Kay Cude is a Texas Poet. Used with permission.
Category: theology
Summertime and the Netflix watchin’ is easy…TOO easy
By Elizabeth Prata
Colossians 3:17, And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Summer is a time for relaxing and fun. It’s also a time for entertainment, as many folks’ work-schedules disappear completely (if you’re an educator like me) or lighten some. When we’re seeking entertainment, we should always make sure whatever we seek out is pleasing God.
Later today I will stack my to-read books up, make decisions, and create a reading schedule. I’ll post it when I finish. The Summer reading schedule also includes lectures. I’m almost finished with RC Sproul’s series on the Life of David. Ligonier’s $5 Friday sales always have several series to choose from and download. What a bargain. For $5, you can listen to 12-lectures of stellar teaching not just from Sproul but other men, too, in their list of Teaching Fellows. That’s just 41 cents per lecture.
But when my day is done and I’ve completed the things on my reading schedule and done my home chores, I want to relax with a good TV show or movie. I have a harder and harder time finding entertainment to watch. I’d like to think that is due to a longer walk with the Lord and His Spirit convicting my mind of impurity. I hope. I don’t know how many half-viewed or only minutes-seen movies and shows on Netflix I have littering my watch history. Even if the rating is PG or PG-13, the program still uses curse words and presents unsavory situations. Ugh.
I know, I know, this complaint isn’t anything new. Not from me. Not from any Christian.
Looking at lyrics on the top songs on Billboard’s charts is a nightmare. Reading any Twitter stream outside my hedge of carefully chosen Christian followers in even even innocuous threads like #BBCGoodFood or #TBBT will result in immediately seeing swear words and worse. Demonic lyrics, shows promoting satan’s agenda, uncivil discussion…so sad. It’s rampant.
Job said that he had made a covenant with his eyes and would not look upon a maid. (Job 31:1). Paul said, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18). In teaching about the carnality of this world, Paul wrote in Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” He commanded them to “put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:4). We are to set ourselves apart from the carnality of this world.
I have two months of summer break from school coming up. Friday is the last day of post-planning and then I’m sprung. I try to remain productive and I try to resist temptations to watch shows and movies I know aren’t good for me. The danger is not only looking but ignoring the prick of conscience the first moment something untoward happens on screen. That’s how sin gets hardened. (Hebrews 3:13).
In one sense I have things easy at work because I am employed in an elementary school where the work-place language is always appropriate, the dress is always modest, and social media is filtered out of the computers. I spend 8 hours a day blessedly in the company of wonderful children and decent adults. Temptation is taken from me.
But during summers I have 24/7 opportunities to be entertained on-screen or by unwise choices of reading material. Pray I make wise decisions.
In case you think that it is nearly impossible to resist fallen culture today since carnality is all around us, we’re not special. Early Christian Rome was in the same state of debauchery that we are immersed in now, with orgies, homosexuality, and licentiousness in song, poetry, and drama. The Colosseum was free to all to be entertained by bestiality, murder, and death. The pagans were used to frivolity in all forms from the numerous festivals, such as Saturnalia, a week-long festival in December. The Roman philosopher who lived during Jesus’ time, Seneca the Younger wrote, “the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation…”
It’s not ‘just entertainment’, it’s satan’s playground. In it, he pushes forward his agenda of licentiousness and ungodliness. And when his themes are repeated endlessly and ceaselessly, hammering into our youth’s brains, sung over and over, watched over and over, they penetrate. The same with video games. For adults who watch TV and movies and play video games it’s equally dangerous to ease up just because it’s summertime. Remember, Rome’s government allowed a looser standards during Saturnalia… Don’t be Rome.
Do we memorize scripture verses as well as we easily remember lyrics like Lady Gaga’s Judas song, ‘fill me with your poison?’ or taglines from Game of Thrones? No. And there’s a reason for that.
