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Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

Relying on tradition and incomplete knowledge can be devastating

Posted on by elizabethprata

Tradition is the enemy of truth.

People hear things over and over and eventually take them as truth. Instead of searching them out diligently, they accept sayings as Biblical truth. They begin to think they are in the Bible or that God said it. Case in point, the phrase, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” is not in the Bible. Nor is “the Sinner’s Prayer”. Nor is salvation by “Accepting the Lord.” These are the traditions we grew up with in the American millennium era.

Traditions are nothing new. In the Bible days, the Pharisees had many traditions also. For example, tithing cumin and mint was not a biblical law. (Matthew 23:23). Walking no more than 2000 cubits on the Shabbat had not originated in the Law. They were traditions. The latter arouse from a twisting of Joshua 3:4.

Here is where tradition begats laziness and self-satisfaction.

They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7:52).

This was the Pharisees’ contemptuous retort to Nicodemus’ attempt to defend Jesus on one point. Their rage and self-satisfaction and scorn was so towering that they forgot that Micah and Jonah and Elisha did come from Galilee, (Micah 1:1, Joshua 19:13, 1 Kings 17:1) and perhaps also Nahum and Hosea had come from Galilee. Rage blinds, as it did to the Pharisees here and on multiple other occasions. Their rage against Jesus blinded them so thoroughly, their self-righteous power-hungry minds were so set against a backwater like Galilee, the Pharisees forgot that prophets do, indeed, come out of Galilee.

Another devastating behavior stemming from tradition that blinds us to the truth is the failure to search the scriptures but instead to think you already know. Behind this wall lies truth. However, the Pharisees had built a wall against it, brick by brick. Each brick was a tradition that eventually blocked their own access to truth.

EPrata photo

In John 7:42 we read their assertion,

Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

They were correct, but incompletely so. Yes, the scriptures say that the Messiah will come from Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2). Yes, the Pharisees correctly knew Jesus lived in Galilee, the town of Nazareth. But if they had bothered to search their facts even momentarily, they would have discovered that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. The Romans conducted a census, if you remember, and the census records were available. Romans kept good records. They could have checked the Temple records, Joseph and Mary did all that was required by Law, and they both came from the lineage of David. (Luke 2:22). Or, they could have simply asked Joseph, Mary, or Jesus where He had been born. But they thought they knew, without searching for the facts. This is willful ignorance.

Do you ever settle in the pew and look at the bulletin and see that the sermon is going to be on a passage you’re extremely familiar with? Does your heart sink, your mind saying, “Aw, man, I already know this one”? I dare to suggest, that is Pharisee talk. The scriptures speak every time they are delved into. It is our job to search them out, even if we think we already know. It isn’t that the scriptures aren’t fresh, it’s that our eyes get dull.

It’s a truism that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, meaning that a small amount of knowledge can delude people into thinking that they are more expert in their field than they actually are. The Pharisees’ knowledge was prodigious, but it was head knowledge without love, and combined with tradition, pride, and self-righteousness, they failed at the critical moment to recognize the Messiah they had been waiting for. (2 Timothy 3:7).

Let’s be careful not to assume the facts, but search them out. Let’s be diligent to investigate. Nicodemus did. Annas didn’t. Let’s not rest on tradition, assuming it’s Biblical. Cleanliness isn’t next to Godliness, holiness is. Search the scriptures diligently with fresh, open eyes. Pray to the Spirit to illuminate them to you. It’s harder to do the longer you’re a Christian to keep fresh eyes on the Bible, but the Spirit is always fresh and will open your mind to the truths in every case. Peter said that Jesus had the words of eternal life. Eternal words never get stale.

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Do you have the peace that passes all understanding?

Posted on by elizabethprata

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

Even if the worst happens on our shores (war, earthquake, tsunami…) I have the peace that passes all understanding. He is in control and our anguish and our life is but a breath, so it will only be for a short time. I pray you have that peace as well. Barnes Notes explains the peace that passes all understanding so well.

