Posted in Uncategorized

Keep on the sunny side, Christians!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

EPrata photo

I used to spend the Fourth of July in Lubec-Eastport Maine. If you visualize Maine as the profile of a dog, Eastport and Lubec would be the nostrils. They are as far east as you can go in Maine and not be in Canada. The highest tides in the world begin there, with the Bay of Fundy beginning the funnel to a small inlet where massive tides are pushed in several times a day. They are nautical cities, driven by the sea, which surrounds both of them. And as for the air, there’s cool, fog, and cold. Those are the seasons. One one side of the street it’s sunny and the other it’s shady. The difference in temps between the shady side and the sunny side would be at least ten degrees.

Even on the Fourth the temperatures remain cool – in the sun- and out of the sun you will need either long sleeves or a sweatshirt. I loved it.

The Eastport parade drew about 8000-9000 annually, helped by the docking of a navy ship of one kind or another which gave tours. The navy men marched in the parade down Water Street, a sea of white hats swooping down the gentle hill as we clapped for their service and dedication.

I used to get there early because the parade street ran north-south. The sun at the starting time was shining on one side of the street and the other was in shadow. The shadow side was cool and dimmer than the sunny side. It was simply more practical to get there early and be in the warm sun. (Note the ladies are wearing fleeces and huddling under blankets on the dark side of the street. It’s cold on the shady side!)

I’ve noticed something lately. Many of my Christian brothers and sisters are sad. Times are tough, and there is much illness, uncertainty, and confusion. I see a lot of reporting of miscarriages or child deaths, which is utterly tragic. Many people I come across are sad about things in their lives that happened to them on an interpersonal level. (We should be sad over sin too.) I get sad sometimes, thinking of the wrongs done to me or the loss of relationships or I mourn for the way things used to be in my earlier days 50 years ago. I am sad when I see people claiming to be Christians engaged in blatant sin and not repenting.

Jesus got sad, too. Jesus even wept. When He arrived at the place where Lazarus had died, Mary fell at His feet weeping, and “Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,” (John 11:33b).

But there is a danger in allowing sadness to veer from a useful emotion that cleanses and wallowing in it. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines wallowing as “to indulge oneself immoderately.”

One would not normally think of being sad as something one chooses to indulge in, but it is, and is the point of this post. Things happen to us that make us sad, it is part of life. As a strong Christian you are more likely to have events occur that wind up in sadness. The world does not like us. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19). So prepare to be occasionally sad. But do not choose to wallow.

Yes, wallowing is a choice, one that all too many Christians indulge in. Do you return in your mind to that last dreadful conversation and mentally list all the really terrible things your ex-husband/boss/mother said to you? Do you revisit the terrible circumstances, re-telling it constantly in conversation? Even thought it happened last year, ten years ago? Do you sit in your room and cry more often that you sit in your room and praise? You’re wallowing.

Yes, Jesus wept, but look what He did right after that: “So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb” (John 11:35-38a) Jesus kept moving. He ‘came to the tomb’, He engaged in action, He didn’t sit by the road and cry with His friends who all were crying and had been for days. He kept moving because He had a job to do.

Our job is to be salt and light. We can’t be that if we stop moving. We can’t be that if we are wallowing in sadness over the things that happened to us. If we expend salt on our own tears and our light is dimmed by wallowing, then we are not fulfilling our obligations to the Lord Who also wept, but Who also kept moving.

Christians you can choose to be sad and wallow in ‘what he said’ or ‘what she did,’ and that is a never-ending pit because the world hates us and would love to steal your effectiveness as a joyful Christian on the move. Or you can weep but move on to the next task with all the salt and light you can muster. If you have a hard time doing that, ask the Lord for help, and see what He can do: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” (Ps 30:11) Keep on the sunny side, Christians! And keep moving!

