Category: jesus

Posted in discernment, ihop, jesus, ronnie floyd

Have ye so little faith? SBC President Ronnie Floyd at IHOP; a discernment lesson

Posted on by elizabethprata

The President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) last night appeared on the stage at the One Thing conference with one of Christianity’s biggest false prophets and the leader of a hugely growing cult, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC). Why did Mr Floyd do this? He explained early in his speech, from what he can see of the world, the storm has come and it demands urgency of action.

“When it feels like the ship is sinking, everyone needs to grab a bucket.”—Ronnie Floyd President of the Southern Baptist Convention, explaining why he appeared at at IHOPKC (cult) One Thing conference on Dec 28, 2015.

We are to be urgent in Christian action, redeeming the time spent for our Lord in His work. But do the times demand blind panic, partnering with darkness, and other pragmatic man-made moves that display our urgency, misguided though it may be? Should ‘the times’ be the prompt for action instead of the Gospel? No.

I spent a good deal of ink in another blog post explaining the context of the situation. This essay which follows is what they call in writing class an ‘explode the moment’ or honing in to focus minutely on a particular aspect of the context. In this case, it’s the biblical scene on the boat when the disciples asked if Jesus cared or not that they might be perishing. Let’s use this for a discernment lesson. Sadly, it’s a reverse lesson, as Mr Floyd’s actions unwittingly teach us what NOT to do.

Peace Be Still, Arnold Friberg

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? (Mark 4:37-40)

Mr Floyd, have you so little faith? The boat is not sinking. (Mark 4:37-40, Matthew 14:31, Luke 8:25). Did the disciples grab a bucket? We know the answer.

carest thou not that we perish?—Unbelief and fear made them sadly forget their place, to speak so. Luke has it, “Lord, save us, we perish.” When those accustomed to fish upon that deep thus spake, the danger must have been imminent. They say nothing of what would become of Him, if they perished; nor think, whether, if He could not perish, it was likely He would let this happen to them; but they hardly knew what they said.

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?—There is a natural apprehension under danger; but there was unbelief in their fear. It is worthy of notice how considerately the Lord defers this rebuke till He had first removed the danger, in the midst of which they would not have been in a state to listen to anything.

how is it that ye have no faith?—next to none, or none in present exercise. In Matthew (Mt 8:26) it is, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Faith they had, for they applied to Christ for relief: but little, for they were afraid, though Christ was in the ship. Faith dispels fear, but only in proportion to its strength. (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible)

These were seasoned fishermen. They knew when a storm as raging enough to swamp a ship. In their case, the waves actually were overtowering the ship, and they rightly knew conditions were the foundering sort. Paul knew when the ship was in peril, Jonah knew. I’ve been in a mighty storm on a small yacht. Seamen know when the storm imperils lives. We don’t blame the men for fearing.

But when fear comes, especially when it is a fear based on what man’s eyes can see, the proof in the pudding is how you deal with the situation.

I know of a small, rural SBC church that hired another pastor after their long-term pastor left. The new pastor made lots of exegetical mistakes in preaching. Some left. The new pastor had an unfortunate (and disqualifying) tendency to rough anger. More left. Sunday attendance numbers couldn’t be explained away any longer by “those who are sick with the flu going around” or “those who are traveling this holiday weekend”. Attendance was declining and it showed. So, events were held to grab more people and get them in. Evangelists were hired. Inflatables were inflated. Hot dogs were eaten. Those pragmatic approaches did not work. So more left. Panic set in. Tithes dipped below healthy levels, and the wild eyed panic turned to fear. The smell of desperation caused more to leave. Therefore, anger abounded and it was taken out on staff. Staff left. So more people left with the staff. Sermons now focused on tithing, or on rebuking those who stayed. So even more left.

You see the circle-the-drain pragmatic approach does not work. The disciples in the boat could have furiously bailed. They could have tossed one of them overboard like Jonah. They could have hove to or gone under bare poles. They could have prayed. Instead, they panicked.

Jesus rebuked the sea and then rebuked the men. But notice that the fear they had of the storm was replaced in spades by fear of what they had seen Jesus do. He has power over the weather and sea and waves, and instantly they obeyed Him. The men became exceedingly terrified. I’d imagine that if the IHOP people were ever to see a REAL miracle they would not only become terrified, they would drop dead of heart attacks on the spot.

