theology

“Don’t worry, be happy”

Posted on March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In 1988 Bobby McFerrin released his soon-to-be hit song Don’t Worry, Be Happy. I remember the fervor back then around that song. Legitimately, it was a good song. It was the first a cappella song to get to a number one position on the top 40 singles on the Billboard chart. Don’t Worry Be Happy stayed there for 2 weeks, bumping out Guns N Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine.

People were also amazed that McFerrin did all the vocals himself. The “instruments” in the a cappella song are all overdubbed voice parts and other mouth sounds made by McFerrin, using no instruments at all; says Wikipedia. Pretty neat.

I was cooking the other day and turned on my Pandora to my Paul Simon channel. McFerrin’s song came on. It’s amazing how being in Christ gives you a totally different perspective. I was 28 years old when Don’t Worry Be Happy came out. I would not come to Christ for another 15 years. And I’ve gone on for almost 20 more years beyond that. I can’t detect how my sanctification is going in the short term, day after day, but looking back over the long term I can see progress.

The song begins this way,

Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double

This is a truism. Worrying never solved anything. But when you are outside of Christ, worry is your idol. They worry because they have nothing else to hold on to. They do not know the future, they have no context in which to place the worrisome situation. So they worry, they can’t help it. I used to worry greatly. I was a recently divorced young teacher trying to hold on to my house on a skim salary, working three jobs, and wondering if this was all there was to life. I worried.

The song continues,

Ain’t got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don’t worry, be happy

If I was outside of Christ I SURE would be worried if I did not have a place to lay my head! It would be THE consuming issue of my day. I can’t NOT worry about it, just because Bobby McFerrin says not to. Making the mortgage each month was a victory. I desperately wanted to keep the place where I lay my head.

McFerrin goes on with another problem or two that is common to people, and offers the same advice, don’t worry and be happy.

It is a good idea to nurture and practice a positive mindset, that is true. Actress and comedian Betty White also practiced a positive mindset, all her long life. She didn’t worry. She was happy.

Then she died.

And went to hell (probably). She is no longer happy.

The mindset that Jesus gives us is an eternal one. Now that I’m on this side of the cross, I understand worry is a sin and joy is our permanent status quo. With that context, life’s daily problems seem small. He provides for us and always will. Knowing that removes the worry. He gave us forgiveness of sins, and offers us daily grace. This gives us joy. It is easier to be joyful when we have a perfect Father to go to in order to cast all our cares upon Him. When we have been freed from the power of sin and someday will dwell outside the existence of sin at all.

I still have the same slim salary and I’m still trying to hang on to the place where I lay my head, but my joy isn’t diminished by my circumstances, because that joy is outside of me, from Christ and being In Christ. I don’t worry (or when I do I take it to Christ) because I have the God of all Universe on His throne as my Father.

Before I was saved I tried to have a positive mindset, and I tried not to worry. It would work for a while. Then a problem would come. I’d solve it. Feeling satisfied with my problem-solving abilities, I’d be happy again with no worries. And another problem would scoot down the highway of life and crash into me. The cycle repeats. Underneath all that is the business of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, battling my conscience, and performing sins every day, while expending energy to convince myself that I was ‘a good person.’

For the unsaved, it’s a lot.

Life’s ups and downs are blessedly minimized when we gain the eternal perspective of seeing eternity through Jesus. Seeing time in the looooong term reduces those mountainous ups and downs to minimal bumps.

Being in Christ makes all the difference for life now and eternity then. But do we show it? Are we unworried and happy? Do we exhibit the joy of Christ, the peace that passes all understanding?

I pray that I exhibit the peace that passes understanding, the joy that adorns the countenance, the conviction to live a grace-filled life. I don’t always. But it is a goal. We have that ‘don’t worry, be happy’ ability – thanks to the Holy Spirit in us.

John wrote in his Gospel of Jesus that Jesus promised,

If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:7-11.

There is a difference between happiness and joy. Prior to salvation, my happiness faded as fast as smoke from a lit candle when adversity reared its head. Even when adversity remained at bay, my happiness came and went, inexplicably.

Joy though. Joy! That is an internal state, less dependent on circumstances. You can have daily ups and downs but the thread remaining is joy in Christ. He is our foundation, our anchor, or stay. Don’t worry yes, because worry is a sin. But be happy? OK. But better to be joyous.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23).

