Uncategorized – Page 99

What the devil cannot do

Posted on August 20, 2016 by elizabethprata

Here is Martyn Lloyd Jones with a few thoughts on something the devil cannot do.

Putting God first…herein lies the stifling of the passions that defeat us. Herein lies the quietness that calms our tumults. Herein lies the peace of knowing that our sins are forgiven and forgotten by God and so they can be forgotten by us.

When men seek things before they seek God, they throw themselves into what has come to be known as the ‘rat race’. An earlier phrase described it as ‘the pace that kills’. But it was never the pace that killed, it was the fear of tomorrow that made the pace necessary.

The devil has never praised God. He can make people happy. But whisky can make people happy. The fact that a thing can make you happy doesn’t prove it’s right. There are drugs that can make you happy. You see, the devil can come, and he can counterfeit all these things. If a man says “I am happy”, it doesn’t prove he is a Christian. It can be counterfeited. There is only one thing I know of that the devil cannot counterfeit: praising God. The devil never does that. Never. The devil has made anybody praise God.

He can counterfeit a belief in God. But that’s a very different thing. The Apostle James tells us in his epistle, ‘the devils also believe, and tremble.’ The devil has never praised God. He can persuade people that they believe in God. If it suits his purpose he can transform himself into an angel of light, and encourage people to believe in God and to be religious. He is doing that to large numbers today. But there’s one thing he’s never done and he can’t do it, and that is to make people praise God. He can give you a counterfeit intellectual interest. He can give you a counterfeit interest in God’s people. A counterfeit interest in communion service. A counterfeit interest in prayer, a counterfeit joy and gladness. He has never made anybody praise God. Why? Because he hates God.

But these people [in Acts 2] were praising God. That is why I say in many senses it is the ultimate test of the profession of the Christian faith – praising God! My friends, are you praising God? I’m not asking if you believe in Him, or if you try to worship Him. I’m not asking if you make requests of Him. I’m asking one thing only. Do you praise God?

Sermon- Praising God, Acts 2:46-47.

It occurred to me that this test would apply to a false teacher. Someone who teaches about God but is not saved, (2 Timothy 3:5) and who is the son of the devil will never praise God. Sons of the devil, those who are energized by satan and are in bondage to satan, cannot praise God because the devil cannot praise God. His minions can’t either. Use it as a test, as MLJ noted. Not that a false teacher can’t say the words, though oftentimes they can’t, they choke on them. They might say off-handedly, “Praise God it rained!” but a life lived in praise to Him, sincere, thorough, zealous praise, will never pass their lips. Look for it…or in this case, the absence of it.

discernment, Uncategorized

Why fearing the Lord is a good thing; cultivate it

Posted on August 19, 2016August 19, 2016 by elizabethprata

How would you react if you were suddenly face-to-face with God?

That is the question John MacArthur asked in his blog series adapted from his book Worship: The Ultimate Priority. If one relied solely on the anecdotes of the many false teachers who claim to have personally been in in His presence, one would think that coming face-to-face with God was either as normal an occurrence as running into your neighbor at the grocery store, or as casual as a backyard BBQ.

Whatever happened to the fear of God? is the title of MacArthur’s blog essay and it is a great question. In the Bible, even those men who were in right standing with God were terrified, cowed, and humbled at meeting Him in person. For example, MacArthur wrote,

in Genesis 18 Abraham confessed in the presence of God that he was dust and ashes. Similarly, Job said after his pilgrimage, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5–6). Ezra 9 records the high priest’s profound sense of shame as he came before the Lord to worship. Habakkuk had a vision of God’s power and majesty, and his knees began to knock: “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me” (Habakkuk 3:16 ESV).

Isaiah said he was “undone”, or “I am ruined”. The Hebrew word in that verse is damah and it means to cease, cause to cease, cut off, destroy. The flesh of sinful man, even a justified man declared righteous, is immediately reduced to a metaphorical pile of ashes when contrasted in person to the august glory of the Ancient of Days. The Fear of God article gives many more examples of this contrast between man and God, and expands the verses to illustrate the spiritual importance of the fear of God.

Yet in our day, according to so many false teachers who claim direct revelation, we have the sweet and sensitive voice coming out of the celestial realms to envelop women with a warm, misty romance. Moore says He calls her “honey” and “babe”, and they go on a play date together to the zoo. They “have a blast”. Joanna Gaines said she talked with Jesus in a garden, and she recalls, “I remember hearing God say, ‘Joanna, there’s going to come a time when I’m going to say for you to go, and I’m going to need for you to step out and go.'” Jesus has needs? In the Bible He commanded. Gaines’ 21st century language is a giveaway the entity she walked and talked in a garden with was not the Jesus of the Bible. According to Kim Walker-Smith, she was personally visited by a Jesus that flailed His arms and ran yelling Woo-hoo! because He is so happy to be in HER presence. Smith said she fell into His lap, and she was so self-absorbed her two questions she asked the LORD OF THE UNIVERSE that were about herself.

