Category: encouragement

Posted in 90 minutes in heaven, encouragement, thomas watson

What is heaven?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Heaven part 1 Abraham’s Bosom & Paradise

Heaven part 2 Millennium Kingdom

The Atlantic wrote an article about the spate of Christian movies lately. They focused on the most recent release on September 11 of the movie based on Don Piper’s book, 90 Minutes in Heaven.

Only think about it, Piper didn’t spend 90 minutes in (alleged) heaven, he was “there” only a minute. According to his story, he spent most of the time outside the ‘gate’ hobnobbing with his welcoming committee. But I digress.

The Atlantic article was interestingly titled. “How Heaven Became a Secular Word“. More on that in a moment. In the article, the writer said something about the movie 90 Minutes in Heaven that I thought was funny. She had spent some time in her opening describing the lead actress and relating quotes from the interview with her. The author had asked the actress if working on the movie made her think about heaven more. Then the article goes into the meat of the point it wants to make. The movie is:

“at least somewhat based on those described in the Christian scriptures, but they’re light on concrete details—Jesus, for example, is nowhere to be found.”

Any “heaven” that is absent Jesus is not heaven. Scriptures make that very clear. (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23). The point was, the movie is SO light on details that:

The heaven of 90 Minutes is more than a metaphor, but just barely.

LOL, the movie was so light on details, so ephemeral, so insubstantial in detailing this very real place most of humanity aspires to, that it is barely more than a metaphor. Sadly though, in addition to being funny phrasing, recognizing that the movie is barely more than a metaphor is an actual tragedy. Why? Heaven is a concrete place, described in real terms in the bible. And despite the fact that most of humanity aspires to a restful and happy place after death, few will find it. (Matthew 7:14).

The lead actress worked on the movie for months, delving into the subject matter at hand, as actors and actresses do, but came away with not one whit more of an understanding of what heaven is, than she had before. When asked what she thought heaven would be like, she responded:

“I would love to have either Mike waiting for me or me waiting for Mike with our dogs running around—I mean, that’s heaven, you know?” she said. “Whatever heaven is for each individual, that would certainly be it for me.” This sense of a vague, happy afterlife, filled with romping animals and loving relationships, is the one embraced by 90 Minutes in Heaven.

What a shame. A man-centered, felt needs kind of heaven. She will be occupied with her Lord, her Groom, not longing for her husband, because there is no marriage in heaven. (Matthew 22:30). As for the felt-needs aspects, Billy Graham also happens to believe this kind of heaven is heaven. Marshall Frady wrote of him in his book Billy Graham: A Parable of American Righteousness:

Even during his crusades, according to Frady, Graham would return from playing nine holes to dictate that evening’s sermon. Graham even exclaimed about Heaven, “Boy, I sure hope they have a golf course up there!”

Worse, is this quote from Ken Garfield’s biography of Graham, Billy Graham: A Life in Pictures, where Graham said that “Somebody once asked me, ‘Will there be golf courses in heaven?’ I said, ‘If they’re necessary for our happiness, they’ll be there.’”

Is THAT what heaven is, a personal, felt-needs kind of heaven where if you love dogs, you get dogs, and if you love golf, you get golf? No. Most assuredly no.

The subsequent parts of this essay will examine two concepts.
1. What is the purpose of heaven?
2. What is heaven like?

Heaven is a place where all our needs are met in One Person: Jesus. HE is what he had needed all along. Heaven is the place where our chief end of even having been born will come to perfect fruition. Puritan Thomas Watson describes the chief end of man, which is fulfilled in the eternal state, commonly (but incorrectly) stated as “heaven.”

Question. 1. What is the chief end of man?
Answer. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified.

1. The glorifying of God.
First. The glorifying of God, 1 Pet. 4:11. “That God in all things may be glorified.” The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. l Cor. 10:31.

“Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; now, man being a rational creature, must propose some end to himself, and that should be, that he may lift up God in the world. He had better lose his life than the end of his living. The great truth asserted is that the end of every man’s living should be to glorify God. Glorifying God has respect to all the persons in the Trinity; it respects God the Father who gave us life; God the Son, who lost his life for us; and God the Holy Ghost, who produces a new life in us; we must bring glory to the whole Trinity.

