glory – Page 2

"Recognizing the Glory of God’s Word" by John MacArthur

Posted on October 28, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I read the latest blog essay at John MacArthur’s site, the title is above. What a gift to the faith Dr MacArthur is! The Lord raises up good men to encourage us.

Denmark Castle

He posted about how wonderful the Word is, and how despite the plethora of bibles available and translations abounding, we set it aside. Spurgeon said, “There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write ‘damnation’ with your fingers.”

I am guilty of this myself. I love the word and I benefit from it each and every time I open it. I am blessed, convicted, educated, encouraged, trained, awed, or a million other things. And yet there are some days I simply don’t. Paul said,

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:15-20).

My only consolation is that Apostle Paul, who was personally taught by Jesus and personally saw heaven, still had a hard time sometimes doing what is right, then I feel slightly less worse. But it’s still no excuse.

Here is a wonderful picture of the bible as envisioned in three dimensions. The excerpt is from the MacArthur essay, in which MacArthur quotes Roy Zuck’s picture of the bible as a magnificent edifice. Here it is for your encouragement.

I once read an illustration that described the Bible as a magnificent palace constructed of precious stone, comprising sixty-six stately chambers. Each one of these rooms is different from the others and perfect in its individual beauty. Yet, when viewed as a whole, they form an incomparable edifice that is majestic, glorious, and sublime.

In the book of Genesis, we enter the vestibule and are immediately introduced to the records of God’s mighty works in creation. This foyer gives access to the law courts, the passage way to the picture gallery of the historical books. Here we find hung on the walls scenes of battles, heroic deeds, and portraits of valiant men of God.

Beyond the picture gallery we find the philosopher’s chamber (the book of Job), which leads us into the music room (the book of Psalms). Here we linger, thrilled by the grandest harmonies that ever fell on human ears. And then we come to the business office, in the very center of which stands the motto: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). From the business office, we pass into the research department (Ecclesiastes) before continuing into the conservatory (Song of Solomon), where the fragrant aroma of love greets us. Then, we reach the observatory where the prophets with their powerful telescopes are looking for the appearing of the Bright and Morning Star.

Crossing the courtyard at the dawning of the Son of righteousness, we come to the audience chamber of the King (the gospels), where we find four lifelike portraits of the King Himself revealing the perfections of His infinite beauty. Next, we enter the workroom of the Holy Spirit (the book of Acts) and, beyond, the correspondence room where we see Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude busy at their tables under the personal direction of the Spirit of Truth.

And finally, we enter the throne room (Revelation) where we are enraptured by the mighty volume of adoration and praise addressed to the enthroned King. In the adjacent judgment hall, there are portrayed solemn scenes of doom and wondrous scenes of glory associated with the coming manifestation of the King of kings and Lord of lords. [1]

[1] While various versions of this description exist, it can be found in The Speaker’s Quote Book, by Roy Zuck.

I think that when we get to heaven, and the verse in Revelation 21:4 as we enter the eternal state, that says,

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

I believe are not tears of joy because Jesus would not wipe those away. I believe they are not tears mourning the loss of earthly things, either, because those will have paled in comparison. I think they are tears of shame.

Metropolitan Museum NYC Great Hall

I think as we leave behind the millennial kingdom and the last bits of sin are wiped from heaven and earth, and the devil and his beast and all unrepentant sinners have been cast to the Lake of Fire, that we will mourn our own Romans 7 acts. All the times we didn’t read the bible, or all the times we didn’t pray, or all the times we could have encouraged a brother in Jesus’ name, or all the times we didn’t go to church, we will cry over. We will be ashamed, seeing what we traded for bible reading. (Dancing with the Stars?) Or swapped for church (football?). Or substituted for prayer. (An extra half hour of sleep?)

I believe we will be ashamed of ourselves. Jesus will reassure us and wipe those tears from our face. What a good and gracious God He is.

Someday we will no longer mourn the missed opportunities we had on earth to further our relationship with Jesus, because He will be present and we will be away from the pleasure of sin, the power of sin, the presence of sin, the penalty of sin. What a day that will be.

Until then, we go on, not understanding our own actions. I could write more … but I am going to enter those majestic rooms of the bible, and read it now. Right now.

——————————–

Further Reading
“A Fourfold Salvation: From the pleasure of sin, the presence of sin, the power of sin, the penalty of sin by AW Pink

Charles Spurgeon: “The Bible” A Sermon

christianity, encouragement, glory, great apostasy

Being cheerful and confident amid the collapse of cultural Christianity

Posted on October 23, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I read two things today that encouraged me. Though they are on separate topics, they are kind of the same topic.

