Freedom can be defined in different ways and has been, at different times in history. But as we celebrate our freedom today, 4th of July Independence Day here in the US, we celebrate the fact that on July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson, says History.com. We declared our separation from Great Britain, and from the oppressive taxes and micromanagement of the King’s governing of us. We wanted to be a free people.
For 247 years we have been enjoying the civic and political freedoms our Constitution has afforded us. But Christians know that the only true freedom is in Christ. Non-believers are slaves to their sin, there is no escaping the bondage to which they are joined. Believers are freed from our past sins, and freed from the power of sun as we progressively become sanctified, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus’ life, who died on the cross.
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)
Christ freed us!
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1).
Slavery to sin is the worst slavery of all. But you do not have to be subject to its laws and its oppression. Repent, believe on the Son, and be free today!
People accuse Christians of having “blind faith.” They charge Christians of being “dumb” or a “robot”.
This is not so. The Bible is evidential. Evidential is an adjective that means serving as evidence. From Vocabulary.com, we read, “Often used as a legal term, evidential is sometimes paired with the words “proof,” “burden,” or “hearing.””
The Bible has many external and internal proofs that the information contained in it is reliable. Believers know that it’s reliable because it’s from God, who is perfect. It’s the revealing of Himself to humanity, and everything He does is good, therefore the Bible is good.
However, unsaved people are blind to the glories of God. They cannot please God. Their mind is clouded with sin and their foolish hearts are darkened. So they do not believe the Bible as credible, true, or good.
Yet sometimes, a person gets curious about the Bible. They want to know, logically, why so many people find the Bible fascinating. They want to know if it is true, or the things in it are trustworthy. They investigate.
Pause that thought for a minute…
I am a writer, I always have been since I was able to write. I love language…words…phrases. How they sound, their origins, choosing words for my blog writing. It’s fun. I spend a lot of time with words.
When someone posts something on social media, I look at what they wrote, and I comment on it. Recently a woman took issue with something I replied to on a person’s large ministry page. She said I didn’t have the whole context, I didn’t know the story, I didn’t know the person’s heart, all that. Sure, I agree, more context is better than less context, but the point of social media is that someone writes something and publishes it for the world to see, and people in the world who read it, reply based on what they read.
What we respond to are the words the person chose in their published piece. What they put in, and what they leave out. The words they pick, the language the chose, gives insight into a person’s mind.
Here is a Cold Case Detective explaining his profession’s approach to forensic language. His name is J. Warner Wallace. He was unsaved but curious. He was interested in the Bible as an evidential document. It is a true cold case. I bought his book “Forensic Faith” and I’m looking forward to reading it.
Wallace said: “Detectives will have the perpetrator write down everything they did on the day of the murder from the time they woke up to the time they went to bed. I will analyze that looking for deception indicators, how they compress time, how they expand time, how they use pronouns, how they use tenses and verbs. I’m looking for adjectives and adverbs. These are really important. Optional words are really important.”
His story is that he examined the Bible using the same forensic methods he uses in his profession in solving cold cases. He found the Bible to be truly trustworthy. As a side note and a praise, he was saved shortly after that, and is now an apologist for Christ in the faith.
So while we can’t determine everything about a person from reading their words on a screen or on a paper, we can conclude some things. We might not be a cold case forensic detective, but we do have the mind of Christ and our mental faculties can detect word patterns.
Pay attention to the words they use and the words they don’t use. That second one is harder, I agree. Omissions are hard to spot. Oftentimes it takes a pattern of omission to detect something is off. Take Joel Osteen for example. He never uses the words ‘sin’, ‘repent’, or even ‘Jesus’. He will say broken, or messy, or God, but he doesn’t choose the Bible’s power words that convict a soul.
Beth Moore rarely uses the word repent in her speeches or her writing. Oh, she’ll speak or write a verse that has the word repent in it, but she rarely directly calls for repentance from sin. To my knowledge, and I checked this to the best of my ability a year or so ago, she has never taught either in person or a published Bible study, on 1 Timothy. Hmmm. That’s the Bible book that forbids women to teach men or hold authority over them.
Some people have occasionally made remarks on what I’ve written based on a conclusion they’ve come to, and after examining their statement, I’ve found them to be right. I didn’t even know I was revealing myself but they concluded something about me based on the words I use, the topics I write on.