Whatever happened to the fear of God? Let MacArthur’s question echo in your ears, mind, and heart.

The book by Jerry Bridges called The Joy of Fearing God is a good one for people to read today. The book’s synopsis says,

For most of us, fear is something we try to avoid. And fearing God hardly sounds like an occasion for joy. But Jerry Bridges shows how the fear of the Lord is actually the key that opens the door to a life of true knowledge, wisdom, blessing, and joy.

None of the visions of God presented in His own Word present a relaxed disciple sipping lattes at the zoo together or El Elyon running around yelling woo-hoo. Those visions and claims are irreverent in the extreme. The true visions in His word show the majesty, holiness, and power of a God who chooses to love us despite our depraved state. Bridges says,

There are more than 150 references to the fear of God in the Bible. While the majority of these occur in the Old Testament, there are a sufficient number in the New Testament to convince us that fearing God is indeed an attitude of heart we should cultivate today.” ― Jerry Bridges, The Joy of Fearing God

That worshipful cultivation is urged in MacArthur’s essay as well. He ended his essay by saying,

Peter “fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'” (Luke 5:8). All he could see was his own sinfulness when confronted with the power and presence of our holy God. We need to cultivate that same attitude, remembering that we not only live our lives before the eyes of a holy God, but that His Holy Spirit dwells within us. Being ever mindful of God’s presence is vital if we’re going to live worshipful lives that glorify Him.

The life of the true disciple who worships in reverent fear is one that is drenched with joy. The irreverent false teachers’ attitudes of being relaxed and unconcerned in His ‘presence’ is a dead giveaway that the personage they are ‘meeting’ is not our Holy God. MacArthur tells the story of a man who told him that Jesus comes into the bathroom while he is shaving and puts His arm around him, which helps the man’s bursitis.

I thought, “Do you keep shaving? If you can keep shaving, then it isn’t Jesus. If holy God came into the bathroom while you were shaving, you would fall to the floor so hard that you would kill yourself!” It is an awesome thing to confront an infinitely holy God!

It is an awesome thing to be confronted by an infinitely holy God, even though we believers are His children! Live worshipful lives that glorify Him, and it begins with a reverential fear of who He is.

ebook, Uncategorized

Announcing my new eBook: Encouragement In Grace

Posted on August 18, 2016August 18, 2016 by elizabethprata

I am happy to announce that I have written an eBook which is now for sale at Amazon! It’s titled “Encouragement In Grace: Devotions & Inspirations for Christian Women” by Elizabeth Prata. The book is the first in a series of three I’ve written. The second two, Prophecy In Grace and Discernment In Grace will be published later.

Jesus saved me, in grace. His grace is sufficient, His grace sustains me, and it’s His grace that is so amazing. So I named the series In Grace as a tribute to Him who is grace personified.

I pray the essays in the eBook shine His glory back onto Him.

Thanks!

Cover photo by EPrata, cover design by Liliana McAndrew

encouragement, Uncategorized

Children are a reward not just for parents

Posted on August 18, 2016August 18, 2016 by elizabethprata

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. (Psalm 127:3)

Children are a blessing and the verse above refers to children born to biological parents.

Many verses speak about children. The Bible makes it equally clear that all children (especially orphans) are to be regarded as vulnerable and to treat them kindly. Jesus holds them in high regard. They are to be trained up in the way they should go. They should not be provoked. They should be unhindered in their approach to God and His laws. They are to be protected else a millstone hung around the neck of one who causes them to stumble. They are a crown to the aged and streets full of happy children playing are a sign of God’s favor. They are an answer to prayer. Orphans (“the fatherless”) are objects of care and concern.

With all the attention given children, we know that the Lord cares for them. In thinking of kids, we often restrict ourselves to thinking of the family. I propose that anyone who works with children has a God-given privilege to adhere to the Bible’s verses regarding them, as well. The children are a heritage for the parents, but also for the teacher, the foster mother, the nanny, the social worker, the nursery school administrator, the playground monitor. Each and every child is a gift from the Lord, to each person the Lord has assigned to watch over them.

Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” (Genesis 33:5).

