Category: theology

Posted in theology

Salt is a corrosive, too

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I lived in Maine for 30 years, and was born and bred in Rhode Island before that, so I’m a New Englander through and through. I know snow.

It snows a lot in Maine and for a long time. While the rest of the country may be experiencing spring, where I used to live it still kept on snowing. Unfazed, locals opend up their ice cream shops and put on shorts anyway. Forget the Groundhog, Mainers have their own signals that spring is near: when Red’s Dairy Freeze in South Portland opens, as this story the other day from the Portland Press herald illustrates, it’s spring. It’s news when the seasonal shops come alive again.

reds
People brave an oncoming winter storm to line up outside Red’s Dairy Freeze as the ice cream shop opened for the 2018 season on March 7. The 2019 season started Monday. Staff photo by Brianna Soukup

In our town, it was Hodgman’s Frozen Custard, and Lonnie Dogs, the 40+ year hot dog vendor fixture. When Lonnie rolls his cart up to the parking lot and opens for business, you know crocuses are just around the corner.

plow blades
Snow Plow blades at rest during the summer. EPrata photo

One of the Public Works responsibilities of a town or city in New England is to lay road salt down in advance of and during a snow or ice storm. What is road salt? Anne Marie Hemelstine, PhD answers that here:

When cold weather arrives, stores stock up on big bags of road salt and you may see it sprinkled on sidewalks and roads to melt ice. But what is road salt and how does it work? … Road salt is used to melt snow and ice and keep water from freezing… Road salt is halite, which is the natural mined mineral form of table salt or sodium chloride (NaCl). While table salt has been purified, rock salt contains mineral impurities, so it is typically brownish or gray in color. Machines mine the salt, which is crushed and packaged for delivery.

Road salt is necessary for the motoring public in winter climes, if they want to keep driving semi-safely, that is. The cities and towns buy enough of it so that when it’s delivered, we call it ‘salt mountain’ because the pile is so high. But road salt is also a corrosive. If you don’t wash it off your car at regular intervals, it will eat away at the metal undercarriage of your vehicle, and after a while you’ll have a Flintstones car.

I have been thinking about the verse that says we believers are to be “salt and light.”

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. (Matthew 5:13)

We know that people regularly interpret this in a couple of ways. Salt is a preservative. Barnes’ Notes explains it this way-

Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction. So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example, they save the world from universal vice and crime.

Salt is also a flavor enhancer. GotQuestions explains it this way-

Second, salt was used then, as now, as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world. Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil (Luke 6:35).

But elsewhere in the Bible we also understand that we as believers are the aroma of death to those who are perishing-

For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task? (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

I think that road salt can be thought of as a corrosive element generating an acid response to those who reject, i.e.s the aroma of death, and/or an abrasive element that melts hardened icy hearts into hearts that love the Lord.

Just a thought.

Posted in theology

One major way Christian self-help books damage you

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“Christian” self-help books saturate the publishing market. Isn’t the notion of Christian self-help an oxymoron? We can do all things…through Christ, who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13). Apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5).

Yet the books keep coming. Osteen, Hollis, Warren, Niequist, Lusko, Shirer, Meyer…all under the guise of helping you and all sold under the banner of the spotless Name.

These books and ideas harm you. They steer you away from Jesus and that always hurts a Christian.

I was listening to a John MacArthur sermon titled The Hope That Overcomes the World, and though the sermon was not remotely on self-help, something Dr. MacArthur said brought the issue to my mind.

Trying to secure a meaningful, lasting relationship in marriage seems well-nigh impossible. Families are full of chaos and disintegration. Add to this decades and decades of propagating self-esteem and pride, and what you have is people who are consumed with their own desires and their own wants, who then double-down on the impossibility of making meaningful relationships because they’re so self-centered. Source

That’s where self-help books fit so well into the chaos. Using these kind of books or materials will only help you circle the drain. Why? Our natural penchant for self-involvement due to our thorough depravity and sin, engenders this. Turning to these books, instead of to Jesus, for help will only propel us to double down on our sin and selfishness.