Confess early, confess often
By Elizabeth Prata
You might have heard of that phrase, ‘vote early and vote often.’ Wikipedia describes its origins and meaning:
Vote early and vote often is a generally tongue-in-cheek phrase used in relation to elections and the voting process. Though rarely considered a serious suggestion, the phrase theoretically encourages corrupt electoral activity, but is used mostly to suggest the occurrence of such corruption.
The phrase had its origins in the United States in the mid-19th century, and had an early appearance in Britain when a newspaper reprinted correspondence from an American solicitor. The phrase, however, did not find widespread use until the early 1900s when it was used in relation to the activities of organized crime figures in Chicago.
I was reading Psalm 32 yesterday. David’s fervor for the Lord surely comes through in reading successive Psalms, doesn’t it! In addition, verse1-6 really spoke to me.
David knew that confession was critical to his walk with the LORD. He notes that when he kept his sin to himself, it afflicted him physically and physiologically. Only when he confessed he found relief.
In other Psalms David begs the LORD not to turn His face away, nor to take His Spirit from David. David knew that the Spirit was a gift that could be taken away from him, as often happened in the Old Testamnt. The Lord’s Spirit and presence left the Temple. The Spirit was given to men in the later chapters of the Exodus in order to complete artisinal work for the Temple artifacts (Exodus 31). The Spirit departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). The Spirit had a different ministry then and worked in different ways, that were not always solely salvific. So, David pleaded not tohave the Spirit removed (thus signifying God’s blessing was removed). He waa eager to repent so that he would maintain tghe gift of relationship with the Holy LORD.
I was curious about the line in verse 6, “Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;”
What does that mean? It means when we feel a conviction of sin, to confess then. Do not let it wait. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us of that-
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Barnes’ Notes further explains:
It does not mean that there were appointed or set times in which God would be gracious; or that there were seasons when he was disposed to “give audience” to people, and seasons when he could not be approached; but the meaning is, that whenever they came thus – with this penitent feeling, and this language of confession – they would find that the time of mercy. The idea is not that God is anymore disposed to show mercy at one time than another, but that they would find him “always” ready to show mercy when they came in that manner: that would be the time to obtain his favor; “that the time of finding.” The real time of “mercy,” therefore, for a sinner, is the time when he is willing to come as a penitent, and to make confession of sin.
Our fervor to confess should be vigorous and constant. I personally think many churches today and the wider church globally downplays confession and sin. We aren’t really treated to sermons that pound our heart with conviction of sin’s deceitfulness in men and confession’s importance to God.
In other words, to take the phrase I opened the essay with and twist it to make my point: confess early and confess often.
Psalm 32
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
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Further resources
Sermons on the Psalms by Phil Johnson
Learning to Love the Psalms By W. Robert Godfrey
Are you done with butterfly hunting?
By Elizabeth Prata
Charles Spurgeon stumbled across Puritan Thomas Manton’s works and was immediately captivated by them. Enchanted, he reformatted some of Manton’s sermons into a devotional form. The result was a book called Flowers from a Puritan’s Garden, by Charles Spurgeon, 1883. Here is one of them.
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It is time that I am done with all butterfly-hunting!
“As children catch at butterflies—the gaudy wings melt away in their fingers, and there remains nothing but an ugly worm!”
Such is the end of all earthly ambitions! They cost us a weary pursuit, and if we gain our desire—it is destroyed in the grasping of it!
Alas, poor rich man, who has wealth—but has lost the power to enjoy it!
Alas, poor famous man, who in hunting for honor, has learned its emptiness!
Alas, poor beautiful woman, who in making a conquest of a false heart, has pierced her own with undying sorrow!
A butterfly-hunt takes a child into danger, wearies him, trips him down, and often ends in his missing the pretty insect. If, however, the boy is able to knock down his victim with his hat—he has crushed the beauty for which he undertook the chase, and his victory defeats him!