Jesus IS the calm. Always rely on Him.

He knew a storm was coming. He knew. But He had no concern. It was the sleep of fearlessness. It was the sleep of trust. It was the sleep of sovereignty. It was the sleep of omnipotence. He knew He could awaken at any moment and stop the storm. (source)

When it feels like the ship is sinking, one does not run around in a panic, begging those with theological unorthodoxy to join in bailing the boat. That displays lack of faith and is an action motivated by fear.

And then once He stilled the storm, verse 25 says, He said to them, “Where’s your faith? “Where’s your faith? I’m sure they were hanging their heads. That was embarrassing. That was shameful. Oh, we saw Him raise the dead, we saw Him control the fish, we saw Him cast out demons, we saw Him heal all those people. This is embarrassing. Where’s your faith? Couldn’t you believe Me for this? (source)

Can’t we believe Jesus that He is building His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it? Is the ship foundering? No.

Yes, there is excess water in the ship because false teaching brings it. Yes there is excess baggage in the ship, weighing it down because the sin within false doctrine is heavy. (Psalm 38:4). Mr Floyd’s action to partner with those who weigh down the faith is counter-productive and a bad example of what to do in discernment situations. When the waves threaten to overpower, you don’t pragmatically look for hands to bail the ship, you look to the one who calms the storm. It is not a situation of “any port in a storm” but the One who creates the port. And the storm. And the calm.

When we see our church local or global seems to be faltering, as Mr Floyd did, he was seeing through man’s eyes. Jesus’ church is not foundering. But sometimes a local church does die. Or sometimes as a church is diminishing in numbers, Jesus makes a move through the members’ prayer. I know of another small, local SBC church where the members had died or drifted away. It was a long-term church, it had been existing a long time in that spot. But it was small now and it was dying. The leaders prayed. Along came a contingent of pastors and leaders who wanted to plant a new church, and felt led to ask the dying church to rent their space. It was the answer to prayer, and a new church was planted inside the old church. The old church hadn’t panicked. They hadn’t gone around to the Mormons and the Seventh Day Adventists and the Catholics, false ‘christians’ all, and asked to partner, giving the excuse that the times warranted drastic action. No, they kept their eyes on Jesus, were patient, and they prayed.

When the storm comes, discernment is all the more needed. Panic, fear, and distress will make a person want to make bad decisions. Even the fervency of a person like Mr Floyd who seems to love the faith enough to want revival and want people to pray, can perform wrong-headed actions if motivated by fear from seeing things through a man-made perspective.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (Philippians 1:9-10 )

Posted in Immanuel, jesus, prophecy

God With Us

Posted on by elizabethprata

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:23).

As I go forward in life, year by grinding year, waiting, learning, sinning, repenting, I learn more of the person and God Jesus and of His excellencies. Studying the Annunciation, and thinking of His name Immanuel, God with us, I think of God with Adam and Eve in the Garden right from the beginning- covering them in skins. With Hagar in the desert, wrestling with Jacob through the anxious night, with Abraham on Mt Moriah sacrificing Isaac, with Mary on the flight to Egypt, with Peter on the beach restoring him in love, with John on Patmos … He surely is a God with us!

As you face 2016, perhaps it is in fear, or anxiety, or loneliness … No matter how you feel, even if it is facing the new year in excitement, or wonder, or joy (because those are times we tend to not feel like we “need” God) – God is with you! He is W-I-T-H  U-S, Immanuel!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” (Isaiah 8:8)

Immanuel, equivalent to savior, a name given to Christ by Matthew, Matthew 1:23, after Isaiah 7:14. According to the orthodox interpretation the name denotes the same as θεανθρωπος, and has reference to the personal union of the human nature and the divine in Christ. (Strong’s on Isaiah 8:8)

He is with us, so who can be against us! You are in the hands of the Mighty Savior, He is with His people, and will not leave or forsake us.