2. The enjoying of God.

This brings us to the second thing: 2nd. The enjoyment of God in the life to come. Man’s chief end is to enjoy God forever. Before the plenary fruition of God in heaven, there must be something previous and antecedent; and that is our being in a state of grace. We must have conformity to him in grace, before we can have communion with him in glory. Grace and glory are linked and chained together. Grace precedes glory, as the morning star ushers in the sun. God will have us qualified and fitted for a state of blessedness. Drunkards and swearers are not fit to enjoy God in glory; the Lord will not lay such vipers in his bosom.

Only “the pure in heart shall see God.” We must first be, as the king’s daughter, glorious within, before we are clothed with the robes of glory. As King Ahasuerus first caused the virgins to be purified and anointed, and they had their sweet odours to perfume them, and then went to stand before the king, Esth. 2:12, so must we have the anointing of God, and be perfumed with the graces of the Spirit, those sweet odours, and then we shall stand before the king of heaven. Being thus divinely qualified by grace, we shall be taken up to the mount of vision, and enjoy God for ever; and what is enjoying God for ever but to be put in a state of happiness?

As the body cannot have life but by having communion with the soul, so the soul cannot have blessedness but by having immediate communion with God. God is the summum bonum, the chief good; therefore the enjoyment of him is the highest felicity.

Do you see anything in Watson’s explanation, and you can be assured it is but a minute part (the entire sermon is 16 full pages) about having your own personal golf course? About romping around outside with your husband, when we all know from scripture there is no marriage in heaven? (Matthew 22:30). Watson had said:

The great truth asserted is that the end of every man’s living should be to glorify God.

And by His grace we are given an eternal living, then that means our entire eternal life will be one where He receives His due worship. It means we have the privilege of glorifying Him in perfected body (Philippians 3:21) and proclaiming His majesty from pure lips. (Zephaniah 3:9).

So…what is heaven like? Is there anything concrete about this future swelling place we can read about? Yes.

Just as the word hell has come to mean a catch-all for the place where the wicked dwell, heaven has come to mean a catch-all for the place where the righteous dwell. But there is hell, Hades, Sheol, the abyss, Gehenna, and the Lake of Fire. Some of these existed for different reasons and at different times and at different locations. Some are nicknames. Alternately, there is Abraham’s Bosom, Paradise, present heaven, the Millennial Kingdom, future heaven, New Jerusalem, and the eternal state. These exist for different reasons and at different times. Some are nicknames.

However! Heaven is not a secular word. It is a real place with real redeemed people and it is where we are headed if we are one of His. This week, I’ll look at one of these biblical terms per day and explore what they mean and what the bible says about them.

  • Paradise/Abraham’s Bosom
  • Millennial kingdom
  • Heaven
  • New Jerusalem
  • The Eternal State

Be encouraged now, however. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and this means our citizenship is in heaven! No matter what you call it, when we depart this earth, we will be glorifying God, and enjoying Him for ever!

——————————-

Heaven part 1 Abraham’s Bosom & Paradise

Heaven part 2 Millennium Kingdom

Posted in depravity, encouragement, sin, tulip

Total depravity in a baby

Posted on by elizabethprata
Wikimedia Commons

I remember very shortly after being saved I was witnessing to a friend. She was the kind of person who was ‘rational’, ‘logical’ and ‘mathematical.’ Since Paul witnessed to Gentiles by starting with the creation, I did too. Sadly, she dismissed Genesis’ creation account because obviously, the light being created as Genesis 1:3 could not have come before the sun’s creation, as Genesis 1:14. Obviously. Therefore the creation account must be wrong.

So I skipped ahead and told her about Eve’s and Adam’s sin in the garden. I shared that after the sin had occurred, their very biology was now polluted and cursed, and all subsequent children, such as murderous Cain, were totally depraved since birth. Therefore we do not do right and are excluded from God’s heaven- unless we repent and ask Jesus to forgive.