Which passeth all understanding – That is, which surpasses all that people had conceived or imagined. The expression is one that denotes that the peace imparted is of the highest possible kind. The apostle Paul frequently used terms which had somewhat of a hyperbolical cast (see the notes on Ephesians 3:19; compare John 21:25, and the language here is that which one would use who designed to speak of that which was of the highest order. The Christian, committing his way to God, and feeling that he will order all things aright, has a peace which is nowhere else known. Nothing else will furnish it but religion. No confidence that a man can have in his own powers; no reliance which he can repose on his own plans or on the promises or fidelity of his fellow-men, and no calculations which he can make on the course of events, can impart such peace to the soul as simple confidence in God.

Are you saved? If so, then demonstrate that faith by clinging to Him, His promises, and His Truth. It is the best- the only- safe port in a storm! This is a great time in the United States to be peaceful, for others will see your calmness and through the grace of the Holy Spirit, they will ask you…”what is it that you have…?” and you will have the inestimable privilege of saying, “Let me tell you about Jesus…”

If you are not saved and you see someone who seems calm and graceful all the time, whose countenance seems glowing. (Exodus 35:35) it is because we have what Jesus has given us- His peace. We have been with God. We are no longer at war against Him but have become friends and sons of the Most High God. He imparts a peace that allows His children to look upon earthly circumstances with an eternal perspective.

Dear unsaved person, your good works are not enough to get you to heaven. Being really, really nice is not enough to get you to heaven. You can never do enough to get to heaven. The only way is through Jesus. You wonder what is it about Christians that makes them (us) seems o gentle and calm and they just look different? It’s His peace. The sin struggle is over. The unanswered questions about why we are here and how the world was born and why people are like they are…these questions are answered. Right now would be a good idea to start praying seriously to the Lord above to resolve your internal war. You are a God-hater, perhaps actively but certainly passively. Do you want peace and rest from always striving and yet not knowing? (2 Timothy 3:7). He will provide His peace, upon repentance and faith in His resurrected self.

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

Sage advice from devils

Posted on by elizabethprata

This was first published in January 2009 at The End Time. This version is edited.

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Ceremony purges White House of evil spirits

On Monday, January 19th at 6:00 pm, hundreds gathered at Dupont Circle in Washington DC for a ceremony performed by a “shaman.” The ceremony was intended to ‘clean the White House of ‘evil spirits.’ Organizer Kate Clinton used the method called by pagans and witches, “saging” or “smudging.” Two thousand participants stood outside the nations’ First Home and waved lit bundles of sage around and hugged and chanted. Participants said they were “into the moment” and the crowd was “radiating the love.”

Saging is a process. The adherent bundles sage, ignites them and leaves them to smolder.  The resulting thick blue smoke supposedly has a cleansing effect and removes ‘unwanted energy’ from the area.

Many people do not notice how pervasive occultism in our society is. We are so used to charms, amulets, spells, rituals, ceremonies, wiccans, wizards (Harry Potter) that we forget the bible says No! No! No! to it all. The Bible speaks to the practice of the occult, which includes astrology, sorcery, magic, paganism…God condemns the whole practice of the occult. Repeatedly.

In the book by CS Lewis called “The Screwtape Letters,” Wormwood the demon is instructing his nephew, an acolyte demon. The issue is their target’s Christianity. The target isn’t that receptive tot he ‘unwanted energy’or influence of the demons. Screwtape says, “For a long time it will be impossible to remove spirituality from his life. Very well then, we must corrupt it.”

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. (1 Timothy 4:1)

I think we’re there.

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

The problem with tolerating false teachers is…

Posted on by elizabethprata

A friend and I were talking about the younger church generation. A kind of “Kids these days” conversation, lol.  She said, “They’ve been swimming in Beth Moore stuff for so long they don’t know if they are even in troubled water.” She and I, and others I’ve spoken with, notice the younger generation of 16-25 year olds simply do not have a solid theological grounding. They do not approach Bible study credibly. They infuse it with feelings, mysticism, romanticism, and subjective experience. They think this is the norm.

This is wrong.

And it is our fault.