Source
Posted in christmas, encouragement, jesus, shepherds

The Shepherds were watching their flocks by night…

Posted on by elizabethprata
EPrata photo

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

 14“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

 15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (Luke 2:8-17)

Shepherds. Shepherds? Why them?

watch … by night—or, night watches, taking their turn of watching. From about passover time in April until autumn, the flocks pastured constantly in the open fields, the shepherds lodging there all that time. (From this it seems plain that the period of the year usually assigned to our Lord’s birth is too late). Were these shepherds chosen to have the first sight of the blessed Babe without any respect of their own state of mind? That, at least, is not God’s way.

“No doubt, like Simeon (Lu 2:25), they were among the waiters for the Consolation of Israel” [OLSHAUSEN];

and, if the simplicity of their rustic minds, their quiet occupation, the stillness of the midnight hours, and the amplitude of the deep blue vault above them for the heavenly music which was to fill their ear, pointed them out as fit recipients for the first tidings of an Infant Saviour, the congenial meditations and conversations by which, we may suppose, they would beguile the tedious hours would perfect their preparation for the unexpected visit. [Source: Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible]

Let us go, &c.—lovely simplicity of devoutness and faith this! They are not taken up with the angels, the glory that invested them, and the lofty strains with which they filled the air. Nor do they say, Let us go and see if this be true—they have no misgivings. But “Let us go and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” Does not this confirm the view given on Lu 2:8 of the spirit of these humble men? [Source: Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible]

Humble men, guiding and caring for the sheep of Israel. This is a well-known metaphor laced throughout the bible, starting with the first shepherd, Abel. (Genesis 4:4). The first human blood shed in the Bible was shepherd’s blood, performed by an angry, jealous one who rejected God.

Who were shepherds in the Bible? Abel, Abraham, Lot, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Laban, Jacob’s twelve sons, Moses, David, Mesha– King of Moab (Jordan), Doeg, Amos, the shepherds who came to honor Jesus (source).

Source(s): Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

Genesis 21:28
Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,

Genesis 13:5
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

Genesis 26:12
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

Genesis 30:32
Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.

Genesis 29:9
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

Genesis 47:3
Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.”

Exodus 2:17
Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.

1 Samuel 21:7
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s head shepherd.

2 Kings 3:4
Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with a hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

Amos 1:1
The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.

Luke 2:15
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2:20
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Last Shepherd, the Best Shepherd

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

The shepherds in the field made “haste” to go. They did not hesitate to go and worship. Let us make haste to worship the Good Shepherd on this eve of His birth, He is deserving of all praise, glory and worship.

What Child Is This?

Posted in archaeology, jesus, miracle, prophecy

Major archaeological find at the Sea of Galilee

Posted on by elizabethprata

Arutz Sheva (Israel National News) reports a major find at the sea of Galilee. The archaeologist does a good job explaining why it’s such an unusual and exciting find.

Breitbart reports:

Evidence has been uncovered corroborating the site of one of Jesus’ most powerful and dramatic miracles: the casting out of demons into a herd of swine in the land of the Gadarenes (or Gerasenes).

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 1,500-year-old marble slab with Hebrew inscriptions near Kursi, the spot traditionally associated with the miracle of Christ’s banishment of demons into a herd of swine.

Archaeologists believe the slab to be a commemoration tablet dating from around 500 AD. The inscription in Hebrew begins with the words “Remembered for good.”

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

MacArthur says the pigs took a “swine dive” lol.

Jesus really performed miracles. He authorized his Apostles to perform miracles also (for a period of time, then the miracles ceased). Jesus is Lord of the earth, of time, of physical matter. He really lived and He really did the miracles. This record of the demons being sent into the pigs is but one of them. The Bible records actual history, which archaeology confirms again and again.

This fact has implications for the pagan, the atheist, the doubter. Jesus lived and taught and did miracles to confirm His Lordship over the earth. If He really lived, and really taught and did miracles, then it’s also true as the Bible states that He came to warn sinners to repent.

This is because He is also holy and is angry at sinners every day. He came to earth to bring peace to men, through reconciliation with God. One must recognize their sins are keeping them from peace with God, ask Jesus to forgive them, and turn from sin and pursue holy living according to the standards God has laid out. The swine begged to be sent into the pigs rather than the abyss, (Mark 5:12) a deep pit or jail from which they knew they would never be released and to which they are already destined (Mt 25:41).