What is the first of the fruit mentioned? Joy. Barnes Notes says

It is not without design, evidently, that the apostle uses the word “Spirit” here, as denoting that these things do not flow from our own nature. The vices above enumerated are the proper “works” or result of the operations of the human heart; the virtues which he enumerates are produced by a foreign influence – the agency of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Paul does not trace them to our own hearts, even when renewed.

Therein lay the difference. Happiness is external. Joy is internal. It is also eternal. Don’t worry. Be happy- IN CHRIST.

theology

Paul’s diatribe: Not what you think!

Posted on February 25, 2022February 27, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

God raised up a great mind.

Albert Barnes said in his book Early Training of the Apostle Paul:

“It is, in a great measure, by raising up and endowing great minds that God secures the advance of human affairs, and the accomplishment of His own plans on earth. All minds have their origin in God; and great minds seem to be created by Him as “He creates great oceans, great mountains, great worlds,” as proofs of His own greatness, … by bringing upon the stage from time to time some mind qualified by high original endowment to give a new impulse to human affairs; to lift up the race to a higher level; and to perform, in a single generation, what might have been otherwise the slow work of centuries, or what might not have been done at all.”

Barnes is speaking of Paul.

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theology

We need to know history

Posted on February 24, 2022February 24, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We should have a good grasp of American History (that is, if you live in America, if you’re reading this and live elsewhere, the same goes for knowledge of your own country’s history).

British statesman Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” He should know, he led Britain through WWII, emerging victorious against the Nazi Germans (barely).

In Canada, with its leader’s tyranny now morphed into a dictatorship, it is important to know where we come from, and to honor the battles fought for freedom and liberty. This will help us be able to recognize incipient tyranny when it peeks out in a leader’s speeches or actions. In Canada, the newly minted dictator signaled his love for China’s dictatorship some years ago. He said so, in those words. They elected him anyway.

Again, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

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theology

John Bunyan’s conversion: Words of grace overheard

Posted on February 23, 2022February 23, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Two Sundays ago I came across a wonderful sermon by Charles Spurgeon. It was titled “Christian Conversation.” It’s based on Psalm 145,

They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

One of the reasons Spurgeon gave for the fact we believers must speak of Christ more often, is that conversions happen when we speak of him more. He said,

Souls are often converted through godly conversation. Simple words frequently do more good than long sermons. Disjointed, unconnected sentences are often of more use than the most finely polished periods or rounded sentences.

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theology

Christian Conversation, part 7

Posted on February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 3 here
Part 4 here
Part 5 here
Part 6 here

In my ongoing series of reproducing a convicting and wonderful Charles Spurgeon Sermon, here is part 7, the last part. We need to speak of Jesus often, more than we do, really. Spurgeon said that was true in his day and it holds true today.

Yesterday Spurgeon had been exploring the effects of our speaking of Jesus, His Kingdom and His power more often. We finish with that same thought today. His sermon is based on Psalm 145:11

“They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power.”—Psalm 145:11

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theology

Christian Conversation, part 6

Posted on February 21, 2022February 22, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 3 here
Part 4 here
Part 5 here
Part 6 here
Part 7 here

In my ongoing series of reproducing a convicting and wonderful Charles Spurgeon Sermon, here is part 6. We need to speak of Jesus often, more than we do, really. Spurgeon said that was true in his day and it holds true today.

Yesterday’s installment ended with Spurgeon speaking of the things we can say about our King’s kingdom and the different types of His power. Today, the second-to last installment, he speaks of the causes which will make Christians talk of the glory of Christ’s kingdom and his power. There will be one more part after this.

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theology

Christian Conversation, part 5

Posted on February 19, 2022February 22, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 3 here
Part 4 here
Part 5 here
Part 6 here
Part 7 here

In my ongoing series of reproducing a convicting and wonderful Charles Spurgeon Sermon, here is part 5. We need to speak of Jesus often, more than we do, really. Spurgeon said that was true in his day and it holds true today.

Yesterday’s installment ended with Spurgeon saying he wished people spoke more of the duration of the Christ’s kingdom till now. We often attribute honor to those kingdoms that have lasted long, but Christ’s was founded in eternity past! It has been the longest existing kingdom in the universe!