I liked the use of the phrase “double down”. It’s apt. The natural man wants his own desires and will seek them in any way he can. We are to rely on the Spirit to slay that old man and kill those desires. Allowing these materials to come into your heart and mind will only double the propensity to turn from Jesus and begin a downward spiral…it’s what the false teachers are there for, to help you do this.

How does it double down? That’s the trap. When the first book doesn’t “work” to help solve the problem of the hour, you’ve tried this or that from the bulleted list the author has earnestly told you will help, you’ll go back and make a second trip to the bookstore, looking for what will help. As one becomes more involved in the journey back to self, the possibility of making meaningful relationships diminishes because we’re ever more focused on self rather than Jesus, who is the source and flow of all meaningful relationships- because He is the primary relationship.

2 Peter 1:16 says, For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

What false teachers have to peddle are myths. They’re cleverly devised, which makes them dangerously hard to spot. They purposely exploit the unwary for gain, with these stories that “they have made up”. (2 Peter 2:3).

When we have been witnesses to His majesty, not eyewitnesses like the Apostles, but witnesses in seeing Him through His revealed word, why turn to myths and stories, and allow ourselves to be exploited? Some books are written by true teachers and may be helpful, but the genre is riddled with the false. Be careful, sister, and watch out that the natural man’s flesh isn’t creeping to the unhelpful. If we double-down on anything, it should be His word made alive in our heart and mind.

self

Posted in theology

South Afrikaaner swallowed by a whale

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The video program Snapped in the Wild by Barcroft TV is a show that presents exciting wild animal-human interactions or animal-animal interactions snapped on camera.

In this latest episode, as the Youtube blurb states,

Rainer Schimpf, 51, has worked as a dive tour operator in South Africa for over 15 years. But in February, he experienced something very rare – the inside of a whale’s mouth. In perfect sea conditions, Rainer and his team set off to document a sardine run – a natural event where gannets, penguins, seals, dolphins, whales and sharks work together to gather the fish into bait balls. Rainer and his colleagues film the expedition for educational and environmental purposes.Split into two groups, Rainer led his team into the ocean, about 25 nautical miles from shore.But it was when the sea suddenly churned up that the team knew something strange was happening.

The whale apparently accidentally gathered Ranier into his mouth while scooping up fish and suddenly the photographer was inside the whale. As the Bryde’s whale closed his mouth he began to dive, but then the photographer felt the whale turning. Soon Ranier was popped out of the whale’s mouth again safely back onto the surface of the sea.

Ranier finished his description of the event by saying “I now have some knowledge of the inside of a whale that no one else has.”

I’m glad that the event turned out harmless for the man, the whale and the onlookers and other photographers. Ranier and the crew attribute the event to a total accident, with no malice on the whale’s part and none of the animals were apparently harmed.

However, lol, I could not let the concluding statement by the animal photographer go unreplied to.

I am a Christian who believes the Bible is inerrant. I believe that all the things that happened in the Bible’s recordings happened as they are presented. That means I believe that God who is three-in-one, created the heavens and the earth in 6 literal days. That decomposing Lazarus was resurrected from the dead after 4 days in the tomb. I believe that the minuscule amount of oil lasted 8 days, enough for the prophet’s wife to pay her creditors. I believe that the blind were healed and the lame walked. All of it.

So when I read Jonah and the great fish in Jonah 1-2, I believe Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Moreover, I believe Jonah dwelled inside the whale for 3 days, was conscious and in his right mind, prayed to the Lord, and was popped out of the great fish’s mouth onto dry land alive.

Wildlife photographer Ranier Schimpf may have had the surprise ride of his lifetime, but there was one before him who has knowledge of the inside of a great fish, Jonah.

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jonah 2:10)

The Lord God is great, holy is He in His habitation and sovereign over all that happens in the universe!

iron decorative fish

Posted in theology, worship

Songs of praise, looking up

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

jerusalem from scopus

Jerusalem from Scopus

‎We have no means of knowing whether Joseph and Mary entered Jerusalem on their way to Bethlehem. They certainly passed in sight of the Holy City. Scopus, from which our view is taken, is to the north on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We will assume that they saw Jerusalem from this point. It was not the same Jerusalem we saw for the last time, as we made our way to the north on May 2d, 1894, but Josephus has left on record a description of the city as it existed in the time of Herod, and it is possible for us to construct in imagination the city of that time.