The parallel is clear to every eye. For my part, let me sooner be the schoolboy, dashing after the painted insect—than his father worrying and wearying to snatch at something more deceptive still.
It is time that I am done with all butterfly-hunting! My years are warning me that I may hope soon to be with Christ Himself, and see greater beauties than this whole creation can set before me. I am now bent on pursuing nothing but that which is eternal and infinite. Keep me to this resolve, I beseech you Lord.
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Discernment lesson: Thinking through some platitudes and pithy Twitter comments
By Elizabeth Prata
When I post something online, (seems like when I post anything online) there is always someone or more than someone who immediately refutes it. Even the basics of our faith go challenged these days.
One of the most common arguments I receive is that theology doesn’t matter. “Just love Jesus”, they say. “It’s all about love” they say. Well, love is a doctrine. There are commands about it.
But when you mention commands, you’re called a Pharisee.
Here are three rebuttals I received recently that surprised even me. I’d like to explain why they are a concern and then offer some good, solid resources so that you can be a Berean and check them too.
It started with this statement from Beth Moore:
Leaving the obviously violated scriptures aside, Moore’s statement about poking the Calvinists in a sort of ‘us vs. them’ division, left one to wonder if she was identifying as Arminian. Which is what an observer tweeted to Moore, asking that very question. Moore replied that she didn’t know what she was, she’d been taught by so many different people. That led me to note that teachers of the word should know the word. Short version.
The rebuttals that a Bible teacher should know the word and its basic doctrines was refuted heartily by this teacher’s supporters. Here are the three I’ll focus on.
This statement was made by a pastor. He might have been talking about the layman who doesn’t need to know all the ins and outs of the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism, but it doesn’t matter, I refute it utterly. Seminarians definitely do know the difference in those two theologies. They are opposites of each other. They are fairly basic. I learned them in my first two years as a complete newbie to all religion. And we’re not talking about laymen here, but seasoned Bible teachers, and in his comment, seminarians. They of all people should know soteriology.
“It’s not necessary to be able to understand soteriology in order to preach the Gospel” is an internally contradictory statement.
Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation. So essentially the Pastor was saying you don’t need to understand salvation to preach salvation. Of course you do. You might not know the word soteriology, but you definitely need to understand the basics of salvation in order to preach it.
I’ve listed the standard topic words in systematic theology and their definitions below.
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In this next one, you might have noticed the elevated position certain followers put their idols in. Rachel Held Evans was called a saint and a prophetess upon her death. Moore was pronounced an angelic being by Jonathan Merritt. Below, in responding why a celebrity teacher would not answer a direct theological question, the tweeter invoked a comparison to Jesus. This is never wise. Jesus is sovereign God, sinless and holy. He has His plans and purposes for doing things. We are safer to simply follow in obedience the commands for teachers in the Bible, namely, being ready to give an answer to those who ask, (1 Peter 3:15), something this teacher we’re discussing seems to have excised from her Bible.
The lesson here is that no matter how much you love a certain preacher or teacher, they are a forgiven sinner just like us. God shows no partiality. We should esteem and honor our own elders, (1 Timothy 5:17) but to use language that elevate celebrity teachers to positions they do not hold only invites pride and conceit.
In sum, to answer a person who asserts that another person’s behavior is OK because Jesus did it, especially when it contradicts commands for us, is this:
1. Beth Moore isn’t Jesus. (Isaiah 45:22).
2. Teachers should know theology. (Ephesians 4:11-12)
3. Teachers are to give an answer when asked. (1 Peter 3:15, Colossians 4:6.)
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I erased the person’s comment until his last line, which is what I want to focus on. The problem with the line, which sounds punchy and kinda correct, is that it’s flatly wrong. We can’t examine fruit unless we have something to compare it to.
Say I’m in the Amazon. I’m walking on a path. I stumble across some ripe fruits that have fallen to the ground. What tree did it come from? Will I pick up the fruit and eat it, not knowing from whence it came? The scripture below warns us that some fruit is disguised and bad, because the false prophet it came from is disguised and bad.
