Category: theology

Posted in theology

Discernment: Women on the ‘Speaking circuit’- example, Jackie Hill Perry

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Jackie Hill Perry Partnering with Bill Johnson at Bethel Music School

Woman are biblically urged to be at home, tend to their home, abide in their home, and perform duties oriented to the home. Are you getting the idea? The Proverbs 31 woman did all she did FOR the home, which is biblically her sphere.

1 Timothy 5:14, Titus 2:5, Proverbs 14:1 are just a few of the verses that outline a woman’s sphere.

That’s not to say that the husband and the wife may make other decisions based on certain circumstances. That’s not to say that at certain times it may require a woman to be away from the home for work or other reasons. I am not setting a mandate.

The Bible however, does make some clear statements that a wife’s primary orientation circulates around the home- especially when she has children. It should be her priority. This isn’t a popular statement these days.

In 2016 at the height of popularity for Joanna Gaines of Magnolia Enterprises, I wrote that she was a hypocrite and a liar. Joanna constantly claimed in interviews and on her TV program “Fixer Upper” that she was a mom first and her children were her priority. I showed with facts that this was not true. Her orientation was for herself according to her own “testimony”, her enterprises, her books, her speaking, her TV program, her bakery, her furniture store, her design products, her book tour, and so on. I received a LOT of heat for saying this. But I mean, you could even SEE it on the TV show. Facts are facts.

Don’t only listen to what they say. Watch what they do. Both must match up.

Jackie Hill Perry at the Activate 2019 conference with other speakers

I took heat for saying that Beth Moore was also a hypocrite and a liar for the same reason- not there for her kids. Beth’s public speaking engagements, IRS tax return statements of working 50 hours a week as President of her corporation, her own admissions in her blog writing of travels for writing, book tours, and television taping added up to a busy career women. Her lifestyle contradicted her claim that she was at home for her kids. Eventually, a few years later when her two daughters were grown they admitted in an interview that mom was gone a lot, dad picked up the slack, and they “ate a lot of takeout.” The interviewer also said of Moore, “Her days are tightly scheduled and obsessively focused on writing. She spends hours alone in an office…”

Propel Activate women’s conference 2019 tagline. We are not called to lead, nor step out

She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not dwell at home; (Proverbs 7:11)

Speaking of hypocrites, when Diana Stone was writing for She Reads Truth, we read in Diana Stone’s bio that, “You can find her in the mornings with a cup of coffee and her Bible flung open, preparing for the day ahead.” And “With a sweet daughter in tow, Diana clings to God’s Word daily.” It turns out that Mrs Stone relaxes with the Bible “flung open” … after she drops her daughter to daycare. At the time of that writing, in 2014, the couple had employed a part time nanny to care for their daughter in their home so Mrs Stone could work as a freelance writer. After bumping along with several nannies, they put their child in daycare so Mrs Stone could continue to write at home. So yes, she was at home…while a day care worker took care of her kid.

Don’t only listen to what they say. Watch what they do. It must match up.

Mr Jerry Shirer “does his share of housework and child care so that Priscilla can study and write. He travels with his wife everywhere. Whenever possible, they take their sons along on her speaking trips, but they often deposit the boys with Jerry’s mother.” Quote

It is impossible for a woman to claim undivided attention for the children at home AND have an outside the house career, especially when it’s evident by reading their blogs, seeing their speaking schedules, and just having common sense to see their lifestyle.

When a woman has a full-time “ministry,” AKA career, it means the children will suffer a lack of attention from the mom. Which brings us to another career woman, Jackie Hill Perry. One of the main indicators of whether a woman is genuinely converted and submitted to the word of God is seeing her home life. Where is her attention? If she is a mother, do her children come first? Did she submit to the word of God as per her role and let go other entanglements? Or is she using the word “ministry” as a synonym for career and living a lifestyle at odds with the word of God?

In Jackie’s case, she has four children under the age of 10. To the best of my research, her kids are currently 9, 6, 3, and 2. Unlike Joanna, Beth, and Diana, Priscilla; Jackie hasn’t to my knowledge claimed to be an at-home mom. She is proud of her kids and writes of them often, but doesn’t try to maintain a fiction of being a SAHM.

At Jackie’s website her speaking engagements for 2023 were listed. It looked like a busy year of travel away from her children for this mom of four.

2023:
March 10-11. New Orleans, LA.
March 17-18. Atlanta (Decatur), GA.
April 14-15. Kansas City, MO.
April 21-22. Philadelphia, PA.
August 18-19. Greensboro, NC.
September 8-9. Grand Rapids (Wyoming), MI.
September 22-23. Dallas, TX.
September 29-30. Sacramento, CA
October 27-28. Knoxville TN

Jackie’s speaking engagements in 2024, many of which require travel, are below. The list is INCOMPLETE, these are just the ones I could find individually searching. JHP’s speaking event page on her website isn’t updated for 2024 yet.

January 10: podcast interview
February 23-24: Philadelphia PA
February 23: Canada (online)
March 1-2: Ft Worth TX
April 12-13: Bluefield W.VA
July 10-19: Bethel, Redding CA (It’s a 10-day event, I do not know which day or all of the days JHP is appearing there).

I wrote yesterday about JHP’s trajectory away from orthodoxy and that in many people’s estimation (mine included) partnering with heretic Bill Johnson AT Bethel to teach at their music school crossed the line.

Jackie Hill Perry claims to hear directly from God, basks with heretics, refuses wise counsel, rejects correction, and calls setting doctrinal boundaries ‘tribalism.’ But add to the cadre of items to be reviewed when assessing an influencer or teacher, is her home life.

I think it is QUITE telling when a mom of children gallivants all around the country for speaking engagements, leaving the care of her children to someone else (OR dragging them with her like Shirer did) in order to curate her own career. Oh, they call it “ministry”, they call it “using their God-given gifts”, but it’s a career. When you have kids, according to God, your ministry IS the kids. A woman’s priority according to the word of God, should be at home with them, raising them, keeping the home.

