Category: faith

Posted in faith, mind, reality tv

Famous for being famous, some live unreal life on reality tv

Posted on by elizabethprata
I like reality tv cooking competitions. I don’t watch cooking shows, because I don’t really want to improve my cooking. I need to, but since I live alone, I can easily silence the critic. What I like about these kind of competitions is that I enjoy watching how people behave. The various competitions on other channels incite behavior that is too lustful or vicious. But on a cooking contest on Food Network, you have to be somewhat appealing anyway, if you are to get your own cooking show or have people buy your cookbook, or eat in your restaurant.
For some years now I’ve been watching Masterchef and Next Food Network Star and Chopped. I like that there is no swearing and very little of the worst parts of the culture (though it is creeping in now with many chefs praising their same-sex partner, or seeing the plethora of tattoos…).

But even in these innocuous shows there has been a recent and precipitous downward slide. I noticed this most starkly on the show that premiered this week, “The Next Food Network Star.” (TNFNS). It is season nine of this venerable competition. The premise is, the multi-week competition is a vetting process to unearth raw talent, and the last one standing gets their own show on the network. Who doesn’t like the story of the starlet sitting at a stool at the local drugstore in Hollywood and being discovered? Who doesn’t like the notion overall of discovering treasure? Of turning over a geode to discover the gem inside?

The thought that someone like me could find fulfillment in their dream of sharing their talent with the world is one that is universally shared, I think. The vetting process of TNFNS is one that transforms the roughness of the person into a talent that will yield something worthwhile- good food and time well spent with a nice person (on tv).

I was disappointed this week when the show premiered to see that there was a contestant that had already appeared on Chopped. Danushka Lysek. This seemed somehow…cheating. Then in researching further, I found out that MOST of the contestants on TNFNS had already appeared in other cooking shows, reality competitions, and/or television shows on other networks.

  • Chris Hodgson was on the Great Food Truck Race.
  • Viet Pham was on Extreme Chef.
  • Stacy Poon-Kinney was on Restaurant Impossible.
  • Connie “Lovely” Jackson was on season 6 of Gordon Ramsay’s H-ll’s Kitchen.
  • Russell Jackson was on Iron Chef America.
  • Nikki Dinki is a food blogger and youtuber but has appeared on The Sopranos as Bibi in the episode Johnny Cakes.
  • Rodney Henry was on Paula Deen, Down Home with the Neelys, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Chopped.
  • Danushka Lysek, was on 24-Hour Restaurant Battle, Chopped, The Bachelor, Models Edition Fear Factor VH1’s Supergroup, Fear Factor and now on TNFNS. (source & source)

So the upshot is, 66% of the contestants have had time on television, and 58% of them on previous cooking reality shows on the same network. Ugh. This is not seeking raw talent for a new show, it is recycling, regifting, and reusing. By any stretch of the imagination, this is bait & switch.

Let’s take a look at the contestant named Danushka, though. The fakery of reality tv is not my main point. It is this: for a large section of the population, the unreal life as presented on reality tv HAS BECOME their life.

Danushka has flitted from show to show, making a life career out of being on tv for the no good reason other than she wants to be on tv. A permanent dweller on reality TV, as it were.

Wikipedia explains this penchant, it is the phenomenon of being famous for being famous, epitomized in the model and celebrity Paris Hilton. “Critics also suggest that Hilton epitomizes the title of famous for being famous; she is an example of the modern phenomenon of the “celebutante”, the celebrity who rises to fame not because of their talent or work but because of their inherited wealth and controversial lifestyle.”

Was there such a thing as a celbutante in eras past? I believe not.

The term ‘celebutante‘ is also explained, “Famous for being famous, or famous for nothing, in popular culture terminology, refers to someone who attains celebrity status for no particular identifiable reason such as acting, music, writing, politics, or modeling, or who achieves fame through association with a true celebrity. The term is a pejorative, suggesting that the individual has no particular talents or abilities. It was coined by historian and social theorist Daniel J. Boorstin. In his book, he defined the celebrity as “a person who is known for his well-knownness”. He further argued that the graphic revolution in journalism and other forms of communication had severed fame from greatness, and that this severance hastened the decay of fame into mere notoriety. “

You’re great, (Lincoln), you’re famous, (Coco Chanel), you’re notorious, (Charles Manson), you’re celebutante (Kim Kardashian). Decay was a good term to use in the decline of whom we exalt in culture. It is actually not just a slide into decline, but is a see-saw, with today’s version of celebrity disappearing from life into into the gaping maw of reality tv.

I’ve said many times on the blog that the media in general and the news media in particular is front and center on the war for your mind. It is the theatre of ideas, and what is presented to us is absorbed into our mind, and it transforms the mind. When we repeatedly see an idea presented as truth, we begin to believe it. If you doubt this process, just think back to Genesis 3 in the garden, and satan’s persistence in introducing poisonous ideas into the mind of Eve. It’s like for many people, reality tv is more real than life, and for some of those, constantly being ON reality tv IS their life. And if they are not, they are thinking about it. They have lost their grip on reality.

“Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.” (Isaiah 5:14)

This lure of television (or movies) is so palpable that it was spoofed in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory- the 1971 version. In that movie we get Mike Teavee, a boy who does nothing but watch television and thus, whose reality has been skewed by TV to the point that he always thinks he is on tv, and finally becomes a character who lives inside one, rather than a boy living in the world. And he’s happy about it.

The old black and white show, Twilight Zone, made a statement on this theme, too. It was in an episode called, “The 16-Millimeter Shrine”. In this episode, Ida Lupino played an aging, former movie star who lives and dreams in the past, constantly watching her old movies alone in her room. At the end, she walks into the movie, to forever dwell in the made-up world of film.

She dropped the scarf on celluloid but her manager found it on the floor in front of the screen as he watched her blow a kiss and turn to go up the stairs, forever to live in a made-up world.

Advertising executives, Political campaign managers, and Hollywood spend an inordinate amount of money to change your mind. Media has an incredible pull on the mind. For those who pooh-pooh that your behavior can change over time to be transformed to whatever reality it wishes to present, then why do they spend so much money attempting to do just that? We are influenced by what we see. According to an article in the American Psychological Association, “Vance Packard’s 1957 book, ‘The Hidden Persuaders,’ revealed how advertising agencies used psychologists and other behavioral scientists to probe deep into consumers’ minds and build advertising campaigns based on what they found there.”

I think ‘the hidden persuaders’ is a terrific title. It is very apt.

As a matter of fact, many ads are not simply to try and change your behavior from using one brand over another, but make covert and overt promises that if you use their brand you will become like the people they show you using it. “What’s really critical is to identify the beliefs ads should target, says Dr. Fishbein, PhD,” in an article looking at psychology and the bran and how it is manipulated in advertising.” [emphasis mine]

The cultural claim to your mind is big business and has been for over a century. “There are very many advertisements that do not pay. One man has roughly estimated that seventy-five per cent of all advertisements do not pay; yet the other twenty-five per cent pay so well that there is scarcely a business man who is willing to stand idly by and allow his competitors to do the advertising,” noted Walter D. Scott, Assistant Professor of Psychology in Northwestern University, in The Atlantic– in 1904. Fishbein continued,

“The struggle has been too fierce for any but the strongest. The inefficient advertisers are gradually being eliminated, and the survival of the fittest seems to be a law of advertising as it is of everything else that develops. The leaders of the profession feel that their work has grown till it is beyond their control and comprehension. They have been successful, and hardly know how it has all come about.”

He noted the influence of psychology upon advertising, even at that early date-

“The best thought of the advertising world finds expression in the advertising journals and in the addresses delivered by various experts at gatherings of professional advertisers. In 1895 in one of the leading advertising journals appeared the following editorial: “Probably when we are a little more enlightened, the advertisement writer, like the teacher, will study psychology. For, however diverse their occupations may at first sight appear, the advertisement writer and the teacher have one great object in common—to influence the human mind. The teacher has a scientific foundation for his work in that direction, but the advertisement writer is really also a psychologist. Human nature is a great factor in advertising success; and he who writes advertisements without reference to it is apt to find that he has reckoned without his host.”

The advertising of then has morphed into the Reality TV of today- advertising a better life, better people, an entirely new world that is yours for the taking…if you but walk into the TV (metaphorically speaking).

In the magazine Publicity in 1901, we read a quote, “But the future must needs be full of better methods than these to make advertising advance with the same rapidity as it has during the latter part of the last century. And this will come through a closer knowledge of the psychological composition of the mind. The so-called ‘students of human nature’ will then be called successful psychologists, and the successful advertisers will be likewise termed psychological advertisers. The mere mention of psychological terms, habit, self, conception, discrimination, association, memory, imagination and perception, reason, emotion, instinct and will, should create a flood of new thought that should appeal to every advanced consumer of advertising space.”

Source

“…habit, self, conception, discrimination, association, memory, imagination and perception, reason, emotion, instinct and will…” pretty much covers everything, doesn’t it? This sums up an identity. The reality TV of today is branding us with a new identity, and blurring the lines of what is real and what is not.

The culture (that is to say, satan) wants to grab your mind. Jesus, once He elects you, claims your mind also. It is all about the mind. The struggle is not against flesh, but is in the mind, for your identity and youru reality.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

The mind is the key to Christian life. Rewiring of the brain the mind is the key to Christian life, therefore its corruption in the believer is what satan seeks most.

For a non-believer, things are more dire, because satan already has your brain. (Romans 1:21, Ephesians 4:17). If they absorb enough of the culture, their brain begins to accept that this is what life is. And if they absorb even more, their heart wants what the brain “knows” is real life, and soon they become a recycled person bouncing from ‘reality’ show to ‘reality’ show, thinking that you’re really doing something with your life. An empty mind (devoid of the Holy Spirit) will be filled with the things of satan and will see life through his lens. It really IS all about the mind.