Here are the lyrics to the song-

There’s a dark and a troubled side of life
There’s a bright, there’s a sunny side, too
Tho’ we meet with the darkness and strife
The sunny side we also may view

[cho:] Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us ev’ry day, it will brighten all the way
If we’ll keep on the sunny side of life

The storm and its fury broke today,
Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear;
Clouds and storms will, in time, pass away
The sun again will shine bright and clear.
Let us greet with the song of hope each day
Tho’ the moment be cloudy or fair
Let us trust in our Saviour alway
Who keepeth everyone in His care

Posted in theology

“Lord, do you not care?”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Podcast link-

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/elizabeth-prata/episodes/Episode-474-Lord–Do-You-Not-Care-e27knt2

Storm on the Sea of Galilee, by Rembrandt

SCRIPTURE: “And on that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling up. And Jesus Himself was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion; and they got Him up and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you so cowardly? Do you still have no faith?” And they became very afraid and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:35-41).

A few things before I move on. These were seasoned fishermen, used to the sudden squalls particular to the sea of Galilee (which is 700′ below sea level). Winds would sweep down the mountain at speed and ruffle the waters of the Sea until the waves were towering and short spaced between each other. For these experienced fishermen to be this scared of a storm, the storm must have been especially ferocious.

But secondly, after Jesus calmed the storm with a word, they became MORE afraid (afraid…’very’ afraid). The word for very is megas, meaning “large, great, in the widest sense.” It’s where we get the word mega from. Their fear changed from a physical danger type fear of the storm to a spiritual fear.

Now for the second passage today, where afterward I’ll compare the two.

Luke 10:38-42: “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the preparations alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

‘Lord do you not care… that we are perishing?’
‘Lord, do you not care… that I’m overwhelmed and she’s lounging?’

Of course it is a silly question. We see that’s so, once the storm has passed, or once the frustration levels out. Of course the Lord cares. He had just spent the day with the disciples caring for the thousands of sick and possessed. He chose Mary, Martha, and Lazarus’ home because he loved them. Of course He cared. He was on earth because He cared. He faced the cross because He cared.

But aren’t we silly, in our moments of fear and frustration; we lash out at God.

In both those cases of ‘Lord, do you not care?’ the people asking it were looking at another person rather than God. The disciples were looking at each other ‘we are perishing!’ Martha was looking at Mary, not Jesus.

We care for ourselves physically, as does the Lord, but the Lord also wants us to take care of ourselves spiritually. He was gentle with Martha, telling her that Mary chose (CHOSE) to apply herself spiritually while she had the chance, letting the physical needs of cooking and cleaning and serving go by the wayside temporarily.

He was a bit harsher with the disciples. In Mark’s Gospel Jesus asked them why they were so cowardly. In all 3 Gospels where the story is recounted, (Matthew 8:23–27, Mark 4:35–41, and Luke 8:22–25) Jesus asked the men ‘where is your faith?’

The issue at the root of it is, do not let your physical needs, wants, or fears swamp your spiritual strength. If Jesus had intended for all the men to drown in the storm and immediately resurrect them, so be it. If He had intended for them to die and resurrect on Resurrection Day, so be it.

Of course it’s easier said than done. When we get cancer we might cry out “Lord, do you not care?” When the baby dies, “Lord, do you not care”? Our fear and our grief are so large it blots out reason, even sometimes, faith.

Gordon Lightfoot famously asked in his song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: “Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”

Not that God withdraws His love. He never rescinds the love He has chosen to set upon His children, and for the ones who are not His children, common grace abounds. But that we, in our fear, anger, grief, our frustration, FEEL like God has withdrawn it.

Always choose the better portion. Jesus in effect said this to Peter, who had asked about John. “What about that guy?” Jesus said never you mind about Him, you, follow ME.’ (John 21:22)

We do not resolve our fears by looking to our surroundings or to what other people are doing, but by looking to Jesus.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22 KJV)

Posted in theology

Prata Potpourri: The Scandal of Christian muckraking, For wives: ‘False Messages’, Free documentary, Genealogy tips, more

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’m an educator. That means summers off (we don’t get paid), and time to refresh from the bustle of the school year. Also, time to enjoy whatever it is we like to enjoy. For me that is reading, being at home, and surfing the web. I like watching Youtube of thrifting videos, cat videos, design videos, and cop videos. I also like Korean dramas on Netflix. I did the free trial week of Hallmark Movies Now that’s part of Amazon Prime because I had found “Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries” with Jesse Metcalfe. I thought there were 5 MVM movies but there are only 4.