The framework is the same to-day as it was in the year 5 B. C. The same hills are there: Zion, Moriah and Acra. The same valleys are there: Hinnom, Tyropeon and Jehoshphat. The Temple of Herod, which was eighty-three years in building, had been in course of erection for fourteen years. From Scopus where we are standing they could have seen the ground plan of the temple, within the same enclosure of thirty-five acres, where we now see in the distance the Mosque of Omar.

Source: Earthly Footsteps of The Man of Galilee, being three hundred and eighty-four… views and descriptions of the places connected with the earthly life of Our Lord and His Apostles … By Bishop J.H. Vincent, etc. – 1894. This striking photographic journey throughout the Holy Land illustrated with no less than 384 b/w photographs taken in 1894 by R. E. M. Bain in order to document the expedition to Palestine headed by clergyman James Wideman Lee.

You can see that Jerusalem sits atop the mount, and the road leading up to it ascends. That is likely why the Psalms between Psalm 120-134 are named Psalms of Ascents. Though no one is quite positive about this, it is believed that these particular Psalms are gathered into a little hymnbook inside the larger body of Psalms because they were meant to be sung as the Israelites ascended the road to Jerusalem in advance of the several feasts and celebrations they were required to attend under the Law. The previous bunch of Psalms are called the Hallel Psalms, hallel meaning songs of praise, you can see we get the word hallelujah from hallel.

Phil Johnson explains it all here, in The Song of a Truly Blessed Man:

The position in the canon is significant, I think. They are grouped with Psalm 119 and the hallel Psalms. Most commentators nowadays believe these 15 psalms were sung by groups of pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem for those three pilgrim festivals—the same holy convocations where the Hallel psalms were sung.

So it’s my conviction that the “Psalm[s] of Ascents” were songs for the journey. These are songs for pilgrims as they ascend to a higher place. You know that Jerusalem is situated on a high elevation. The Temple was built at the very top of Mount Zion, and the city itself was the highest populated place in Israel. So no matter where you were coming from, it was always up to Jerusalem. Every journey to Jerusalem was a pilgrimage to a higher place—and those annual pilgrimages therefore made a perfect metaphor for spiritual growth.

Whether your church is up a mount or down a valley or on even ground, sing praises as you look UP today to the highest of the High, the exalted and lifted up Jesus.

By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

May your Lord’s Day be blessed.

Posted in theology

The devastating consequences of jealousy

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Bible is replete with examples of real people living real lives. Since the Bible people are real people, AKA sinners, they sin. The Bible doesn’t shy away from showing that.

In thinking over some of the more famous cases of bad acts, the brotherly jealousy/sibling rivalry issue formed in my mind. It happened a lot.

Cain, jealous over God favoring his brother Abel’s sacrifice more than his own, he slew Abel. (Genesis 4:4, 8).

Happy little Joseph awoke one day and told his brothers an amazing dream he’d had. (Genesis 37:4-5). The brothers hated Joseph because their father favored Joseph. When Joseph told the brothers his dream, one that showed how he’d rule over them one day, the brothers were jealous of him all the more. (Genesis 37:11, Acts 7:9). Then they plotted to kill him. (But God intervened and providentially saved Joseph).

David and his brothers. We read of that whole process where prophet Samuel comes to David’s father asking him to assemble all the sons. (1 Samuel 16). He is going to anoint a new king. The sons must have felt great excitement! One by one, though, they were rejected. Only after little David was brought in from the fields, too young and small to even be considered in the original lineup, were the halted proceedings resumed. In front of the father and brothers, Saul, on behalf of God, anointed David.

After that, the brothers were in the encampment awaiting the day when someone, anyone, would come forward to slay Goliath the Philistine. Errand-boy David arrived with provisions for the brothers, but was angrily mocked and scorned instead. What had David done to merit such treatment? He’d spoken up against Goliath.