For the believer, remember,

–We capture every thought (2 Corinthians 10:5)
–We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)
–And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
–Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 2:2)
“…to be made new in the attitude of your minds;” (Ephesians 4:23)

God is busy renewing the believers’ mind. He rewires it! He re-knits the synapses of our mind into His likeness, to be conformed to Him and away from the dark wiring of satan’s futility, but each time we allow something gross from the culture into it, we are untying the wires He knit together. Or at least polluting them so they work less efficiently.

It is so sad to see the pull of satan suck people into his vortex through the unreality of reality tv and other false media presentations. It is evident that some people live there permanently now. But that is what happens to the Gentiles who walk in futility of the mind. But the reality is Christ. (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 11:1)

Posted in faith, grace

Do a mighty work of God!

Posted on by elizabethprata

When we think of a mighty work of God, we often think of the Old Testament. Noah built the equivalent of the Queen Mary! Moses parted the Red Sea! David slew Goliath!

We often think of the New Testament. Peter pointed to Ananias and he dropped dead! Paul exorcised demons from a slave girl! John saw the future!

But did you know that you do mighty works as well? Yes, you do!

If you are raising a child to love the Lord, you are doing a mighty work of God.

If you are suffering in a dread disease with grace, you are doing a mighty work of God.

If you are attending church week in and week out, worshiping in spirit and truth, you are doing a mighty work of God.

If you witness to a stranger, you are doing a mighty work of God.

If you publicly repent of a sin, you are doing a mighty work of God.

The grace of our Risen Lord dwells within us and if we are enjoined in holy living for His sake and on His strength, it is a mighty work of God!

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9)

Posted in faith, john wesley, repentance

The isthmus of life

Posted on by elizabethprata

“I desire to have both heaven and hell ever in my eye, while I stand on this isthmus of this life, between two boundless oceans.” ~John Wesley, 1747

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas, usually with water on either side. A tombolo is an isthmus where the strip of land consists of a spit or bar.

The sandy isthmus or tombolo connecting
North and South Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia

One of my favorite spots on earth is at Lubec Maine, and this shot is of the East Quoddy Lighthouse at Campobello Island, New Brunswick Canada. It is across from Lubec. The famous tides in this area rush in and rise to heights of thirty feet or more. This narrow spit of sand submerges in furious fashion when the tide comes in and covers it up.

If you are standing on the sand when the tide comes in you will find that the current stirs up the sand and pebbles and what you thought was solid to stand on becomes completely unstable. The forces of the water sweep you off your feet and carry you away. Your strength will not able to overcome the strength of the water. Its chilling effect weakens you and hypothermia sets in rapidly. The webpage for the lighthouse warns–

“If you become stranded on the islands by the tide, wait for rescue. Even former keepers of this lighthouse have lost their lives by misjudging the strong, frigid, fast-rising tidal currents, and tide-pressurized unstable pebble ocean floor, while attempting to make this crossing. During a summer in the 1990s, two visitors attempted to swim across this passage. One made it across, but the other was swept away by the current. After a rescue by boat, both had been stricken with hypothermia, were rushed to the hospital — and luckily, survived.”

The page ends with this warning:

DANGER!–TAKE NO RISKS & DO NOT LINGER!

We think of Wesley’s notion of life as an isthmus. It is narrow and temporary. The boundless oceans of heaven and hell are on either side, pressing in. Eventually the land gives way and we are carried away by one, or the other.

Which direction you go depends on your attitude toward Jesus. At the moment of your death, the difference in direction will all come down to one point, one only. Jesus. He will lift you from the hopeless, chilling waters of your looming eternity in hell and bring you to the warm bosom of Himself in glorious heaven. The difference in which boundless ocean you will spend your eternity is repentance. Repent and be saved!

What, then, is the connection between repentance and salvation? The Book of Acts seems to especially focus on repentance in regards to salvation (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). To repent, in relation to salvation, is to change your mind in regard to Jesus Christ. In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), he concludes with a call for the people to repent (Acts 2:38). Repent from what? Peter is calling the people who rejected Jesus (Acts 2:36) to change their minds about Him, to recognize that He is indeed “Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Peter is calling the people to change their minds from rejection of Christ as the Messiah to faith in Him as both Messiah and Savior.

Repentance and faith can be understood as “two sides of the same coin.” It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior without first changing your mind about who He is and what He has done. Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it is a change of mind. Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.

What is repentance and is it necessary for salvation?

So this is the message: DANGER!–TAKE NO RISKS & DO NOT LINGER! Every day one lives on earth without knowing Jesus is a danger. You are taking risks with your eternity. Do not linger in repentance and faith in Jesus.

Posted in ethiopian eunuch, faith, simon the magician

The Gospel: comparing Simon the Magician and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Posted on by elizabethprata

Jesus said that the Gospel when it goes out, will fall on varying kinds of ground. (Mark 4:3-9). The seed falls on rocky ground, thorny ground, hard ground, and good ground. Only in the good ground does the seed sprout and bear grain.

In Acts 8 we see two men receive the Gospel, and each had a heart that was different kind of ground.