If a wife/mom won’t submit to the priority of God in this instance, what else of God does she rebel against?

Jackie Hill Perry is false. Avoid her.

Posted in theology

Jackie Hill Perry partnering at Bethel with Bill Johnson (this is BAD)

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Jackie Hill Perry Facebook profile photo

I’ve written about poetic speaking artist, former lesbian, self-identified Christian Jackie Hill Perry (JHP) before. Negatively. And positively. But at all times had asked readers and followers of JHP to use caution.

Jackie Hill Perry renounces Enneagram
Jackie Hill Perry comes out as a prophet
Jackie Hill Perry on her false prophesying
Jackie Hill Perry Discernment Review
Jackie Hill Perry performs jig-a-boo, about not tolerating false teachers, (ironic now that she’s doing that exact thing).

We often feel such joy when a fellow member of the human race converts in faith by grace of God to His kingdom. If that person has a “platform” then all the better, some believe, because the person can use it for the glory of God. Unfortunately, we often rush to put the person up on their platform, or other platforms, forgetting to use patience and wisdom to see if their conversion is genuine.

Paul warned Timothy when explaining qualifications for pastors, that he must not be a recent convert lest he become puffed up with pride, conceit, and fall into the devil’s snare. (1 Timothy 3:6). The same concept can be applied to any new convert who is thrust into leadership before they are ready.

Preaching at UYWI National Conference Aug 21, 2019

Jackie wasn’t ready.

Spencer Smith on JHP began his latest video on JHP this way:

“False teachers operate the same way. They all do. They come out of nowhere. They start saying all the right stuff and everybody gets real excited about them. Then after a while they keep talking and then all these red flags start popping up. You’re thinking this-that doesn’t sound right. That doesn’t add up. And after a while they just start saying all these crazy things. You’re thinking now wait a minute I’m going to make a call here. Am I going to just let this go or am I going to kind of blow the whistle on this person?”

Here is a timeline of JHP’s biography as an adult starting with conversion:

2008: JHP renounces lesbianism and converts to Christianity. She’d heard the Lord speak to her. She said- “I repented of my sins that day in my bedroom, believing that Jesus was simply better.” (Better than what?)
2010: Began performing her poetry with Preston Perry.
2014: Marries Preston.
2018: Appeared in documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone as a solid Christian.
2019: Partners with some of the type of people she spoke against in the film; sparks backlash and a disinvite to Answers in Genesis conference. Open Letter from Truth + Fire is published pleading to JHP to be discerning.
2019: AG filmmaker tries to reason with JHP about her discernment. Fell on deaf ears. (see below for Facebook post about this).
2020: In a Q&A Session on Instagram Story, JHP pointedly refutes her participation in AG film, declares doctrinal divides as “tribalistic”.

“Q: Will you do another American Gospel type of documentary?
A: Probably not. I deeply dislike the tribalism and theological superiority those type of films encourage. I did it then. I won’t ever do it again.”

2021: JHP continually partners with false teachers. List from Michelle Lesley: JHP partners with false teachers-  Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Christine Caine, Lysa TerKeurst, Lisa Harper, Lauren Chandler, and Amanda Bible Williams at various LifeWay Abundance and LifeWay Women Live conferences.
2022: JHP often openly mentions hearing directly from God, (see link above “JHP comes out as prophet”) and tells some prophecies ‘God’ has allegedly given her. JHP rejects pleas for her to employ better discernment.
2022: Frequent preaching at many conferences and other locations, which requires much travel. Preaches unashamedly to men.
2023/2024: December 2023 it’s revealed JHP to be a teacher at the 10-day Bethel Music School in 2024, teaching WITH Bill Johnson. See immediately below the American Gospel summation of this sad situation-

American Gospel wrote on Facebook RE JHP teaching at Bethel

In our last communication with Jackie Hill Perry (2019), we explained our concerns over her partnerships with Jenn Johnson (Bethel Music), Christine Caine (Hillsong), Sarah Jakes Roberts (daughter of T.D. Jakes) and other people connected with the Word of Faith or NAR movement. She explained that she did not agree with WoF doctrine because it was a misrepresentation of the gospel of God. But she was not in agreement with our interpretation of the Biblical lines in who we would avoid ministry partnerships with, or who would actually teaches that false doctrine.

We recently learned that Jackie will be a speaker at Bethel Music’s 2024 Worship School, alongside Bill Johnson. https://bethelmusic.com/worshipschool

Jackie also asked for our prayers for wisdom to discern what is pleasing to God, and how that affects her neighbors. We believe that her decision crosses both of those lines, because Bethel’s doctrine and practices lead people into spiritual danger, which means they should be avoided.

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” — Romans 16:17.

-end American Gospel Facebook note.

Screenshot from Bethel School of Music’s announcement of the 2024 courses & speakers

Yes. She has crossed that line.

The discussion circling around Jackie these past few years has been whether JHP was genuinely converted and been drawn into a circle of wolves early on but will eventually come out of it, or that she was not genuinely converted and is now unconcernedly circling with wolves. I was suspicious from the start because her original testimony contained alleged direct hearing from God, and she later admitted publicly she hears from God in personal prophecies. For this reason I do not believe she is saved.

Jackie said the right things at the beginning and sadly, the wolves glommed on to her. She was promoted, touted, and trumpeted as a trophy of God. Discerners had warned that the Bible tell not to puff a new convert too soon else they become conceited. Jackie, in my opinion, showed an almost immediate disregard for wise counsel, indicating the aforementioned puffed-up-ness. No genuine Christian even with a small amount of discernment, would be comfortable with SO MANY wolves SO OFTEN as she has been associating with. And I put the timeline to show that she is not a newbie any more. She should have grown in wisdom and discernment by now, and she hasn’t.

Avoid Jackie Hill Perry. She is with her ‘tribe’- the wolves.