And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? (1 Samuel 17:26)

His brother Eliab heard and became angry. Presumably he was embarrassed. I mean, it had been 40 days of listening to Goliath taunt them and not one Israelite had stood up to fight. Not one. Certainly not Eliab. Then comes little David and he makes a bold statement immediately.

Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” (1 Samuel 17:28).

The jealousy between Jacob and Esau is well documented. Esau was favored by the father, Jacob by the mother. Instead of enjoying this unique relationship, mother and son plotted to get an upper hand. Esau helped by throwing away his birthright for a bowl of soup. Then Jacob tricks father and brother into gaining the blessing. Thus began a decades-long separation due to anger and rivalry.

Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 4:4)

Being jealous of another is a sin. And please don’t cite “God is jealous so I can be, too”. God’s jealousy is for us, not against us. His perfection makes His jealousy righteous.

God’s jealousy is always a product of his perfect, self-sufficient love (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 50:9–15; Isaiah 40:28), which provides the opportunity for him to feel deeply jealous about the people with which he has freely covenanted. Source

How to overcome this sinful emotion?

Here is an article from Desiring God about jealousy (also quoted above). Hey, Jealousy

Here is a one-minute audio from Grace To You’s ‘Portrait of Grace’ series, Overcoming Jealousy

What Does the Bible Say about Jealousy?

snake
Posted in potpourri, theology

Prata Potpourri: Women’s Day, Fencing the Lord’s Table, Discernment thinking, Girl, again?? More…

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

My friend the school secretary related a cute story. One of the staff is retiring. The office personnel were congratulating him. A little student was nearby, and she was asked, ‘He is retiring, do you know what retiring means?’

She piped up, “Yes. It’s when you don’t actually quit your job, you just get old and go home”.

Well then! Out of the mouths of babes…

On to Potpourri:

thornsThink the grass will be greener over there in those ministries? Not always so…A good essay from Michael Kruger.
Yes, There are ‘Thorns’ in Vocational Ministry Too

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Girl, you got problems… Rachel Hollis’s book(s) Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing lack a proper theological framework, thereby being unsuitable for Cristian consumption. And by the way, they also seem to be plagiarized from un-acknowledged sources, which render them unsuitable for anyone.

Jen Oshman reviews Hollis’s latest book: Girl, Follow Jesus

Buzzfeed presents some information on the allegation of plagiarizing in Influencer Rachel Hollis Is Facing Accusations She Is Plagiarizing On Her Instagram

Katelyn Beaty at Christianity Today adds to the conversation about Hollis’s books in Girl, Get Some Footnotes: Rachel Hollis, Hustle, and Plagiarism Problems

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The discernment lesson in this one is good. Hey, the whole thing is good.
The Servant Leader Shuns Unbiblical Thinking

How did Spurgeon fence the Lord’s Table, anyway? A view on the issue of open communion, or closed?

Open Book: Books by R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur have had a profound impact on so many people. But which books influenced their lives and ministries? Listen each week on Open Book as we hear about the books that shaped their thinking. This week- John MacArthur and A.W. Pink’s Spiritual Growth (Podcast)

Properly Celebrating Women’s Day at Delivered By Grace. “While we can certainly recognize progress of women’s equality in many ways in our culture, how should we as followers of Jesus celebrate women and the place of women in our lives, our culture, and our churches?”

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Table Talk Magazine examines individual and societal loneliness. I’ve been interested in this topic ever since I was a journalist in the early 2000’s, observing and reporting on society via sports events, civic meetings, clubs, and organizations. How do people interact these days? In 2001 Robert Putnam published his groundbreaking book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Society. I recommend it.

TableTalk article: All the Lonely People

I read this book by Wiersbe in order to review it, recommended:

Lonely People: Biblical Lessons on Understanding and Overcoming Loneliness Living Lessons from God’s Word, by Wiersbe, Warren

weary

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Julie-Ann Baumer in Maine has a nice folksy way about her. I enjoy her blog posts
In the Rear-view Mirror

Jessica Fisher at Good, Cheap Eats has an article on 8 Great Taco Fillings. I’ve been enjoying Mexican food a lot lately, so it’s on my mind. Maybe you’ll enjoy these too.