Simon the Magician

“But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.” (Acts 8:9-13)

“Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8:19-23)

Believing by seeing

Simon said he himself was someone great. He was proud. He believed by seeing. (Acts 8:13). He tried to buy his way into the kingdom.

As a result, the Apostles told him his heart was not right before God. (Acts 8:21). That Simon was in bondage to iniquity. (Acts 8:23). They told Simon to repent. He did not repent, but only asked them to pray for him so that he could escape the consequences. (Acts 8:24). Just like Judas, who was seized with remorse but did not pray to God for forgiveness.

The Ethiopian Eunuch

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

34And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”e 38And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Believing by hearing

The Eunuch was humble, not saying he was someone great (although he really was, unlike Simon the Magician) but answering Philip by saying he did not understand the passage. He asked for guidance in understanding it. This is humility, and he loved the word. He believed by hearing. The Eunuch stood on God’s word, being baptized. The result was, he went on his way, rejoicing.

For one man, he was rebuked and in need of repentance, but refused to pray to God. He is like the “ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18-19)

In the other man, he stood on the Word of God and received it with gladness and in communion with the Holy Spirit. He is like the ground that is good, “But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:20).

Seeing is not believing. Hearing is believing.

Posted in deception, evil, faith

Evil men and impostors

Posted on by elizabethprata

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

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

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

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

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

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

OK, so that’s pretty evil.

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

Barnes Notes explains,

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

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

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

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

MacArthur wrote,

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

Are you strong? Jesus said in Matthew 12:29

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

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

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

Victory in Jesus!

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57

photo credit: Sprengben via photopin cc

Posted in bible, faith, genesis, johan's ark

God, Noah, the ark, and the origin of wisdom

Posted on by elizabethprata

Yesterday I wrote an essay about Thomas Jefferson and how he had edited the bible down to 46 pages. He excised all mentions of anything supernatural or miraculous, including the  flood and the ark.

Genesis 1-11 is often the first battle ground for people to begin chipping away at the truth of God’s word. They cannot believe the 6-day creation, the fall of man, the global flood, the ark, the tower of Babel and so on. So they don’t.

But disbelieving those things means one does not believe by faith that God has revealed Himself in His word. It also means they don’t believe the bible is true. It further means they believe themselves a better barometer of truth-detection than God.

However, God is sovereign. That means He has dominion over all of creation, from the furthest universe down to the deepest atom.

I’m struck by one example of His dominion over all, how he calls the animals to do His will.

For example, the ark- He sent the animals to Noah.

“Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.” (Genesis 6:20)

He sent the ravens to Elijah.

“You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” (1 Kings 17:4, 6)

He sent a fish to Jonah

“And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17)

He sent a worm to Jonah

“But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.” (Jonah 4:7)

God sees the smallest bird, the tiniest worm, and the most discouraged Christian. Nothing escapes His eye. We have a God who sees.

“So she [Hagar] 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)

Could not a mighty God who creates, sees, redeems, gives grace, and judges make an ark to hold animals? Boat builders even do that.

Johan did it. He is a Dutch man who created a life sized replica of the ark.

Dutch Creationist Rolls Out Life-Size Noah’s Ark Replica
“A carpenter who spent three years and more than £1million building a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark has opened it to the public. … The narrative of the ark, in which God commands Noah to prepare for a great flood sent to purge the world of evil, specifies that the boat was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. Mr Huibers converted this ancient unit of measurement, which is based on the length of the forearm, to determine that his recreation had to be about 450ft long. This puts the boat, nicknamed ‘Johan’s Ark’, at more than half the length of the Titanic”

Johan’s feat of biblical proportions
“Floods of visitors are amazed by Dutch builder’s replica of Noah’s life-saving ark. Just as the first storms of winter roll in, Dutchman Johan Huibers has finished his 20-year quest to build a full-scale, functioning model of Noah’s Ark. Huibers used books 6 to 9 of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, as his inspiration, following the instructions God gave Noah down to the last cubit. Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that works out to a whopping 130m long, 29m across and 23m high. Perhaps not big enough to fit every species on Earth, two by two, as described in the Bible, but plenty of space, for instance, for a pair elephants to dance a tango. Johan’s Ark towers over the flat Dutch landscape and is easily visible from a nearby highway where it lies moored in the city of Dordrecht, south of Rotterdam.”

“Another visitor, Martin Konijn, was impressed with the level of detail. “You might know the story of Noah, okay, but if you see this you begin to get an idea of how it would actually have worked in practice.”

Exactly.

And of course the ark could hold two of each kind. (Not species, kind. Not variety, kind. Not sub-species, kind).

GotQuestions gets technical.

Thus, the ark could have been up to 550 feet long, 91.7 feet wide and 55 feet high. These are not unreasonable dimensions. But how much storage space does this amount to? Well, 550 x 91.7 x 55 = 2,773,925 cubic feet. (If we take the smallest measurement of cubit, 17 inches, we end up with 1,278,825 cubic feet). Of course, not all of it would have been free space. The ark had three levels (Genesis 6:16) and a lot of rooms (Genesis 6:14), the walls of which would have taken up space. Nevertheless, it has been calculated that a little more than half (54.75%) of the 2,773,925 cubic feet could store 125,000 sheep-sized animals, leaving over 1.5 million cubic feet of free space (see – http://www.icr.org/bible/bhta42.html).