That didn’t get a logical reaction. It got an emotional one. She heatedly rejected the notion that children and babies are totally depraved. She fervently argued against the concept that babies and children naturally do wrong. Even associating the word sin with baby caused a visceral reaction in her.

EPrata photo

That was 11 years ago and I never forgot.

First some definitions. Total depravity does not mean that everyone, including children, are as bad as they can be all the time. There’s your Hitlers and there’s your Mother Teresas. Both are in hell now BTW.

Total depravity is about the original sin and how it affects us today. It speaks to the extent of our sin, our sin nature, and our complete inability to do anything for God that will be pleasing to Him. Some people such as John MacArthur prefer the term “absolute inability” rather than total depravity.  John MacArthur said of the concept,

“…we are so hopelessly and thoroughly wicked that not one of us could ever truly love God unless God Himself enabled us to do so. That is the doctrine of total depravity in a nutshell. It means that we are totally unable to save ourselves.” 

Charles Spurgeon said of total depravity,

By original sin we mean the evil quality which characterizes man’s natural disposition and will. We call this sin of nature original, because each fallen man is born with it, and because it is the source or origin in each man of his actual transgressions. By calling it total, we do not mean that men are from their youth as bad as they can be. Evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, “deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). Nor do we mean that they have no social virtues toward their fellowmen in which they are sincere. … What our Confession says is, “That they have wholly lost ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation.”

In 1985 John Piper said of total depravity,

Total Depravity Our sinful corruption is so deep and so strong as to make us slaves of sin and morally unable to overcome our own rebellion and blindness. This inability to save ourselves from ourselves is total. We are utterly dependent on God’s grace to overcome our rebellion, give us eyes to see, and effectively draw us to the Savior

Now, surely babies aren’t totally depraved? They’re so cute and such a blank slate and not even able to comprehend what sin is. Right?

Wrong.

There is a cottage industry of Americas Funniest Videos (AFV) that show the “cute” things babies, toddlers, and kids do. The audience laughs and titters and applauds, and goes “awww.” But it’s not funny. These clips from AFV have been wow-ing and charming and entertaining audiences for 25 years. Yes, AFV is 25 years old. But when I see clips like this, it only makes me sad, because they are a 25 year chronicle of our sin nature.

This clip won. It is in the top pantheon of best loved clips.

Why waste a good tantrum when no one is around to see it?

This toddler is absolutely totally aware of what he is doing. He knows how to present screams and anguish to maximum effect, and knows when it’s useless to continue. He is manipulating the adults. He is lying.

Not so innocent, eh?

But some may protest, how about babies. Little, little babies, they surely don’t know right from wrong. They don’t lie, manipulate, or do things in secret?! How could you think they are totally depraved and have a heart full of sin.

Here, 18-month-old twins play, scream, and jump with each other during nap time. The mom heard the noise and turned on the baby monitor so she could talk to them.

The second the twins hear the mom’s voice, they drop. They know they are supposed to be sleeping and weren’t. They knew they were disobeying the higher authority.

Total depravity is in us, it is our very nature. It goes from corner to corner in all areas of our mind, heart, strength,and soul. There is no “flawed thinking.” There is no untainted corner of our mind whereupon one day we will suddenly become spiritual and be able to retreat to that pure corner and “choose Jesus.” We are fallen creatures completely unable to do right in God’s eyes. We need Him.

Thank God He knows this. God sent His Son to live the life we cannot, due to our complete inability to be righteous. Born of woman and from the Father in heaven, He lived the sinless life we could not. He was hated, spit on, mocked, stripped, beaten and hung from a tree. He endured God’s wrath for sin. He took it- our punishment. Then He died.

Pleased with His Son’s life, and His death, and God’s wrath exhausted upon the Son, He raised Jesus to life and ascended Him to heaven. Now, anyone who cannot and never will do right in God’s eyes, but who are at enmity with Him and are His enemy, can come through the Door, who is Jesus. He is the Door to life, and if confessing and repenting to Jesus, He will forgive and they may enter heaven through Him.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Our sin nature is so total, even babies show it. But if we have the faith of a child and repent, He will grant everlasting life. He sends the Spirit to dwell in us and give us His power to resist sin. He grows us in Christ’s likeness.