 

Posted in theology

“If you’re physically able to attend your church on the Lord’s Day, and you choose not to, you’re sinning”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Recently I wrote about the importance of attending church regularly. (Popular blogger says you don’t have to “do” church). I refuted her premise, which is summarized in her statement:

It’s entirely okay to step out.

She offers pious sounding reasons, but upon even a cursory examination of her ‘reasons’ that it’s OK to step out of church, they are flimsy and collapse when looking at the light of scripture. Or just common sense.

However, I received push-back for my stance. It was this that surprised me. Greatly. I thought it was a given. You’re a Christian. You go to church. Why? You go to church to worship the Lord who saved your soul, to edify the Body with the gifts we’ve been given, to serve, and so on. It was clear.

church communionBut apparently this is not clear to everyone. I thought there were non-negotiables in Christendom and that regular church attendance was one. However, everything seems up for grabs these days to disparage, question, or reject.

Excuses made for lack of regular attendance were: work interferes (for ten years), small groups can substitute, it’s legalistic to expect this, the Bible never commands it, there’s no good churches nearby…

I’ve been pondering this ever since. I have wanted to write about it again.

A teaching in Ephesians 3. Ephesians 3:10 brought sudden light to the church attendance issue in a way I’d not thought of before. Here’s the verse:

[grace was given] so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Again, “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places…

The passage is talking about how God uses His church to demonstrate His wisdom to holy and unholy angels. Choosing to step out of church means you’re choosing to step out of His plan to be used for His display in the heavenly realms of His wisdom to His creatures.

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On another note to this notion of ‘you don’t have to attend church’, this segment of the latest 9Marks Mailbag was also highly pertinent. It directly answers the question of whether you should regularly attend. I asked permission to reprint this part of their essay and they said yes.

Must Christians Go to Church Every Sunday?

Dear 9Marks,

How many Sundays count as regular church attendance? Twice a month? Or are Christians required to be at church every Sunday? —Desmond

Dear Desmond,This is an important question. In short: if physically able, Christians should be present at every Lord’s Day gathering. It’s what we do. But let me explain.

First, before we receive a command to attend, we receive a promise: Jesus is present. Throughout the Bible, God is drawing his people to himself. In Genesis, we’re created to be in God’s delightful presence—and since the Fall, God has been redeeming his people for such a privilege. For Israel, God’s presence was restricted to the tabernacle (and later, temple).

But in Christ, all of God’s promises are fulfilled and these former images are transformed (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the temple—he’s “the place” we experience God’s delightful presence. Before Jesus left this earth, he gave a promise: “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am present” (Matthew 18:20). What Jesus had in mind is what we call our “church services”: a group of people (at least two or three) who gather in the name of Jesus to represent him to the world. Therefore, church services aren’t like religious classes or moral fill-up stations or personal worship times. Jesus is present at our services in a unique way as the church gathers to worship and represent him. That’s the promise.

Second, consider the backdrop of the Sabbath. God himself established the seven day cycle of creation, rested on the seventh day, and then gave his old covenant people the covenant sign of the Sabbath both for rest and to mark them off as belonging to him. Almost immediately and universally, the churches of the New Testament stopped celebrating the Sabbath and began gathering on the first day of the week, resurrection day (e.g. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10). By doing so they both affirmed that they found their “rest” in the Lord of the Sabbath and marked themselves off as those who belong to him. That’s what it means to “gather in his name,” a gathering sealed by his presence (see previous point). In the same way, the seven-day cycle orders creation, so gathering on the first day orders new creation. If you want to make gathering every other week your regular practice, you first need to convince me God established a 14-day cycle in creation.