John Woodmorappe, author of the definitive Noah’s Ark: A Feasibility Study, estimated that only about 15% of the animals on the ark would have been larger than a sheep. This figure does not take into account the possibility that God may have brought Noah “infant” animals, which can be significantly smaller than adult animals.

How many animals were on the ark? Woodmorappe estimates about 16,000 “kinds.” What is a “kind”? The designation of “kind” is thought to be much broader than the designation “species.” Even as there are over 400 dog breeds all belonging to one species (Canis familiaris), so many species can belong to one kind. Some think that the designation “genus” may be somewhat close to the biblical “kind.”

Nevertheless, even if we presume that “kind” is synonymous with “species,” “there are not very many species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. The leading systematic biologist, Ernst Mayr, gives the number as 17,600. Allowing for two of each species on the ark, plus seven of the few so-called “clean” kinds of animals, plus a reasonable increment for known extinct species, it is obvious that not more than, say, 50,000 animals were on the ark” (Morris, 1987).

Ultimately, today’s post and yesterday’s post are about faith. Do you believe what God says about Himself? Do you believe that what is written in the bible is directly inspired by the Holy Spirit? Do you believe it was accurately recorded and represents the best and only reliable information we have about God? Do you believe the things that the bible says happened actually happened as written? (Ten plagues, Red Sea parting, Lazarus raised from the dead etc?)

These are questions we need to ask ourselves, and be ready to make an answer to all who ask. (1 Peter 3:15). If you have an area where you could study more so as to give a reasonable and accurate answer, do so. Answers in Genesis exists to give people who are curious about these things a scientific and sound basis for questions such as how the animals could fit into the ark, why fossil dating is unreliable, and so on.

“Answers in Genesis is an apologetics (i.e., Christianity-defending) ministry, dedicated to enabling Christians to defend their faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus particularly on providing answers to questions surrounding the book of Genesis, as it is the most-attacked book of the Bible.”

It’s about faith. Don’t be like Thomas Jefferson and claim that some things Jesus said were like diamonds and the rest a dungheap. It’s all good. Even the stuff you have a hard time believing. After all, if God was so common and understandable, He wouldn’t be God. It is about faith in His wisdom, not ours.

He offers the best knowledge,the highest wisdom and the most solid protection. Lean into His understanding

If we lean onto our own wisdom, it is no different than a man who uses a newspaper to wrap himself in to keep the cold away. Man’s words will tear and rip and the knowledge he finds in those pages will melt away in the first storm or rain.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 source

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:5)

Faith is a holy thing–

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,” (Jude 1:20)

In the end, it is faith that is the victory–

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”  (1 John 5:4)

God is sovereign. He calls the animals to do His bidding. He tells Noah to build the ark. He sends the animals to it. “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22). God is not asking us to build an ark. All He commands us to do is to believe. (John 6:29). Do you?

Posted in faith, perseverance

Cultural decline and righteous perseverance

Posted on by elizabethprata

Prophecy says that as we near the very end days, the culture will worsen. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:11-12,) and that the body of believers will grow less effective in the battle against satan, less of an example to a dark and dying world and less approved by God (1 Tim 4:1, Jude 1:8, Rev 2:4, Rev 3:16). We see this now.

Cash stolen from handicapped Cary boy collecting funds for wheelchair basketball
“Seated in his wheelchair, Nolan Turner, 12, staked out his neighborhood Thursday evening to sell water bottles and raise money to bring his wheelchair basketball team to his elementary school.“Everybody at school has been asking me what it’s like to (play basketball) in a wheelchair, and I want to show them,” the Briarcliff Elementary fifth-grader said.He had already collected more than $250 – kept in a bucket – of the $1,000 needed to bring the experience of playing wheelchair basketball to his schoolmates. But as he began to work the neighborhood near High Meadow Drive about 6:30 p.m., a man he didn’t recognize grabbed his money bucket and unhurriedly walked away, according to Cary Police Department Capt. Mike Williams. Nolan yelled and screamed at the man but was helpless to follow him.”

Saints alive, that is horrible.

Police: Students Caught In Sex Act On School Bus
Actions Of 13-Year-Old Boy, 8-Year-Old Girl In Question
“Fishers police said an 8-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were caught in a sexual act on a school bus. The girl’s parents are now trying to determine if the February incident was a rape or molestation.In a statement, police said a bus aid caught the girl and the boy “trying to have intercourse,” and that the “bus aid immediately separated the juveniles and informed the bus driver.”

Saints alive, that is worse than horrible!