I love Signed, Sealed, Delivered on Hallmark Now Movies, too, and watched a few of those, but overall, I decided not to pay the extra. I already pay enough for streaming with Amazon, Hulu Netflix, and Pandora.

But now summer is ending. I have a few more days then I go back to work. The kids come August 4. August is usually hard, I go from 100% sedentary to 100% busy in one day flat, with treading miles on the concrete floors for 8 hours. I come home tired till I adjust.

I’ve enjoyed the luxury of time, time to write these blogs and record these podcasts. The ‘Potpourri’ blogs actually take a lot longer to put together than just researching and writing one. Here is what I found for you online these last 2 weeks that I think may be of interest:

Janet Mefferd is a true journalist, a true Christian journalist, writing on important topics related to Christian personalities or Christian church life. She has been a solid journalist for a long time. From her experience and perspective she sees a decline in Christian journalism, and outlines the why and how, here

The Scandal of Christian Muckraking

Tim Challies is known for a lot of things- book reviewer, pastor, blogger, videographer. He has developed a niche in his writing that he is also known for: sexual issues for men, including pornography. He wrote the book Sexual Detox for men. Afterward, he said he received so many emails asking about wives’ sexual issues, that his wife Aileen wrote a short treatment on that subject as well. It is downloadable, and it’s titled “False Messages: A Guide for the Godly Bride.” It’s free and you can freely distribute it. It seeks to guide you as a woman, to a biblical view of sexuality.

Speaking of Godly women, did you know that Susan J. Heck, her ministry titled “With the Master,” offers 250 lessons here? Susan is a solid teacher. FYI: https://www.youtube.com/@WiththeMaster

Seaking of videos, here is a link to a free documentary about the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon called “Through the Eyes of Spurgeon“. It’s the official documentary. Free.

I do grumble sometimes. Mainly to myself. But sadly I also complain sometimes in public: about the weather, the workload, the aching bones, whatever. Both grumbling and complaining are sins. Here we have Marci Ferrell the Thankful Homemaker offering ways to be dealing with our grumbling and complaining. She gives a short written intro and then the podcast explains more. Recommended!

I have done some light genealogy over the years. I visited Ellis Island that 2 grandparents and 2 great-grandparents came through. I have read the Ellis Island ship manifests and found their names. It’s fascinating.

@itskellydiane on Twitter and Instagram gives some helpful tips if you are into genealogy. She writes- “I’ve been doing genealogy research for over seven years and I’m a member of the DAR who taught me a lot about historical research and documents. If this is helpful for anyone, here’s some things I’ve learned that have helped me over the years.”

Demons are a biblical subject but not one spoken of very frequently, at least among true Christians. The false Christians tell us that demons lurk around every corner and every sin is really just a demon that we can cast out. But is that true? Here, the Bible Thumping Wingnut Tim Hurd offers a clip from John MacArthur answering an audience question about demons. (short video). As always with JMac, the answer is full of wisdom.

By the way, in that clip, Dr MacArthur references an incident that occurred in his office. He has been preaching for 54 years. He said that only about three times has he actually been involved with an actual demon. Once was in 2000, 23 years ago now, which he mentions in this sermon. But he goes into deeper detail of another incident that he references in the BTWN clip of a demon possessed girl in his office back in early 1970s. He and a man named Jerry were trying to help this gal and they tried all sorts of things to ‘exorcise’ it or ‘bind it’ but only ONE THING helped. You can read or listen the longer and detailed account of that incident, here, embedded in this sermon on Luke 4

“Jesus’ Authority Over Demons” part 2

Lately a lot of the questions or comments I receive revolve more around marital issues than doctrinal issues. I know that everything at root is doctrinal, but more questions have been coming to me on the topic of relational issues. I find that interesting. Maybe a lot of people are having issues in that sphere now. So I include this from Challies, “If Satan Took Up Marriage Counseling“:

If Satan Took Up Marriage Counseling

Here’s a budget friendly blog from Jessica Fisher on Good Cheap Eats about How to Stop Eating Out. I do not eat out. I have so many food intolerances that the only thing I’d be able to eat at a restaurant is the napkin. But I’ve noticed that food prices at the grocery store are 3X higher than this time last year, and they were high then too. Even if I didn’t have food intolerances I don’t think I’d feel good paying $12 for a cheese quesadilla or $5 for a cup of coffee. Those prices are now showing up in restaurant fare. Eating out is expensive. Here is a blog on How to Stop Eating Out.