First up is a great essay at 9Marks. It is titled:

Cheerful Confidence after Christendom

It is apparent to even the most casual observer that cultural Christianity is dying. I’ve used the term “cultural collapse of Christianity” and others speak of ‘post-Christian era’ and 9Marks essay author Timothy Larsen says “dissolution of Christendom” but it all means the same thing, the end of an era. Mr Larsen explains it well and encourages us to relish the time such as this in which the Lord in His plan and wisdom put us. Being joyful and confident and triumphant in a time of evil and darkness and uncertainty will be an anomaly to one and all. Here is a short excerpt from Mr Larsen’s essay:

THANK GOD FOR GRANTING US NOW

God has granted me the privilege to live now—in my own times. To wish otherwise is not only pointless, it is ungrateful. It is also self-defeating. Every season of life has its own joys. Foolishness is to want to have the joys of adulthood when still a teenager or the joys of adolescence when middle aged and so on.

Likewise, there are unique joys, privileges, and opportunities for serving God in each generation. We are called not to hanker after a different age, but rather to jump in with relish to following Christ at this moment. There is an old Puritan saying: “If you would make the greatest success of your life, try to discover what God is doing in your time, and fling yourself into the accomplishment of his purpose and will.”

YES, THERE ARE UNIQUE CHALLENGES

Our times, of course, have unique challenges. We are witnessing the dissolution of Christendom. Christendom was a long period of time in the West when Christian commitments and beliefs were buoyed up by political and cultural supports. In Christendom, there were worldly incentives to at least pretend to believe Christian doctrine and to observe Christian practices. To do so was good for one’s professional and social success.

The other item that was encouraging was another of Phil Johnson’s sermons on the Psalms. It is an exposition of Psalm 122. The sermon is titled “A Foretaste of Glory Divine“

So many Christians moan and groan about life, because they either do not study the prophetic scriptures to know what’s coming, or they don’t have an eternal perspective, or both. Mr Johnson expertly and beautifully opens the Psalm to us and eloquently describes the manifold and unspeakable glories to come. Here is but a taste: (and it is much better heard than read, but if you have connection problems a transcription is available.)

What Jerusalem was to David, the church is to you and me. It is the dwelling-place of God. It is a living, breathing, holy convocation of God’s people, who gather to worship Him in unison. It is the very same fellowship of saints that will one day culminate in a heavenly convocation. It is a place of safety from the evils of a decadent world. It is a place where God’s authority is acknowledged and submitted to with gladness. It is an oasis of divine grace in a desert of corruption. It is quite literally a foretaste of glory divine.

The greatest joy in heaven the centerpiece of it all will be the unspeakable glory of God. God’s full glory will be on permanent display, and you will be able to see it with an unhindered view: examine it, and bask in it, and reflect it in all its perfection. You will be able to stand in the resplendence of that glory without any sense of guilt or shame. You will have a pure love for God that exceeds any love you have ever known. And the natural, inevitable, joyous response of your heart will be pure worship.

Please do take these two items as a matched pair. Be encouraged that you were placed here by the wisdom of God for just such a time as this, and that we have unspeakable joys to look forward to…SOON!

Public Domain

discernment, glory, jesus, monument, persecution, red raiders

Red Raider Monument: How God uses persecution

Posted on September 27, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Last night I posted an essay reporting a new controversy that had erupted yesterday in our county. The public became aware that two anti-Christian groups had challenged the location (on school grounds) of a recently installed, privately donated sports monument because it contained two scriptures. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and the American Humanist Association separately had been contacted by local resident(s) and alerted to the alleged Constitutional infraction. The FFRF and AHA contacted our Superintendent of Schools with threatening letters insisting on immediate removal or modification of the offensive (to them) monument. The story I wrote is here:

The scripture laden Madison County Red Raiders Monument and the Humanist Association who wants it gone

Christians, wake up…

The TV news stations have already pounced, the newspapers are picking this up, and the county residents are inflamed- both ways. In Georgia, sports and Jesus are dearly held.

Persecution comes in various flavors. Hard persecution involves jail time, torture, physical violence or death. Apostle Paul knew all of those, first as the persecutor, then as the persecutee.

Other kinds of persecution involves social persecution. Early Christians were excluded from the guilds (and thus from employment). Christians can be marginalized or excluded. The Pharisees used this kind of persecution by throwing people out of the synagogues. (John 7:13, John 20:19, John 16:2). Mocking, bullying, shunning, legal threatening…all are a kind of soft persecution.

It is still early days, but I have been thinking of all the ways Jesus will use this Red Raider Monument issue for His glory, something I mentioned in the essay I linked to above. I’d like to spell out some specific ways I know He is already at work, and ponder some ways I suspect He is already at work.

Satan is god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). He walks up and down upon it, (Job 1:7, Job 2:2) seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8). Not even heaven is immune from satan’s presence, (Revelation 12:10), though satan has a leash beyond which God will not let him go.

So what makes anyone in the Bible Belt states think there can possibly be one nook or cranny on earth where we would safe from satan’s attacks? He will persecute. Everywhere. Since Genesis 3 he always has, and he always will, until Revelation 20:7 is finished.