So watch for a pattern of omission, while you are watching for the words they choose to use. Does the Bible teacher use important words like hell, death, wrath, repent, sin, Jesus. Do they overuse words like grace, mercy, forgiveness, without a balance of the other words?
And that is the point. When a person gives a sermon or writes something on social media or on paper, they are choosing words. Words and phrases are important. It is a glimpse of what is in their mind and heart. (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45).
What life in Jesus is really about, in truth, is our walk. We will fall. We will gossip. We may mentally lust. We might watch porn. We might be jealous and cut out a family member. We might lash out in anger, and not a righteous anger, either. We might drive drunk. We might, God forbid, stray from the marital bed. One of a million different sins could become public and embarrass us. What do we do? We repent.
But what is your reaction to the fall? To rising up again? Therein lay the difference. What happens after we fall?
When you fell, did you stay down? Did you lay there? Did you give up?
Did you say “woe is me, I fell, I’m not worthy of Jesus”? There are many people who and engage in continued public self-flagellation in false humility, like the Pharisees.
When you got up, did you then trudge? Paul says do not trudge but spring up and finish the race! Have joy. The race is a “good” race! It is a “good” fight!
Jesus knows we are faulty, that we will stumble, that we fail. But He is there to lift us up, the Spirit is there to encourage us. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20). What awaits you when you arise is the Holy Spirit, there with hand extended, to help you immeasurably!
We all fall, the joy is in the getting up and finishing, knowing that Jesus forgives our sin, and throws it as far as the east is from the west! There might be consequences, there usually are, but joy is ours to possess.
Keep looking ahead to the finish line. A crown awaits. Our home in New Jerusalem awaits. Eternal joy awaits. Our Lord awaits. Get up, get up! Pilgrims, the time is short, our time here is shortening daily. Spring up and with all joy and energy, run to the finish line!
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24)
Will you be able to say “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;” (2 Timothy 4:7)
Today John Piper is trending on social media. Whenever a prominent Christian pastor or teacher is trending, I look into why. It’s usually not because the world has suddenly decided that these men are worth listening to and are applauding their wisdom. No. It’s usually the opposite. They have said something contrary to the world, and the word takes issue, even the professing Christian world. Or, they died.
EPrata photo
Since it was Piper and he’s elderly (77 years old), I looked into the trend right away. Gladly, he is still alive and walking- and speaking. The controversy for today is that John Piper said in his podcast a few days ago, responding to a listener’s question, that para-church organizations should not be run or led by women. You can hear the 13-minute conversation at the link or read the transcript.
The questioner went on with saying that in his globally well-known parachurch ministry, “Women will [now] be permitted to teach men from the Scripture, to be in positions of spiritual authority over men, to shape and correct doctrine within the organization, and to mentor men in their ministry roles. The reason given for this change is that a parachurch organization is not the church…”
The Christian Post wrote about Piper’s reply it, here. The Christian Mail weighed in with Piper’s reply also, here.
Nancy Pearcy, a well-known teacher and author, took issue with Piper’s stance, saying on Twitter, “Piper keeps digging in deeper. I am a professor at a Christian university. Some of my students are men–which means, I teach men. Many men also read my books, which could be construed as a type of teaching.”
I have written about parachurch ministries several times. I’ll link those below. Some reasons I am reserved about some parachurch organizations is that they directly and purposely compete with local churches. Some just have no accountability that we can detect. Some draw women away from their home church infect them with false teaching and send them back to the home church to infect it. Or, they are run by women with a poor understanding of scripture and gradually become unorthodox.
EPrata photo
Here, J. Mack Stiles at 9Marks writes,
The standard cliché for parachurch is that it’s not the church, but an arm of the church. Yet historically, that arm has shown a tendency to develop a mind of its own and crawl away from the body, which creates a mess. Given the grand scope and size of many parachurch ministries, those which go wayward can propagate error for years: missionary organizations become gyms, heretical seminaries pump out heretical pastors, and service organizations produce long-term confusion between the gospel and social action. So what should mark a healthy parachurch?Read on to find out what Mr Stiles considers marks of a healthy parachurch.