Photo by Thomas Bonometti on Unsplash

Further Reading

GotQuestions: Is the Word of Faith (WoF) movement biblical?

Christian research and Apologetics Ministry: What is the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)?

Ligonier: Are there prophecies today?

Q&A various pastors at Ligonier: How do you define a false teacher?

Posted in theology

The LORD ‘formed’ Adam, the LORD ‘forms’ us in the womb

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In Genesis 2:7 we read,

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person. (NASB)

It is a glory for us to be able to worship a God who is so intimate with mankind. He didn’t speak man into existence like He did the grass or the cows or the stars. He formed man personally. Then He breathed into man his own breath, giving us a soul.

In reading the Genesis verse, I was reminded also of the verse in Psalm 139:13,

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. (ESV).

He isn’t an indifferent Allah. He isn’t a multi armed, capricious god. He isn’t a fish-god. He is GOD, and He is involved with mankind, each man and women. He formed us. He knit us together from the womb, to have this personality, these physical features.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary makes another connection,

When our Lord Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes with clay perhaps he intimated that it was he who at first formed man out of the clay; and when he breathed on his disciples, saying, Receive you the Holy Ghost, he intimated that it was he who at first breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life. He that made the soul is alone able to new-make it.

And He gave us a soul. Matthew Henry again,

To God that gave us these souls we must shortly give an account of them, how we have employed them, used them, proportioned them, and disposed of them; and if then it be found that we have lost them, though it were to gain the world, we shall be undone for ever.

From the beginning, God has been intimately involved with man. Not from a distance, not apathetically. Involved.

To the end God has been involved with man (“It is finished”). And He is involved as we continue through the the epilogue of His finished work; as He develops His Church, raises up His Bride, sustains His people to the end of the end when we’re all resurrected in glory living in New Jerusalem. We serve an amazing God.

Posted in sound doctrine, theology

Enduring sound doctrine in the days of tickled ears

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…(2 Timothy 4:3)

Do you notice that word “endure”? The verse does not say “they will not like sound doctrine…” It does not say “they will not enjoy sound doctrine…” It doesn’t even say “they will not accept sound doctrine.” It uses the word endure. When you endure something, you writhe. You wish you were not there in the midst of it. If anyone has ever undergone physical therapy, you know that you have to endure it but if you could you would shoot out of the gym so fast you’d be like a speeding bullet. If anyone has ever had to get a root canal, you know that you endure it. You do not seek it, you do not like it, and if you could, you go away from it.

That is the process by which lukewarm Christians, fake Christians, and unholy pastors feel about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. To be sure, the true Gospel of the Risen Savior is full of warm fuzzies. He loves us. He prospers us. He sends angels to us.

But the True Gospel is also full of truth, the unpalatable truth that the lawless cannot endure: we are sinners. Rejection of the remedy for your sin means you will spend eternity in torment, apart from God. That there is nothing good in us. That we are fallen, craven, and deserve judgment. No, they will not endure that. So they don’t.

Instead they seek teachers to tempt us with what the devil has always tempted us with, and tempted Jesus too: health, wealth, fame. They may find it in some “preachers” and in some “churches”, but it is for a season. Most do not find prosperity in health, wealth and fame. The only ones becoming famous and rich are the false pastors who urge the hapless and desperate to send money.

A watered down gospel removes the book-end to the love parts that they seek. That other book-end is judgment. They will not endure sound teaching that His holiness involves love but it also includes righteous judgment.

“I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
“They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. (Isaiah 45:23-24)

The true word absorbed by submissive believers is sweet. But it is also sometimes accompanied by a bitterness felt by even the most beloved of followers, even the most obedient of disciples. Sometimes the true word is hard to hear and bitter even for believers, because it reveals to us the true state of our sinfulness and the fate of those who refuse His hand, those mockers and scorners whom we mourn over-

I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. (Revelation 10:10)

The only way to endure the knowledge of judgment that is coming is to rest on His truth and His promises. Those who do not rest in that truth, bitter as it sometimes is, do not endure it. Not only have they stopped asking the Spirit for wisdom, but they simply stop ingesting the sweet Words of the LORD and they flee away, being unstable in all they do.

If you seek sound doctrine but have had a hard time finding it, I encourage you to enjoy the teachers I have been enjoying.

Alistair Begg is a good one. He is at Truth for Life.
RC Sproul at Ligonier.org
S. Lewis Johnson at Believers Chapel
John MacArthur at Grace to You tells it like it is, compassionately. Many people don’t like that he tells it like it is, but what he tells is the word of God, from the Bible, demonstrating once again that people can’t/won’t endure the word of God applied to their heart and mind.

Has solid preaching become an endurance test for you? Or are the hard but truthful words uplifting to you and filling in every way? If you have recently changed churches because the pastor is “a little too Bible thumping for my taste”, or have you drifted away from regular worship lately because the sermons are too long, too convicting, or demand endurance on the part of your deceitful heart, then ask yourself if you are really just trying to accumulate a teacher in accordance with your own desires, and are wanting your ears tickled with a less filling but great tasting sermon. If so, you may be at risk.

Posted in theology

The Language of God: Natural Disasters

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

After a terrible natural disaster, people often wonder, “Where was God in all this?” Others wonder “Did God cause it? Did He allow it? Did Satan do it? Was it just the natural outcome of a fallen world?” And the biggest question, “Why?”

These questions have interested man since the beginning. Even in the Patriarchs age of Abraham and Jacob and Isaac, man wondered. The Covenant with the Hebrews that God instituted starting with Abraham, gave the People an attitude of specialness. They believed that they were protected by God from these things, and if these things happened, it must be because of sin. Deuteronomy 28 is entirely about what would happen if they obey (I will prosper you) and what will happen if they disobey (I will curse and punish you).