Now this scene of unfettered greed and thievery:

Motorists scoop up armored car money, in scene witness calls ‘snow globe of cash’
“As many as 40 motorists stopped their cars and helped themselves to cash that fell out of an armored truck Friday morning along Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, according to authorities.A total of $5,795 fell out of an unsecured door of the truck, said Maryland State Police Sgt. Mark Cummings. As of 12:45 p.m., only $100 had been turned in to authorities, Cummings said. State police are offering amnesty for anyone who returns the money to the Rockville Barracks at 7915 Montrose Road in Rockville. “No questions will be asked,” Cummings said. One reason so many people may have scooped up cash is that the armored truck had continued down the road, and they may have considered it lost or abandoned money, Cummings said. The bills fell out in two plastic bags, which broke apart when they hit the road, he said. The Associated Press reported that attorney Heather Kelly, driving on Interstate 270 to her office in Frederick, saw two bags of currency and people frantically trying to collect the money. “It was in the traffic lanes and on the shoulders and just generally kind of like a snow globe of cash,” she told AP.”

Before the first judgment, the flood, demons were rampant in the world. The fallen angels had mated with human women, all that they chose, (Gen 6:1-2) and the resulting situation was chaos. All the people on the earth were thinking of only evil continually. (Gen 6:5-6).

Imagine being on earth in those days when every person was doing and thinking evil. They hadn’t finished one evil act before they were thinking of another. But Noah found favor with the LORD. (Gen 6:8). Despite all the temptations around him despite the daily pressures of remaining faithful Noah did it. He was the only blameless person, and he walked with God. (Gen 6:9). He was rewarded with His life, and with permanent righteousness and regard of the Lord. (Hebrews 11:7).

The time of Jesus’s fleshly incarnation was a time of rampant evil and demon-infestation. He spent up to 25% of His time dealing with demons and sicknesses caused by demons. He sent the twelve apostles into the world with demon-casting abilities. (Luke 9:1-3). He called out that generation:

“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” (Mt 17:17). Clarke’s Commentary explains His comment: “These and the following words may be considered as spoken–“

“1. To the disciples, because of their unbelief, Matthew 17:20.
2. To the father of the possessed, who should have brought his son to Christ.
3. To the whole multitude, who were slow of heart to believe in him as the Messiah, notwithstanding the miracles which he wrought.”

Demon infestation was everywhere and it was everywhere for the same reason as in Noah’s generation: faithlessness. Demons aren’t successful where there is great faith and a strong Holy Spirit presence of the Lord. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7).

But in the midst of that entire unbelieving generation was a righteous man. Simeon. “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him”. (Luke 2:26). There also was a man named Zacharias. He was the father of John the Baptist. He was a priest, having for generations been in the line of Aaron. He was not a Pharisee nor was he self-righteous. He was purely righteous, looking always for the Messiah and being with the Spirit.

It can’t have been easy, being holy in a perverse generation, where the Lord had been silent and the Messiah all but forgotten. But the LORD had not forgotten Zacharias, nor did He forget Simeon. I can imagine that Simeon’s life was kind of like Noah’s. He was it the midst of people who practiced a legalistic and perverted religion, if they practiced one at all. Paganism was rampant. Demons were running wild. The People had not heard from the prophets in 400 years. Can you imagine being of a people who had heard from God constantly since the beginning, and yet had not heard from Him in 400 years? We get tired of waiting after 4 minutes. Yet Simeon and Zacharias persevered in righteousness and holiness. They persevered, and were rewarded.

We find the same thing true now. Evil is rising and that is because of demon-infestation. We are also a wicked and perverse generation, the last one (I believe) in advance of the Lord’s Second Coming. It is hard to stay righteous in the face of all the temptations. It is hard to remain patient and loving in front of all the evil and hate. But we must. It is no excuse to faint and fail just because it is hard to remain faithful.

James 1:12 says “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Perseverance is evidence of belonging to Christ. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;” (John 8:31)

“But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:6).

If Noah could do it in his wicked and perverse generation, if Simeon and Zacharias could do it in their wicked and perverse generation, we can do it. We have to do it. The promise of Jesus is that He will reward us, He is noticing our perseverance under trial. He loves us and embraces us, and will deliver us.

Persevere!

Posted in faith

Re-Post: Childlike faith in the end times

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was talking with a friend the other day. The economic times are so tough it is making it stressful for people to make job decisions. The times are rough on families emotionally, too. With tight budgets comes worry and stress.

If a person is saved by the blood of Jesus then by prayer and faith, all things are possible. You just need to take the step, and He will provide. What will He provide? More faith, strength, guidance, direction, comfort, and more. Here is a re-post of something I’d written three years ago. Things were tough then. They are tougher now. Have faith.
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You know how a child runs to their mom or their dad, tottering on those tiptoes, arms outstretched? And at the last minute, they jump. They jump into their parents’ arms, fully knowing that they will land in safety and love.

Jesus urges us all to have a childlike faith. He did not mean have the faith of the child in only good times, when it’s easy. He meant it for all the time, including, and especially for when times are hard. When times get tough and enemies of fear, trepidation, doubt surround you, …even if the Lord has set a table for you that is in the midst of enemies, you shall be held dear to Him and He shall take care of you. But you must take that leap to get to His arms.