Finally, here is a page from a blog called Atlas Obscura. It presents the enchanting Wisteria Vines of Japan. God created this world and He chose to make it beautiful. Enjoy –

Tunnels of Wisteria

Posted in theology

Isaac Asimov, the Humanist-Atheist without hope

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

My summer reading this school break included an Isaac Asimov book I picked up at a thrift store. When I was in high school I read a lot of science fiction. I had decided to return to the genre. I hadn’t read any sci-fi in 40 years. Asimov is one of the fathers of science fiction, and one of the most prolific.

He was born in Russia in 1920. He emigrated as a boy and then attended an annex of Columbia University majoring in chemistry, and became a writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. Asimov was considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein (“Stranger In A Strange Land”) and Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey”), even during his own lifetime, a feat of fame. He wrote or edited more than 500 books and also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. That’s why he is considered prolific.

Asimov coined the term ‘robotics,’ a combination of the words mechanics and hydraulics. He also wrote the Three Laws of Robotics, which are:

First Law
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Isaac Asimov

One of the books Asimov wrote was a compilation of short stories called “Nine Tomorrows” published in 1959. They are 9 short stories (plus a poem) set in the future. That’s the one I picked up.

I enjoyed Asimov when I first read him as a teen and young adult. I appreciated his easy writing and his engaging stories. But reading him again as an adult I was blown away by his brilliance. A detective story using things for clues that hadn’t been invented yet. Time travel. Space travel layovers. Genetic Modification- of humans. How successive iterations of computer programming forces a creativity decline and derivative thinking arise. Mutual Assured Destruction.

He was a supremely intelligent man. Seeing many of his ‘tomorrows’ become ‘todays’ and even ‘yesterdays’ after the initial writing 70+ years ago is amazing. Now we do have artificial intelligence, robotics on a level Asimov would have understood, and space travel. He wrote 100 of his books even before the US moon landing in 1969.

Sin begins in the mind. Our faith begins in the mind. I admire people who use their mind for Christ. To have an ability to understand complex ideas and relate them to a layman so they can be absorbed by anyone. The Bible is complex. The war between the world and the kingdom is complex. The scientific people at the Institute for Creation Research and The Math3ma Institute are intellects for the faith. I admire that they use their mind for Jesus and His glory. And by contrast it is such a waste to have a mind such as Asimov’s used for satan. Isaac Asimov was an atheist and a firm humanist.

Though I enjoyed most of his stories in “Nine Tomorrows” there was one I rejected. “The Last Question” explored entropy in the universe, (“the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. Entropy is the general trend of the universe toward death and disorder“), man’s reason for existence, the end of all things, and that knowledge was the supreme treasure of the universe, then comes annihilation and peace.

It is an atheistic, humanist view. It is also a hopeless view.

How sad. Reading Asimov now on this side of salvation shows me the utter sadness when a person possesses such a hopeless outlook.

So many things in life remind me of the sadness of the life of a lost person. The more I grow in His likeness the more I think about the Great Gulf Fixed which no man may cross. There is only lost or found. Darkness or light. Hell or heaven.

And I think of hell enlarging its mouth to receive a great many- the myriads upon myriads of unholy angels who will receive the just punishment for their demonic deeds. The millions of those who dwelled in sin all their life and will also receive the just punishment of their deeds. All that flesh. All those minds. What a waste.

