Category: theology

Posted in discernment, theology

A clock that is 5 minutes off is still wrong

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Pastor Adrian Rogers has gone on to glory, but I enjoy his sermons and the clips that are still broadcast on the radio or Youtube. His large body of work remains with us even if his soul is now with Jesus.

I was driving home from church on Sunday and the Christian radio station I was listening to broadcast this short clip from his ministry Love Worth Finding. Dr. Rogers began it by saying Satan is the cleverest liar. It turns out the clip was from a longer sermon called “The Great Deceiver”.

It’s not that often these days that a preacher forthrightly discusses the evil qualities of our adversary. I turned up the volume to listen.

I can’t find the audio to that clip but here is a transcription I found in a book about Dr Rogers. I’ll post it and then below flesh it out from my memory of it as I heard it in the car.

Two things we learn about Satan from the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. He is a murderer. 2. He is a liar. Never forget this about the devil. His motive is murder. His method is the lie. And he is the father of all liars. And he is the best liar. He is the master liar. And because he is the master liar he tells the cleverest lies. And the cleverest lies sound the most like the truth. And every good lie has just a little truth in it. We had a clock that wouldn’t even run that was right twice a day. And any lie has some truth in it.

But I want to say, dear friend, that a clock that is five minutes wrong is more dangerous than a clock that is five hours wrong. You see a clock that is five hours wrong, and you say, “Ha, that’s wrong, what time is it? Somebody tell me.” But a clock five minutes wrong could have caused you to miss your plane. And so the devil wants you to believe the wrong thing. And there are seducing spirits with doctrines of devils. And the devil is not primarily a pusher of dope, though he is; he is primarily a pusher of lies.

He is making an excellent point here. A false teacher who is waaaaay off base and on the fringes of orthodoxy, will be seen for who he is much more easily. You look at a clock that has stopped and you know that is the wrong time, except for one minute, twice a day.

But a clever false teacher will be a clock that is only 5 minutes off. He will blend lots of orthodoxy with the false. He will twist in subtle ways the verses he is preaching. This is a more dangerous path to follow because whether you are 2 hours off or 5 minutes off, you will still miss your plane. You will miss that important appointment. Follow a five-minutes-off clock long enough and your course will soon be off by a wider margin than you realize.

One rebuttal I usually hear when I point to this or that false teacher is, “But they follow/mention/preach Jesus!” This Gospel Coalition article titled “7 Traits of False Teachers” reminds us that,

It’s rare for someone in church to openly deny Jesus. Movement away from the centrality of Christ is subtle. The false teacher will speak about how other people can help change your life, but if you listen carefully to what he is saying, you will see that Jesus Christ is not essential to his message.

In this essay, John MacArthur sticks close to the Bible when explaining the marks of a false teacher by his life and his doctrine.

Invariably, if I write about a false teacher’s lifestyle, a rebuttal will include that it’s none of my business how they live. However in this article by Wyatt Graham, we learn that False Teachers Out Themselves by Their Way of Life, too.

False teachers by definition teach false doctrine. Usually, we imagine that this means that false teachers deny certain concepts like the Trinity, the Incarnation, or the Second Coming. Yet second Peter challenges the idea that false doctrine only means denying true ideas. In Peter’s second letter, false teachers primarily are called such because of how they live. For Peter, false doctrine can mean denying true concepts or denying our Master by our behaviour.

Here is a helpful article titled “10 Invalid Arguments in Defense of False Teachers”

The Bible is precise The Gospel is precise. God is precise. The Word is so precise it can divide bone from marrow (Hebrews 4:12). A clock that is five minutes off is still wrong.

I teach in an elementary school. When I gather my second graders for our small group reading instruction, I rely on the clock to finish the session so I can go pick up my third graders for their small group instruction. I have to release each group to within a minute of the scheduled time because they are on to the next session and they need to arrive punctually so the next teacher has a full period of teaching. The 3rd graders leave me and go to their classes to pack up their books and then disperse for the bus. The buses need to roll within a minute of their schedule so that car riders can get going and release all the children in the gym one by one into the waiting cars. This needs to be completed by 3:10. And the car riders can’t get started until the buses roll, and the buses can’t roll until all the kids are aboard, and the kids can’t get aboard until they pack up and line up, and they can’t pack up until I release them from our group. And so on. It’s an interlocked and cascading schedule of events that relies on precision in order to work.