1. One way the Lord seems to be using this controversy is to remind us of that fact. Perhaps He is shaking us out of our complacent, casual Christianity. This would be a good thing, and to His glory.

2. He seems to be using this controversy is to make us face the possibility of persecution, and with that, to internally prioritize our potential response. I’ve been thinking over the last day, do I care about this monument? Would I fight for it? Do I want to use my energies or finances to expend on a legal battle? If not, then what would I fight for?

I think of Peter before the Council in Acts 4. Peter and John were arrested. They submitted to the arrest. Remember Peter fighting with his sword when they came for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? He lopped off the ear of one soldier. Jesus miraculously put it back on. This time, with the Spirit in him, Peter submitted to the arrest humbly. He didn’t fight. The Spirit used the opportunity to present the Gospel through Peter to all the Council of Jerusalem, a crowd that needed it more than anyone and yet a crowd that otherwise never would have heard it. God used the “bad” situation for His glory. and made it good.

Chinese Soldier,
Painting by William Alexander, 1793

Yet when the Council commanded Peter to leave but not speak the name of Jesus any more, Peter drew the line at submission to authorities. Peter knew just how far to go in that balance of submitting to earthly authorities but not infringing on his duties as a Christian witness with God as his ultimate authority. He said,

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20)

3. How far will I go to submit to ruling authorities and at what point would I rebel against them because I claim God as my Highest authority? Thinking these things through with scriptures to solidify a foundation for biblical action prior to persecution’s arrival is a good thing that is happening already.

4. Pastors and Bible teachers are preparing themselves for persecution. Mature Christians and spiritual Leaders know it is coming. It is the last days. Trouble in this world was promised to us by Paul, Peter, and Jesus. Though mature Christians always have their armor on, the mature Christians in our county are now tightening their belt of truth, adjusting the strap on their helmet of salvation, raising their sword of the Spirit a bit higher. Christians are on a battle field in a battle. Although a sentry is on guard, when long periods go by with nothing to report, their guard slackens a bit. If the sentry hears a gun cocking, his adrenaline rushes and he is suddenly on high alert. The letter from the AHA and FFRF were the sounds of the gun cocking. We are now all on high alert once again. This is a good thing.

The Golden Calf, watercolor, James Tissot, ~1900

5. Many pastors and bible teachers are already discussing this event with their congregants or students. They are preparing them in wise counsel and advising them in an appropriate behavior. This has given us opportunity to mindfully and biblically prepare a response in case of further persecution.

6. The controversy is causing people to speak up for Jesus. This is always a good thing.

7. It is causing people to search their hearts to see if what they believe is faith in the living God, or an idol.

8. It is causing fervent prayer on behalf of our leaders. I consistently pray for my spiritual leaders, but I admit I am slack in praying for our county and other government leaders. Yet we are called to do exactly that:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

I’m glad this came up so I could be confronted with my sin of failing to pray for government leaders.

Before I was saved, I was just as deluded as Ms Miller. I was stumbling along in the dark, rejecting Jesus and dwelling in my own depravity. I found out someone had been praying for me for a long time. I discovered this after I was saved. Now it is my turn to pray for the deluded, sinners, Christ-rejecters. It is a privilege.

Red Raider Monument unveiling.
Madison County Journal Facebookpage

Some ways the Lord may be using this event:

1. He may be preparing us for a harder persecution that is coming. No one likes to think about oppression, jail, or physical violence against Christians, but this may be the first volley to strengthen us for a next volley that will be harder. Through trouble in this world, we grow. Persecution always results in His glory. Through trials, HIS glory rests upon us!

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:12-14).

As faithful Christians, we must learn to recognize the value of persecution and even to rejoice in it, not in an ostentatious way, but quietly and humbly because persecution has great spiritual value. Source
I remember the shock of September 11, 2001 and the four planes that were used as bombs on our buildings and our people. It was a shocking attack the nation has never recovered from. Who knows what is planned for tomorrow? On September 10, 2001 I never suspected for a moment that the terrorists were going to slam into our buildings and change us forever on the very next morning. Today’s little foray into a soft persecution might be the first step in the Lord’s preparing us for more trials to come. And they will come, the verse above says they will. I will be thankful that I had advance opportunity to prepare, by praying, reading pertinent scriptures, and encouraging others even as I was encouraged by my pastors yesterday.

2. Jesus may be working toward an upcoming salvation through all this! What price is a monument when a soul comes to the Lord! Wouldn’t that be wonderful if all this controversy somehow caused a person to look into their heart and come to the cross and be saved forever! What an exchange, a few dollars spent on an out-of-the-way rural sports monument that isn’t going to last anyway, in exchange for a glorious soul brought to Jesus forever! I hope that happens.

3. He may be using this controversy to rid our country of an idol.

4. Other ways I can’t even think of! In Isaiah 55:8, God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”

Jesus is always at work, as the Father is always at work. He uses any and all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. I can’t even imagine all the ways He will use a tiny controversy such as a scripture-laden monument on school grounds, but He is endlessly creative and His glory endures forever. It will be enhanced by this, not diminished.