At the resurrection of the saints He will blessedly remove us from the presence of sin. Imagine a world where every conversation will be holy. Where every emotion will be perfect. Where there are no hidden agendas, no secret sins, no hypocrisy. Where we worship Jesus perfectly. Where our motives are pure and no one is manipulated, lied to, or pressured. No depravity, and total ability.

What a day that will be. Thank you Jesus, for saving your elect.

Posted in encouragement, scripture photo

Scripture photo: This old tent groans and goes to work

Posted on by elizabethprata

But until that glorious day, as I prepare for work and my day outside this home, my prayer today is:

Lord, may I honor you in the job you have given me.

I pray this daily. Why every day? Because I must die to self daily.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Lord, I need You. Every hour I need you.

Posted in encouragement, jesus, sackcloth

What about dust and ashes?

Posted on by elizabethprata

then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (Genesis 2:7)

Do you realize that in the Creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, the first time God did not speak something into existence but personally and intimately used His own ‘hands’ was when He created Adam? He spoke the world, the sun, moon, stars, animals, lands, oceans, birds, into existence but made Adam from dust and His own breath. Interesting.

It’s also interesting that we are made of the dust from the ground. Dust appears frequently in the Bible. It didn’t take long from the gentle creation scene in Genesis 2, to go to a dusty curse in Genesis 3.

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19).

Ever since sin came into the world through Adam we all return to dust.

All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. (Ecclesiastes 3:20)

Ever since God cursed the ground (dust) Adam was made from, dust represents death. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23). Therefore it is fitting that we repent in dust and ashes.

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)

What is the meaning of sackcloth and ashes?

Very simply, sackcloth and ashes were used as an outward sign of one’s inward condition. Such a symbol made one’s change of heart visible and demonstrated the sincerity of one’s grief and/or repentance. It was not the act of putting on sackcloth and ashes itself that moved God to intervene, but the humility that such an action demonstrated (see 1 Samuel 16:7). God’s forgiveness in response to genuine repentance is celebrated by David’s words: “You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11).

Abraham spoke of dust in a positive way. Knowing one is made of dust and is destined for death (before eternal life in glory) is a simple declaration of an understanding of who we are before a Holy God. We are sinners, part of His creation.

Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, (Genesis 18:27)

But because of the relationship He has entered into with his saints, we can approach Him humbly but boldly like Abraham did.

Though Adam fell short of living a sinless life, Jesus accomplished living that sinless life that’s required for dwelling with God. Jesus shed His own blood in a supreme sacrifice to God and died in humiliation on the cross. Buried, Jesus rose to life when God resurrected Him in joy, pleased with Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus is now ascended to the Father, but He is coming again in wrath and glory to judge the living and the dead. This is the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ for sinners.

We may die before He raptures the remaining saints alive to glory, though we may indeed return to dust in that death, He will resurrect us in joy. He will bring His Bride home to celebrate life in heaven with the Father of Lights. There will be no more sin, thus ending the need to repent in dust and ashes. No more sackcloth. There will be no more cursed dust of the ground.

Lars Justinen “Robe of Righteousness”

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, (Psalm 30:11)

Hallelujah, praise the Father!

Posted in encouragement, jesus, prophecy

Jesus gave us His peace

Posted on by elizabethprata

A friend of mine made a plea on Facebook. She said she is sensitive to negativity, and she can hardly stand the awful news that has surfaced this summer. I know what she means. I quit reading the news a while ago and stuck to the headlines only, mostly on Drudge. A quick scan with eyes half closed through spread fingers like at a horror movie is still too much to bear.

She wrote:

stories of thieves, predators and murders. There is so much hate in the hearts of so many. I fear that many people can no longer see the beauty, love and compassion that is around us.

The sad fact is that she is right. Hate is building as apostasy grows. Hate is an outflow of the sinfulness of the earth that is rising to heaven. Worse, people refuse to see the beauty and compassion that is around us, the highest order of which is expressed in Jesus, then the hateful heart darkens even more.

There is not only the rising hate int he hearts of the lost, but rising hate in the heart of those who claim they are of Christ. (Matthew 24:12). This, too, is predicted.