I can’t be totally against parachurch organizations across the board, of course. Gideon’s International is a parachurch ministry. So is Ligonier from RC Sproul. Samaritan’s Purse that helps so many people after a disaster, is considered a parachurch ministry. Many parachurch ministries are healthy. But of the ones founded and/or led by women, I do have reservations. It doesn’t matter they “are not the church” as Piper explained, the ministry still should not be led or run by women-
Let me offer two reasons for thinking this way. One is that when the apostle Paul gave his instructions that only spiritually qualified men should teach and exercise authority in the church, his argument was not based on culture or on family or church or structures — ecclesiastical structures or any others. It was based on two things: (1) the order of man and woman in creation and (2) the dynamics between man and woman in the fall.
I’ll link to some of the articles I’ve written about parachurch ministries. Some of these organizations are bastions of false doctrine, hotbeds of feminism, and synagogues of satan, cloaked in flowery social media banners with softening filters and comfy women speech. Do not be deceived. Stay true to the Bible’s guardrails for orthodoxy and be careful of the teachings you choose to absorb, whether the teachings are in, or out of, the church.
IF:Gathering- More Information I’ve written about IF parachurch ministry several times. Some of those links are inside the essay here. Or you can plug IF:Gathering into the search bar to find more.
This summer the Lord blessed me with an abundance of new followers. I am so grateful you’re here! I want you to know I take seriously the things I publish, and I work hard to answer questions or comments with grace, in the Lord.
I thought now would be a good time to post an answer to a few questions I’ve received from newcomers, or just to refresh the Mission Statement of this ministry, for the newbies and oldies.
Short Bio
I grew up in New England, a very God-less region. I had little-to-no exposure to church and neither parent was religious. In fact, my father was a fervent atheist. Nevertheless, grace came and I was saved at age 43. I was married and divorced before salvation, now I’m permanently single. I work. I’ve been a teacher for my career and now I’m a teacher’s aide in a public school system. I was also a journalist for a while, and I’ve always been a writer of some sort throughout.
Spiritual influences
Shortly after salvation I started listening to Joel Osteen, who was coming into huge fame at that time (~2004). I enjoyed his positive attitude and also the rhetorical arc of his speeches. But then someone gave me a Bible and when I followed along I realized by the grace of God and the influence of the Holy Spirit, that Osteen was false. Then I began listening to Adrian Rogers. I moved to Georgia and at that time I also began listening to John MacArthur and the people in that circle. (Phil Johnson, Mike Riccardi, Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham, RC Sproul etc). I began attending and still attend a church each week, church attendance is important. I am a Reformed Baptist member of a local church, elder led, expository preaching, with faithful attendance. I am mentor in real life to some younger women, and I love the church gathering whether it’s Sunday service, family small groups, or Sunday School.
Mission Statement
I am 62 years old as of this writing. That means I was about 32 before the internet became a household utility. Prior to that there was no internet. So when I was saved, the opportunity to self-publish content was a gracious gift and I established a blog in 2006. It is called The Quiet Life, based on 1 Thessalonians 4:11. and contained content of personal thoughts. As I grew in the Lord, increasingly I was posting about religious matters, so I established The End Time in 2009 devoted exclusively to our faith matters.
My mission is to publish essays for women, my intended audience, that- 1. Honor Jesus by being biblically accurate (“rightly divided word”) and well written (do all to the glory of God”), 2. Point to credible resources for women to have handy to learn more from credible preachers and theologians, 3. Use social media to employ to the glory of the Holy Spirit the spiritual gifts He has bestowed on me.
Blog Subjects
I write what I feel passionate about, and I believe that passion stems from the spiritual gifts the Spirit has given me, along with personal interests I have. He stirs up affections, and my affections are for right doctrine, and good discernment. I believe the Spirit has given me gifts of exhortation, encouragement, and discernment, so I write about doctrine, encouragement, and discernment. I also personally enjoy natural history, the lands and animals of the Bible and write about them occasionally too.
Why “The End Time”?
No I’m not a fringe end times buff. I named this ministry the end time because we are IN the time of the end. This is the period bracketed by His ascension and His return. The End Time. (Please note, no ‘s’). I want women to remember that and thus, be about our Father’s business with eagerness and fervency. Someday, time will end. Have we worked out our salvation with fear and trembling? Live in such a way that you won’t have regrets when we face Jesus.