This problem is what I dub the ‘Symbolic Jezebel problem’. It’s a generation thing. You see, in Revelation 2 metaphorical Jezebel who was a false prophetess of Thyatira. She was tolerated (one would assume, by the elders of the local church) for so long, unfortunately another generation of spiritual daughters had sprung up under her influence with her false teaching as a model. The ones coming up didn’t know any better, because they had false prophetess ‘Jezebel’ as their example. They must have figured this is the right way to practice the faith, because after all, the elders were not saying anything. It was tolerated. The issues were her false teaching, her false prophesying and the fact that she was teaching in a position of authority in the church. There’s a lot wrong right there. Jesus said to this church-

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23and I will strike her children dead. (Revelation 2:20-23).

The other day I was talking with a 25-year-old. He was frustrated his peers could not see the truth that certain teachers are false or they could not understand why they approaches to study and communing with God were false (liver shivers, manifestations, circle praying, contemplative prayer…etc). I’d replied that his generation was the first one to have grown up completely under the false emergent, purpose driven, emotional, romantic, mystical model. An entire generation has been exposed to false teachings of one sort or another that have been tolerated by elders.

Beth Moore has been teaching locally since 1984 and went public with incorporating Living Proof Ministries in 1994. She’s nearly 60 now, Christine Caine is turning 50 next month. Lysa TerKeurst is 47. “Experiencing God” the terrible mystical curriculum that took the SBC by storm was published in 1976 and grew to monstrously popular proportions in the 1980s. All this is 25-30 years ago and we are reaping the terrible penalty for it now with our soft youth who are growing up as the the next generation of leaders. The problem is seen in this 2015 headline from Christianity Today, which unwittingly puts its finger dead center on the problem-

What Happens When We See Women Teach the Bible; A figure like Beth Moore shows evangelical women what’s possible.

No. It’s about what happens when we see not what’s possible, but what’s tolerated.

These young kids coming up who are 16 or 20 or 25 have been exposed to these things from their birth, even in homes that are solid (because it creeps in anyway). These teachers have been at it for a long time. Forty years is the length of a generation.

We tolerate a Moore, we accept a Experiencing God, we teach subjective methods of Bible study, and incrementally it all adds up. Inch by inch and then foot by foot and then mile by mile, we are on a downward slide that accelerates from a snowball to a tsunami. The generation of kids who use this stuff become the next generation of leaders, and promote it all over again to a new generation coming up. That is what is happening now.

What can you do about it? The Apostles of the first century church and their leader successors spent a great deal of time stamping out error, falsity and heresy where it sprang up. They didn’t let it go, They didn’t tolerate it, except in the case of the Thyatiran church, where Jesus personally dictated a letter telling them they were in danger of being smited by His hand! Jesus takes error seriously, the Apostles took error seriously and we should too. Error kills. (Galatians 5:9, John 10:10).

What should we do?

Repent of your personal sin so that your heart and mind can stay clear.

Don’t overlook the small errors that pop up when they occur in your sphere. Satan’s tentacles will gradually creep in (2 Timothy 3:6). Notice them and address them. Would you ignore a spark on a haystack just because it’s small and pretty? No the spark has the power to ignite a conflagration and destroy the entire thing. What happens in your garden if you let a few weeds go, and you don’t pull them up? Pick your battles (because you’re not a lone ranger, others in your church have the gift of discernment and exhortation, too 😉 and speak up. I know it’s tiring. I know it’s a message that is increasingly unwanted. But do it.

Also, stay in the Word. Keep reading and delving into who Jesus is and His character and nature. It is the way we stay sharp and grounded and on the Rock.

I do not have a new message here. I always say to repent, pray, and stay in the word. That’s because this is what Jess says to do. The messages in the Bible are true and right, and if we follow them, and continue to do our duty by Him, we will be all right.

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22).

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Further Reading

The Gigantic Problem Beneath the Really Big Problem

Six Ways the World will Pressure you to Conform

Does ‘Judge Not’ Mean we Should not Rebuke Error?

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

MemeHeresy: Don’t Be a Pineapple

Posted on by elizabethprata

Meme Heresies are those frequently re-posted or re-tweeted quotable quotes or Bible verses, usually with a picture. Sometimes the scripture picture or quote will contain the Bible address associated with it, usually not. Sometimes the quote will have the person’s name as to who originally said it, but usually not. If there is a Bible address, it’s sometimes wrong. The same thing happens with the repeated memes with quotes on them, the quote is sometimes misattributed.