I think of this kind of thing more and more. The tragedy of sin, the waste of a mind that could be glorifying God and thanking Him for its intellect. Asimov denied the Creator. When he passed away in 1992, the Institute for Creation Research wrote a piece called “Asimov Meets His Creator” in which we see this quote from Asimov-

ASIMOV’S VIEW ON DEATH

“Although the time of death is approaching for me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell, or [what would be considerably worse] going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.”

Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine January 1992

The linked ICR piece is worth reading.

Asimov’s expectations were not met. Asimov discovered that knowledge in and of itself is not the chief end of man. God is the chief end of man by glorifying Him. Heaven IS considerably better than anything one can imagine, and hell is real and considerably worse. Nothingness is not in the future for any person born on this earth or even those not born but perish due to miscarriage or abortion.

It’s heaven (for babies and the repentant) and hell for those who reject and whose default is to continue in sin. Christians rightly do not fear death but the unsaved should. They do not know…

“Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment; for you are a burden to it; the creation groans with you; the creature is made subject to the bondage of your corruption, not willingly; the sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan; the earth does not willingly yield her increase to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air does not willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your vitals, while you spend your life in the service of God’s enemies.” ~Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards

The unsaved should fear death very much, and moreover, FEAR GOD.

Posted in theology

Anxious about Hospitality?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

As keepers of the home, we women are often encouraged to invite or even expect others to visit our homes. The hospitality offered by Lydia, Martha & Mary, and the home of Mary the mother of John Mark (where Rhoda was so startled when jailed Peter showed up during the prayer gathering) are homes in the NT where women hosted gladly.

We are called to do the same: Titus 1:8, Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9, 1 Timothy 5:10…

I quail at the thought. I am like many women, who would be afraid to host someone in my home when it is less than sparkling clean. I’d want it to be where everything is always put away and I have fresh flowers arranged just so in charming vases and fresh towels in the bathroom with rose petals on them waiting for the random friend to stop over. LOL. Well, that’s how I imagine it anyway.

Of course our homes are never like that. If we really live, we really have a house that’s lived in. Kids toys are all around, there might be – gasp! – dirty dishes in the sink, popcorn kernels in the couch, a pile of mail needing tending to, open books and magazines on the coffee table accompanied by empty mugs of coffee or sticky soda cans…

I remember the most hospitable person I’ve ever known. She isn’t saved. But she is a great wife and mom. Her stance was that she wanted to be the house where her kids’ friends came to, all the better to keep an eye on her kids.

In her house were piles of clutter, worn out sofa, small rooms crowded with ‘stuff’ or oddly arranged. According to design rules, the place wasn’t suited for company. When it got to be dinner time, without a fuss the hostess would cook up a pan of scrambled eggs or baked beans from a can with brown bread (also from a can) and just hand it out on paper plates. Sometimes the husband or the grown kid would pull out a guitar or mandolin and we’d sing.

Anyone and everyone was always invited. Absolutely everyone was treated with warmth, respect, and dignity. And the hostess did collect oddballs, me included. But all were equal, loved, and given a place of acceptance. As I said, she wasn’t saved. She did all this effortlessly and created a safe space I’ll remember forever.

As Christians, we should do that and more. Now, it is certain we should do our best to have a clean house, or at least one that’s fairly picked up. We don’t want to serve food on dirty plates from unsanitary counters, or allow piles of laundry to get strewn as a tripping hazard. There is a balance between sparkling perfection and filthy hoarder.

But there is no need to panic if you’re asked to host a Book Group or a Bible Study or a Fellowship dinner in your home.

I saw this book on Marci Ferrell’s Thankful Homemaker site, here. It’s:

Having a Martha Home the Mary Way: 31 Days to a Clean House and a Satisfied Soul by Sarah Mae. Here is the blurb,

“Sarah Mae wants to let you in on a little secret about being a good homemaker: It’s not about having a clean house. She’d never claim to be a natural, organized cleaner herself―yet, like you, she wants a beautiful space to call home, a place where people feel loved and at peace. Where people can really settle in with good food, comfy pillows, and wide-open hearts. Is it possible to find a balance?”