If I am 5 minutes late letting the kids go from group, the entire school schedule will be put off. The other day I re-adjusted my clock because it was 2 minutes slow.

Why do we care about precision during our commuting/working day, but not about the Gospel? Or a favored Bible teacher’s teaching?

We must.

clock

Posted in music, theology

Of Songs that Sing of the Blood, Repentance, Salvation

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

My church service in Sundays goes from 2-2:45 (Sunday School), then the main service from 3:00-4:30. I love the afternoon schedule. It gives me time to prepare my heart in the morning, arrive unrushed at church, and enjoy the day in a different way than the usual10-12:30 timing of other churches.

On the way home from church one Sunday I stumbled onto a radio station which I had not heard before. Driving home from a sweet service filled with good music, I want to keep that atmosphere going. It’s hard with today’s radio programming.

In being frustrated one day with the quality of radio stations I had set on my buttons, I took some time to really search around and found WWQE “The Life”. It’s a Dove-award winning station. During my drive home there is a particular show called Gospel Vinyl Gold. These are Southern Gospel songs from the 50’s onward that are considered classics.

I love older Southern Gospel songs, I always have. That is strange because I didn’t grow up in the South and I didn’t become converted until I was 42. Even as a newbie I liked these older songs. The radio station played some good ones.

Newer songs are good too. Matt Papa and Keith Getty write good lyrics. Some of these are included in the new hymnal John MacArthur and others created called Hymns of Grace. I am not against new songs. But oftentimes newer songs leave out important doctrines.

I wrote previously about a song I heard back along while driving that struck me so much I had to stop the car. It was a song of eschatology, where the rapture happened and a father was left behind. The man turned out to have been having a dream, but the song focused on the scripture from Matthew 7:21-23 where (in his dream) he discovers he is a false convert. He faces Jesus and Jesus tells him ‘Depart from me, I never knew you.’ When the man in the song awoke to discover it was only a dream, he hastened to fall on his knees and really repent.

How often do we hear a doing like THAT these days? How often do we even hear a sermon like that? Rarely. The essay I wrote about that song was titled “Sorry, I never Knew You” – Should we Sing Songs of Judgment?”

My pastor friend posted this morning from Patheos (a site I don’t generally recommend for women) and the section of that online magazine called Church for Men. The article was titled, Where did the Call-to-Repentance Songs Go? by David Murrow.

The author is reminiscing about singer-songwriter Ketih Green. Murrow says,

As my wife and I listened to Green’s music, we were struck by how strange his late 1970s lyrics sounded to our 2019 ears. Green employed a lyrical technique that used to be common in Christian music, but is virtually absent today: the call to repentance, or CTR. CTR songs are designed to convict the singer of his own sin.  Here are two reasons CTR songs sound so out of place today:

1. While most contemporary worship songs focus on comfort and assurance, CTR songs point out our shortcomings. CTR songs are anything but positive and encouraging.

2. While most of today’s praise songs are sung from the perspective of the disciple, CTR songs are sung from the perspective of God (or a prophet). In praise and worship, we are the speaker, telling God how we feel about him. With CTR, God is the speaker, telling us how he feels about us.

CTR songs are sometimes hard to listen to. Too much CTR can lead to discouragement and even legalism. However, I can personally testify to their effectiveness. Keith Green’s songs were the slap in the face I needed as a young believer.

Slap in the face is a good way to put it. When I heard Sego Brothers And Naomi’s song Sorry, I Never Knew You, it WAS a slap in the face. I was dumbstruck. Lyrics like that catch your attention and re-orient the mind toward eternal things, holiness of Jesus, and our own sin. It’s good to get back to that occasionally.

Bible Studies aimed at women, the publishing industry aimed at the female demographic, the songs aimed at ladies these days, tend to focus on phrases and concepts that assure women of their worth, that they are loved, that they have power and abilities, that they are esteemed, and so on. Where are the songs that call us sinners to repentance? Remind us that we are sinners? Remind us of the eternal consequences of sin? Largely absent.

I agree with Murrow that a steady diet of call-to-repentance songs would lead to dispirited attitudes and/or legalism. But a stead diet of affirming-only songs also isn’t healthy. Those simply puff us up and don’t always point to the real hero, Jesus. We must forget what is past but also remember we are sinners called to daily repent – as the Lord’s Prayer says. (Philippians 3:13-14; Matthew 6:12). We look forward to eternity but examine ourselves now to see if we are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Corinthians 13:5).