How much more so is man to be punished for his sin and rebellion against God, as the demons are destined? Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. The Bible is true, and every word Jesus said and His prophets said and His apostles said is true. Repent during the Age of Grace and know that promised peace and freedom from sin’s bondage.

Breitbart

Posted in animation, chris powers, jesus, the word of the cross

The Word of the Cross: Spoken Word Animation by Chris Powers

Posted on by elizabethprata

Chris Powers is a seminary student, husband, and animator. His website is called Full of Eyes (FOE) and is at http://www.fullofeyes.com. His goal is to create free visual resources for the global Church.

He has an account at Patreon to which you can donate, to help him continue his free-for-anybody Gospel materials. He has created animations to music, study guides, and tracts, and in several languages, too. I support him at Patreon, and I am an admirer of his work.

Now, Chris has completed a new animation called The Word of the Cross. In this new work, Chris chose to use a speaking voice reading scripture overlaid on his animations and illustrations, rather than let the lyrics of a properly acquired song to do the work. Chris says,

As you guys know, this is the first of what I hope will eventually become the norm for FOE, that is, videos set to spoken word or scripture with instrumental backgrounds….I think this allows for more pointed communication of doctrines and concepts…..but, that being said, the next two animations planned are set to lyrical songs, so, I’m not making a “hard break” from the past 😉 May the Lord use this animation and its discussion guide to open eyes and minds and hearts and hands through the gospel of the glory of His Son!

Download a study guide which also contains the scripture references, to go along with the animation here.

Posted in birth, encouragement, jesus, melchers, nativity

Biblical Art: Gari Melchers’ Nativity

Posted on by elizabethprata

I love art. I love beauty. Despite having been blessed to view the world’s most famous art in the top museums, I was not saved during the years of my biggest travels when I viewed them. I wish dearly that I could see again the biblical art I saw then, when I didn’t appreciate them, but see them now  through my Christian perspective. Nevertheless, there is some biblical art I view online now that truly moves me.

We are all familiar with the  famous biblical art, such as Da Vinci’s Last Supper. There is so much to learn and appreciate by studying Da Vinci’s portrayal of the moments during the Last Supper when Jesus announces that one of the Apostles will betray Him. The drama of the scene compounds from left to right as one views the expressions on the faces of the Apostles. Da Vinci sought actual living models and painted actual emotional and psychological reactions to the news Jesus delivered of His coming betrayal on their faces quite vividly. In repose is Christ, and in shadow is Judas. There is more to the painting and you can read about it at the link above or here.

Not much thought of is the scene which is not recorded in the Bible but is assumed to have happened: Adam and Eve discovering the dead body of their son, Abel, whom Cain slew. It is the first recorded human death in the Bible. It pictures the death of the First Son, Jesus. The grief in the painting is palpable, as no doubt the first human parents learned that the wages of their sin certainly is death.The artist is William-Adolphe Bouguereau, a 19th century French painter of high traditionalist style. The painting is aptly called The First Mourning.

Hagar in the Wilderness by Camille Corot is another of the biblical art depictions I enjoy. Hagar’s grief, loneliness, yet salvation comes in the tender ministrations from The Angel of the Lord. Here, I’ll quote the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s synopsis of his painting:

This picture, shown at the Salon of 1835, is the earliest of four large ambitious biblical paintings that Corot exhibited in the 1830s and 1840s. Like the Museum’s Destruction of Sodom (1843–44; 29.100.18), it illustrates the story of the family of Abraham, the father of Israel. Hagar, the servant of Abraham’s wife Sarah, bore Abraham’s son Ishmael. Later, when Isaac was born to Sarah, she drove Hagar and Ishmael into the desert of Beersheba. For this painting, Corot chose the moment of divine salvation of the mother and child (Genesis 21:15–17). Following an old pictorial tradition, Corot has included the angel from an earlier episode in which the pregnant Hagar, expelled by Sarah, was sent back to her by an angel (Genesis 16:7–9).