Here is one last thought … satan. He is using this for his own purposes, too.

He is already causing some to be thrown into confusion and others to doubt.

He is using bible scriptures out of context, like he did to Jesus at the Temptation and like the ones on the monument.

He is causing arguments, anger, and division among brethren.

He is causing some to stumble in their Christian witness.

He is the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10).

Don’t let him.

Godly brethren, adopt a wider perspective and think on the good things that God is doing through this.

As always, pray, read your bible, and by all means, tighten up your Spiritual Armor! We are not excused from the battle just yet. Do not be surprised it has come to our door. Certainly, don’t let the surprise be your reaction to it.

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"Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum," Prophecy and Mosul/Nineveh

Posted on July 19, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

God said ‘Jonah, arise and preach to Nineveh.’ (Jonah 1:1-2)

Jonah outside Nineveh’s gate. Rembrandt

We know the rest of the story. Initially Jonah refused, and ran in the other direction. He boarded a ship and sailed away. God sent a storm and overboard Jonah went. As Jonah contemplated his options on the way down to the bottom of the sea, he relented and acknowledged the sovereignty of God. He accepted the call to preach repentance to Nineveh. God had appointed a big fish and the fish swallowed Jonah and then spit him up back to where he began. Hoisting his toga, Jonah set off for Nineveh, heeding God’s call.

It was ‘an exceedingly great city’ some three days’ travel in breadth. Some historians calculate that as many as 250,000 lived in Nineveh. For several decades it was the largest city in the world. When Jonah preached, all the Ninevites repented, from the king on down to the lowliest peasant. All of them. It surely was a great move of God and a great shower of grace upon the many people of Nineveh.

Nineveh’s Adad gate exterior entrance. Wiki CC

God’s move was so powerful and so amazing that even till this day Eastern Orthodox churches of the Middle East commemorate the three days Jonah spent inside the fish during the “Fast of Nineveh”. There are streets named after Jonah in the Middle East and monuments to him. There are even several places claiming to be his tomb. He is known to Muslims as Nabi Yunus, and Prophet Jonah is mentioned in the Q’uran. Therefore we see that God’s move was SO GREAT that the vestigial memory of it rests in the hearts and minds of even the most blinded and spiritually distant from God.

Unfortunately, the Ninevites’ repentant attitude was not permanent and Prophet Nahum records Nineveh’s end. One hundred years later, they had gone back to their ways. Nahum says that it was a city full of blood, lies, and plunder. God said He would make an utter desolation of the city and He did.

The city was so obliterated by 400BC the city of Nineveh itself had passed into history. Even the very name was forgotten. The city was buried so well it was never re-discovered until 1842.

In 1842, French Consul General at Mosul, Paul-Émile Botta began to search the vast mounds that lay along the opposite bank of the river. The Arabs whom he employed in these excavations, to their great surprise, came upon the ruins of a building at the mound of Khorsabad, which, on further exploration, turned out to be the royal palace of Sargon II, which was largely explored for sculptures and other precious relics. Wikipedia

Today’s Nineveh overlaps Mosul. Mosul is in Iraq, or what used to be Iraq, now that the ISIS group has taken over and established “The Islamic State”. You might know that the goal of the Caliphate is to have 100% of all residents in it compliant to Allah. If someone is not a Muslim, they must pay jizya, a religious tax to the dhimmi (community). Or convert. Or die.

Nineveh’s Mashki gate from the west. Wiki CC

The leaders of ISIS issued an ultimatum recently to that very effect. Before the war in Iraq in 2003, there were about 65,000 Christians living there. That is according to official records. However, spiritually, most of those are not Christians, because they adhere to an Eastern Orthodox religion, which is false. Personally I cannot say that the numbers were so large, but we do know that at out of 65,000 claiming Christianity, least some are true Christians.

Remember, Iraq is also home to Baghdad, AKA Babylon, the first city which Nimrod built and future history’s (almost) the last city; a city which will be the prophetic focus of the Tribulation. It has been said that the bible could be subtitled “A Tale of Two Cities: Jerusalem and Babylon.” What I’m saying is, the area has a long, loooong spiritual history. Moreover, and future history will dwindle down to events in this exact region.

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq about half the Christians left. After ISIS came, 10,000 more left. Suffice to say that life for a true Christian in this war-torn, spiritually hostile ground zero place would be hard. And this week, it just got harder.

Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum

Iraqi Christians are fleeing Mosul after Islamist militants threatened to kill them unless they converted to Islam or paid a “protection tax”. A statement issued by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) was read out at the city’s mosques. It called on Christians to comply by midday on Saturday or face death if they did not leave the northern city. Isis has control of large parts of Syria and Iraq and said last month it was creating an Islamic caliphate. The ultimatum cited a historic contract known as “dhimma,” under which non-Muslims in Islamic societies who refuse to convert are offered protection if they pay a fee, called a “jizya”. “We offer them three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract – involving payment of jizya; if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword,” the Isis statement said.