In the Third Indiana Jones movie I remember a scene where Indy had been following this treasure map. Bad guys were chasing him and they were right on his heels. He got to a place called the “Leap of Faith.” It was a cavern with sheer walls on either side and one entry and no exit … the map said to walk across. The span was too great for a man to leap. Wh-at?

I remember this like it was yesterday. I was not saved and this scene became a powerful image that stayed with me until I was saved. Indy closed his eyes, held a big breath, put out one foot like a Nazi goosestep, and propelled himself forward.

His foot landed on solid ground, How can this be? He looked at the invisible bridge from peeking to its side as far as he could lean, and it turned out it was not invisible after all, but camouflaged. It blended in perfectly with the background so it appeared as if no support was there. But it was.

Our eyes cannot see the supernatural protection we have, but if we keep propelling ourselves forward, we will find that the support IS there. No matter how close the bad guys come in their chase against us, He is there to provide a way across, through, and then beyond.

John 14:18 No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm-I will come to you. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.

Take a deep breath and keep walking, knowing with childlike faith that He is right beside you!

Posted in bible, faith, tornado, trials

Is your praise louder than the tornado’s roar?

Posted on by elizabethprata

It is a sober morning as we wake up and as the daylight rises we see the overnight storm damage. I had a sleepless night as storm after storm rolled through, but the house is intact. I’m thankful for the Lord’s protection. Now one may say, ‘what about all those believers who prayed but whose homes were destroyed? Didn’t they have the Lord’s protection?’ Yes, they did.

In my case, I prayed to the Lord for protection of my body and my home from storm damage. I have full faith and trust that He would do it, and He did.

Others who pray the same in full faith but whose homes are now rubble are also under His protection. The effects of sin in this world means that there will be suffering, but those who are suffering have a new opportunity this morning to turn to Him, and think of eternal things. It affords an opportunity for Christian ministries to minister in His name to the lost, the weak, the brethren. Living in a fallen world means bad things will happen.

I prayed for protection last night and I knew He is able to deliver it. But I did not pray, “Protect me, O Lord, for I am one of your children and You are on my side.” That is testing the Lord. I know His will as it is revealed in the Word, but I do not know His will in each specific circumstance of my life. If I was to go through a trial by enduring a lost dwelling and possessions, let it be so. It doesn’t alter my faith at all. When you have an eternal perspective, the temporary circumstances of my life gain their proper position. Now I’m not as strong as Paul who said of his trials, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) but his kind of attitude is my daily goal to seek and try and reach.

I think of Daniel 3 and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing in front of King Nebuchadnezzar, and they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16b-18).

The furnace was a room sized furnace you know. Picture the men shoveling coal into the Titanic’s room-sized boilers, and that was what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were facing. These furnaces were searingly hot. They were so hot that when the King ordered the furnace to be heated 7 times hotter, the men who were ordered to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego inside were instantly killed by the heat.

Facing that, they did not waver. They did not say, “We are faithful and therefore He will not let us come to harm.” Their prayer in the face of a fiery trial was strong, with the proper perspective of understanding that it may not be His will to allow them no harm. It didn’t alter their faith one bit. He knew He would cover them, but if He didn’t, that was OK too. God is still sovereign.

“The proof of conversion is that he who professes faith in Jesus perseveres in faith and grows in sanctification throughout his life.” ~Paul Washer

That proof is the perseverance in faith especially when storms are ripping through, when death or loss or injury come, when we can say of this trial or that one, “Lord grow me in sanctification so that You are pleased with me.” Sing praises to Him who saves, in the calm and in the storm. Their faith was startling to the King, and  Nebuchadnezzar replied in a fury. But when God chose to show Himself in the furnace the men said to the King, “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25).

The King then did what? Praised God. “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” (Daniel 3:28-29)

When the storms come, sing louder, knowing that He is sovereign, and all things are working for the good to those who love Him who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Perhaps your purpose in your trial is simply to sing praises to him, louder than the storm, so that others may hear and believe.
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Posted in faith, Lord

Back to Basics: How do I know I’m saved? Examine yourself!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Apostle Paul told the Corinthians to test themselves. Since Paul said it, we should do this as well. It is important to always be mindful of our faith, test it, examine ourselves, and see if we are straying. First, let’s look at the verse to see what it says, then let’s look at the context to see what was happening then and why Paul said it, and last let’s see how to take this test, or make this examination. For some who make an examination, it will reveal a lack of salvation in the first place.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

We know in our day at this point in the timeline that there is prophesied to be much deception in the church body. False doctrines will enter. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Man-made doctrines which is the same as saying doctrines of demons. People will not stand for sound doctrine, and will like to have their ears tickled instead. (Luke 21:8, 1 Tim 4:1, Acts 20:29, 2 Tim 4:3, Eph 4:14). But the church body was always plagued with falsity. It began almost immediately with the believers at Corinth.

The Corinthians had made a good start. They all converted at about the same time, when Paul came as missionary and preached the Gospel. But Corinth was a severely pagan place, and after Paul left, they had started to slide back to pagan ways, even allowing pagan practices into the church. They were acting selfishly and even gorging and drinking to drunkenness at the Lord’s Supper, bringing shame to the church. (1 Corinthians 11:21).