Now here is another piece of biblical art that I’ve discovered, thanks to Facebook. I’m so thrilled. Julius Gari Melchers’ The Nativity is beautiful and tender. It takes the scene from a different perspective and a different moment in time. We know that usually a nativity scene shows the babe being adored by his parents, the shepherds, animals and sometimes the Wise Men, though they didn’t arrive until a year or two later.

But Melchers, a painter of German descent, took the scene from the point of view of immediately after the birth of the Savior. In looking at Mary’s pose, one can almost feel her exhaustion, both emotional and physical. Joseph’s expression is one of concern and perturbation and near overwhelming responsibility. All among a dirty alley…and yet the Babe’s head is aglow with the promise of God having sent the Light into the world. What were Mary and Joseph thinking and feeling then? We can ask them when we get there, but meanwhile, please enjoy this representation of the glorious moment when all was quiet, before heaven shouted with joy and all hell broke loose…of the coming of Jesus Christ the Lamb.

The Nativity

Posted in discernment, jesus, martyn lloyd-jones

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on preaching one’s experience as the Gospel

Posted on by elizabethprata

In his sermon on Acts 8:4-5 “Facing the Facts” Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounded on the fact of the Gospel and proclaiming it, refuting the tendency even in his day, the preaching of one’s “experience”. The Gospel is not “your experience” of it. The Gospel message is the Word, and a very particular word at that. It is a set of facts which, as ambassadors commanded to deliver the exact message we are given, is to be proclaimed. It is not how happy we’ve become through it. The message is not how our lives have changed from it. The message is not about how abundant our lives have been since hearing it. It is a message resting on particularly unique historical facts and heavenly bread, given us to speak. We do have experiences from God and through God. However the experiences we have are not the message. We should never preach ourselves, but Jesus only.

Here is Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones refuting experience AS the Gospel.

One’s experience is not a defense of the truth. That is what the cults say. It is what psychology says. Proclaiming the Gospel is answering the questions, Who is Jesus Christ? how have these things happened? What are the historical events? And what is their relationship to me? That is what these men spoke about. 

They certainly had an experience. It was such an experience that they were ready to suffer for it, and be persecuted for and to be driven out of their homes for it rather then deny it. But that wasn’t what they talked about. 

I don’t apologize for the intolerance of the New Testament. Let me put it like this to you, I would not be in this pulpit if I haven’t got an intolerant Gospel. If I were not certain that this and this alone is the word of God, I wouldn’t be in this pulpit. I’m not here to express my hopes, my fears, my anticipations, my thoughts, my desires..no! no! I’m here to proclaim to you, to tell you. It is because I am certain of it, sure of it, not because of my experience, but because of what it IS.

Posted in encouragement, jesus, john bunyan, lion, pilgrim's progress, prophecy

Lunging Lions along the Way

Posted on by elizabethprata

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is a tremendous book. It’s an allegory of the Christian’s life from salvation to heaven (“The Celestial City”). In the book, there is a scene where Christian Pilgrim is attempting to climb the way to Porter’s Lodge Up ahead he can see two lions crouching at the edge of the path. What Pilgrim doesn’t know is that the lions are chained, and if Pilgrim stays in the middle of the path, he will not be harmed by the lunging lions. Here is the excerpt:

Now before he had gone far, he entered into a very narrow passage, which was about a furlong off the Porter’s lodge, and looking very narrowly before him as he went, he espied two lions in the way. Now, thought he, I see the dangers that Mistrust and Timorous were driven back by. (The lions were chained, but he saw not the chains.) Then he was afraid, and thought also himself to go back after them; for he thought nothing but death was before him. But the Porter at the lodge, whose name is Watchful, perceiving that Christian made a halt, as if he would go back, cried unto him, saying, Is thy strength so small? Mark 4:40. Fear not the lions, for they are chained, and are placed there for trial of faith where it is, and for discovery of those that have none: keep in the midst of the path, and no hurt shall come unto thee.

We ourselves are pilgrims in a strange land. Our way is clear because, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105). The way is lit by His word and it is made clear, but it is a narrow way. Take care to stay on the middle line of that Way, dear friend, as I strive to do myself. And look, see what good promises are ahead for His people the Jews and those of us grafted in!!

Isaiah 35:1-9

The Ransomed Shall Return

1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.