Sorry I Never Knew You

I told the Lord that I had been
A Christian all the while
But through his book he took a look
and sadly shook his head
then placed me over on his left
and this I heard him say,
“Sorry, I never knew you.
I find no record of your birth.”

Oof. A gut punch.

Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters wrote a few essays that I enjoyed on this topic. Here is his essay, Should we sing songs about God’s judgments?

Songs that Reference God’s Judgments, is Mr Kauflin’s follow up to the previous.

Don’t avoid songs with hard truths. Ones that sing of the blood, redemption from sin, salvation. Here are a few:

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
There is a Fountain
The Old Rugged Cross
Alas and Did My Savior Bleed
When we survey the wondrous cross
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!

New arrangement:

Traditional arrangement

Posted in theology

Observable Character: Ruth

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We’ve all had to deal with bitter and negative people. Even when the nicest thing happens, these people turn it into a gloomy object of sadness, or exhibit a woe is me attitude. Such a woman was Naomi in the book of Ruth. Naomi was Ruth’s mother-in-law, which sometimes complicates matters, as every daughter-in-law knows, lol.

When famine came to the Bethlehemite family of Elimelech and Naomi and sons Mahlon and Chilion, they decided to sojourn to Moab, where conditions were better. Sadly the verses in Deuteronomy 7:3; 23:3 forbid the Israelites from associating with the idolatrous Moabites, but the family went anyway. Settling down, the sons intermarried. In due time, the sons died, as well as Naomi’s husband. Three widows fending for themselves…the outlook didn’t seem good.

So Naomi decided to return to her former hometown, now that the famine had passed. She urged the daughters-in-law to remain in Moab with their own people. Orpah did, but Ruth’s devotion to her dead husband’s mother was solid. In good conscience, could a family member let an aged woman travel alone, facing uncertainty upon her arrival, even if it was her hometown? Decades had passed. Who knew what awaited Naomi.

No, Ruth made her famous statement, ‘where you go, I will go, your people will be my people, your God will be my God’. Such loyalty and devotion Ruth had! Ruth could have cut ties at that point, rationalizing that bitter and negative Naomi should be left to her own devices. But Ruth’s character overlooked it, and by God’s grace, she loved Naomi all the more…

While in Bethlehem, Ruth was gleaning in Boaz’s field. When the two met, Ruth-

fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. (Ruth 2:10-11).

Ruth was humble upon meeting Boaz. She flung herself to the ground, in deference to him as landowner of the field from which she was gleaning, and in acknowledgement of her alien status.

Throughout her life, Ruth demonstrated loyalty and humility. She displayed diligence (“She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” Ruth 2:6b).

When speaking to Boaz, Ruth was gracious – “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” (Ruth 2:13).

Let’s go back to Boaz’s statement, “Fully reported to me.” Ladies, what we do and who we are can’t be hidden. We saw major glimpses of Ruth’s character before she arrived in Bethlehem, and since arriving, her character shone all the more. Ruth was known as a good woman. People knew this because they were watching. Our character is noted and reported, whether we like it or not.

The deeds of Ruth were an extension of what was already inside of her. It was the bundle of different positive qualities in her that made the reports and observations of her deeds so Godly.

When my deeds have been fully reported to friends, church members, my family, or my employers, will that report be good, or bad? Will the characteristics the Spirit desires to grow in me be evident? Is the fruit evident? I hope so. I pray so.

How about you? As your deeds are fully reported to others, what would the report say?

In the end, there is one full report that none of us will escape. On the Day of the Lord, the books will be opened, and we will account for what we said and did post-salvation. (Romans 14:10–12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Though it is not a judgment for us believers, it’s a reward ceremony, still, we will be called to account. The full report will be there, laying before the King and before His subject, each one of us in turn. Are we mindful each day that what we do on earth reflects on His Great Name? We will discover to what extent, when we get there.

ruth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Information-

Part 2 of Observable Character series: David

Part 3 of Observable Character: Dorcas

Trivia: Did you know that Oprah Winfrey’s name on her birth certificate is Orpah? However when people pronounced it, it was constantly spoken as Oprah, so that is the name that stuck.

Commentaries: Challies’ recommendations on Ruth

Best Book Series: Nate Pickowitz on why Ruth is the Best Book in the Bible (one in a series of 66, also, this link is to the cached version, the live version has gone dead).