Third, the command to attend isn’t a pastor’s idea, but God’s. Members have responsibilities to one another, and elders have responsibilities to members. Practically speaking, the only way we can fulfill these duties is to be present when the church gathers. Hebrews 10:24–25 puts it bluntly: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The habit of attending church every other week would also be the habit of forsaking church every other week. Of course, physical ailments, unforeseen emergencies, and other providential occurrences will occasionally keep you from attendance. But generally speaking, if you’re physically able to attend your church on the Lord’s Day, and you choose not to, you’re sinning.

I know that might sound strange to many modern-day Christians in America, but anything else would sound strange to many Christians of the past and in other parts of the world. Attending church on the Lord’s Day is the most natural thing we do. Geese fly in Vs, wolves hunt in packs, elephants travel in herds, penguins survive the winter in huddles, and Christians gather for worship. It’s our nature. It’s what we do.

—Joel Kurz

Please consider these things. Regular, faithful church attendance is so important. It should be made a priority in a Christian’s life, a high priority.

church

Posted in poetry, theology

Poetry: Waiting for the Day

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

creation

The clarity of grey moonlight
Focused determination of the ant
Joyous song of the mockingbird
Rushing clamor of the tides

All these You have made

The scudding clouds before the coming storm
The bask of the lioness on the burnt plain
The hurry of the hummingbird, sipping red throated
Of nectar from vibrant blooms

All these You have made

The granite mountains, solidly overseeing
The futility of man’s works and doings
Nesting birds at rest, yet groaning for better days
When the curse shall be lifted

Man, o man! Our deceitful heart has made this place a trial to the animals
Rocks and hills, oceans and rivers
They wonder at us
Your creation, your beautiful creation…

All these You have made

Will be changed, in a blink of an eye,
In fervent heat You will melt away the curse.
We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.

All this You will make. Then-

The creation itself will be set free
from its bondage to decay
and brought into the glorious freedom
of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)

creation2

Posted in encouragement, theology

Encouragement for ladies living with an abusive past

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A friend of mine sent these recommendations to me. You might consider these two resources if you are struggling to shed the baggage of an abusive past, need some encouragement, or just want to read about how God’s love triumphed in these womens’ hearts. I personally haven’t read them but here is what my friend said:

I wanted to share with you two books I recently read. They are great books for anyone, but especially helpful for women who suffer from an abusive past. Both books were recommended to me by my Biblical counselor from the Master’s Seminary. You may have heard of them or read them, but just in case I thought I’d pass them along for you to read or share with other women you know that may need some encouragement 🙂

Glenda’s Story: Led by Grace : by Glenda Revell (forward by Elisabeth Elliot). Amazon blurb:

Unwanted from birth and abused throughout her childhood, Glenda was desperate for love and a sense of belonging. Her only respite from a miserable home life was school, and the welcoming shade of her favorite willow tree, under which she would dream of another life, another family, and pray to a God she did not yet know. Ultimately, Glenda’s afflictions became the cords with which God drew her to Himself. Receiving His salvation, she understood that God had saved her from her own sinfulness, more than horrid conditions and treatment by others. This is a story of great hope, an amazing account of how our merciful Savior brings light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow, and peace out of pain. Highly recommended by Elizabeth Elliot.

Dorie: The Girl Nobody Loved : by Dorie Van Stone. Amazon blurb:

“Someone has said that when you have nothing left but God, you realize that God is enough. God had stood beside me when no one else wanted me. He was not going to abandon me now. God would have to heal the emotional pain that throbbed through my body.”
As a child, Dorie was rejected by her mother, sent to live in an orphanage where she was regularly beaten by the orphanage director, was beaten time and again by cruel foster parents, and was daily told that she was ugly and unlovable. Dorie never knew love until a group of college students visited the orphanage and told her that God loved her. As she accepted that love, her life began to change.
Dorie is a thrilling true account of what God’s love can do in a life. Doris Van Stone takes readers through the hard years of her childhood into her fascinating years as a missionary with her husband to the Dani tribe in New Guinea. With the rise of illegitimate births, the increase in divorce statistics, and the frightening escalation of child abuse, this story stands as a reminder that God’s love, forgiveness, and grace are greater than human hurt and sorrow.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)

be strong verse