In the Didache, an ancient writing, not inspired but important to church history, we read of the personal and national warning not to quench our lamps: (the emphasis is mine).

Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord comes. But often shall you come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increases, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. (Didache , Didache)

That’s the reality. The early church was well aware of how hard it was to live among hate. For most of the world except America, the life of the Christian has been one of targeted hate. Now it’s our turn. We’re dealing with it from even among the alleged brethren.

So, how do we stay sane, joyful, untouched by pollution of the world that has risen to our very noses? By staying in the word, by praising Jesus, by this:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

You know when you’re tired, you have coffee? (Or a sports drink?) When you’re extra tired you have espresso (or Turbo Sports Drink). The tired Christian should drink the Drink the Living Water for energy. In these times,  friends, let’s just cut to the highest, noblest, most joyful item to ponder: Our Savior. Think of Him, meditate on the word.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Pulpit commentary says of John 14:27,

Then follow the last words as of one who is about to go away, and says ‘Good night,’ or gives his blessing” (Luther). Peace I leave with (or, to) you. Peace answers to the shalom of ordinary converse and greeting, and signifies prosperity, health of soul, serenity, farewell. This is the sacred bestowment and Divine legacy of the Lord. “Peace” is always the result of equilibrated forces, the poise of antagonistic elements, held in check by one another. Of these the most placid lake, hidden in the hills and reflecting the sunshine and shadows, is a remarkable illustration. So the peace Christ leaves is power to hold the wildest fear in pause, to still a clamor or hush a cry

EPrata photo
Posted in creation, encouragement, jesus, universe

The brightest light in the world

Posted on by elizabethprata

Long argued about, long wondered of, discussions ranging from “it was real” to “it’s a myth,” historical records mention it (In the second century AD the writer Lucian said Archimedes destroyed ships with fire. Anthemius of Tralles wrote of it also… Hmmm! Even the MythBusters attempted to replicate its power of reflected sunlight … eventually the class of 2009 at MIT sketched and constructed and tried it.

The Archimedes Sun Death Ray

Was it an ‘urban legend’? Or did Archimedes really build a death ray using the sun? The legend goes that Archimedes constructed a series of mirrors, that when pointed at an oncoming warship in unison under the Mediterranean sun, would ignite the ship into a fire that would subsequently sink it. And it would not take long to do, either. Above is a fresco at the Uffizzi Gallery in Florence depicting Archimedes’ Death Ray at work.

The class of 2009 at MIT wrote up a super witty essay of their experimental efforts, complete with lots of photos, here- The Archimedes Result

The experiment worked! Here is one shot of the fake ship they constructed, burning up!

We know that God created the sun. He did that in Genesis 1:16. But have you ever wondered why God put the sun on His creation schedule on Day 4 and that He said “Let there be Light” first thing on day 1? (Genesis 1:3). He IS the Light! He doesn’t need a secondary entity to illuminate His universe. His Light is first, strongest, brightest, and eventually will be the only Light filling the entire Universe. (Revelation 22:5).

It’s impressive that Archimedes used the sun’s light and power to shine a ray that could ignite a warship in under ten minutes. That is one strong light. But… how bright is God’s light? I am mindful of the verse in Matthew 24:27,

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Or Luke 17:24–

For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

To compare, how bright is lightning? The average lightning strike peaks at 1 terawatt which is equal to one trillion (1012) watts. 10 to the 12th power means 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10. That’s bright!

The metaphor for Jesus’ return being as lightning evokes both the suddenness and visibility of it, and also the brightness. IMAGINE! His glory at more than full trillion wattage! No, it’s unimaginable.

If we as Christians reflect (or emit) one tiny fraction of all that glory He has given us no wonder the Apostles turned the world upside down! If mere mirrors reflecting the sun can burn a ship within 10 minutes, imagine the light of a God so big He exceeds the universe’s brightness of all its lightnings and suns! God’s glory-light is so much brighter than the sun, than lighting, than the sun and lightning combined! Our future dwelling place will be where there is no night, where the glory of the light of Jesus Christ illuminates every iota of every atom everywhere. That’s bright. And He is our Savior and friend. What a Savior He is, in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright

1 O splendor of God’s glory bright,
from light eternal bringing light;
O Light of light, the fountain spring,
O Day, all days illumining.