God promised “to send” everything against them: boils, military defeat, feverish heat, plagues, fever, mildew, enemies, famine, blight, tumors, rash, scabies, drought, oppression, robbers, insanity, blindness, confusion of mind, rapists, traffickers, military occupation, robbers, consumption, mistreatment.

You notice in that Deuteronomy 28 list there are individual bodily curses, general against-the-people curses, and natural disaster curses.

The People’s theology was based on reaping-and-sowing, disaster cause-and-effect right through to Jesus’ day. If you were bad, then bad things happened to you. If you were good, then good things happened to you. Eliphaz spent chapter after chapter pressing Job on this point. Eliphaz asked Job sarcastically in Job 22:4,

“Is it because of your reverence that He punishes you, That He enters into judgment against you?“

They brought that reaping-and-sowing direct judgment idea to the New Testament. Remember the man born blind? The disciples asked Jesus who sinned, him or his parents? (John 9:2). Jesus said it was neither, but that the works of God might be shown in him. And the discussion about the Tower of Siloam- Jesus explained it fell not because the 18 who were killed were worse sinners than anyone else. (Luke 13:4).

And we do see personal, individual judgment in the Bible. Herod was struck down. Uzzah was struck down. Ananias and Sapphira were struck down.

And the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, four of the five Cities of the Plain, were directly destroyed by God specifically as a judgment. And the Book of Revelation is full of ‘natural disasters’ that are specifically judgments sent by God.

So what are we in these times currently to think when a disaster like lightning, flood, hail, or drought happens? 1) Did God send it as a judgment? 2) Or is it the natural consequence man’s Fall? 3) Or as a consequence of man’s failure to keep the Garden and work it correctly, as in, landslide happened due to overbuilding on tenuous soil, or the tower fell because of sub-par materials…

Yes. All three.

In today’s time there are direct judgments and there are indirect judgments.

But, and here’s the caveat, we can’t know which disaster is a judgment and which is a natural outcome of something else, because we can’t know the mind of God in every specific case. Only the believers living during the time of the Revelation judgments will know for sure that certain natural disasters are judgments, because they are specifically prophesied to happen during that era and in certain ways. They will know the heat, drought, fire from heaven etc. are from God because Revelation records that they will be from God.

As for today, when Hurricane Katrina happens or the Japan tsunami or Joplin tornadoes…are they from God? Does He control the tornado to go here and not there? Does He form the hurricane and send it to Florida or Mexico? Does He create the earthquake as a magnitude 7.2 here but over there he makes it be a 4.6?

In a sense, all ‘natural disasters’ are a result of God’s judgment, because In Genesis 3:17 God told Adam that God will curse the ground because of what Adam did. Between the global curse and God’s sovereignty, yes, He controls the tragedies that occur.

“Well, of course God controls everything, directly or indirectly – I mean, that is to say, did God blow the wind? No, not immediately – but mediately, God controls everything. God is – God allows everything that occurs; there is nothing outside the purview of His will and His purpose. We know that clearly from Scripture. [But] Does God create the forces in the moment that they act? That’s another question.”

“I mean, did God all of a sudden say, “Okay, hurricane, you go there,” or is this the conflux of all those providential elements that God has placed into existence that effect perfectly His will, even to the exact and precise life and death in every individual case? Yes.” Source

EPrata photo

As John MacArthur explained in a sermon called When God Abandons a Nation, he outlined different kinds of wrath as seen in the Bible. There’s

–Eternal wrath– the judgment upon a non-believer after death,
–Consequential wrath– the reaping of what is sown, as in, be an alcoholic, you get cirrhosis of the liver; you’re promiscuous, you get venereal disease or AIDS; you’re a criminal, you might die in a shootout,
–Eschatological wrath– the prophesied wrath the Old Testament prophets warned of and Jesus warned of in the Olivet Discourse and the wrath seen in the book of Revelation,
–Wrath of Abandonment, promised in Romans 1 when God gives a people over to their sin, lifts His hand of restraint and lets them go their way,
–Cataclysmic wrath– tornadoes and tsunamis and hurricanes etc.

God is in control over all of it. He calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. He sent fire and brimstone to Sodom. He is sovereign over satan, who sent a wind/whirlwind/tornado from all directions to destroy Job’s house.

Jerry Bridges recounted a terrible earthquake in Mexico that killed 6000 people. Bridges said that a friend had asked his daughter-

“Do you know what caused the earthquake?” He planned to answer his question with a simple explanation of fault lines and shifting rocks in the earth’s crust. His seismology lesson quickly turned into a theological discussion, however, when his eight-year-old daughter replied, “I know why. God was judging those people.” Though my friend’s child had jumped to an unwarranted conclusion about God’s judgment, she was theologically correct in one sense. God was in control of that earthquake. Why He allowed it to happen is a question we cannot answer (and should not try to), but we can say, on the testimony of Scripture, that God did indeed allow it or cause it to happen. (Source)

Further, Bridges said,

Whenever we are affected by the weather—whether it is merely an inconvenience or a major disaster—we tend to regard it as nothing more than the impersonal expression of certain fixed meteorological or geological laws. … But God has not walked away from the day-to-day control of His creation. Certainly, He has established physical laws by which He governs the forces of nature, but those laws continuously operate according to His sovereign will. A Christian TV meteorologist has determined that there are over 1,400 references to weather terminology in the Bible. Many of these references attribute the outworking of weather directly to the hand of God. Most of these passages speak of God’s control over all weather, not just His divine intervention on specific occasions.

Though God sometimes uses the weather, and other expressions of nature, as an instrument of judgment (see Amos 4:7-9), He most often uses it as an expression of His gracious provision for His creation. Both saint and sinner alike benefit from God’s gracious provision of weather.

God’s sovereignty over nature does mean that, whatever we experience at the hand of the weather or other forces of nature (such as plant diseases or insect infestation of our crops), all circumstances are under the watchful eye and sovereign control of our God.