I have not read the book, but I did read the 29 pages allowed in the Google preview. She seemed to be saying the right things and the tone was non-judgmental. If you find that you’d like to increase your hospitality, I’d say try this book. Here are some other resources-

Ligonier: How Can I Practice Christian Hospitality?

Christian Library: The Biblical Basis for Hospitality

Reformed Theological Seminary, 3-min video clip: Why is true Christian Hospitality so Important?

Start small, invite one lady over, or ask the mom who’s picking up her kid from your house to stay for a cup of tea. The key is love. Just love them.

Posted in theology

Example: God’s Omniscience

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Example: God’s Provision
Example: God’s Healing

In this short, simple series, I show some of God’s actions and attributes from His word. An example of God’s provision was when the student-prophet in 2 Kings 6 God made the axe head float. His provision doesn’t have to be the “big things” like feeding the 5000, He made provision for an impoverished student who had borrowed an axe and lost it in the river.

In this example today, we see an example of God’s omniscience. Omniscience is an attribute of God. Omniscience is defined as “the state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.” Another way to say God is omniscient is to say God is all-knowing.

Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there.” And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him; so he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, more than once or twice.

Then the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6:8-12).

The King of Aram wondered who among his servants was the spy, leaking information to the King of Israel, but the servants said, ‘No it’s Yahweh who hears the words you speak in your bedroom.’ And they were right.

It’s interesting that the servants knew of the nature of Elisha’s relationship with God and that the information was coming from Him, but the king of Aram didn’t. It never even crossed his mind.

God knows everything that has happened, is happening, and is going to happen- because He is the author and architect of history. He knows what is in a person’s mind. He knows what is in a person’s heart.

Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Yahweh, You know it all. (Psalm 139:4)

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we have an account to give. (Hebrews 4:13)

Posted in theology

Example: God’s healing

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Example: God’s Omniscience
Example: God’s Provision

This week I’m posting 3 quick examples of an encouraging attribute or action of God. Yesterday was an example of God’s provision. Today we have an example of God’s healing. While the spiritual gift of healing given to men in the first century, and today’s example is one of those, the sign gift of healing from the early days of the church has ceased. However, God Himself does still heal, sometimes obviously miraculously.

Yahweh will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health. (Psalm 41:3).

Rembrandt van Rijn 1606 – 1669, The Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-Law

Sometimes when we become ill we might, in our delirium or pain, cry out, why, Lord? Sometimes, like Job, we may never know. But we DO know that all God does is good.

Barnes’ Notes says of the Psalm 41 verse,

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible: The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing – The word rendered strengthen here means to support; to uphold; to sustain. The idea here is, that God would enable him to bear his sickness, or would impart strength – inward strength – when his body failed, or when but for this aid he must sink under his disease and die. 

Here is Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 41 verse 3-

Verse 3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing. The everlasting arms shall stay up his soul as friendly hands and downy pillows stay up the body of the sick. How tender and sympathising is this image; how near it brings our God to our infirmities and sicknesses! Whoever heard this of the old heathen Jove, or of the gods of India or China? This is language peculiar to the God of Israel; he it is who deigns to become nurse and attendant upon good men. If he smites with one hand he sustains with the other. Oh, it is blessed fainting when one falls upon the Lord’s own bosom, and is borne up thereby! Grace is the best of restoratives; divine love is the noblest stimulant for a languishing patient; it makes the soul strong as a giant, even when the aching bones are breaking through the skin. No physician like the Lord, no tonic like his promise, no wine like his love. Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. What, doth the Lord turn bed maker to his sick children? Herein is love indeed. Who would not consider the poor if such be the promised reward? A bed soon grows hard when the body is weary with tossing to and fro upon it, but grace gives patience, and God’s smile gives peace, and the bed is made soft because the man’s heart is content; the pillows are downy because the head is peaceful. Note that the Lord will make all his bed, from head to foot. What considerate and indefatigable kindness! Our dear and ever blessed Lord Jesus, though in all respects an inheritor of this promise, for our sakes condescended to forego the blessing, and died on a cross and not upon a bed; yet, even there, he was after awhile upheld and cheered by the Lord his God, so that he died in triumph.” –end Spurgeon

Sometimes God heals us by taking us home to heaven. Other times he gives wellness after the illness, like He did to Peter’s Mother-in-Law. Either way, God is perfect.