I’d pick up the fruit and look for the tree it came from. If it came from a good tree, I’ll eat it. If it came from a bad tree, I won’t.
Bethel School of Prophets produces what people say is “fruit.” They graduate hundreds of mini-prophets per year. Is that fruit? No.
If you had a problem with your good fruit tree in your yard, and hired an arborist to come look at it, would you want him to look at the fruit and suggest a course of action if he had not been to arborist school? Was really just some guy wandering around looking at fruit apart from any tree knowledge? Of course not.
You can’t just declare something you believe is fruit without comparing it to the tree that grew it. The commenter is trying to unhitch fruit from the tree it came from (the tree being Jesus) and you can’t do that. Understand that the two, theology and fruit, are connected. “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Meaning in this lesson, fruit grown apart from Jesus is empty of goodness and diseased.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-19).
One of the bad fruits a false prophet makes, is more false prophets and many evil disciples. (Matthew 23:15, Revelation 2:22-23).
How can you know if the tree the fruit came from is diseased? By comparing the fruit to the Bible. You have to know “theology” to do that. Theology simply means the study of God.
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Twitter and Facebook, and other venues for online discourse offer up wonderful opportunities to learn and to engage with one another. These venues also offer up lots of opportunities for satan to promote his lies, through the keyboards of nice sounding platitudes. It’s important to think through these. Its one of the reasons we’re warned to be slow to speak (James 1:19).
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Further Resources:
CARM.org, What did Jesus mean by “you will know them by their fruit?”
CARM.org, Calvinism/Arminianism Comparison Grid
Alisa Childers: Studying Theology “The Bible Says, “Knowledge Puffs Up.” Does This Mean We Shouldn’t Study Too Much?
GotQuestions: What is Theology Proper?
Theology Proper – the study of God the Father.
Christology – the study of the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
Pneumatology – the study of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Bibliology – the study of the Bible.
Christian Anthropology – the study of the nature of humanity.
Hamartiology – the study of the nature and effects of sin.
Angelology – the study of angels.
Christian Demonology – the study of demons.
Ecclesiology – the study of the nature and mission of the church.
Eschatology – the study of the end times / last days.
Was God’s ‘wife’ edited out of the Bible?
By Elizabeth Prata
This first appeared on The End Time in March 2011
Here is one example of a sacrilege in the news . (Left, Asherah graven image)
Discovery News: God’s Wife Edited Out of the Bible — Almost
“God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshiped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel, according to an Oxford scholar. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and Asherah. The theory has gained new prominence due to the research of Francesca Stavrakopoulou, who began her work at Oxford and is now a senior lecturer in the department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter. “After years of research specializing in the history and religion of Israel, however, I have come to a colorful and what could seem, to some, uncomfortable conclusion that God had a wife,” she added. Stavrakopoulou bases her theory on ancient texts, amulets and figurines unearthed primarily in the ancient Canaanite coastal city called Ugarit, now modern-day Syria. All of these artifacts reveal that Asherah was a powerful fertility goddess.”
One other headline goes like this: Fertility Goddess Asherah: Was ‘God’s Wife’ Edited Out of the Bible?
Headlines worded like that let us see how much the world disdains, hates, and mocks the One True God. They do not consider the Bible the truth nor do they consider it authoritative. Instead they strive to find the hidden messages and clues to doctrines more in line with man’s selfish notions, and which that relieve the pricking they feel from the Holy Spirit. That this author ‘discovered’ the “truth” extant of the Bible is telling. They say:
“This seems to be in part driven by a modern desire, clearly inspired by the Biblical narratives, to hide Asherah behind a veil once again,” Wright says.”