Pink flowers bloom after a rare rain ignited seeds
 that had lain dormant in the desert for years.

3Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”

5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

Rushes thriving by a pond. EPrata photo

8And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.

The redeemed shall walk there. A promise we can cling to, hope on, and await expectantly. How beautiful the feet…

How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7)

Posted in bible twisting, jesus, polygamy, sin

"I don’t preach about polygamy but I feel it is a very Christian lifestyle."

Posted on by elizabethprata

When people claim that the Bible is dusty and outdated and its contents are not for us now, they know not of what they speak. Of course we know God’s word is living and active and His precepts are at once fresh and eternal.

But for those who say it is outdated and culture has moved on and the Bible people need to get with the times, they could not be more incorrect. Man’s sinful nature means that since the Fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, man has made the same sinful mistakes he always has. Man is the same, and so is his sin. That means culture is the same, and so are its sins. Exhibit A:

Thom Miller of Mansfield Ohio.

Miller claims to have been an enforcer for the Mafia in Cleveland. He also told a newspaper in 2003 that he had been shot three times, jailed more than 20 times and fathered 12 children with five different women. In 1991, Miller was sent to prison for stabbing a man during a bar fight. (source)

Sounds like a sinful man, a sinner just like the rest of us. However, Mr Miller’s story continues-

While in prison, he stole a bible and found God. … Miller was released from Prison after serving seven years. (source)

A man who is regenerated by the grace of God and living a holy life with the indwelling Holy Spirit is a story that never gets old, it is beautiful every time. How great! I wish his story had a happier ending. But Mr Miller’s story is just beginning and his is the story of sin, which gets old very fast.

Mr Miller married and he became an ordained minister. He has a church in Mansfield, Ohio and runs a prison ministry.

The man apparently has no training or seminary experience, no authority over him to call him to account, or any brotherhood denomination out of which he has been called. He is simply a man who started a church. And this is OK too, though fraught with satanic snares and dangers. We saw that kind of mentality (“I don’t know what to do with my life. I know, I’ll start a church!” with Mr Mark Driscoll. Unattached men who aren’t trained up by the leaders, pastors, or teachers and grown in the faith while submitted to a ministry and laid hands upon, often turn rogue. And that old sin-nature reared up and bit Mr Miller. Mr Miller decided one day that he wanted two wives. And he got a second wife, with the alleged blessing of his current wife. Mr Miller is 60 years of age, and his new wife is a teenager. Miller says,

“I don’t preach about polygamy but I feel it is a very Christian lifestyle.”

Polygamy appears in the Bible but it is not condoned in the bible as an acceptable lifestyle. The reason is that the two partners become one flesh, and it’s hard for two to become one while there are three. Genesis 2:24 depicts the scene where God made Eve, and told Adam and Eve that

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

This is very interesting because when God made Eve and joined Adam and Eve together in a holy union, there were not any mothers and fathers yet. They didn’t exist. By this verse though, we see that God intended for one man and one woman to marry, have children, and then to repeat the cycle of leaving and cleaving to one another in successive generations of unions. That is the Christian lifestyle, because it is a family structure that is ordained by God.

However that old sin nature reared itself and another man in the long-ago history woke up one day and decided he wanted two wives as well.  This happened n Genesis 4, the chapter immediately after the Fall! See? It is a very old story! Who says the Bible is outdated!

 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

Mr Miller says that of his wives,

There have been arguments in the past and at times there can be flares of jealousy but we manage to make it work.

Rachel and Leah were two wives of the same man- Jacob. The women engaged in a bitter and long-term child-bearing competition, oftentimes with the husband as their “prize.” The envy and jealousy polluted the entire family.

When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (Genesis 30:1). … When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. (Genesis 30:16).

Polygamy, envy, jealousy and family “flare-ups” are as old as man himself. Mr Miller’s words nearly identically replicate these scenes from the Bible. All of which describe sin, and do not not a “very Christian lifestyle”. What Miller is doing is living a life of hellish rebellion and picking out biblical things that sort of match how he wants to live. Here, Mr Miller’s words replicate Judges 21:25,

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Miller is just doing right in his own eyes, inventing lifestyles and piggybacking God into it rather than how it’s supposed to be done, read and understand God’s word, and obey it. The worst part of this problem is that Miller claims to be a pastor. Of course he is not, living in flagrant sin as he is, and having no knowledge of the true statutes of God. But he claims to speak for Christianity, which means he is claiming to speak for Jesus. This is a blasphemous perversion of the faith.