I’ve posted every day since January 2009. I started the blog on Blogspot (Blogger) and exported it to WordPress in 2016. I’ve written 6000+ essays, with only a few repeats and very few guest posts. This is a testament to the Holy Spirit sustaining me in this writing ministry and the Bible’s endless wonders whose depths I plumb in amazement.
My earliest, earliest blogs were newspaper eisegesis, that is, looking at the news and backdating it to match what the Bible says. As a new believer I was so flushed with amazement at learning the hows and whys of the world I was basking in my new-found worldview. Soon enough that settled down and I put the Bible first rather than the news.
Podcast
As new technology came along and as I observed the ladies in my church growing up, marrying, and now having children, I saw that a podcast would be helpful for them since they rarely had time anymore to sit down and read a blog. I started recording my blog on a ‘podcast’ which I put in quotes because it is not long form, has no guests, and is simply me reading what I wrote. But if listening is easier for women, then I am all for adjusting to the times and employ the podcast capability. My goal remains, get good, biblical content in front of women and point to credible resources.
Conclusion
It is a joyous thing for me when a woman says she is no longer following a false teacher or is growing in the Lord or has gained wisdom in some way, by something I wrote. It is a wonderful thing to grow in the Lord. I’m grateful for my readers. Thank you!
If you have ever been in the midst of a controversy, you soon begin to see who your real friends are. As the controversy heats up, your friends edge away. They stop calling. They make excuses. They don’t sit with you in the workplace cafeteria. It becomes obvious they don’t want whatever ‘taint’ from your controversy to singe them, and they stay out of the circle of scorched earth you’re in.
Peter was one of those, after Jesus had been arrested, in attempt to separate himself from the stink of disgrace, Peter denied Jesus three times. Paul was deserted several times- John Mark left, Demas departed because he loved the world, and in 2 Timothy 4:16 Paul said ‘all’ had abandoned him at his first trial.
Of course we know that in the end, out of thousands who had followed Jesus in his heyday, only 4 women and John stayed with Jesus at the cross.
Self-preservation is strong in the human soul. It takes a strong person to stick with you when the chips are down. In 2 Timothy 1:15-18 we read Paul’s statement that ‘all who are in Asia turned away from me’. No matter how strong in the Lord a person is, it is still heartbreaking to be abandoned. Here, Paul mentions two specific men who left him: Phygelus and Hermogenes.
You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. (2 Timothy 1:15)
That hurts. For Paul to specifically name these guys must have meant that the letter recipients knew the two men. No doubt it brought uncertainty to the heart of some, who may have wondered, ‘should I leave? Why did they leave? Should I stay associated with Paul, or distance myself?’ Abandonment is disheartening. How do we know? Because Paul uses the opposite to describe one who stayed.
The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. (2 Timothy 1:16-18).
We learn much just from those 3 verses. (By the way, Onesiphorus is not Onesimus, the fugitive slave of Philemon).
1.He refreshed me- often! Visiting a dear friend who’s down is refreshing- to both of you. Sharing your joy in the Lord is refreshing. Singing together is refreshing. Just being there physically is refreshing. We don’t know for sure exactly what Onesiphorus did for Paul that was so refreshing but no doubt it included some of those things. And Onesiphorus did it often. Not a perfunctory visit. Not a putting in the time looking at the watch kind of visit, but many deep, refreshing sojourns.
2.’Not ashamed of Paul’s chains’- Onesiphorus’ identity was so strongly in the Lord he was not afraid to have his own reputation damaged by being seen at the disgraceful jail with this questionable character of Paul. This is a true friend. Self-preservation was not on his plate, selflessness was.
3.’Eagerly sought Paul’. It is refreshing just to know that someone is searching for you, eager to visit, and not grudgingly. It makes you feel loved! That’s refreshing!
4.’Service rendered at Ephesus.’ This is a man who loves the Lord and serves in many ways. Paul ended his letter with greetings to Onesiphorus’ household (2 Timothy 4:19). Onesiphorus’ service to Paul was really unto the Lord. Paul was blessed by it, no doubt Onesiphorus was blessed (Mark 9:41), and importantly, the Lord was blessed.
Choose your friends wisely. (Proverbs 12:26). Some may want to be your friend because of something they can get from you:
Many will seek the favor of a generous man, And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts. All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone. Proverbs 19:6-7
Maybe Phygelus and Hermogenes felt that way.