This is very similar to the upcoming ultimatum that the antichrist will issue. The antichrist will locate headquarters in Babylon. At the Tribulation, the antichrist will force all to worship him by accepting a mark on their hand or forehead. Or be excluded from the economy and unable to buy or sell, and then to be beheaded. (Revelation 13:16-17).

In addition to the hostility against perceived Christians, the ISIS people also took a sledgehammer to “Jonah’s tomb” in Mosul.

Shocking moment ISIS militants take sledgehammers to Mosul tomb of Prophet Jonah

Donning balaclavas and black coats, they swung sledgehammers into the tombs, causing pieces of dust and stone to fly through the air. One of the devastated tombstones belonged to the Prophet Jonah (Younis in Arabic) and was revered by Muslims and Christians alike, according to Iraqi authorities. Speaking of the latest attack, Ninevah official Zuhair Al-Chalabi, told IraqiNews.com: ‘The elements of ISIS [have] controlled the mosque of the Prophet Younis in Mosul since they invaded the city.’

It should be noted that there are also alleged burial sites for Jonah in Hebron, Lebanon, and Galilee in addition to Mosul.

We should:

1. Pray for the true Christians in the Middle East. As Joel Rosenberg calls it, it is “the epicenter” because geologically the epicenter is the point on the earth above the center of the earthquake. It aptly describes Israel, Jerusalem, and the countries surrounding her. Geographically, God considers Israel the center of the world. (Ezekiel 5:5) as Rosenberg explains here. Spiritually, it all comes down to God and His people, and history’s last events will be located in Jerusalem and surrounding environs.

From this moment forward, whenever you are reading this, life will only be harder for Christians there. Jews also. Every day will be harder than the day before it.

2. Pray for the rapture. (2 Timothy 4:8). It is spiritually all right to pray for a time of deliverance, in so doing, acknowledging your citizenship (heaven), identifying yourself with the promises of Jesus, and wanting to be where there is no more pain.

3. Be strong in the word. Persevere, and in so doing, being the Light of Hope within us. Let it shine, your patience, calm, and hope will be a balm to those around you.

4. Study scripture and memorize it. Even in America, the time is coming and might already be here when we will need to rely on memory for scripture- as possessing a bible may soon be not-possible. The noose is tightening daily. Apostasy is rising and as John MacArthur said, “Cultural Christianity is dying at warp speed.” I’ll do another blog post later today about that. Therefore we should be aware of what is happening in the world and in our nations, and in that way we can be responsible to our duties as Christians on behalf of the glory of God.

5. Always shine the glory back to Him, He is the originator of the world, the sustainer of the world, and the King, Lord, and Judge of the world, He deserves all glory and acknowledgement in all we say and do. At the very moment that attitude is becoming more rare, is when we need to display it the most.

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It’s tornado weather

Posted on April 28, 2014 by elizabethprata

I’m working on another blog essay for tonight about not growing weary in the well-doing. But I wanted to pause and pray for a moment. There is a severe weather outbreak in the South and the Plains States of the US. Tornadoes, hail, lightning and severe winds and thunder are wreaking havoc at this hour, and have been since last night. Many people have died and much property is demolished. Lives are forever changed.

Our section of the South, Georgia, will start to get hit later tonight and tomorrow through Wednesday. It is by meteorological accounts, a very severe threat. Tupelo Mississippi just got hammered and there is a great amount of damage.

The Lord told us in His word that He holds us in His hand and the days of our lives are numbered. We never know if this moment will be our last breath or if we have another 20000 days to go. By this time tomorrow I could be dead, injured, or homeless. Or I could be the same- ensconced in my tiny apartment with three happy cats eating fruit and drinking tea. We just never know. However, what I appeal to the Lord for is my attitude. Here is my prayer:

“Lord, may You be glorified if You decide to blast my house in a tornado. May my attitude reflect submission to Your will, exhibit certainty that You are in control, and comfort in the knowledge that You have the bigger picture in mind- because all things work together for good for those who love you.

“If you decide to spare my house, then please may I reflect Your glory in gratitude that You have allowed me to continue unscathed, though, knowing that life’s trials are a sure thing and another one may be around the corner tomorrow. In all, Your will be done.”

“May You be glorified if some of those who have experienced tragedy through this weather come to salvation. Severe storms make a person think about life, family, and mortality. May they also think of You and Your Son, and the afterlife you have prepared for those who love you. May your glory shine brightly in newly converted hearts, even amidst the debris.” Amen

Job Loses his Children and Property
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”…

21He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

22Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
(Job 1:18-19, 21-22)

foxe's book of martyrs, glory, martyr

Sunday Martyr Moment: A Phyrgian city burned

Posted on February 2, 2014 by elizabethprata

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. According to this summary from Christian Book Summaries,

Writing in the mid-1500s, John Foxe was living in the midst of intense religious persecution at the hands of the dominant Roman Catholic Church. In graphic detail, he offers accounts of Christians being martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ, describing how God gave them extraordinary courage and stamina to endure unthinkable torture.