Their attitude is that there are some truths outside of the Bible that were removed due to man’s agenda, but these truths are found once again due to the diligence of historians, archaeologists, geologists, and the like. They do not accept that the Bible is true in and of itself, because they do not like what it says. Thank goodness these historians are good enough detectives to be able to save the known scraps about Asherah from total editing out of the Bible! Not.
Let’s take a look at definitions of blasphemy and sacrilege:
Barnes’ notes on blasphemy: “The word “blaspheme” originally means to speak evil of anyone; to injure by words; to blame unjustly. When applied to God, it means to speak of him unjustly; to ascribe to him acts and attributes which he does not possess; or to speak impiously or profanely. It also means to say or do anything by which his name or honor is insulted, or which conveys an “impression” unfavourable to God.”
Eaton’s Bible Dictionary: sacrilege- The sin or crime of violating or profaning sacred things; the alienating to laymen, or to common purposes, what has been appropriated or consecrated to religious persons or uses.
John MacArthur says in a sermon on idolatry, ” “The issue here is an issue of sacrilege. All false religion is demon worship. Listen, now remember an idol is nothing. You can carve an idol out of wood, you can make an idol out of stone, you can make an idol out of silver, you can make one out of gold. You can do whatever you want to paint one on a wall. You can form one out of marble, whatever it is. When you’re done with it, it’s nothing. But the religion and the ideology that it stands for is the teaching of demons. It is a lie from the pit. It is the doctrine of demons coming from seducing spirits. So that what happens is demons impersonate the idol and you worship a demon in the idol, though you don’t know it. It is a demon who creates the religion, who conducts the relationship with the worshiper. It is demon communion.”
MacArthur was speaking of Manasseh in 2 Kings 21:3 “Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the places where gods were worshiped, but Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal, and he made an Asherah idol as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped all the stars of the sky and served them.” In ancient lore, Asherah and El, the highest God, were consorts. Their son was supposedly Baal, which you know well from the Bible.
And make no mistake, the Old Testament gods are not gone. Satan still perpetuates them and recycles them. In Solomon’s day it was Molech. Josiah’s day it was Asherah. In Paul’s day it was Diana. In our day, Molech has become “Abortion.”
For those who may be scratching their heads as to why I’m spending time on this, it is because it is a big deal to God. His FIRST Commandment is to declare Himself the One True God and that we shall not not put any other gods before Him.(Ex 20:3-4).
Time and again in the Bible God said not to bow down to any images. Idolatry is a serious offense. It is not old-fashioned. It is not gone by. It is not dry and dusty and out of fashion. It is forbidden. It was forbidden then and it is forbidden now. To promote and accept that God had a wife means you believe He lied. Do they not believe Psalm 81:9? “There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.” ? Do they not believe Deuteronomy 8:19 “And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.”? Do they not believe Jeremiah 5:19 “And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” ?
I echo David, “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? (Psalms 74:10)
Not forever, but until the fullness of the iniquity runs its course. Matthew 24:4-5 and Matthew 24:24 remind us that many will come in Jesus name but will be deceivers and do false miracles and call themselves messiahs. 2 Thess 2:9 repeats this warning and reminder. 2 Timothy 4:3-4. “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
Like the myth of Asherah. It’s deja vu all over again.
Tug of War with the Tongue
By Elizabeth Prata
I am finding this book by Michael John Beasley called Internet Inferno a tremendously exciting, needed, and convicting book. It’s about our communication online.
Here is what the author wrote on page 55:
1. Whether you are aware of it or not, the world is engulfed in a spiritual war which rages on a daily basis. This war constitutes a battle between God’s true wisdom versus the lies and deceptions of men and satan.
2. Whether you are aware of it or not, whenever you speak, you are taking sides in this spiritual battle, for better or for worse.
3. An individual’s own ignorance of this spiritual battle offers absolutely no excuse when it comes to use of the tongue.
Of all people, the Christian should have a unique awareness of this battle, especially in relation to the potential dangers of the tongue. However, the attainment of this awareness can only come by means of a daily contest aganst sin.