There’s a satirical meme that speaks to this,

Which is funny of course, because Abraham Lincoln lived and died well before the internet was invented. They are called memeheresies because many of these memes promote things that are at odds with the Bible, hence, “heresies”

The meme on the left is one that I saw this week, and I addressed it by creating my own counter-point on the right.

The meme isn’t explicitly Christian but it’s being promoted as if it is. It’s one of those nebulous, inspirational sayings that people go “awww’ when they read it and then think they’ve absorbed something from the Lord. But it’s not. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about being a pineapple.

Be a Pineapple

There is nothing expressly wrong with being compared to something. Jesus compares his children as sheep and the unsaved ones to goats. Saved vs. unsaved are compared as wheat and chaff. We can go to the ant, we’re to be as wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. And so on. There is nothing wrong with humans being compared to something. But there are no qualities of a pineapple stated here that are especially helpful to the body of Christ or to the lost people.

Stand Tall

The Bible tells us to stand firm. (Philippians 4:1-2). It says that a lot. We are also to stand our ground. We’re also to stand.  (Ephesians 6:13). But stand tall?. The righteous grow as tall as the cedars of Lebanon. (Psalm 92:12).

1 Corinthians 10:12 does warn us not to put too much stock into our standing, lest we fall.

So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.

Those who stand tall receive a warning.

Christians can and do stand tall – in our soul because the Good in us is Christ. We do not need to prance around standing tall. We know who we are, craven sinners forgiven by the grace of Jesus Christ. He is tall. We are not.

Wear a Crown

The only people who wear crowns are kings and queens, and even then, just for ceremonial purposes. Taken literally, it’s ridiculous. Biblically, we read in Isaiah,

The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. (Isaiah 24:4).

I’d rather wait to wear my crown, and at that, we will probably hand it back to Jesus just as the elders did. (Revelation 4:10–11).

If it’s meant metaphorically, walking around as if we were kings and queens just makes for haughtiness. We know that Jesus hates haughty eyes. (Proverbs 6:17). As a matter of fact, we are to ‘Take up your cross and follow Me’ which means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. Wear a crown? How about deny self.

Be Sweet on the inside

It’s always nice to try and be nice to people. We are called to be gentle, sweet, kind, thoughtful… As a matter of fact, if we are pressing on toward the prize, the Spirit is growing us in sanctification and we are bearing fruit of the Spirit consistent with those qualities I just mentioned. However, the heresy comes in where people believe there is anything sweet inside of us to begin with, or apart from the Spirit. On our own, there is nothing sweet in us. There is sin, pollution, iniquity, rebelliousness and depravity inside us. Nothing sweet at all.

So you can see that on the surface if you read the meme quickly it seems nice and probably true. If you compare it to scripture, you find the opposite. The point of exploring memes for heresies is to get you to think before you share on social media. Be thoughtful about what you present as inspiring or as Christian.

The younger generation needs solid food and we do not need to be confusing them or anyone with what Jesus’ real message was and is. We should not confuse, but enlighten. We should not settle for shallow, but dig deep. We should not promote heresy. We are not to mislead, but are to be salt and light. What you put out on social media should clarify and edify. Every time.

Posted in discernment, Uncategorized

“What recommendations do you have for Women’s Studies?”

Posted on by elizabethprata

A friend asked me to recommend some women’s studies for a new church plant. Though there are many fine Bible studies aimed at women or by women on the market, I don’t prefer them. First, these times if apostasy means women are especially vulnerable to it, and there are tons of false teachers out there of the female persuasion. Even solid teachers who have for decades developed good curricula of late have made a turn for the worse. (I’m thinking of Kay Arthur, among others). What is recommended today might be apostasy-ridden tomorrow when the woman creates her next curriculum. Though men are not immune from the same, it is a fact that satan attacks women with impunity. (Eve, symbolic Jezebel of Revelation 2, 2 Tim 3:6, etc)

J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt do express the need for women’s ministry in the local church in their excellent book, Women’s Ministry in the Local Church. I would say if one is going to start a women’s ministry in a new church or resurrect a suspended ministry in an old church, to know why you are doing it and what the Bible has to say about it. Don’t have a women’s ministry just to have one. That’s where the Duncan book comes in. An excerpt from the Dallas Theological Seminary’s review of it states,