Spurgeon goes on to urge us to speak of the future duration of His eternal kingdom, then of God’s sustaining power, His exalting power, and His providing power.

Christian Conversation

A Sermon (No. 2695) Delivered by C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, On a Lord’s-day Evening in the autumn of 1858.

“They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power.”—Psalm 145:11.

Then you may speak concerning the future duration of your Master’s kingdom. I suppose, if you were to talk much about the second coming of Christ, you would be laughed at, you would be thought diseased in your brain; for there are so few nowadays who receive that great truth, that, if we speak of it with much enthusiasm, people turn away, and say, “Ah! we do not know much about that subject, but Mr. So-and-so has turned his brain through thinking so much about it.”

Men are, therefore, half-afraid to speak of such a subject; but, beloved, we are not afraid to talk of it, for Christ’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and we may talk of the glory of the future as well as of the past.

Some say that Christ’s Church is in danger. There are many churches that are in danger; and the sooner they tumble down, the better; but the Church of Christ has a future that shall never end; it has a future that shall never become dim; it has a future which shall eternally progress in glory. Her glory now is the glory of the morning twilight; it soon shall be the glory of the blazing noon. Her riches now are but the riches of the newly-opened mine; soon she shall have riches much more abundant and far more valuable than any she has at present. She is now young; by-and-by, she will come, not to her dotage, but to her maturity. She is like a fruit that is ripening, a star that is rising, a sun that is shining more and more unto the perfect day; and soon she will blaze forth in all her glory, “fair as the moon, clear as the sun and terrible as an army with banners.”

O Christian, here is a topic worthy of thy conversation! Talk of the glory of thy Master’s kingdom. Often speak of it while others amuse themselves with stories of sieges and battles; while they are speaking of this or that or the other event in history, tell them the history of the monarchy of the King of kings; speak to them concerning the great monarchy in which Jesus Christ shall reign for ever and ever.

But I must not forget briefly to hint at the other subject of the saints’ conversation: “and shall talk of thy power.” It is not simply of Christ’s kingdom of which we are to speak, but also of his power. Here, again, the psalmist gives us something which will help us to a division of our subject. In the 14th and 15th verses, mention is made of three kinds of power of which we ought to speak: “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.”

First, the Christian should speak of Christ’s upholding power. What a strange expression this is, “The Lord upholdeth all that fall”! Yet remember John Bunyan’s quaint old saying,—

“He that is down needs fear no fall; He that is low, no pride; He that is humble, ever shall Have God to be his guide.”

So David says, “The Lord upholdeth all that fall.” What a singular expression! How can he hold up those that fall? Yet those that fall, in this sense, are the only persons that stand. It is a remarkable paradox; but it is true. The man who stands on his feet, and says, “I am mighty,—I am strong enough to stand alone;”—down he will go; but he who falls into Christ’s arms, he who says,—

“But, oh! for this no power have I, My strength is at thy feet to lie;”—

that man shall not fall. We may well talk, then, of Christ’s upholding power. Tell it to Christians; tell how he kept you when your feet were going swift to hell; how, when fierce temptations did beset you, your Master drove them all away; how, when the enemy was watching, he compassed you with his mighty strength; how, when the arrows fell thickly around you, his mighty arm did hold the shield before you, and so preserved you from them all. Tell how he saved you from death, and delivered your feet from falling by making you, first of all, fall down prostrate before him.

Next, talk of his exalting power: “He raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Oh, how sweet it is, beloved, sometimes to talk of God’s exalting power after we have been hewed down! I love to come into this pulpit, and talk to you as I would in my own room. I make no pretensions to preaching at all, but simply tell you what I happen to feel just now. Oh, how sweet it is to feel the praisings of God’s grace when you have been bowed down! Cannot some of us tell that, when we have been bowed down beneath a load of affliction, so that we could not even move, the everlasting arms have been around us, and have lifted us up? When Satan has put his foot on our back, and we have said, “We shall never be raised up any more,” the Lord has come to our rescue. If we were only to talk on that subject in our conversation with one another, no Christian need have spiritless conversation in his parlour. But, nowadays, you are so afraid to speak of your own experience, and the mercy of God to you, that you will talk any stuff and nonsense rather than that. But, I beseech you, if you would do good in the world, rehearse God’s deeds of raising up those that be bowed down.