The Apostles and Disciples weren’t infallible. Sometimes they made mistakes. Philip baptized Simon the Magician. Demas was revealed to be a non-believer. John Mark failed for a while and bounced back, but not without fracturing a relationship and some heartache in between. But a true friend is good as gold.
A true friend shows love, no matter what (Proverbs 17:17). A true friend gives heartfelt advice, bringing joy to the heart (Proverbs 27:9). A true friend rebukes when necessary, but the correction is done in love (Proverbs 27:5–6). A true friend influences, enlivens, and sharpens (Proverbs 27:17). A true friend avoid gossip (Proverbs 16:28). A true friend forgives and does not hold grudges (Proverbs 17:9). A true friend is loyal (Proverbs 18:24). A true friend helps in time of need (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12).
The time may well come when a friend of yours enters into difficulty because of the faith. What kind of friend will you be? Stalwart, loyal, selfless? One who refreshes?
Or craven, undependable, selfish? One who abandons? Gear up now. These decisions will be happening.
If you as a younger women are told or read that an older women in the faith says “So-and-so is a false teacher,” and you follow that teacher, there is only one appropriate reaction from you.
“Oh no! Jesus means too much to me and doctrinal purity is too important to risk losing progress in my sanctification by following someone unholy. I’d never want to taint His name by participating in darkness! Can you please show me where she is false, and I’ll take a look.”
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them, (Ephesians 5:6-7)
Now for your part, younger women, if you ask an older women for scriptural evidence to support her claim that So-and-so is a false teacher, or, this-or-that doctrine is unbiblical, she should gratefully receive this request. She should joyfully provide you with scriptural support.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:6)
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil. (Proverbs 15:28).
What you should hear or read, younger woman, is a reply something like- “I’m thrilled you asked! I would be happy to provide you with some proofs that your walk may be harmed by following this woman. Let’s go to the word together.”
If she becomes defensive, closed off, resentful, or aggressive, this is an indicator that she has no such backing evidence and worse, that she may be a false teacher herself.
Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
What does ‘iron sharpening iron’ mean?
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible: “The proverb expresses the gain of mutual counsel as found in clear, well-defined thoughts. Two minds, thus acting on each other, become more acute.”
I liked that explanation. When I’m asked, I never answer a question without prayer, research, and thoroughly consulting the Bible. This sharpens me, particularly with topics I have little knowledge of. I’m sharpened by the questions because I want to make sure I’m answering correctly, but more importantly, that the answer is aligned with God’s word.
This is how it’s supposed to work, both in real life and online.
Anyone who refuses to answer with scripture and/or biblical concepts, rightly divided, is suspect. Anyone who becomes defensive, closes comments as a matter of routine, or behaves in ways without self-control and kindness is suspect.
I say these things because the online world displays poor behaviors both in the belligerent or gotcha ways of asking, and the defensive, oppositional ways of responding. If you are online enough, you may begin to think that this is the new normal of iron sharpening iron. It isn’t.
If you as a younger woman feel defensive or refuse to delve into why a teacher you follow is false when you’re told so, examine yourself. If you’re an older woman dealing harshly with the tender hearts of the younger who ask you about a teacher or ministry, or even challenge your own teaching, examine yourself. It happens a lot online but hopefully isn’t happening to you in real life. (But I know it does there too, sadly).
If you ask a question about a Bible doctrine or something that someone is teaching, the reply should be filled with gratitude that you even asked. And the responder should be grateful for an opportunity to the asker to show how wonderful God’s word is and how we can stand firm on it no matter the earthly circumstance.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16).
Be of one mind and heart, united in Jesus and His holiness, seeking wisdom, truth, and love.
When you were in grade school no doubt you had friends who helped you if you fell down on the playground, or picked you to be on their team at recess. In High School, you were probably in some clique, that’s what we called them back then, a group of kids who always hung out together, helped each other with homework, had your back. As you grew up you had family who would go to bat for you in any situation.
It feels good to know there’s people behind you. They’re on your side no matter what. It is a relief to have this support. It’s part of relationships to love someone by offering the gifts of loyalty and protection.
Now multiply that feeling 100 times infinity…
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (Romans 8:33-34)
We see that word “intercede” three times in rapid succession in Romans! The Spirit and the Christ intercede for us!