2 Come, very Sun of heaven’s love,
in lasting radiance from above,
and pour the Holy Spirit’s ray
on all we think or do today.

Posted in encouragement, Michelle Lesley, no greater love

Movie Review: No Greater Love (re-blog from Michelle Lesley)

Posted on by elizabethprata

I love movies, documentaries, and television shows. However as a Christian, I’m offended at much of the fare offered these days. We are told to redeem the time, and to involve ourselves in edifying things. (Ephesians 5:16, Philippians 4:8-9). So then, it’s a struggle to find entertainment that fulfills the necessities of Christian living and honors God.

Here is Michelle Lesley with a good movie find. She reviewed this movie at her blog and I was so pleased to find another good movie via her review. I watched it last night and I agree with her assessment that it is God-honoring and biblically sound. Here is Michelle Lesley’s review:

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

Throwback Thursday ~ “No Greater Love”– Movie Review

I stumbled across this movie at my local library a few days ago, and, boy am I glad I did.

Jeff and Heather were the “lucky ones”. Best friends from childhood, high school sweethearts, and married by 22, they were inseperable soul mates.

After the birth of her first and only child, Heather Baker (Danielle Bisutti) fell into a deep depression. Hopelessly lost, she did the unthinkable– she abandoned her husband and her infant son –and vanished. Jeff Baker (Anthony Tyler Quinn) was forced to raise their son Ethan as a single father.

Ten years after his wife’s disapperance, Jeff is finally ready to move on and is on the verge of marrying his new girlfriend. His world, however, is dramatically rocked when Heather shockingly reappears in the most unusual place.
(From the “No Greater Love” web site.)

If you liked the movie Fireproof, you’ll almost certainly like No Greater Love. The acting is much better, and so is the production quality. Of course, that’s to be expected when a movie is made by a professional studio hiring professional actors rather than by a church using mostly church members as actors. (That’s certainly not a dig at Sherwood Baptist Church. They did a fantastic and admirable job with both Fireproof and Facing the Giants –both of which you should see, if you haven’t already –it’s just that professional studios and production companies have the resources and budget to put together a more polished product.)

The storyline of No Greater Love is unique and endearing, but believable. The only thing I found to be a bit of a stretch was, well, how do I say this without giving too much away? Let’s just put it like this: It can take a long time and a lot of difficult, painful emotional work for the most Godly among Christians to forgive someone who has wounded them unfathomably. Generally speaking, one would expect that, for a similarly wounded unsaved person, forgiveness would probably come much more slowly and with even greater difficulty. But I suppose there are exceptions to the rule.

Theologically, this movie is right on target. Director, Brad Silverman, says in his commentary on the movie that his goal was to be as theologically correct as possible, and I think he nailed it. To be honest, one of the reasons I picked up this movie was to see if there were any false doctrine or theology in it, so I was on the lookout for Biblical error. None to be found as far as I could tell.

Does No Greater Love overtly share the Gospel, spelling it out step by step? No. That’s your job and mine, not the job of a movie. I think, primarily, this is an entertaining movie which reinforces Biblical truth that Christian viewers (should) already know. But it would also be a great movie to share with unsaved friends as a conversation starter for sharing the Gospel in detail.

For more information on No Greater Love, visit the web site and “like” the Facebook page.

No Greater Love is available for purchase at:
Lionsgate Studios
ChristianBook.com
Amazon.com

No Greater Love can be viewed for free here

Posted in encouragement, love, widows

Jesus’ incredible care for widows

Posted on by elizabethprata
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:26-27)

Widow – Konstantin Makovsky, 1865

The Bible speaks so often of the widow, the landless stranger (or alien) and the orphan. This is because in tie social hierarchy of Israel and environs, these three struggled the most in poverty at the lowest of the lowest of stations. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament outline the expectations for the Israelites to take care of the people who unfortunately fell into one of these three classes.

Bible Study Tools/Bakers Evangelical Dictionary describes the plight of the widow.