Overview of the Book of Ruth: John MacArthur’s overview and introduction

Posted in encouragement, theology

“He is coming soon” – Thoughts on sin, the world, and Jesus

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Word of the week: Sin. Societal, cultural, financial, economic, political. The world as we know it is winding down. (It has been this way since the Garden). Each week we see a precipitous decline, lurching forward in slow to great bursts, bringing the world ever closer to the consciousness that things will not remain as they have been. And still, as much as the world sees that the events we are experiencing for the worse, and perhaps never to be the same again, the world still insists that this has nothing to do with Christ. They say, ‘Oh, the world is changing, and the Zombie/Mayan/Cayce/Nostradamus apocalypse may be near, but it has nothing to do with that guy, Jesus.’

A prophecy from Peter: “They will say, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. (2 Peter 3:4).

They say such things because they believe them. Satan has blinded the lost to the things of Christ. It has always been so. The Israelites taunted Jeremiah with the same:

Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. (Jeremiah 17:15)

And why do they believe the Zombie/Mayan/Cayce/Nostradamus apocalypse and not the Christian Revelation of the promised Apocalypse? Because the aforementioned are from satan. Now satan, they’ll believe, because the world’s children are satan’s children. (1 John 4:5).

Technically, the world has been ending since Genesis 3, but the feeling of chaotic flying apart has increased dramatically of late. Remember Obergefell v. Hodges? It was a landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, according to Wikipedia’s summary.

That was in 2015. I can’t believe that was four years ago! Yet since then we have endured the Planned Parenthood undercover videos controversy, third-trimester abortion controversy, post-birth abortion controversy, advance of homosexuality and now pedophilia normalization, racial disharmony in the form of social justice and wokeness, and the beginnings of evangelical acceptance of and redefinition of the sin of homosexuality. Wow.

I remember the verse in Romans 1:30, where Paul is explaining God’s wrath upon sin. The passage describes the downward spiral of men as individuals but especially collectively. Paul lists tons of sins, and though the list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, he says

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil…(Romans 1:29-30).

Let that sink in. They invent new forms of evil. The extent of man’s sinfulness really knows no bounds. The only reason we are all not ravening madmen, slobbering over performing the deepest depravity, is due to the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit on the world in the form of God’s general ministry of common grace and the specific Holy Spirit ministry of restraint in His elect.

Barnes’ Notes explains inventors of evil quite well:

This doubtless refers to their seeking to find out new arts or plans to practice evil; new devices to gratify their lusts and passions; new forms of luxury, and vice, etc. So intent were they on practicing evil, so resolved to gratify their passions, that the mind was excited to discover new modes of gratification.

When the Holy Spirit releases his restraint upon the world after the rapture, watch out! Man’s inventiveness will no longer be toward beauty, art, music, science; it will be toward depravity, sin, and evil like the world has never seen before. (Matthew 24:21).

Though it’s disheartening to experience living in the world like this, the Bride is still resplendent, evangelism is still occurring, souls are being redeemed, the Church is still growing…and God is still on His throne.

I’m enjoying the Spirit’s sweet presence every day. Do you? I hope so. I enjoy my walk with Jesus in increasing amounts of awe and joy. I am encouraged by knowledge of the sovereignty of the Father. Seeing these world events and understanding where we are on the timetable of God’s prophetic clock, I’m struck with wonder at the vastness of His intelligence and the scope of human history- and grateful that I am a part of His kingdom.

Yes, the days are difficult, and I mourn for people who are lost in sin and I mourn for my own sins. But though the events we read about here and elsewhere far from saddening me, make me think of Exodus 15:11

Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

In the current phase of Christianity, many have lost that sense of awe. I think it is because many popular teachers and preachers have taught and preached a raised up man. The excessive focus on our prosperity, our self-esteem, our pits, our problems, combined emphasis of His love to us, His friendship with us, His “romance” of us the Bride, downplaying majesty, wrath holiness, and reverence, has resulted in a lowered God. With our eyes on man, we lose focus. Man is not awe-inspiring, man is ‘awe-ful’! Look to Christ.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22).

Too often Western Christianity looks to Him as a friend, (which He is) but in looking at Him only as friend, through that one facet, and not so much as Sovereign King, Judge, and Holy God. This looking exclusively at Jesus through one facet has allowed many to devolve His status in their minds from friend to ‘old buddy, pal o’ mine.’

Quite simply, western Christianity by and large does not have a transcendent view of God anymore, and thus a sense of awe is lost. This particularly applies to prophecy.