Excerpted from Trusting God by Jerry Bridges

This week I’ll take a look at the Bible and ‘the language of God’ when He had sent drought, earthquakes, lightning, fire & brimstone, and hail.

Further Reading

Ligonier – How Should We Pray when Natural Disasters Strike?

Ligonier – Responding to Disasters

Ligonier – Why Does God allow Disasters?

Jerry Bridges – God and Natural Disasters

MacArthur – When God Abandons a Nation

Posted in theology

Wynter Wakeneth Al My Care

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

‘Wynter wakeneth al my care’ is one of the earliest surviving winter poems in English literature. Its language is Middle English of the 1300s.

It’s a poem about the brevity of life – a memento mori – which is a poem or trope reminding one about the inevitability of death. It is designed to remind one about that inevitability to come upon everyone, and to reflect on what happens after death.

We don’t so much reflect on these things in current days, nor do preachers preach much on it. I remember Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God which was ALL about death and our eternal destination, reaping the rewards of sin, therefore repent. Not a common subject today.

Perhaps because death is so removed from us moderns, we are not as familiar with the Grim Reaper anymore personally. The body is taken to a funeral home, sequestered in Intensive Care Units, it isn’t prevalent in every day life as it would have been for the ancients who saw death all the time. Even warfare is partly done by bombs and missiles from afar, unlike hand to hand combat in former times, killing by one’s own sword or bayonet.

Here is the original poem:

Wynter wakeneth al my care;
Nou this leves waxeth bare.
Ofte Y sike ant mourne sare
When hit cometh in my thoht
Of this worldes joie:
Hou hit geth al to noht!

Nou hit is, ant nou hit nys,
Also hit ner nere, ywys!
That moni mon seith, soth hit ys:
Al goth bote Godes wille;
Alle we shule deye,
Thath us like ylle.

Al that gren me graveth grene;     
Nou hit faleweth al bydene.
Jesu, help that hit be sene,
Ant shild us from helle,
For Y not whider Y shal,
Ne hou longe her duelle.

Here is the translated poem:

Winter awakens all my sorrow;
Now these leaves grow barren.
Often I sigh and sadly mourn
When it enters into my thought
Regarding this world’s joy:
How it goes all to nought!

Now it is, and now it isn’t,
As if it had never been, indeed!
What many a man says, true it is:
All passes except God’s will;
We all shall die,
Though we dislike it.

All that seed men bury unripe;     
Now it withers all at once.
Jesus, help that this be known,
And shield us from hell,
For I know not whither I’ll go,
Nor how long here dwell.

“What impressed the writer was the tragic change that comes over the appearance of the woods and the meadows. The whole point of his song is that he actually sees, as did Shakespeare, hideous winter confounding the beauty of summer-stripping the branches and turning the green into the sere and yellow leaf. That sight-the death of the season-plunges him into melancholy, for he knows that life itself is as brief as summer and that for man death is as unescapable as winter.” Source, article “Wynter Wakeneth Al My Care”, by Edward Bliss Reed
Modern Language Notes, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Feb., 1928).

The Lord’s Day is a good day to reflect on death, which to the Christian is still a sad subject but one that is laced with HOPE. We know our eternal destination post bodily death is eternal life. Jesus the Savior gives life to those who repent, and we will live forever with Him! A subject that has joy behind it because of the promise of reunion, happiness, and life triumphant in glory.

After winter, comes the spring.

Posted in theology

Are the reporters who focus on sex abuse in the church doing a service, or a disservice?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word errare (“to wander”), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres.” ~Wikipedia

Keep that definition in mind. Keep that picture in mind too.

Tripod Rock, Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area, Morris County, New Jersey, United States, 2019. photo/video © Brian W. Schaller / License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

I’ve written before about the importance of being balanced in our theology.

We should absorb the whole counsel of God. We should share the whole counsel of God. As Christians, we seek balance in our learning. As with anything in life, we strive to be well-rounded.

That’s not to say that we don’t have favorite doctrines. If we’re a layman or if we’re a teacher we may have a niche interest of study. RC Sproul was known for holiness and philosophy. Phil Johnson is known for his expertise on the Psalms. And, there are niches to be studied. The Doctrine of Providence. The Doctrine of Eschatology. The Doctrine of Hamartiology (Study of Sin). It’s OK to have a focused interest.

However, we should not camp on one doctrine to the exclusion of others, or delve so exclusively into our niche that our outlook becomes distorted.

In true discerning communication, there is always an attempt to point toward the good, not simply to highlight the bad. Throwing rhetorical hand grenades is pretty easy. Building a positive and convincing position is much harder.

Discernment bloggers, Truth, and Christian Witness

That quote could be applied to any study, not solely in discernment blogging, but in any Christian writing, any Christian study, any Christian life. Balance is important. Some have lost that balance in employing discernment. Others have lost it in studying eschatology. Now today, I’m speaking of a set of women who hyperfocus on sin: one sin in particular, that of sexual abuse.

Hamartiology is the study of the Doctrine of Sin, granted, but these women who constantly focus on a supposed plague of sex abuse in the church aren’t studying sin for the glory of Jesus. They are studying one sin for the besmirching of the church.

I am offended at these feminist women claiming Christ who perpetuate the myth that all churches are misogyny hatcheries, and every man, woman, and child in them are past, current, or future victims of sexual abuse. No.

Biblical odds are that since church gathers hundreds/thousands of people, some aren’t truly saved, despite professing. So, sin happens, like abuse. Also thievery, deception, adultery, embezzlement, etc. happens too. But sexual abuse has been skewed as THE one, only, main sin happening today in churches. It isn’t.

I’m reminded of John 16:2, where Jesus told his disciples,

They will ban you from the synagogue, yet an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering a service to God. John 16:2.

These women believe they are doing a service to God by constantly raising up alleged or even real cases of sex abuse they have no business in, that didn’t happen in their own church but others’, that happened 10 or 30 years ago, giving a platform for victims to recount in lengthy detail their abusers’ acts…

They think they’re helping. They aren’t helping.