Our school held our annual Field Day last week. One of the events for the kids was the Tug of War. I had taken this photo of the rope, about to be grabbed up by 40 small hands and let the game begin. As I read over Mr Beasley’s words and his use of the word ‘battle’, and I thought of the tug of war.
The tongue wants to give vent to fleshly words of all kinds that dishonor the Lord. We gossip, slander, accuse, puff up, emptily flatter, and more. Whenever we do, we’re, in Beasley’s words, being ‘co-belligerent with satan. When we allow satan to tug on our tongue and say things that ought not to be this way, we are indulging our sin.
It matters not that the person to whom we are communicating is a nameless, faceless person thousands of miles away on the other side of our keyboard. Co-belligerence is partnering with satan. Sin is sin.
When we sin in this way (not ‘if’) we turn to Jesus and ask forgiveness in repentance. We ask Him for the wisdom that comes from above, James 1:5, and it will be given. Pursue that wisdom, not the wisdom that comes from men and satan, the false wisdom lurking in our hearts that spews when we allow satan to tug on it. Bridle the tongue (James 3:2). We herald the Good News from our mouths, not as co-belligerents but as ambassadors.
A Pastor’s Thoughts on Preaching
By Elizabeth Prata
The following was published as a Twitter thread last night. I thought it encapsulated the inner thoughts and struggles of a preaching pastor so well. As you head out to church services this morning, please think on these things, and if possible, contact your pastor sometime in the following days or week to let him know how the sermon impacted you, to encourage him.
Zach Putthoff is a pastor for preaching in his church in Lafayette, CO.
@ZachPutthoff
A thread on the recent complementarian kerfuffle:
Referring to the practice of only allowing men to preach in the gathered church as a sign of disrespect
As great of a privilege as it is to proclaim God’s good Word to the gathered church, it is nevertheless not a sexy job. It’s kept me up at night as I agonize over how far short I fall of its call and command, wondering how I’ll ever be able to preach it without hypocrisy.
It’s stretched my brain and heart to the limit as I work within the boundaries of time and fatigue and my own weak intellect and lack of knowledge.
It subjects the preacher to frequent criticisms and empty atta-boys on the one hand, and utter silence from the pews on the other. How many times have I preached my heart out and heard literally nothing about the sermon from anyone afterward? Did it have an impact? Who knows.
None of this is to complain whatsoever about the ministry of preaching. As I said, it’s an immense privilege, one that I am in no way worthy of, but for the grace of Christ.
Preaching the word is a bit like dying in public, one week at a time, for the good of others. I get that some have become quite famous and made good money doing it, but they are the exception not the rule, and are often not the best examples of what it means to be a preacher.
In the best of complementarian thought, leadership in the home and church is not a place of glory and honor, but a place of sacrifice and service. Same goes for preaching. It is a ministry of service, not a symbol of respect.
So, the practice of only allowing men to preach to the gathered church, should not, in and of itself, be taken as a sign of disrespect for women. It is instead a call to specific men in the church to die in public one week at a time, for the good of their brothers *and sisters.*
Psalm 29: Praise and glory to the Highest!
By Elizabeth Prata
Enjoy this Psalm 29. As the MacArthur Commentary explains, it has the earmarks of earliest Hebrew poetry. Its general form is a hymn, proclaiming 3 representative realities of God as supreme and therefore praise belongs to Him alone:
1. Lord’s supremacy over heavenly beings
2. Lord’s supremacy over the “forces of nature” (references pagan gods)
3. Lord’s supremacy over humanity
It builds and in my opinion is a majestic and breathtaking poem/hymn. Happy Lord’s Day!
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Ascribe to the LORD Glory
A Psalm of David.
1Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,a
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
3The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over many waters.