Only a Sovereign God expressing His will upon the world knows the end from the beginning. Only He at His will and pleasure states what will happen in a thousand years, or six thousand years, and it comes to pass exactly as He said!

Habakkuk finally got it, saying in chapter three:

Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Then he said,

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.

No matter how low the world gets, the Lord makes me tread on high places. Let our Holy awe of Him be a mixture of love, reverence, and fear.

He is coming soon. (Revelation 22:20).

coming again verse

 

Posted in discernment, theology

“God Told Me”: About those whispers to the heart…

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

What is a women to do when it seems like everyone is hearing directly from God…and you’re not? It seems like so many women say they hear audible voices, still small voices, whispers in the heart, voices from the sky…

For example, Joanna Gaines of the popular HGTV television show Fixer Upper said she heard God’s voice clearly. Jennie Allen who founded If:Gathering, said a voice from the sky directly told her to start that organization.

Bill Hybels wrote an entire book teaching how to hear a whisper from God. He wrote:

“On day three of my writing, the Holy Spirit impressed the following message on me: “‘…I am going to release you from the responsibility of leading this youth group so you can start a church…’

We can add Francis Chan to the long list of teachers in Christendom who claim to hear directly from God. Chan said that his “theology left some room for hearing directly from God,” and it seems that God entered that room and now regularly speaks to Chan. He uses charismatic language to describe personal revelations from God. “On the plane here, it was revealed to me…” He said the Lord began instructing him to give away specific amounts of money, $50,000, $1M and so on. During The Send pre-rally in January 2019, Chan said he was given a room for an hour alone to commune with God in scripture and prayer. It was during this meditative moment that Chan divulged exact words God said to him.

Ladies, beware of how dangerous it is to claim to have heard directly from God and put quotes around the ‘message’ and use the pronoun “I”. Hybels there is actually speaking FOR God. Putting words in God’s mouth is not something you want to do. Ever. Yet Sarah Young heard from God and wrote a book quoting everything he (allegedly) said, and it’s still a bestseller 14 years later.

Beth Moore can’t go more than a minute or two in her lectures without referring to some kind of direct interaction- and she’s been saying that from her earliest days of lecturing. See all these statements from her 2000 book Praying God’s Word and her 2002 book When Godly People do Ungodly Things, plus one more from around 2013-

  • Before God tells me a secret, He knows up front I’m going to tell it! By and large, that’s our ‘deal.’
  • God compelled me to ink it on paper with a force unparalleled
  • God required me to fast…and it was He would release me
  • I didn’t ask to write some of the kinds of messages God has appointed me
  • In Praying God’s Word, God directed me to address the powerful yoke of sexual bondage
  • Because God chose to supply me with so much unsolicited data
  • I heard the voice of God speak to my heart
  • I also love how I could tell by the sweet tone of the silent voice whispering to my spirit that He was smiling
  • What God began to say to me about five years ago and I’m telling you it is in me on such a trek with him that my head is still whirling over it. He began to say to me, ‘I’m gonna say something right now, Beth. And boy you write this one down. And you say it as often as I give you utterance to say it.

I love this one, ‘I could tell by the sweet tone of the silent voice whispering to my spirit that He was smiling’…the voice was silent, but it had a tone, and the tone included a smile, which is also silent.

And lest one believe that Moore’s claims were simply youthful errors from back in 2000, she is still saying them, for example in one of her recent teachings called “Advance”:

When I get a key word, when the Lord gives me concept, that is a word, I mean He dropped this word into my heart a couple of weeks ago, and began to associate it in prayer and I mean when I get a word like that He drops in my spirit, I wait to see what city it’ll be connected with…then I look up the word into a concordance to see all the times it’s used in scripture…

Is that how to do Bible study? Wait for God to drop/whisper/speak/tell me something directly, like a word, then go and look up all the times the word is uses in scripture, cobble together an acrostic, and teach about Jesus that way? IS Jesus speaking in a still, small voice? It seems that those who claim to hear Him are the majority while we ladies who stick to hearing from God through the Bible have become a minority.

How common is it to hear directly from God? Here we have a 2013 NY Times article about an ethnographer doing field studies. The article is titled Is that God Talking? And it’s by TR Luhrmann. She said it is very common these days for people to say they have heard God speak to them. Remember, she is an ethnographer who systematically studies people and cultures and explores cultural phenomena from a secular point of view:

I still remember how startled I was when a young woman I was interviewing told me God had spoken to her, audibly. I was doing ethnographic field work in_________. This was the kind of [place] in which people sought an intimate, conversational relationship with God. It was not at all uncommon for people to talk about hearing God.