From the same link, the book’s purpose was fourfold:

Showcase the courage of true believers who have willingly taken a stand for Jesus Christ throughout the ages, even if it meant death,
Demonstrate the grace of God in the lives of those martyred for their faith,
Expose the ruthlessness of religious and political leaders as they sought to suppress those with differing beliefs,
Celebrate the courage of those who risked their lives to translate the Bible into the common language of the people.

Text from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

[Phyrgia was in west-central Turkey]

A city of Phrygia, consisting entirely of Christians, was burnt, and all the inhabitants perished in the flames.

Tired with slaughter, at length, several governors of provinces represented to the imperial court, the impropriety of such conduct. Hence many were respited from execution, but, though they were not put to death, as much as possible was done to render their lives miserable, many of them having their ears cut off, their noses slit, their right eyes put out, their limbs rendered useless by dreadful dislocations, and their flesh seared in conspicuous places with red-hot irons.

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Johnnie Moore said this week in his opinion piece, “We must stand up for Middle East’s persecuted Christians“
Christianity began in the East, not the West, yet today Christians in the East are enduring an all-out-assault by Islamic terrorists, while Christians in the West live their lives largely oblivious to it all. This has to change. This is no imaginary persecution; in Syria alone there have been reports of kidnappings, Christian communities intentionally displaced by militants and, worst of all, shootings and beheadings of Christians who refused to convert to Islam. In Egypt radicals have recently destroyed dozens of churches, and the once vibrant Christian population in Iraq has been decimated.

Qanta Ahmed wrote in the Jerusalem Post this week, Persecution of Christians in the Muslim world: We are what we tolerate“
“Syrian Christians, long protected by Syrian President Bashar Assad, bear the ultimate price at the hands of rebel Islamists. Egyptian Islamist have destroyed 43 Orthodox churches and attacked 207 churches in the past year alone. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, where there is no Arab Spring, where democracy is mature, Christian persecution is as integral to daily Pakistani life as the weather. In 2013 alone, Pakistan witnessed the razing of 178 homes in Christian residential area Joseph Colony in Lahore and the execution of 82 Christians at worship at Peshawar’s historic All Saints Church, leaving another 200 congregants wounded.

Persecution is not new. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12). Nor are the ways people are wounded, tortured, or killed new. Evil men are and always have been evil. This is what hostility to the Gospel looks like. Do not be surprised that such wickedness against holy Jesus and His children exists. (1 John 3:13). Without Christ there is no peace, but where there is Christianity, Christians, and the Spirit, there will be hostility against the testimony of Jesus. They tried to kill Jesus several times before they actually did.

And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. (Luke 4:29).

The fact that persecution has always existed doesn’t make reports like these from JPost or FoxNews any easier to read. But there is an additional element to the persecution story. Though persecution has always existed, it is prophesied to become worse and worse as the ages progress.

“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).

This persecution will find it ultimate, completely saturated expression in the Tribulation, when satan persecutes the Jews and then the Christians:

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:17).

Even though persecution is an ugly thing, we can take heart from it. First, we know that there are strong Christians in the world willing to suffer and die for the spotless name of Jesus. We know that as persecution becomes worse and worse, that the word of God is perfect in its certainty. We also know that as it increases, the time of His appearing draws closer. We can also imagine the homecoming of the martyred Christians in Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan… are receiving in heaven.

The topic of martyrdom is a difficult one but it has its joys too.

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal“. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Whether death comes from sickness, age or by another man’s hand, a life lived for the Lord has everlasting value and glory unto Jesus.

arminianism, glory, prosperity gospel, sovereignty

The Doctrine of Election is biblical

Posted on January 18, 2014 by elizabethprata

With a HT to Do Not Be Surprised, I pass along this link to a great article explaining the biblical doctrine of election. It is easy to understand and clearly makes the case that God chooses us for salvation
Pick me, pick me, Unconditional Election, Pt. 2. By the time the author gets to the end he has explained it so biblically that his conclusion makes logical sense:

“Your objection might be this: I don’t believe that God would chose some and not all. That’s fine, but don’t say “I don’t believe in election,” say” I don’t believe the Bible.”

Again with a HT to Do Not Be Surprised, I found this article helpful also. It is from the steady and biblical folks at 9 Marks, explaining how the prosperity gospel has crept into much of Christianity as a softer version.
A Softer Prosperity Gospel: More Common Than You Think

Jeremiah lamented that Jerusalem refused to repent. His lament was one that is of a striking parallel today. This is what we see too:

“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her. Though they say, “As the Lord lives,” yet they swear falsely.“

Though this is what we see on the ground, it is not what God sees from above. Through Jesus, His Son, He sees a glorious future for His Son’s Bride and a coronation for His Son. This future is so sure that in heaven it it of the now. Soon, on the ground we will come into our future!