Widow

Married woman whose husband has died and who remains unmarried. The Hebrew word translated “widow” is almana, and it occurs fifty-six times in the Old Testament. … The Septaugint virtually always translates almana with the Greek term for widow, chera (cf. Job 24:21 ). The same Greek word occurs twenty-six times in the New Testament.
Words that occur in the general semantic field of the term “widow” in the Bible shed light on both her personal experience and social plight. Weeping (Job 27:15; Psalm 78:64), mourning (2 Sam 14:2), and desolation (Lam 1:1) describe her personal experience after the loss of her spouse. Poverty (Ruth 1:21; 1 Kings 17:7-12; Job 22:9) and indebtedness (2 Kings 4:1) were all too often descriptive of her financial situation, when the main source of her economic support, her husband, had perished. 

Indeed, she was frequently placed alongside the orphan and the landless immigrant (Exodus 22:21-22; Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 24:19; Deuteronomy 24:20-21) as representative of the poorest of the poor (Job 24:4; 29:12; 31:16; Isa 10:2) in the social structure of ancient Israel, as well as in the ancient Near East. With minimal, if any, inheritance rights, she was often in a “no-man’s land.” She had left her family, and with her husband’s death the bond between her and his family was tenuous.

The New Testament. Widows were prominent in the New Testament. It was no accident that one of the poorest of the poor, Anna, was privileged to greet the infant Messiah (Luke 2:36-38). The adult Jesus followed in the footsteps of his prophetic predecessors with his concern for the plight of the widow. He healed a widow’s son because of compassion for his mother (Luke 7:11-17); he protested the exploitation of widows (Mark 12:40). He reversed the standards by which people were judged with the parable of the widow’s tithe: the widow gave from her poverty while the wealthy merely offered from their abundance (Mark 12:41-42). In another parable, the church was compared with an importunate widow who kept demanding that her case be heard. Similarly, the church must persistently pray for eschatological justice, the redressing of all wrongs against her (Luke 18:1-8).

There is much more at the link. It seems that if the widow had no able bodied or willing sons, it often happened that she could not work the land well enough to retain it, which is why she is often classed with the landless immigrant.

Things are not so different now. From the US Social Security Office of Policy, we learn

Despite increased labor force participation rates among women and reforms under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, widowhood remains an important risk factor for transition into poverty, although somewhat less so than 20 years ago. Women widowed at younger ages are at greatest risk for economic hardship after widowhood, and their situation declines with the duration of widowhood. We also find that women in households that are least prepared financially for widowhood are at greatest risk of a husband’s death, because of the strong relationship between mortality and wealth.

James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Widow’s Mite

It’s worse for most women who divorce or are divorced from their husbands. They endure an immediate and often permanent plunge in their socio-economic status.

Divorce makes men – and particularly fathers – significantly richer. When a father separates from the mother of his children, according to new research, his available income increases by around one third. Women, in contrast, suffer severe financial penalties. Regardless of whether she has children, the average woman’s income falls by more than a fifth and remains low for many years. (Source: The Guardian, Men Become Richer after Divorce)

In one of the most tender scenes in the Bible, Jesus cared for His mother while He was suffering on the cross. He knew He was going to die of course. Presumably His foster father Joseph had already passed on. At the opening of the essay I’d shared the verse from John 19:26-27, when Jesus committed His mother to John the disciple and John took her in “that very hour.”

Have you ever wondered why Jesus did not speak to one of His brothers? He had brothers and sisters, that is a biblical fact.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. (Mark 6:3)

So why, then, did Jesus arrange for His mother to be housed with John, and not immediate family of James, Joses, Judas, or Simon? Likely it was because his half-brothers did not yet believe in Him. (John 7:5). In His agony, every breath a struggle, He commanded John to take in His mother, whom He addressed with an honorific of “Woman.”

MacArthur’s Commentary on John states,

Even as He was dying, bearing man’s sin and God’s wrath, Jesus selflessly cared for those whom He loved. (cf. 13:1, 34, 15:9, 13) Evidently His earthly father, Joseph, was already dead.  The Lord could not commit Mary into the care of His half brothers, the children of Mary and Joseph, since they were not yet believers (7:5). They did not become believers in Jesus until after His resurrection (Acts 1:14, cf.1 Cor. 15:7, thought he James referred to in that verse may be the Apostle James). 

