives as usurpers, who promote a different Gospel, (“our story is the Good News“), commercially trade on their motherhood while stowing the kids at daycare or leaving them and husband behind while they travel for unbiblical but worldly reasons, yes I am offended. I’m offended by Christian feminists presenting a disingenuous bio while teaching wrongly interpreted doctrines and disobeying the doctrines that are there, and who are poor role models for younger generations. When those two toddlers grow up watching Raechel Myers be a mom through the laptop, what will they have been taught by their mother’s and their father’s lifestyle?

One of the women wrote that she was reading Charles Spurgeon, Myers I think it was. These women who thirst for influence and boldness and a place in the world, fail to see the greatest gift of all. Spurgeon had a mother. She bore 17 children. Nine of them died. Phil Johnson wrote in his essay “How Childhood influences shaped a great preacher“,

Spurgeon’s mother was the one whose influence first awakened him to the claims of Christ on his life. Her exhortations to her children, as well as her prayers on their behalf, made an indelible impact on Charles as a young boy.

Does Mrs Myers think for one moment that she would even be reading works by Spurgeon if his mom had been consumed with personal glory influence and trotted off to Africa to help natives pick out scarves instead of grieving her nine lost children and raising the eight others? Praying, living, worshiping, doing laundry, and gasp, submitting to the womanly life Jesus commands? Mrs Eliza Spurgeon’s influence lasts to this day and Myers is a beneficiary of it. What will Myers’ influence and legacy be for her children? Will they have a biblical worldview?

Do any of these women live a life that is starkly different from any other woman of the world? (1 Peter 2:9).

Feminist Gloria Steinem & activist
Dorothy Pitman Hughes on civil rights and social justice.
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

I am offended by women who say all the previous generations got it wrong and now, finally now that WE are here, we will unleash proper womanhood onto the world. I am offended by all of that. None of it honors Jesus.

It’s up to you, my young Sisters, to decide what kind of mother/woman you want to be. Influential according to the world, unleashed, living out loud? Or Godly. Because you cannot be both. (Luke 16:13)

For better or worse, mothers are the makers of men; they are the architects of the next generation. That’s why the goal of becoming a godly mother is the highest and most noble pursuit of womanhood. ~John MacArthur

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 1

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 3

She Reads Truth, IF:Gathering, and women bible teachers. Part 4

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Further reading

Six months after the conclusion of this series, Lighthouse Trails researched the IF:Gathering also. Please read their extensive research here

Interview with JD Greear about new 7-week study: Jesus-centered Parenting in a Child-centered World

LifeWay resource: Ready to Launch: Jesus-Centered Parenting in a Child-Centered World

Profile of a Godly Mother

What does the Bible say about Christian Mothers?

The Secret Christian Feminists

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

A Biblical Theology of Motherhood