“And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:5)

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His face became different

Posted on August 20, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I was reading Luke 9:29 and I became entranced by the following part of the verse:

“And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.”

The appearance of his face was altered…other translations say He looked ‘different’.

EPrata photo

I got stuck on that. I wondered. What did His face look like? How was it altered? How different was it? The disciples knew it was still Jesus, of course. He didn’t change into looking like someone else. But what was it like to see the glory emanate from His face and body?

I looked up the Greek, and the word used for different is from the root heteros. Heteros is defined in Strong’s concordance,

“héteros – “another but distinct in kind” stands in contrast to /állos,”another of the same kind”. Héteros “another of a different quality”) emphasizes it is qualitatively different from its counterpart.”

John MacArthur describes it this way in his sermon A Glimpse of the King: as different as a butterfly is from a caterpillar.

“It was different, it was other than. In fact, Matthew explains it this way, He was transfigured, transfigured, and Matthew uses a Greek verb, metamorphoothe, a metamorphosis took place. You know what that means, don’t you? You think about metamorphosis, you think about what creature? A butterfly because there’s absolutely no way that you could assume, if you looked at what it was before it went into a cocoon, and what it was when it came out, you would not connect the two because the metamorphosis is so total, so dramatic. Jesus’ form, morphe, changed, His body changed. They had known Him only as a human being, His body had been a body like the body of any human being. When the shepherds came to the manger, they saw a baby that looked like any other baby. When Mary picked up her baby, that baby looked like any other baby she had seen. When Joseph looked into the face of that little boy running around the carpenter shop in Nazareth, He looked like any other little boy that Joseph had ever seen. He had the same human characteristics and features that any boy has.”

EPrata photo

“And as He grew into a youth at the age of twelve, He’s in the temple having questions and answers with the doctors, what they saw even though He said He had to be about His Father’s business and was coming into the full awareness of His Sonship, they could see only a boy, only a twelve-year-old boy. And that was the way it was when the disciples saw Him. When they heard Him teach, He spoke as a man. When they saw Him eat, they saw Him eat as a man. When they saw Him sleep, He slept as a man sleeps. He walked and talked and behaved as a man. His morphe, His form, His body was human, it was 100 percent human, it was what they were used to seeing. … “

EPrata photo

“But all of a sudden a metamorphosis takes place and Matthew says, “His face shone like the sun.” All of a sudden His face was as blazing as a noonday sun. Now that’s a change. And then it says, if you look down in verse 29, “His clothing became white and gleaming.” Became leukos, that’s dazzling and brilliant, and exastrapton, to flash like lightning. This is coming from the inside.”

EPrata photo

“What is this telling us? This is God. This is the Shekinah of God. When God manifested Himself in the Old Testament, He manifested Himself as light, didn’t He? As light. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, John writes. And light is synonymous with eternal life. God has manifested His Spirit life in light. Jesus had said, “I am the light of the world,” but it never had been seen before.”

All my pictures of clouds and sunbeams and celestial lights cannot do even the imagination justice as to what the full glory of Jesus looks like, never mind the reality. All I can say is, when you want to be comforted by the soon to be fulfilled truth of His coming, just think on that scene. Peter, John, and James were given a glimpse of the King. His face was changed.

The Light that has come into the world is still here, in the form of the Holy Spirit indwelling each of us. But even that comfort is not the same as pondering the magnificent reality of His Light, fully shining, ablaze with glory.

I can’t wait to see Him with glory Light unleashed!!!

body, glory, God, holy, resurrection

Jesus: The permanent God-man

Posted on March 30, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I am going to speak plainly, not theologically.

I was not saved by the Lord’s grace until I was 43 years old. Before that, I lived in New England and lived a very liberal life. I’m grateful to my patient and loving Savior who elected me, drew me, and lifted me from the pit of sin in which I was living.

Until that time, during my adult life, I could not understand the phenomenon of Jesus. Oh, I understood it to be a phenomenon, all right. No one can dismiss Him, least of all the unsaved. He is a pervasive presence that simply does not go away. I used to actively wonder about His staying power. Buddha comes and goes as a fad, Allah wasn’t even around until 600 AD and wasn’t popular for a long time after that. Pele the volcano goddess waned and Ra the sun god is passe. And whatever happened to Aphrodite and Mars? But Jesus never waned and He is worshiped in every culture throughout every era.

So anyone with a brain would wonder, why Jesus?

When I thought more deeply about it, which was rare, I’d think that God wasn’t all that much to talk about, either. I mean, He sent the two humans to the Garden, supposedly, and then kicked them out of the garden

for one little mistake. He messed up again by allowing things to get out of hand and had to do an etch-a-sketch erase by sending the Flood. And He messed up again by picking the Jews, who continually messed things up throughout the Old Testament, and God had to send Jesus to do a do-over. And if the Christians were to be believed (not that I actually knew any), things would deteriorate once again and God would have to wipe out the earth and start again. I thought God was an ineffective bumbler, didn’t know what He was doing, and Jesus was just some spaghetti thrown on the wall to see if God’s latest band-aid approach would work.