Children are a gracious gift, If you work with children in any way, you are blessed.

prophecy, Uncategorized

The pro-consul believed in the doctrine, not the miracle

Posted on August 17, 2016August 17, 2016 by elizabethprata

Believe in the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in the miracles.

Miracles happen every day. God is always at work, and even now, Jesus is working. One miracle is that God revives dead hearts and makes new creations out of unbelievers. Another is the miracle of the very earth upon which we stand. (Romans 1:20, Jeremiah 51:15, Job 12:7). Healings by God also occur, as families affected by them can attest.

The pro-consul was astounded. Acts 13:12 says. In the New Testament days immediately after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Apostles were given power to perform miracles. One of these was the miracle that occurred by Paul in front of the pro-consul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, so says Acts 13:7. Paul confronted a false prophet, a magician called bar-Jesus, and pronounced him false and then the power of God descended and caused the false prophet to go blind on the spot. The Pro-consul saw this happen.

Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. [underline mine]

Did the pro-consul believe in the miracle? NO. He believed the teaching of Jesus Christ. He understood the miracle was authentic, but it was the teaching in which he was moved.

The MacArthur Commentary says,

The missionaries’ victory was not only negative, as seen by the defeat of bar-Jesus, but also positive. Satan’s emissary had been defeated and silenced, and now Paul and Barnabas were about to win the battle for Sergius Paulus’ soul: … as so often is related in Acts, God used a miracle to confirm the authenticity of His messengers, and the truth of His word. Significantly, it was the teaching of the Lord, not the miracle he had just witnessed, that prompted the proconsul to believe. He was amazed at the teaching of the Lord, not at the miracle.

Remember, doctrine matters.

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Beware using Bible Gateway

Posted on August 16, 2016June 14, 2020 by elizabethprata

I have several go-to Bible sites on my laptop. One is BibleHub, which contains the entire Bible, a lexicon, commentaries, maps, Strong’s, parallel views of verses, and much more.

I also have in my bookmarks BibleGateway, (BG) which has the Bible of course, devotionals, a helpful list of all the named and unnamed men and women in the Bible with short bios, and much more.

BibleGateway is a favorite of many, and it’s a favorite of mine, as well, which is why it’s hard to write this. I’ve noticed both on BibleGateway’s twitter stream and on their website that they are promoting some decidedly UN-Bible-like people.

I grabbed screen shots on BG’s Twitter stream and on the BG website to show you what I mean. I did not have to search hard. I did not have to search long. These are not cherry picked screen grabs gathered over years. They are selected grabs gained over the last few weeks. I actually had to delete a few I’d grabbed because the blog essay was getting too long.

1. Bible Gateway promotes Catholic dogma, apps, and Bibles. Christianity is Christianity, Catholicism is Catholicism, and they are at odds with each other. Catholicism is not a Christian faith. If one includes Catholic material on a Christian site one may as well include Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. FMI on why Catholicism is not Christianity, go here.

2. Bible Gateway promotes Charismatic author Sarah Young of Jesus Calling and other mystical devotionals in her ongoing cottage industry of falsity. Young’s books undermine the sufficiency of scripture. Young is a huge problem especially for younger undiscerning women who are at risk, and BG is not helping by legitimizing her false works. The Jesus Calling and other Young devotionals were in heavy rotation throughout July/early August. FMI on Sarah Young’s serious doctrinal errors, go here.

3. Bible Gateway promotes Bill Hybels. The shot below is of the BG’s twitter stream. #GLS16 refers to a Hybel-led conference called Global Leadership Summit of a gathering of false teachers at Hybels’ Willow Creek campus plus global leaders, to promote business practices in church leaders. The line-up includes false teachers Hybels and TD Jakes, and lifestyle guru John C. Maxwell, among other secular speakers. FMI on why Hybels’ brand of business-driven church growth movement is false, go here.

4. Bible Gateway promotes material by false pastrix Christine Caine, who is also founder of the feminist Propel Women movement. FMI on why Caine is false, go here.

beware

5. Bible Gateway encourages using material by Roman Catholic-dabbler and mystic Dallas Willard, teacher of contemplative prayer, spiritual formation, universalism, and other false disciplines. FMI on why Willard is false, go here.

This one below is only one of many dozens of tweets sent out by BG and retweeted by followers, touting the new Bible search function BG has developed. It seems you can now search the Bible at BibleGateway using…emojis. Just because the culture has made the Emoji Bible a “success” does not mean we need to cave to the culture and create search functions with them. The Bible is the WORD of God, not the rebus pictures of God. Here is a screen shot of the introduction of the BG emoji search function:

Remember when you were in kindergarten, the easy books you were first learning to read? They inserted pictures for some of the words to make it easier to read and have the child feel successful.