In where? Where was she doing ethnographic studies where people say they heard God talking? Burundi? Solomon Islands? No. Chicago. In an evangelical charismatic church. Luhrmann continued describing her attempt of trying to either include or exclude the cause. She first thought of schizophrenics.

The unusual auditory experiences reported by congregants just weren’t like that [the daily lengthy utterances that schizophrenics hear]. They were rare. Most people said they’d had one or two in their lifetime. They were brief — just a few words. They were pleasant. And they did not have that sense of command.

And there is your clue. The kind of utterances people say they hear lack authoritative command. They also tend to focus on the comfort and well-being of the person receiving these revelations. As Tim Challies noted in his essay 10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling,

Her tone does not match the Bible’s. It can’t be denied: The Jesus of Sarah Young sounds suspiciously like a twenty-first century, Western, middle-aged woman. If this is, indeed, Jesus speaking, we need to explain why he sounds so markedly different from the Jesus of the gospels…

So, no, Jesus is not calling or talking or teaching or delivering new revelations or meeting you with dates or smiling in a silent whisper. As the noted preacher and discernment lecturer, author of the excellent lesson Clouds Without Water, Justin Peters said,

It’s hard to understand how so many women can be wrong, but they are. They are either deceived, deluded, or lying, but they are not hearing directly from God.

We begin Genesis 3 with a woman accepting extrabiblical revelation, (from the serpent) and we end the scriptures with God charging a church for tolerating a false prophetess Jezebel. (Revelation 2:20). There is a reason satan targets women in deceiving them they are hearing from God. We are easily deceived and we must always be in the word ourselves, be with our husbands or fathers in the word, and be in church listening to the word.

The years upon years of Christian teachers and other leading women normalizing direct revelation has had untold and devastating effects on the faith.

Books and teaching material aimed at women usually create a scenario where God’s voice appears in a more romantic than biblical way. We read of ‘gentle whispers’ or moon-soaked walks where the quiet voice enters one’s heart, and the like. Yet is that how God speaks? Once in the Bible He came in a whisper, and to prove a point to Elijah. When God speaks it is often in a THUNDER!!! (Exodus 19, Exodus 20, Job 37:4-5, Psalm 18:13, Psalm 29:2-4, Revelation 14:2, Revelation 19:6, etc)

And when the recipient hears that Godly thunder, they fall down as if dead! Here is Forerunner Commentary on Deuteronomy 4:32-36

What power! Those people were terrified when they heard the voice of God. It shook them to their very being—and that was God’s purpose! This, of course, “is written for our admonition,” as Paul says in Romans 15:4. Moses writes this to impress upon us the connection between “voice,” “words,” and “power.” So powerful is the voice of God that it is a miracle that they lived through hearing it!

Yes so many of these modern day false prophets claim to have heard God while shaving, driving, eating, etc, and they take it casually and go on with their day.

So we need to remember that Sola Scriptura is not merely the sola but also the Scriptura. ~Abner Chou, July 3, 2018

Here is Pastor Gabe with a 90-second video on hearing from God:

Here is Pastor Mike Abendroth with a 90-second video on ‘God Told Me’-

Here is Dr Abner Chou with an essay about how to study scripture correctly: Do Your Hermeneutics Hold to Sola Scriptura? Hermeneutics simply means “the science of interpretation, especially of the Scriptures.”

We know the Scripture is rich and deep (Ps 119:18). Verbal plenary inspiration demonstrates that every word is inspired, God’s very own communication (2 Tim 3:16). The biblical writers exhibit this as they show how individual phrases (Rom 4:3-12) and words (Gal 3:16) of Scripture bring forth its sublime truth. The clarity of God’s Word leads to its precision and profundity. All of it, down to the word, is useful, powerful, and binding.

In light of this, the question is whether we have done the hard work. Have I really studied a passage and understood the background, context, point, structure, theology, and applications of a text down to the detail of every word? Can I put all of this together so that I know precisely all the author has willed in this passage?

Doing that takes hard work but that is the very nature of Scripture and what it demands (cf. 2 Tim 2:15). The reason that sermons, Bible studies, Sunday school lessons, or devotions lack depth is often because we haven’t spent the time and effort to go beneath the surface.