Moreover, talk of God’s providing power: “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.” We ought often to speak of how God provides for his creatures in providence. Why should we not tell how God has taken us out of poverty, and made us rich; or, if he has not done that for us, how he has supplied our wants day by day in an almost miraculous manner! Some persons object to such a book as Huntington’s ” Bank of Faith,” and I have heard some respectable people call it “The Bank of Nonsense.” Ah! if they had ever been brought into Huntington’s condition, they would see that it was indeed a bank of faith, and not a bank of nonsense; the nonsense was in those who read it, in their unbelieving hearts, not in the book itself. And he who has been brought into many straits and trials, and has been divinely delivered out of them, would find that he could write a “Bank of Faith” as good as Huntington’s if he liked to do so; for he has had as many deliverances, and he could rehearse the mighty acts of God, who has opened his hands, and supplied the wants of his needy child. Many of you have been out of a situation, and you have cried to God to furnish you with one, and you have had it. Have you not sometimes been brought so low, through painful affliction, that you could not rest? And could you not afterwards say, “I was brought low, and he helped me”? Yes; “I was brought low, and he helped me out of my distress”? Yes; I see some of you nodding your heads, as much as to say, “We are the men who have passed through that experience; we have been brought into great straits, but the Lord has delivered us out of them all.” Then do not be ashamed to tell the story. Let the world hear that God provides for his people. Go, speak of your Father. Do as the child does, who, when he has a little cake given to him, will take it out, and say, “Father gave me this.” Do so with all your mercies; go and tell all the world that you have a good Father, a gracious Father, a heavenly Provider; and though he gives you a hand-basket portion, and you only live from hand to mouth, yet tell how graciously he gives it, and that you would not change your blest estate for all the world calls good or great.

theology

Christian Conversation, part 4

Posted on February 17, 2022February 22, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 3 here
Part 4 here
Part 5 here
Part 6 here
Part 7 here

We are inundated with hate language all day long from rebellious pagans, and many of us are also treated to the snark, anger, or hateful speech of people claiming to be fellow Christians, too (surely blotting their witness.) I don’t want to fall into the same trap. The Bible says “Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:6).

How do I do that? How do I develop the habit of speaking of the glories of Jesus and have edifying conversations?

I found a Spurgeon sermon that fills the bill. I am posting it in parts till it’s done.

Continue reading →

theology

Discernment Lesson, part 2: Is discerning really attempting to “know the heart”?

Posted on February 17, 2022February 17, 2022 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

On February 2 I was interviewed by two wonderful ladies of the faith, Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley. Their podcast is called A Word Fitly Spoken, a great title for a podcast!

The result of the podcast is here, it was broadcast already and I’m humbled by the opportunity to speak of Jesus, doctrine, and discernment as our wide ranging conversation went.

Their website for A Word Fitly Spoken podcast is here, where you can catch ALL their podcasts! I recommend the podcast and also their individual efforts in the faith, Michelle’s website Michelle Lesley- Discipleship for Christian Women and Amy’s at Berean Research and Naomi’s Table Bible Studies for Women. You can also check out her archives from earlier work at aspreeman.com.

When I was preparing for the interview, I made notes. I wanted to post those (I’ve gained Amy’s permission) and flesh the concepts out a bit. This is part 2 of that post. Part 1 is here-

Discernment lesson, What is it, why do we need it? Part 1

Now on to part 2:

Is discerning whether a teacher is false really attempting to “know the heart”?

When I do a discernment essay, I am often chastised with an old chestnut of a comment that’s becoming practically standard for people without discernment to say. It is,

“You’re being a Pharisee, Only God knows the heart!”

I get that a lot. Is the practice of discernment really attempting to put ourselves in God’s place in knowing the heart of a person? No. As we looked at yesterday, discernment is advised, even commanded, in most New Testament books. The wisdom book of Proverbs continually lauds wisdom in spiritual matters. Evaluating a teaching and coming to a solid conclusion that it is profitable is an activity that brings glory to Jesus. Doing so and concluding that a teaching is unprofitable in no way attempts to “know the heart” of that false teacher.