The juvenilization of Christianity continues, helped by Bible Gateway.

Promoting Caine, Hybels, Willard, Young, and other false teachers such as CS Lewis, Beth Moore, Proverbs 31 ministries, and Rick Warren, as well as unbiblical conferences such as “Unwrap the Bible” with Roma Downey, displays a tremendous lack of discernment. Worse, it puts unhealthy and undoctrinal doctrines in front of millions of people.

As for myself, sure, I know who to look up and who to avoid, but when I search for a verse or an address, I don’t want to be confronted every time by false teachers and deal with the site’s excited urgencies to try this or that false teacher’s material. It’s depressing. It’s discouraging. I want Bible, not rebus pictures and a lengthy and constant list of false teachers I have to avert my eyes from on the screen.

My essay today is to just make you aware, that once again, a previously solid ministry has allowed a flood of falsity through its gates, and to beware.

discernment, Uncategorized

A Warning to Miracle-mongers

Posted on August 15, 2016 by elizabethprata

I abhor miracle-mongers. These are the people who clamor to see or experience a miracle but do not know the first thing about the other attributes of God. These are the people who come to church only in hopes to see a sign. The pray for glory dust to fall down so they can say Jesus showed up. They pray for healed legs so they can run toward sin. People like that existed in Jesus’ day and in our day too. (John 6:2, John 12:18).

Be warned, miracle-mongers, “most of the miraculous events in the Old Testament killed people.” Most of the miracles in the OT (and some in the NT- Ananias, Sapphira) simply, flatly, killed people, as a demonstration of God’s justice and holiness.

John MacArthur preached,

His justice is demonstrated at the cross. It is God who said the soul that sends it must die. It is God who says the wages of sin is death, and death there will be. Death there must be. And justice prevails at the cross. God is so just, so just, that He will even take the life of His own beloved Son. If the sins of the world are to be laid on His Son, then His Son must take the death that they deserve. You will never see a greater illustration of the justice of God. You can look in the past. You can look in the Old Testament. You can see most of the miracles in the Old Testament killed people. If you’re looking for miracles in the Old Testament, most of the miraculous events in the Old Testament killed people, drowned entire armies, drowned the entire world, burned up people, holes opened in the ground and swallowed them up. People were literally killed by angelic beings. Most of the Old Testament miracles were miracles of divine judgment.

“So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” (John 4:48)

Do you love Jesus for who He is? Or for what He can do for you? A warning to those who seek and cling to and desire miracle after miracle, be careful what you wish for–

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. (Matthew 24:24).

miracle growth

encouragement, Uncategorized

Poetry by Kay Cude: Unity in Christ

Posted on August 14, 2016 by elizabethprata

Artist’s Statement:

I was compelled to do a piece about “unity in Christ” and what Christ means, not what “we” assume He means. [The picture] is Christ the Lamb of God who manifested all that “unity” of the redeemed in God the Father and God the Son!

For more information on the topic of unity, please see Mike Oppenheimer’s (Let Us Reason) pieces on “UNITY”, (“The Gospel of UNITY,” and “Unity Without Truth or Christ,”

Photo and poetry below. Used with permission. Click to enlarge.
kay cude unity.jpg

Uncategorized

Prayer & Giving Thanks

Posted on August 13, 2016 by elizabethprata

A moving recounting of the terrible conditions at Ravensbruck Camp and praying in all circumstances.

1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: “Rejoice always,pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” How do we obey these verses? Specifically, how do we pray without ceasing? Part of the answer to this is to obey verse 18 which says: “give thanks in all circumstances.” Let me share a powerful story from Corrie Ten Boom that relates to these verses from 1st Thessalonians 5. She and her family were Christians who hid Jews in their home in Holland during World War II. They hid Jews in their home undetected from 1943 to the early part of 1944. Then in February 1944 Corrie and her entire family were arrested. Corrie and her sister Betsie were both in their 50’s at this time. They were sent to a few different prison camps, but eventually they were transferred to…

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Uncategorized

I Love Being a Christian video: Jesus Paid the Price

Posted on August 13, 2016 by elizabethprata

When you are released from the burden you sense but can’t define, (sin), when you are freed from the chains of slavery to it, when you are forgiven and loved perfectly by The Perfect, you will rejoice, as all Christians do. You will love being a Christian. Repent now, for the kingdom is at hand.

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)