Paul was urging them to look at themselves individually and see if they were selfless, pious, modest, and humble. But not to muse about it intellectually, but to go forth and live the Gospel selflessly, piously, modestly, humbly. He wanted them to conduct themselves according to the standards to which a mature Christian should behave. It is walking with the Lord and being active in our faith daily that brings us strength and as we grow stronger in Him (the Holy Spirit regenerates us more and more) then when trials come, we can withstand.

As it stood then, Paul knew that when the trials would come, and then when the persecution came, the Corinthians would not be able to withstand. In 1 Corinthians 3:2 he complained then about them still not being able to have meat, and still being babes in Christ and on milk. He is trying to wean them so they could stand on their own two feet, strong and brave, ready to withstand satan’s buffeting, of which Paul knew only too well.

So it is well with us if we examine ourselves from time to time to see if we are growing, or even if we are in the faith at all.

How do we know if we are saved, if we pass or if we “fail the test”? First, ask yourselves,

Am I sensitive to sin? My own and others’ sin, such as on television or movies? A growing Christian will look back at the early days of their conversion and see the sins they tolerated back then are no longer tolerable. Swearing bothers you. Entertainment depicting adultery piques your anger. Blasphemy hurts your ears.  Obviously demonic novels and movies will no longer appeal. If they still appeal, then examine yourself further to see if you pass the test. A growing Christian grows away from sin and when we do sin, it breaks our heart.

Here is a Paul Washer sermon that examines sensitivity to sin in the saved or unsaved Christian. Hunker down for the long haul because it is an hour and 13 minutes. Audio only. But if you have gotten this far, finding the blog, reading this essay, getting down to this point, you need to hear him preach on sin. Sin is the foundational differential between being saved and unsaved. Do you recognize you are a sinner, and have you repented? If repented, are you sensitive to the effect sin has on your life and what a blight it is on Jesus’ name?

Secondly, does your faith grow stronger through trials and not weaker? In this essay by John MacArthur, he answers the question about why it is bad to appeal to people’s emotions at an altar call. He said that the church is filled with tares, flooded with them. They have no firm root (Mark 4:17) so when a strong wind comes they are uprooted and blow away. If your faith is firm, nothing can prevail against it because the root is Jesus. The essay is not long and it will help understand how your response through trials and even persecution can illustrate if we are passing or failing the test. If trials make you hate God and you stop going to church and doing good works, you are failing the test. If trials make you love Him all the more, then you are passing the test.

Does your walk bear fruit? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says if anyone is saved, he is a new creation. As a new creation, one made in His image, we want to glorify Him and do things that expand His kingdom. Those things are works. Matthew 7:16 says people will be known by their fruits. An apple tree isn’t named because of distinctive bark or a certain shaped leaf. It is named an apple tree because it bears apples. It is the apples that are useful. When the Spirit prompts us to do a work, we do it. Doing this work in the Spirit’s strength bears fruit. Ephesians 2:10 says we are created in order to do good works, which He has prepared for us beforehand. Being holy, growing in righteousness, doing things in His name for His name is showing the world that the Light is in us. Anyone who is not doing good works for His name is likely not saved. James 2:17 says faith by itself without works, is dead. Clarke’s Commentary explains, “The faith that does not produce works of charity and mercy is without the living principle which animates all true faith, that is, love to God and love to man.” Here is a Charles Spurgeon devotional that explains bearing fruit.

So there are three quick but not exclusive criteria for examining yourself to see if you pass the test: sensitivity to sin, strength through trials, and bearing fruit of good works.

In the verse Paul warns us not to fail the test. You might be thinking, ‘big deal. I’ve gotten a F on a test before and just made it up later. Or went to summer school…” How big of a deal is it if you fail the faith test? VERY BIG. Here is what happens:

““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

In verse 22 you see the surprised cry of those who had deceived themselves. They had done works, but had not had faith. They had not done the will of our Father who is in heaven. The will of the Father is to believe on the One He has sent. (John 6:29, 6:40). But many people in churches are busy, busy doing this and doing that and feeling pretty spiritual about it, too. They deceived themselves that it counted for something. None of it counted. All that they did had looked like spiritual work, but it was not. Why? It was absent a saving faith. They never knew Jesus.

The penalty or failing the faith test is not an F, it is being cast away for all eternity. THAT is the penalty for failing the test. You must do the will of the Father, which is to believe. Do you believe? Not sure? Here is a short essay on “How to detect a false conversion” from GotQuestions.org.

It’s hard. The Christian life is hard. It goes against our nature to be good, loving, humble…Life doles out hard knocks and our faith is tested and then it is tested again. It is a struggle. Paul said it was and it is. But it is so worth it! Life on this earth is temporary. It is a temporary location, and heaven, soon New Jerusalem, will be our home forever. Examine yourself, live for the faith He died to give us! And then, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Revelation 21:7). Examine yourself today. Don’t wait.
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