Culturally, Miller’s next words replicate Romans 1:32,

Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Practicing such things as homosexuality, Miller says,

“I have no problem with homosexuals but I think it’s wrong that their marriage is now recognized by the state but my second marriage is not. “I’m going to try and fight the bigotry of that – this is America and my wives and I have the right to live anyway we please – providing we’re not hurting anybody.” (source)

Not hurting anybody? You’re hurting Jesus. His name, His faith, His church. No, we do not have the right to live any way we please. We have the responsibility to live as God demands.

And we knew it was only a matter of time after last June’s Supreme Court opinion stating that any homosexual or lesbian American has the right to marry. Once we drift from the God-ordained definition of marriage, all other definitions are allowed.

But back to the Bible. It is as fresh as the morning dew, recording the age-old sins of man.

If Mr Miller repented of living his NON-Christian lifestyle and of blaspheming Jesus and twisting His faith into a perverse license to sin, he too would go to heaven. Jesus would welcome him with open arms. All sins can be forgiven, except for the one sin that cannot be forgiven- that of dying without repenting and claiming Jesus as Savior before one draws his last breath.

Fortunately the Bible also records the story of redemption, and how Jesus who is God, incarnated into a baby, was birthed as a full human, lived and entirely sinless life, was sacrificed for us for our sins, and was entombed. On the third day He rose again, God being pleased with His Son’s sacrifice. His shed blood means when we repent of our sins and believe on Jesus as Lord and Savior, we have a righteous door through which to enter heaven, possessing no righteousness of our own. Thank the LORD He made a way and sent the Lord to save us sinners!

Posted in government, jesus, prophecy

Christ is Prince of Governments

Posted on by elizabethprata

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:29-32).
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During this long Thanksgiving Break, I’ve listened to many sermons. i Heard a good sermon on the aspect of Jesus as Prince. On Expositor.fm my usual morning line-up to which I dedicate some time in the AM includes wonderful sermons from Barnhouse, Boice, MacArthur, or Lloyd-Jones. A sermon from Acts 5:29-32 delivered by Martyn Lloyd-Jones struck me. Two Lines of History, looked at Jesus as Prince over governments.

The following represents my personal interpretation & spiritual absorption of the Acts verses and the exposition of them.

We must obey God rather than men is not a license to run amok and freely break the law and become rebellious, of course. God instituted Governments. He is sovereign over them. What is meant here is that where a choice comes to obey God OR man, we obey God. That was the choice given to Peter and he chose wisely.

The concept is, Jesus is savior but also Prince- Governor of nations! He is the Prince of the Universe, thee only one who can govern, the only one who has a right to govern, the only one who is going to govern. But the world rejects this. It needs to be convinced of this, convicted of it.

Of man’s history, man’s government, what are the characteristics of this? It is quite clear in history and in the bible is that government has been appropriated by man who rejects the voice Divine. Despite all of man’s efforts to produce order, the jungle is always encroaching. Man sweats, labors, cuts back the jungle of immorality and yet strife, lawlessness, dictatorships, wars always encroach.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon is a monumental work. He listed five reasons why civilizations decline and fall.

1. The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.

2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace.

3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports are becoming more and more exciting and brutal every year.

4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within the decadence of the people.

5. The decay of religion–faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life, and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people.

(Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1787).

Geographically, Paul was a resident of Jerusalem but a citizen of Rome. Spiritually we are residents of Georgia (or Kentucky or Washington) but our citizenry is in heaven. We owe respect and allegiance to those whom God has set over us in government, but our highest loyalty is toward the Prince of Governments.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Let us sort out out our loyalties and allegiances. Let us look inward in order to prepare for a moment which may come to us as it did to Peter, and make our decisions regarding God and man.Will we obey man, or will we obey the Prince of Government?

A polling station, with watchful Jesus over the government…EPrata photo