The book builds on five foundational themes taken from Paul’s pastoral letters: the Gospel, truth, sound doctrine, discipleship, and covenant. From these themes Duncan and Hunt identify five key passages, each emphasizing a different element that they feel is necessary for developing a healthy women’s ministry: 1 Timothy 2:9–15 (submission), 1 Timothy 3:11 (compassion), 1 Timothy 5 (community), Titus 2 (discipleship), and 2 Timothy 3:1–17 (Scripture). Each section offers a solid interpretation of the text, gives biblical examples of women who exemplify the meaning, and lists practical ways to carry out each element in a women’s ministry. Each chapter ends with testimonies from men and women who have implemented that principle in their own ministry experience.

The authors give five reasons why women’s ministry is important in every healthy evangelical church, and they warn of the adverse effects to marriages, families, and churches if women fail to have opportunities to meet and serve together.

I’m not opposed to all women’s ministries of course, but I’m advising care and thought into the creation of it and a watchful eye from the elders to ensure its solidity over time.

What I’d shared with my friend is the second reason I’m not all that excited about women’s ministries led by women is that all too often the ministry delves into topics aimed at women only, meaning, dating, courtship, marriage, and children. While they are important and worthy topics, first, it marginalizes single women by definition. Second, many times these topics are dealt with emotionally and not as theologically as one would prefer. I prefer theology for all ministries, men’s, women’s, and youth. Even children.

As for women, my specific target audience, if satan targets women then it behooves the church elders to formulate a plan for combating that attack. Grounding women in solid theology seems the best method. And yet women are often the last to be offered solidly theological studies in which to delve.

Even at that, the women who nod most vigorously during a solid theological sermon are often the first to gush about the latest Beth Moore study/Lysa TerKeurst book/Sarah Young devotional. That’s why I appreciated the chapter on Scripture in Duncan & Hunt’s book about women’s ministries.

There are three issues with the church ministries’ approach I’ve noticed over time, I’d mentioned in the conversation, and I’ll flesh out further here. (Twitter limits are so exasperating sometimes!) Women as well as men-

1) deny the beginning,

2) mock the end,

and

3) are biblically illiterate with most everything in between.

To ground women in the beginning, Genesis 1-11 studies help. I believe the following studies from Genesis would make a wonderful addition to the rotation of any women’s or men’s ministry. We must know what we believe and why. Genesis provides that foundation. If more youths, especially girls, were taught the basics that are contained in Genesis, perhaps when they reach age 20 they would not be Already Gone.

A good resource is Genesis 1 to 11- Before Abraham, Creation, Sin, and the Nature of God (MacArthur Bible Studies)

Another good resource for Revelation: This book promises blessing yet too many people fear it, especially women. Here is a booklet that will help, “Jet Tour Through Revelation” ($2 for the booklet or click here to read it free of charge)

Biblical illiteracy: For a new church, I recommend Justin Peters’ seminar “Clouds Without Water“, which discusses what discernment is and why it is important, as well as critiquing the word-faith movement;

or

This free booklet (free for a limited time as of July 2016) “Discernment: Spiritual Survival for a Church in Crisis“.

9Marks: Anything from 9Marks, an organization designed to help church plants and older churches become and stay healthy.

So that’s it. I might be somewhat if an anomaly, single and childless yet in my mid 50’s. I’m a Titus 2 elder woman who has nothing to say about marriage or child rearing except what the Bible says, not from experience. Perhaps that is why I focus on theology so much. Of maybe it is the Holy Spirit impressing on me that women, man, youth or child, you’re never too young or too old to study God, which is simply what theology is.

Posted in prophecy, Uncategorized

An After School Satan Club could be coming to your kid’s elementary school

Posted on by elizabethprata

I worked with CEF as a Good News Club teacher for several years. My secular vocation is also in an elementary school. This issue is near and dear to me. As you read the headline you might want to dismiss it as a satirical Babylon Bee article, or a hoax you can check through Snopes or Hoax Slayer. No. This is a real attack. Worse, the Temple of Satan organization is specifically targeting schools that already have an evangelical Good News Club in it. The news is from a Washington Post article published Sunday, July 30, 2016.

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