Yes, the Ravi Zacharias abuse issue was horrific. Yes sexual abuse happens more and more in this world as all flavors of sin increase. Given how many apostate churches there are and how infrequently pastors preach a true gospel that includes wrath for sin, sadly, it happens in churches too.

Yet-

Jesus’ Church is beautiful, full of redeemed saints as part of His Bride. Yes, sin happens. Yes, unredeemed sinners stalk His gatherings, but the true church is glorious.

What do you think happens when a person (who professes Christ) constantly harps on one sinful topic? Especially that topic? Just as the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day when he discovered the true meaning of Christmas, (love),

that person’s heart will shrink,

For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:15 KJV),

What does the verse mean? Barnes’ Notes:

“The meaning in both places [parallel Isaiah 6:9-10] is, that the people were so gross, sensual, and prejudiced, that they “would” not see the truth, or understand anything that was contrary to their grovelling opinions and sensual desires; a case by no means uncommon in the world.“

We should be mindful about our view of the Bride of Christ and how we speak about it. Today’s culture even in professing Christendom, people play the victim so as to gain influence, their moment of fame, or just to join the chorus. Not to diminish real pain experienced from real sin – WHATEVER that sin against you was – but ‘going public’ after the matter is resolved is often NOT necessary or even wise.

I opened with a photo of a glacial erratic. These huge rocks are pushed by a glacier as it moves inexorably along. When the glacier finally melts the huge rock is deposited where those kind of rocks don’t normally appear. It’s out of place. Erratic is from a Latin word meaning “wander”. Often perched precariously atop other rocks, or slanted on a cliff, the erratics look like they will slide away or fall down any minute.

These women hade wandered far from orthodox theology, only to have come to rest on a tenuous set of perches far from their normal location, ready to slide away any moment. They truly are glacial, and erratic.

These and other women have created a theology that perches precariously atop their skewed outlook that sex abuse is everywhere. Their perspective rests entirely on a precarious pet subject…and it isn’t Christ

As you may come across these women in your social media travels, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Are they being careful how they speak of the saints, Jesus’ church, and God’s people, especially pastors?

Does it seem they think of our Jesus as a Savior who doesn’t overlook sin, but sees His redeemed as without blemish?

Do they act like they are walking in love? Do you get the feeling they view the Church as holy and blameless?

Photo by Sooz . on Unsplash

Do you get the sense that these women care for the perpetrators, too? That they pray for them because they know they need the Gospel? Or is the prevailing sense you get from their attitude is that ‘men are nasty; church is unsafe’?

In their overall ministry, is there a sense of hope, a pointing to the true, the good, the holy?

Is there an attitude of evaluating people as being in Christ, this same Christ who has triumphed over these unsavory sins? And if repentant, that the perp is forgiven? Do you get the sense they would welcome a repentant and forgiven sex abuse perp to their church? Sit with them at church suppers?

Would you want to attend church with these women, who focus so deeply on man’s flaws instead of Christ’s perfections? Would YOU feel safe with these women if they discovered a sin in you?

Or do these sex abuse reporters display relentless, pitiless scrutiny on solid men who lead solid churches?

Or do these sex abuse reporters display relentless, pitiless scrutiny on solid men who lead solid churches?

Do you feel your own perspective shifting from believing the church is triumphant and beautiful to a view that is rife with nastiness and stain? It’s this issue that prompted me to write. So many younger women are coming to the latter belief now, instead of the former. Dogged mudslinging will do that.

These women’s continual focus is not a service to God but simply a way for them to satisfy their own prurient interests, to delve into lasciviousness, while appearing to the unwary as pious and spiritual. Or, to satisfy their lust for fame and attention by muckraking and digging up victims whom they heartlessly exploit for hits. Avoid these women like the plague they are.

Further Reading

Ligonier: Ministering to the Abused and the Abusers

GotQuestions: What does the Bible say about a contentious or quarrelsome woman?

Posted in theology

“What did I do?”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A restful Christmas break

Yesterday was the last day of a two-week school Christmas Break. It was eagerly anticipated and much needed. I’ve enjoyed it.

I set goals for the time off. I allow myself to “slunge” the first 4 days till after the actual Christmas day. Slunge is a made up word I use that’s a combination of slack and lounge. After a few days of rest, I energize myself to meet other goals and get some things done I’ve been wanting to do.

Anyway those first few days I binged media content and read a lot. The bingeing consisted of Season 17 of Project Runway, the first season of Reacher, and season 2 of Homicide Hills (A light hearted German police comedy. Yes, the Germans can be funny…).

I also watch a lot of Youtube police-suspect roadside interactions and court dockets. I love law stuff. Some years ago I considered attending Law School but opted for something else instead. With the advent of Youtube now I can be an armchair lawyer, lol. Current favorite judges are Judge Gauthier in MI and Judge Boyd in TX. I also like Judge Cedric Simpson. Anyway, the police-suspect videos, I’ve gotta stop watching. They aren’t edifying, except maybe to illustrate biblical points about sinful man’s nature.

Source. Public domain

But in my watching roadside interactions with suspects over the last year or so and my binge last week, I noticed something. The roadside suspect is one who is accused of crimes like criminal trespass, shoplifting, or driving under the influence. It is interesting to see the suspect’s reaction to an authority who has stopped them and is asking them to account for their erratic behavior.

The first thing to notice is their utter disregard for legal authority over them, embodied by the police. Very few if any of these people are polite and compliant. I realize that the videos uploaded to Youtube are probably mostly the ones that show something dramatic, and a polite suspect easily placed in handcuffs isn’t going to generate hits and views. But anyway, these suspects argue with the cops, ignore the cops, deny their crime, or run away from the cops (either on foot or in the car).

Fleeing and resisting are two things in a tense encounter with the police that will always get you into handcuffs. And so it is. As the police finally wrestle the person into the cuffs, one thing the suspecty always yells:

“WHAT DID I DO?”