Holman treasury of key Bible words defines and explains the word intercedes here-
“The New Testament writers borrowed the Greek term enteuxis to describe Christ’s heavenly ministry of “intercession.” After Christ offered Himself on the cross as the sacrifice for sins, He ascended to the Father and entered the heavenly sanctuary where He now represents His people (Heb. 7:25). The letter to the Hebrews depicts Christ as a Priest engaged in His continuing ministry of intercession. Christ’s heavenly intercession is a sequel to His earthly sacrifice accomplished once for all (Heb. 10:10–18). Jesus said, “Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32, NASB). His continuing intercession is recognized in such New Testament phrases as “through Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:8; 16:27; 1 Pet. 2:5) and “through Him” (Col. 3:17; Heb. 13:15).”
“The doctrine of Christ’s heavenly “intercession” is explicitly affirmed in four New Testament texts. The apostle Paul spoke of Christ, “at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34, NASB). The writer of Hebrews affirmed that Christ “is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25, NASB). Further, Christ has entered “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24, NASB). The apostle John also described that ministry: “If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1, NASB). The Greek word for “advocate” meant a legal counselor who appeared before a magistrate to plead a client’s cause. John thus pictured the ascended Lord as appearing before God on behalf of His people.”
(Source: Carpenter, E. E., & Comfort, P. W. (2000). In Holman treasury of key Bible words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew words defined and explained (p. 312). Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
I don’t know who feels alone at this moment. Maybe a mom, folding laundry alone in the house except for the baby who’s fussing. Or a young woman alone in a dorm room trying to study and having a hard time adjusting to the hectic pace of college or the military. Or an older woman whose grown kids are scattered and gone and feeling like she’ll face a long widowhood alone.
But if you are in Christ, then the Spirit of God is in you. Jesus is physically in heaven, interceding for you. That means offering help, making peace, listening to the Spirit translating your groanings that you can’t even articulate, to the Father. You have HELP. You have support, aid, attention. You have a group, a posse, clique, in the form of the Three-In-One God! You are not alone.
Put your hands together and pray. He is a God who hears your prayers and supplications and petitions and even groanings. Open your eyes and read the sweet promises in the Word. In Psalm 17:6, when we ask this,
I have called on you, for you will hear me, O God: incline your ear to me, and hear my speech.
He will listen. 1 John 5:14 says,
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
He intercedes. If you are born-again believer, you have the biggest most perfect, wise, and loving support in the universe.
False prophets were and still are a huge problem in the faith. So are false prophetesses!
“Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are talking like prophets from their own imagination. Prophesy against them and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves? For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’” (Ezekiel 13:17-19)
God is angry here, ANGRY. If you are of the opinion that we should live and let live, we shouldn’t come out against the false teachers and prophetesses, that ‘we don’t know their heart,’ that we should chew the meat and spit out the bones, or that being discerning is ‘mean’; please read Ezekiel 13 in entirety over and over until your soul and mind is aligned with God’s so that we hate what He hates.
We may not know their heart in most cases (in some cases we do), but God always does. He has pronounced woes upon the false prophetesses. WOES are the deepest and most fiery curse. When woe is used as a pronouncement of judgment, it is sure to come to pass. Look how angry God is with the women who claim words from Him but are merely vain imaginings:
Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, those souls whom you capture as birds. I will also tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 13:20-21).
In case a person is thinking, well, that’s the Old Testament God, not the gentle Jesus of the New Testament, oh, no! It’s all the same God. Look in Revelation 2 what He promises to do to the false prophetess Jezebel in Thyatira:
Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. (Revelation 2:22-23).
He will put the false prophetess onto a bed of pain and KILL the ones who followed her. Do you really want to chew bony meat so much that you risk what is promised to those who follow false teachers – pain and death? Do you really want to ‘be nice’ by sinning the sin of tolerance?
Why is God so angry with the false women prophesying in His name? Because, as He has said himself in Ezekiel 13:
-they capture souls (v18) -their victims become prey (v21) -they dishearten the righteous (v22) -they use falsehood in His name (v22) -they encourage the wicked not to turn from his wicked way (v23).
False prophetesses are a problem!
Many charismatic women claim words from the Lord but are vain imaginings, we know that. But also there are self-identifying evangelical women who say the same. These women have claimed God spoke directly to them and were told to go and tell you. Do not listen. Do not become ensnared in their web as prey. Do not risk being part of the herd that Jesus kills dead for partnering with these women.