Therefore He entrusted her to John, he became as a son to her in His place, and from that hour he took her into his own household. This may seem a very mundane thing to be concerned about in His hour of greatest sacrifice, but the beauty of the Savior’s love and compassion for His widowed mother, in the face of His own excruciating pain, reflects His love for His own.

Widow’s Walk, by Maja Lindberg Source

There are many tender scenes in the Bible where women are honored, cared for, healed, loved, and honored. Hagar, badly mistreated, received a visit from a pre-incarnate Jesus who gently spoke to her in her hour of need. The Woman at the Well, a sinner shunned by her townsmen, was given the privilege of a personal evangelistic moment with Jesus one-on-one. He did not rail at her for her sins, not like He did the Pharisees, but instead simply told her everything she ever did, revealed Himself to her as Messiah, and offered Living Water. After Eve sinned along with Adam, we read in Genesis 3:21 that God personally made skins from animals and clothed her (and Adam). And once again I refer to the quote above from the Bible Dictionary about the Lord’s extolling of widows such as Anna, the persistent widow, and the widow with the mite.

His eye is on the sparrow. (Matthew 10:29). It is on the actual tiny, insignificant sparrow but it is also on the metaphorical sparrow, the small and insignificant widow dwelling in poverty and hanging on to the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder. We have a good and gracious God whose eye sees all, knows all, and cares for those who love Him.

Exalt His mighty name today, His care is unparalleled. If you are grieving a lost, widowed and feeling marginalized, insignificant, sad and hidden, fear not. Our wonderful Lord is watching out for you. If His pain on the cross did not stop Him from arranging care for Mary, His mother, you can be sure He is arranging good and gracious care for you at this moment.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. (Luke 12:6)

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. (Psalm 37:25)

Posted in abram, encouragement, genesis, Sarai

Our Lord’s tenderness toward women: Sarai

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’ve written before about how tender our Lord is. There are many scenes in particular when He is tender with women. His quiet leading of the sinful Woman at the Well…his gentle chiding of Martha … His dawn appearing to Mary in the garden after His resurrection…all beautiful and tender.

I especially love His care of Hagar in the wilderness. Badly used, cast off, alone and about to die, the Lord incarnated and appeared to her, and personally reassured her. I wrote about that twice.

Our Tender and Loving Jesus

Hagar in the Wilderness Drinking from the Living Waters of Life

Harem bed in Istanbul

Here is another example of our Lord’s amazing care and tenderness toward His people. Sarai. See the passage in Genesis 12:10-16,

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

The Bible is great because it shows us the sins of the sinful people the Lord with which the Lord is building His bride. We are all flawed and sinful, and here Abram was no exception. Counted as righteous, a great man, and a Patriarch of the faith, Abram was still a human…and we know what that means. Sometimes we stumble. Badly.

He lied and a worse, didn’t have a thought for Sarai, knowing likely she would end up in a harem. He knew her beauty would attract the attention of the harem keeper and this would be reported to Pharaoh. That is exactly what happened.

But did God say ‘Because Abram will be my Patriarch, I will fix this.” ? Or, “Because of Abram who is great in my sight, I will fix this.”? No. What did God say?

But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. (Genesis 12:17)

Because of Sarai.

God personally intervened. His rescue of the situation focused on the protection of Sarai. Calvin’s Commentary says,

And here we have a remarkable instance of the solicitude with which God protects his servants, by undertaking their cause against the most powerful monarchs;

If you are feeling lonely tonight, marginalized, overlooked, or downtrodden, remember the Lord’s intervention with the Woman at the Well, His tenderness to Martha and Mary, and His descent from heaven itself to comfort Hagar in the desert. He protected Sarai and restored her marriage.

Hagar praised Him, saying

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” (Genesis 16:13)

We have a good and gracious God. Lord Jesus is in control and whatever is happening is for your good and His glory. What a comfort.