But you know, the Bible DOES show us the heart. We can know the heart of a false teacher because the Bible tells us. If the teacher is speaking falsely, their heart is full of deceit, and from the heart flows life. (Matthew 12:34). Here are some of the verses which speak to a false teacher’s heart:

(Their hearts are) full of deceit. Colossians 2:8

(Their hearts are) filled with their own appetites. Romans 16:17-18

(Their hearts are) disguised with light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

(Their hearts are) full of greed. 2 Peter 2:3

(Their hearts are) ravenous. Matthew 7:15.

(Their hearts are) inwardly full of sensuality. Jude 1:4

(Their hearts are) full of secrets, such as destructive heresies. 2 Peter 2:1

(Their hearts are) full of intent to exploit. 2 Peter 2:3

(Their hearts are) full of fleshly passions. 2 Timothy 4:3

(Their hearts are) puffed up with conceit. 1 Timothy 6:4

(Their hearts are) understand(ing) nothing. 1 Timothy 6:4

(Their hearts are) cunning and crafty. Ephesians 4:14

(Their hearts) serve the creature. Romans 1:25

(Their hearts are) slaves of corruption. 2 Peter 2:19.

(Their hearts) deny the Master who bought them. 2 Peter 2:1

(Their hearts) prophesy lies. Jeremiah 23:26

So although we are not God and we can’t read the heart directly, we can know the heart to the extent the Bible speaks of it. Ultimately though, we evaluate the teaching that comes out of their mouth. If it is bad, avoid it.

Discernment doesn’t stop at evaluating

We are called to do certain things after discerning. Once we discover a teaching may be riddled with falsity, we have to ACT on it. Keeping your conclusion as head knowledge is no good. We are supposed to perform certain actions-

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. Romans 16:17-18. Mark & avoid. You can’t mark a teacher as false unless you discern that they are. Discerning means evaluating their teaching by comparing it to the Bible.

Matthew 7:15 says to Beware of false prophets. We have to know who to beware of, and we won’t unless we have discerned their teaching as unprofitable.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 take note of those who do not obey and keep away

Ephesians 5:11 Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Philippians 1:9–10 And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may discover (Greek- test, approve) the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;

Discernment isn’t just about doctrine, lifestyle matters, too!

Often times people who are undiscerning dislike when I write of a false teacher’s lifestyle. They say I should mind my own business, that how they live is of no concern of mine.

O, but it is.

It is important to discern their lifestyle as well as their doctrine. Those two cannot be separated. Why? First, in speaking in general of a Christian life, there are many commands for us who are saved to live a certain way. Some of those commands are extremely specific.

Secondly, there are lifestyle commands for Christians who are in eldership or desiring to be teachers or deacons. In fact, most of the qualifications for teachers or deacons are lifestyle oriented, not skill oriented. (1 Timothy 3) (Titus 1). HOW we live matters to Jesus, because we are supposed to be a light to the Gentiles with not only what we say but how we live. We cannot have a good witness if we are living like pagans. The same goes for teachers of the Word, even more so, since they will be judged more strictly.

In discernment, lifestyle matters as well. We know that false teachers are greedy (2 Peter 2:3). Displaying profligate wealth for its own sake indicates a heart of greed and likely false teaching to match.

The words disobedient, undisciplined, and ungodly are words that are often mentioned in verses with discernment.

For example, 2 Thessalonians 3:6 advises us to keep away from those who are living an undisciplined life. The word in this verse means unruly and insubordinate to God’s word. You do not want to follow a teacher whose teaching you like but lives as a mouthy, argumentative, divorced adulteress, now, do you? If a female teacher (or male) initiates a divorce without cause, can you believe the rest of what they teach, since they are already rejecting the verses about God’s standard for marriage? No. If they reject one part of the Bible, they are likely to reject other parts, and teach it so.

Finally, 1 Timothy 4:16 warns all of us to watch our life and doctrine closely. Not just doctrine, but how we live too.

Conclusion

So those are some ideas about discernment. I hope they are helpful in prompting you (and me too) to always treat discernment with respect, and to practice it. Seeing Jesus clearly is the goal of life, we cannot see him clearly and bring Him his due glory if we are looking at Him with mud on our binoculars. Pure doctrine helps us see him more clearly than false doctrine can.

theology