4The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
The past week(s) have been tough but the future looks bright
By Elizabeth Prata
These past couple of weeks have been rough in our corner of the church. Rachel Held Evans’ passing caused so much grief for her followers and her detractors alike. The display of hatred and bitterness of her followers came after, toward anyone daring to speak a word against their prophetess (their words). It was hard to watch.
Then there was Beth Moore’s craven yet politically manipulative comment that she is preaching on Sunday at a church for Mother’s day and followers of THAT false prophetess came out of the woodwork to proclaim their glee in doing the same, even at Southern Baptist Convention churches, whose statement of faith had traditionally rejected this kind of activity.
Then there was Owen Strachan’s piece biblically outlining why a woman preaching the sermon in church is forbidden by God, and Moore’s self-serving rebuttal to it, her rising anger displayed wantonly for all to see, along of course, with her many followers yapping at Stachan’s heels for his daring to speak against their prophetess.
I’ve only mentioned two women but their combined following just on Twitter alone topped one million people. And their blogs, events, book sales have much greater reach than that, sadly. A huge segment of the western Christian world have been impacted in some way by just those two teachers.
So, it’s been turbulent on social media this week. It reminded me of the Riot at Ephesus where the idol Artemis was enshrined in one of the ancient world’s largest temples, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in fact. Paul’s Gospel preaching started to have an impact, and the merchandise sales began to decline. A silversmith named Demetrius made silver shrines of Artemis and brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He claimed that Paul was “leading the people astray”.
The Riot in Ephesus Acts 19:23-27
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
Notice that Demetrius twice mentioned his business and twice mentioned the goddess Artemis. But notice the order. He first was concerned about his business, both times. Then he mentioned the goddess and worship.
In any case, the people were gullible and became, as the verse says, “furious.” The Greek word for this fury is ‘thumos’. Strong’s concordance explains:
2372 thymós (from thyō, “rush along, getting heated up, breathing violently,” – properly, passion-driven behavior, i.e. actions emerging out of strong impulses (intense emotion). When thymós (“expressed passion”) is used of people it indicates rage, personal venting of anger.
That rage, that passionate personal wrath, is what we saw from RHE followers, from Beth Moore followers, and Beth Moore herself.
At Ephesus, the people filled the arena and shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
That is stunning. The theater there could hold up to 25,000 spectators. You know how loud it gets when just the school gymnasium at school is filled for a pep rally with a few hundred students, and everyone is stomping on the bleachers. Imagine thousands upon thousands of people creating a ruckus and shouting in unholy fury. It’s also stunning that they did it for two hours. That kind of shouting and rage is difficult to maintain at those intense levels. It seems that satanically inspired fury can be maintained for that length of time with no problem.
I liken the ruckus of social media over Rachel Held Evans’ death and Beth Moore’s tweet as similar to the riot at Ephesus; intense, rage filled, sustained, with the followers of those false teachers claiming that those trying to bring the truth were leading them astray. But at the root of it is money. It always is.
The lesson here in looking to that passage of scripture in Acts is that we should never doubt the intense love people have for their idols and the lengths to which they will go to protect and defend them. Never underestimate the power that greed has over those who teach falsely, for their motivation is money. (2 Peter 2:3). Don’t miscalculate the wrath that those in the cottage industries surrounding the idol and financially benefiting from the idol will go to preserve their income. Always remember that those who follow false teachers, false gods, and idols will say that anyone bringing the truth is actually lying and leading the people astray.
It’s been an upsetting week, many people doing and saying unpalatable things. I don’t know the Lord’s reason for ordaining RHE’s number of days to end at 13,505 or why He is allowing Beth Moore to continue polluting the church and blaspheming His name into her 60th year. His will be done. The good news is that we have glory to look forward to. We will sing and worship in truth and unity, with not one blot, not one jot, not one tittle of falsity anywhere. No false teachers will skulk in any corner, no false prophetess will lead anyone astray, and no merchandising of the people will ever happen. Glory will be sparkling pure, clean, and wholesome.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He 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.”
5And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:1-7)
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