Police smashes window of unruly driver.

Over and over, they play the aggrieved innocent, asking what was the cause of their arrest. ‘What did I doooo?’

The police answer. Over and over. They explain, tell, list, all the behaviors that got the person restrained and into the police car. The person rejects the facts, and continues asking ‘What did I do?’

This is an interesting pattern with perps. In one incident, the woman fled in her car for miles with police on her tail with lights and sirens. When finally cuffed, she not only kept asking ‘what did I do’, but complained that there was no secure place to stop. The crawl on the video from the uploader stated,

“The suspect passed 7 parking lots, 2 turn lanes, a gas station, and a church before finally pulling over.”

Another kept asking what did I do, and the police told her that she hit 2 cars, a light pole and she’d been driving with sparks flying from her tireless rim for a mile, with all fluids leaking out.

These suspects know what they did. They know because they just did these acts moments before. Their mind is either busy rejecting their lawless acts, or they are so deep into their drug or alcohol induced mania that they can’t think straight.

You know where this is going, probably. Matthew 7:21-23,

21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Lawless sinners will meet the Lord one day. They will be amazed and shocked that their lawless deeds were not overlooked. They had convinced themselves that their deeds were reasonable, lawful, or non-existent. They’d denied, denied denied. They literally can’t think straight. Sin has made them drunk and their thinking is futile. (Romans 1:21). The mind of the lawless is amazing in its ability to suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18).

The suspect always seems totally ignorant of their crime, or denies it, or argues it away. It is amazing to see that done to an authority like the cops. But they will still do it in the Judgment to THE Authority, Jesus.

They THOUGHT they were OK. Even if deep down, they kind of knew they weren’t-

Remember Lot’s Wife: her will was never really brought into a state of obedience to God; her affections were never really set on things above. The form of religion which she had was kept up for fashion’s sake and not from feeling: it was a cloak worn for the sake of pleasing her company, but not from any sense of its value. She did as others around her in Lot’s house; she conformed to her husband’s ways; she made no opposition to his religion; she allowed herself to be passively towed along in his wake—but all this time her heart was wrong in the sight of God. The world was in her heart, and her heart was in the world. In this state she lived, and in this state she died. ~JC Ryle, tract, excerpt “Remember Lot’s Wife“.

For disobeying God by watching Sodom‘s destruction, Lot’s wife is turned into a “pillar of salt” while Lot and their daughters escape (Monreale Cathedral mosaic) Public Domain

Don’t let this be you. I plead frequently in prayer to the Holy Spirit for Him to assure me that I am not performing religion, but that my heart is truly converted and submitted to the will of God. The ability to delude one’s self is potent. The warning from Jesus Himself to “Remember Lot’s wife”.

It means we must be sure to be submitting to the right authority.

“Joab was David’s captain; Gehazi was Elisha’s servant; Demas was Paul’s companion; Judas Iscariot was Christ’s disciple; and Lot had a worldly, unbelieving wife. These all died in their sins.” JC Ryle, “Remember Lot’s Wife“.

Proximity to religion will not save you! Arguing with the authority after the fact will not save you! Jesus knows the heart. Only the converted, repentant, faithful heart will be the standard by which He accepts anyone into His kingdom.

Let’s do our best to witness by word and by our lives, to pray for the lost, and to encourage one another to good deeds. We do not want to be the ones at the Final Court asking, “What did I do wrong?”

Posted in theology

Remember!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Sermons hit different people differently. Some say it was the best they’d ever heard, others say meh. It’s why I don’t usually post sermons claiming such things, the Holy Spirit emphasizes different things to different people. What I think is blockbuster the next person can take or leave, and vice versa.

Individually, like for myself, I can’t tell what the Spirit is doing. I can’t tell if I’d advanced in sanctification a lot or a little that day, month, year. There aren’t bells or alarms that indicate such things.

But, we KNOW that the Holy Spirit leads us. We KNOW that He advances us in Christlikeness day by day. But can we detect it?

Not usually. But sometimes.

Allow me to share my experience. In November of this past year, I tuned in to a sermon from The Master’s Seminary because I was curious about the title: “The Secret to Endurance”. It was delivered by Dr. Abner Chou. I’ve listened to him before. I went through his Seminary course in Job, twice. And Exodus. I’ve heard his sermons and Chapel talks. He talks fast and is high-level. Many times I can’t keep up. But I keep at it.

Anyway, I was curious about ‘the secret.’ I tuned in. His text was Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, (2 Timothy 2:8). The sermon was aimed at pastors and soon-to-be pastors but it is highly applicable to anyone in ministry, AND any lay person who just wants to endure.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, (2 Timothy 2:8)

I enjoyed the sermon. It’s good. As happens many times with the Holy Spirit, one particular thing ‘jumped out at me.’ The word “remember”.

Abner Chou can wring out more truth from one word than I think any man alive. He spent some time setting up the premise for Paul telling Timothy to remember, then explained the word remember’s meaning.

Remember Jesus Christ…

I took that part of the sermon to heart. It imprinted in me. Since early November to early December, every time I heard the word remember, I thought of that sermon. In December it drove me batty enough so I tuned back in and re-listened to that part, except longer before and after the part I was wrestling with.

And again throughout December, every time I heard the word remember. I brought it back up and read the transcript.

This morning someone posted on Twitter a JC Ryle link to a short essay called Remember Lot’s Wife. I’m curious about that scene in the Bible as well so I downloaded the link and read the essay. It’s a really good essay. (free download here).

The word remember, remember, remember kept coming up in my mind, so I looked up the sermon AGAIN today. This time I re-listened to the entire thing. Though I enjoyed it the first time in November, this time, something was happening. I cried tears after tears listening to all the explanations about the power of Jesus, the Person of Jesus, the preeminence of Jesus. Paul’s use of the term Jesus Christ, Paul’s entire goal in life to honor Jesus, verses and more verses.