Above all, do not listen to women who claim they have had a word from God and tell you all about it. The written word was given to us as a magnificent gift, don’t adulterate it or abandon it because you want to hear directly. We did hear directly, it’s the Bible.
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the Law of the Lord. Blessed are those who comply with His testimonies, And seek Him with all their heart. (Psalm 119:1-2)
Man loves to explore. Man loves to ponder on disasters, especially the RMS Titanic sinking in 1912.
Stockton Rush is the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, a company that develops and manufactures deep-ocean submersibles. His ‘Titan’ submarine vessel carries passengers to deep water expeditions if you can pay $250,000. They carry passengers to explore the deep water hydrothermic vents in the Azores, they’ve been to the wreck of the Titanic, to the Bahamas, or if none of those suit, a paying customer can design their own expedition. The Titan sub can go to 13,123 feet deep. The Titan began its sea trials in 2018, and took its inaugural journey in 2021.
This week, the Titan submerged for an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic. The ship lies at the bottom of the north Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 12500 feet.
It launched this past Sunday with 4 passengers and CEO Stockton Rush, captaining the vessel. The BBC Reports:
Researchers aboard the Polar Prince – its mothership on the surface – lost contact with the crew shortly after the Titan began its dive. There is limited oxygen on board, and it is estimated that supplies are set to run out by around 10:00 GMT (06:00 EDT) on Thursday.Banging noises have now been detected in the search area, but it is not known where they are coming from or what they mean.US, Canadian and French agencies are working together to locate the submersible, and the tour firm OceanGate says it is exploring all options to get it back safety.
The plight of these 5 souls has captured the world. The irony of exploring the Titanic, which was said to be unsinkable, and now their own vessel has been either entangled in the wreckage or otherwise unable to regain the surface../shudder/. The dark, oppressive, murky depths…the loneliness, the fear.
My thoughts of course go to eternity. I’m sure theirs do too. Man’s plight is so much worse than being lost at the bottom of the sea. Man, in his sin, is separated from God and when his flesh expires, his soul will got to a wrathful eternity. His body will be fitted for enduring all the wrath, pain, punishment in fire for their sins against God while they lived in earth.
I think of Paul, chained to his jailer, a captive audience.
The Gospel Is Preached
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14).
The guards rotated every 8 hours. Paul had many in which to pead for their soul.
Paul was also at another time under house imprisonment with a guard living with him. (Acts 28:16)
Paul had a captive audience. He preached and preached. He sang hymns. He preached some more. Man’s true plight is not the earthly circumstances, in prison or captive in a deep-down lost sub. It’s our imprisonment to sin and the distance from God. It’s our eternal future in wrath.
When the actual Titanic ship was sinking, preacher John Harper was in the water. He swam from drowning victim to drowning victim. He preached the Gospel. He pleaded for their conversion. One man said for Harper to go away from him. After a short while, the man floated by Harper again. He asked Harper to say again about the Gospel, and this man converted and was saved. He was saved from His sin because he converted, even as John Harper himself was losing consciousness and sank beneath the frigid waves himself. He was John Harper’s last convert.
Few were found alive and plucked from the water, but this man was. He was George Henry Cavell. In Hamilton, Ontario, afterwards George testified that he was John Harper’s last convert. Harper had used his last breath to plead for George to repent and believe.
I am praying the five souls on board the sub Titan are found in time and their stricken vessel is raised successfully. Time (and oxygen) is running out. It’s a race against time to save them alive. But it’s always a race against time for a sinful human to repent and be TRULY saved before the number of their days expires. One never knows the days allotted to a person before God calls them to eternity.
My deepest prayer is that there is one Christian on board the Titan who is boldly proclaiming the way of Truth to the others. Like Paul, the Christian would have a captive audience in which to preach, pray, and sing the glories of Christ. This is the true salvation. If they are raised to the surface alive then they will enjoy the rest of their days serving Jesus before their translation to heaven. If they’re raised inside a sub that had become a tomb, then if they wrote their last words on paper, we might be able to rejoice they are alive in God’s heaven. Even if they are never found or never raised, those fleshly bodies if they converted, will be resurrected and reunited with their soul in heaven for all eternity.
People are never more eager to hear about Jesus than when death looms and eternity awaits. I pray the Lord stationed one Christian in the sub. Even just one…