Think about it. You can study the Bible by looking at “background, context, point, structure, theology, and applications of a text down to the detail of every word” or, you can simply be like Beth Moore and have God supply you with unsolicited data dropped directly into your head.

Which is easier? Direct word, to be sure. It’s for the lazy and the easily deceived. Which is more prideful? Laboring in sweat and tears in a small room by lamplight, obscure and unknown, or sit and wait for God to directly whisper something to you, so you can say later ‘God is talking directly to MEEE.’ We know the answer.

Ladies, there is no still, small voice you’re missing out on. You’re not unworthy because it seems that God chooses to speak to so many other women and not you. If you never say “God told me” you are doing more than you know to uphold the faith. By saying “The Bible says in verse such and such” you are contributing building blocks for others to stand on. If you rely on His word as written in a good translation, you aren’t undermining scripture but instead you are honoring Jesus.

Saying “God told me…” is saying “Scripture is deficient.” By relying on the Word alone, you are relying on the Rock, that shall never be undermined.

f995c-sola_scriptura

Posted in theology

“The more things change, the more they stay the same”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

1 Samuel 4:1-11

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So many of the things…

Hindsight is golden, isn’t it?

In verse 3a, we see that the Israelites are aware that it is the LORD who gives them the victory in any particular battle. So they are aware of the LORD and His power and His presence. That’s good.

But then they show their misguidedness in verse 3B. The defeat of their army was a sure sign that the LORD was displeased. They acknowledged the LORD’S power, but then went on a misconceived plan of action. They did not consult the LORD. They embarked on a course absent His will.

1 Samuel is a record of an actual event, with real people in a real place, in a past actual time. Picture the hills and the camp all around. Picture the Israelites in their gear going to and fro in hastened activity. Picture their confidence and their purposefulness as they decide to bring the ark. Picture the men being selected to go up to Shiloh, and then came back down in a great burst of energy, carrying the ark. The ark arrived in camp and all the preparations had been made ready. As it was settled to its place, there was a great shout from the Israelites.

Their feeling was, ‘NOW we have the ark! NOW we will be victorious! We are doing the right thing!’

Wrong.

They thought they were worshiping. They thought they were obeying. They thought they were going to have what they wanted, which in this case, was victory over an army that they hated. Yet was it only a wayward scheme full of self-reliance and self-assurance.

How often is it that we see some kind of massive Christian event going on, just like this one depicted in 1 Samuel? IHOP OneThing. An Angus Buchan Mighty Men event. The Send. Benny Hinn Holy Spirit Miracle Healing Service.

We see the hustle and bustle of the people there. They think they are worshiping. They think they are obeying. They think they will soon be in favor with the Lord. They think they will be able to obtain what they want.

The Israelites in 1 Samuel had made two fatal errors. These are the same errors that we see today in the large-scale events of the wrong-headed.

1. They failed to consult God before embarking on their plan to go to war. They acknowledged God, but then did not consult Him. Classic example of Proverbs 14:12,

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

And

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25).

2. They substituted the power of God from God for a talisman, good luck charm in the form of the ark. The ark itself had no power. God had made a conditional covenant with the people of Israel through Moses. It was an if-then promise. If you do this, then that will happen. If you do not do this, then that will happen. As a sign of this promise, He told the Israelites to make a box according to His design and in it was placed the ten commandments. The ark was a sign. When you’re traveling on the highway and you see “Welcome to Maine” it’s announcing something, but the sign is not the state of Maine. That’s something else entirely. There is a vast difference between the sign of God and Gd Himself.

Today we see a focus on seeking signs. When they allegedly manifest, the sign is worshiped. Today’s people (many of them) have substituted the sign for the reality.

As French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

change the same

Posted in encouragement, theology

Praises and Encouragement

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Have you had a good week in Jesus? I have. I wrote a praise poem recently, thanking Him for His manifestation in my life of His patience, (through loving kindness from fellow church members), His sovereignty as Creator (the full moon so beautiful over the silvery lit pastures), and His providential care (even the smallest needs do not escape His notice.) His involvement in our lives is thorough and constant. The more I walk with Him the more I see this, and I praise Him. But the more I praise Him the more I see His faithfulness and His constancy. It is a glorious circle, one that will never be broken.

It is good to begin with praises, because, as we know, the news in the world is not so good, but we are not of the world. If you walk closely with Jesus the news of the world will affect you only in that it helps you see and understand God is sovereign and everything He does is good. Actually, it is awe-inspiring because the closer I walk with Him and the more news I read that lines up with what He said would happen, it makes me feel more humble and grateful that a God such as He wants to interact on a personal basis with His people.