Of course I was completely wrong. The depraved mind cannot even think straight. The unsanctified mind cannot know the things of God. I was a classic example of 1 Corinthians 2:14-

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

And of Ephesians 4:18-

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

One of the things I glory in knowing now, on the other side of the veil, is that Jesus wasn’t a piece of spaghetti God threw against the wall to see if it would stick. It is of enormous comfort to know that God ordained His plan since the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8). That Jesus was with God since the beginning, and that Jesus IS God (John 1:1-5).

Jesus willingly gave up His life. Let that sink in. He did it out of love, and volunteered for the cross.

It is written, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:18)

As John 10:15 says, “he lays down His life for the sheep. Luke 23:46 says in the KJV, where the Holy Spirit used to be called the Holy Ghost,

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

It doesn’t say “the Ghost departed from Him.” It doesn’t say “He died and the Ghost left Him”. HE GAVE IT UP. He was in total control of His life until the moment of His death and beyond.

What a beautiful moment. He knew when scripture was fulfilled and when the moment came, He gave up His life for us, in obedience to the Father.

Now next, if that wasn’t enough, think of His sacrificial death. It was monumental, even as the God-man.

The Incredulity of Thomas, by Caravaggio, 1602

But wait, there’s more. After He was resurrected, He remained in His body He had taken on as a flesh-born babe. He showed Thomas the nail holes in His hand and His pierced side. (John 20:27). He ate with the disciples on the beach. (John 21:13). He walked and was visible to people. There is no reason to think He is not in His glorified body.

Philippians 3:20-21 says,

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

It staggers the mind tho think He descended from pure, holy glory to live in the pigpen that is earth, just because He loves us. It is stupefying to know He dwelled in human form and in obedience to the Father for 33 years. Think on this: He poured Himself into the form of a man, lived and died. Wow. He is still in that form and will be forever!!

When He was resurrected, He remained in the form of a man, in flesh. Glorified flesh, but flesh! THAT is a sacrifice. To dwell for all eternity in the likeness of the Last Adam, as a permanent reminder to the Father of His obedience and bringing many sons to His glory. He is glorious not just in taking on our human nature but in remaining our brother (Hebrews 2:10-11, 17) and continuing as the visible “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

Jesus was resurrected bodily and He is still in that body

He voluntarily poured Himself into flesh, lived a sinless life to fulfill the scriptures, died an agonizing death – in our place – so as to exhaust God’s wrath, and was resurrected bodily forever to be in body as our brother, friend, and Lord.

My heart melts within me at this love! I faint from its strength! I bend my knee to its holiness! Praise our precious, loving Lord! Worship Him as He richly deserves!

eternal life, glory, manger, swaddling

Jesus in the manger: a compare and contrast exercise

Posted on December 25, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I published this on December 16 but I’m publishing it again this morning, a holy morning when we gladly honor the Savior who came to put away sin, and honor the Him who was and is and is to come.

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It is the season of the baby Jesus. We love to think of Him as the innocent babe in swaddling clothes, his parents Mary and Joseph (and God) looking down on the sleeping baby. It is a scene of peace.

But we can’t be glad about the babe in the manger unless we remember that without the babe we are living a life of corruption, wrath and death. He was born to save us from it. That juxtaposition is just as as startling as the fact of Messiah’s bursting in from glory to live in depravity on our behalf.

In my mind, I think of these examples that are equally a juxtaposition. From His humble beginnings, He was born and laid in swaddling clothes amid the hay of the stable. The vision of the hay strewn around evokes the hay that will be burned up on His day.

“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Cor 3:12).

Hay is only temporary. It’s fodder for animals, stuffing in log cabin cracks, filler for brickmakers. Hay doesn’t last. Yet Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:25).

The babe was laid in another man’s barn, bearing witness to the fact that the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58).

He didn’t have a place to lay His head when He was born, and He didn’t have His own place to lay His broken body to rest when He died. Jesus was buried in another man’s tomb.

“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.” (Matthew 27:57-60).

Jesus left His home to live homeless, in order to give us HIS home. We have a place to lay our head: a place in heaven Jesus is preparing for us. It is called New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:2)

Jesus came from holy glory and was pure. Yet His life began amid the dung of the animals. This evokes Him coming from sinlessness of heaven to the depraved corruption of earth and all that is in it. Isaiah said our works are like filthy menstrual rags (Is 64:6). Paul said our life apart from Christ is rubbish (garbage) (Phil 3:8). His perfect and glorious soul inside a baby’s body was laid down amid all that corruption.

From the moment of His birth, the contrast between Himself in eternal life, and our death and destruction apart from Him was made clear. He is so Great!

Source

He came down so that, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32)