Even though I’d heard the sermon before in its entirety and in parts 2X after that, this time I sat stock still, eyes glued to the screen. I did not multitask. I did not move. All I did was get tissue after tissue and listen, amazed at the beauty and grace of Christ presented through the eyes of Paul to Timothy. The Spirit was obviously doing something. What, I do not know. Knitting truth to my soul…transforming my mind…

It HAS to be the Spirit. I wasn’t moved over a romantic comedy. I wasn’t moved reading a story over a lost cat. I didn’t have tears over a sad news story. It was scripture. And if it’s scripture, it has to be the Spirit, who uses scripture to point to Jesus.

We cannot grow if we do not absorb the scriptures (hearing it or reading it for ourselves). We need to meet with Jesus to learn about Him and be pliable to have the Spirit form Christlikeness in us. If you hear something or read something and your mind keeps turning back to it, follow it up. I’m not talking about mystical signs or omens. But if you keep meditating on a scripture, or part of scripture, then, what are you waiting for? Keep digging. It may be an example of the Spirit leading you. Even if it isn’t, it’s a good thing to return to a verse and keep praying over it for deeper meaning. And if it is, you will have glorified Jesus whom the Spirit is leading you to meet with.

I humbly bow to the power of the Spirit-filled word. I am grateful to the Savior for fashioning for me a life where I can listen to sermons like this, to have time to do so and space to ruminate on the powerful preaching. He is a good, good God. I will remember.

Posted in theology

Lectio Divina is not a harmless Bible reading practice. Here’s why

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

You are at risk. Every minute. IF you are in Christ, that is.

EPrata collage

Satan seeks those whom he may devour. He does not rest. He got Peter, didn’t he? Peter had been with the Lord day and night for three years. Seen all the healings, miracles, heard all the lessons. Peter knew Jesus was the Christ. (Matthew 16:16). Yet when the moment of highest pressure came, Peter denied Jesus. Succumbing to his/our corrupt nature, he opted for self preservation.

Satan is subtle (Genesis 3:1), relentless (1 Peter 5:8), bold (Matthew 4), has an evil, prideful agenda (Isaiah 14:13), deceitful (Ephesians 6:11) and more.

Satan masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14). A masquerade is someone dressing as someone else, in costume and with a mask so as to hide their true self.

HOW does satan deceive? By promoting error and undermining. Matthew Henry says,

They would be as industrious and as generous in promoting error as the apostles were in preaching truth; they would endeavour as much to undermine the kingdom of Christ as the apostles did to establish it.

By promoting error and undermining.

Satan’s subtlety and his masquerade means that something that’s deadly will be hidden as something good, religious, even. The error won’t look like error. It’s hidden behind a mask, remember? But it hides its true nature behind the mask, and will eventually damage you.

One example of his subtle evil is when he inserted Lectio Divina (LD) into the true church. LD is a Roman Catholic/Mystical practice, so it comes from the false church. It is a practice that on its surface, seems good, holy, proper. But satan masquerades, remember. LD only has a veneer of goodness to it. Take the mask off and you can see its true nature.

Many people these days refuse to look beyond the mask. Ephesians 6:11 says to

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Satan has schemes. Many people these days also refuse to even put ON their armor, never mind look into these things to see IF there is a mask and if so, to see what is lurking behind it.

screen shot from Passion 2012 segment where Lectio Divina (lite) was taught to 16,000 attendees.

LD arose over ten years ago and immediately became popular when Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Louis Giglio, Lecrae (I think), and John Piper taught 16000 impressionable youths at the Passion Conference a version of how to do it. The lesson became seeds of false doctrine that the youths returned to their churches to plant. This is both error and undermining, satan’s tactics.

The panel stood on stage before the youths and one by one went through what seems to be a modification of the full LD process, and all the while, a 30 foot high billboard behind them was emblazoned not once but twice with the mantra, “Jesus, speak to us”. Asking Jesus to speak outside his word is error, and it underme the sufficiency of scripture.

Does God still give revelation?

Beth Moore, for example, read a passage from the Bible, and then urged the youths to “be still and ask Jesus to speak his word to us.”

No. The audience had just heard Jesus speak His word. (Hebrews 1:1-2). She had JUST read His word to them. Jesus IS the Word. (John 1:1). The prayer should not be, ‘Jesus speak your word to us’, but ‘Holy Spirit illuminate the word to us.’

What is the biblical doctrine of illumination?

those eyes…

Though these kind of practices are fads negatively impacting the global church, and some fade quickly, LD is still kicking around. I saw women on Twitter defend Lectio Divina this week. One defender said:

Here. Here is where we get these ideas. Brad Klassen explains what Lectio Divina is and why we should stay away from practicing it.

The Bible and Lectio Divina: A Helpful Tool or a Dangerous Practice?

It’s a good article, just a 10-minute read. Klassen proposes 4 reasons why Lectio Divina is harmful to your walk with Christ.

Lectio Divina is dangerous due to-
-Its historical origin and development
-Its alienation of the human writer
-Its eisegesis
-Its subjectivity

After explaining the 4 reasons, Klassen concludes,

While more reasons [not to do LD] could be listed, these suffice. Lectio divina—the “sacred reading” of the Bible—is not just one more instrument that the Christian can add to his spiritual toolbox to better read the Word of God. Inherent to its practice are elements that lead the reader away from the meaning of the text and toward the reader’s own subjective intuition.

I encourage you to read his article.

Satan is subtle. You need to be wary of a fad that enters the church and is almost eagerly accepted, even if it seems to be everywhere, even by people on stages you might look up to. Your faith needs to remain as pure as possible. So, put on the armor, look behind the mask, and pray for illumination.

Further Resources

Discernment review: The mystical practice of Lectio Divina

Why I no longer follow John Piper or Desiring God ministry

When Study Isn’t Study

No Shortcuts to Growth