No matter how serious the news is, His constancy, His sovereignty, His plan, and His ways are Good. Even if you feel you do not have much to praise Him for, you DO! Seek ways to thank Him. He is active in our lives to the n-th degree. Nothing escapes His hand, from the most high work of salvation of souls, to the smallest sparrow’s needs. How much more, then, are YOU valuable to Him? (Matthew 6:25-26).

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
Psalm 34:1-3

collage verse 4

Posted in theology

“What are you doing for your Spring Break?”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

It’s the question of the week. Our school’s Spring Break is coming up beginning Friday and extending into the first week of April. The week off is very much cherished and also needed. If you’ve ever watched Principal Gerry Brooks‘ hilarious videos about life as an educator, he nails it humorously every time. Teaching is tiring.

A lot of my friends are headed to the beach for a half-week or week of fun in the sun. Ohters are going to various cities, on cruises, or to sports events or festivals, and the like. I’m staying home.

For many years before I was saved, I traveled. I went places in Europe, South America, North America, and the Bahamas. We traveled at the drop of a hat and I was extremely blessed to have done all the things I did. So for the last 11 years or so, I’ve been content to remain home living a quiet life and doing smaller things near home on Spring Break.

This year I felt a restlessness in me and I wanted to GO. Then started up an envy of others’ plans, and a discontent with my inability to go anywhere. There is a cute studio Air BnB an hour and a half away on a lake I’ve been wanting to spend a couple of days in. There is a cosmpolitan and trendy boutique hotel right in Athens I’d like to stay, and I’d do a historical tour through Athens, or spend afternoon at the Botanical Garden. Even that is out of financial reach. I started to get upset.

Discontent is a new thing for me. I’m generally content with what I have and pleased with the opportunity to stay alone and quiet. School is wonderful but on occasional days it is a trial for someone sensitive to noise and clamor. I am blessed to come home to peace and quiet to recharge.

I needed to deal with my discontent before it settled into me like a sticky dark cloud clinging to nooks and crannies of my mind and heart, ready to grow tentacles and grab other sins. Because, discontent with what the Lord has given me is a sin, wanting more or something different is a sin, and sin always only grows unless it is dealt with.

I love my apartment. I love my work. I love my church. I love my life. I have everything I need. I even have a bunch of things I’d wanted above the basic need. The Lord graciously provides lavishly. There is really no reason to be upset. After 11 years of watching other people go away to beautiful places and feeling only happiness at their opprtunity to experience something wonderful, thinking ‘I got this, suddenly sin zoomed in from left field when I wasn’t expecting it. Whoa. Sin really IS crouching at the door. I repented and asked the Lord to puncture this sin like the flimsy balloon that it is.

He did.

My calm and patient and peaceful-in-the-soul plans for Spring Break now include reading these fine books, some of them having been given to me, free! Blessing! I am still plugging along on the Challies Annual Christian Reading Challenge. (I chose Avid Level, 26 books/year 2019). I’ve experienced a slow-down in March but I hope to use the time during April Break to catch up.

books

On Friday after school in order to inaugurate my week off, I’ll go to The Special Store in hunt of a particular teacup I know they have. Hopefully it’s been unpacked from their storage building and put on the browsing shelves. On the following Saturday, April 6, there is a major ‘Junkin & Pickin’ day at a fairgrounds 2 miles from my home. The organizers have over 85 vendors already. I’ll look forward to ambling about in the spring sunshine looking over the handicrafts and antiques.

On one of the other days when it’s sunny, I’ll likely go into Athens on a photo expedition. I like photos of gritty urban landscapes and architecture. I have chosen a particular area to haunt and stroll, perhaps sipping a fancy coffee and taking photos as I go. Maybe meet up with friends for lunch. Those things, plus reading outside in the sun at my patio table, decorating it and rearranging the springtime decor I’ll put out, at home will be plenty fun for me.

china1
Will this be as pretty in real life when I shop for it? Time will tell.

And to be honest, when it comes down to it, the idea of going far afield to some exotic beach or lake location appeals to me more than the actual going. Discontent really isn’t rational.

The Lord is kind to accept our repentance of sins. The Spirit is kind to enlarge our thankfulness in an ever growing sanctification.

Happy Spring, and if you’re an educator, Happy Spring Break!