John Bridges – Birmingham Museum of Art
Christ Healing the Mother of Simon Peter’s Wife by John Bridges, 1839
Posted in theology

Example: God’s provision

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Example: God’s Healing
Example: God’s Omniscience

Our frail frame, our restless mind, our quailing spirit, often doubts God’s promise to provide for us. He promised to sustain the Hebrews in the desert for 40 years. And He did. Every day, the manna came down (except the Sabbath, but they got double on the day before).

Here in 2 Kings, we see another incident of provision. A shorter term, a smaller miracle, but nonetheless, a fulfillment of His promise to sustain His people in the ways they need sustaining.

Photo by Albert Dehon on Unsplash

The Axe Head Recovered

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too cramped for us. Please let us go to the Jordan, and let us each take from there a beam, and let us construct a place there for ourselves, to live there.” So he said, “Go.” Then one of them said, “Please agree and go with your servants.” And he said, “I will go.” So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But it happened that as one of them was cutting down a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Oh, my master! It was borrowed!” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. Then he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
(2 Kings 6:1-7).

The MacArthur study note says of verse 5,

“Iron was expensive, and relatively rare in Israel at that time, and the student-prophet was very poor. The axe head was loaned to the prophet since he could not have afforded it on his own and would have no means to reimburse the owner for it.”

“Elisha threw a stick in the river at the exact spot where the axe head entered, and the stick caused the heavy iron object to float to the surface. Through this miracle, the Lord again provided for one who was faithful to Him.” ~John MacArthur

If you’re feeling worried about your future, short term or long term, remember that the Lord promised to sustain us. Yes, we do have to work. We aren’t wandering Jews in the desert waiting for manna to drop from heaven. We don’t lay on the couch and do nothing to help ourselves. But provision does come from heaven, whether in the form of a job, or a surprise check, or a new helper, or in a thousand ways our puny brains can’t even imagine.

The student-prophets in those verses were working to build a larger dwelling since there had been such an increase in enrollments, they outgrew their old school. But God does provide, not only the big things like manna, but the little things like an axe head. Trust Him.

Posted in theology

So much grief and loss…But God!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Susannah Spurgeon and her husband Charles had a close relationship. When Charles passed away in 1892, she was left a widow in deep grief. They were married 36 years. Charles had called her  “the greatest of all earthly blessings.” Susannah herself said of their life together they were “two pilgrims treading this highway of life together, hand in hand,–heart linked to heart.”

Susannah knew grief. She also knew Jesus.

Susannah Spurgeon, from “A Basket of Summer Fruit” (written after the death of her beloved husband, C. H. Spurgeon)

As this is a “personal note”, I may be allowed to tell you that, in my deep and increasing loneliness, I still find sweetest comfort in praising God for His will concerning my beloved and myself, and have even been able to thank Him for taking His dear servant from this sorrowful land of sin and darkness—to the bliss and glory of His eternal presence. Fixing my heart on the blessed fact that what the Lord does is right and best, simply because He does it, I feel the anchor hold in the depths of His love—and no tempest is powerful enough to drive faith’s barque from these moorings. It can outride any storm with anchorage in such a haven. Many a time, when the weight of my dreadful loss seemed as if it must crush me, it has been lifted by the remembrance that, in Heaven, my dear one is now perfectly praising his Lord; and that, if I can sing, too, I shall even here on earth be joining him in holy service and acceptable worship.

How many of you, dear readers, will be “chief singers” unto our God, and resolve that, henceforth, His praise shall be continually in your mouth? Let us, each one, say to the Lord, with good Isaac Watts—

“Long as I live, I’ll bless Your Name,
My King, my God of love;
My work and joy shall be the same,
In the bright world above.”

She acknowledged her grief and loneliness, but also acknowledged that God is good. Here, ‘Susie’ Spurgeon focused on God’s goodness, the firm foundation of her faith, and the fact that her beloved husband is now with his beloved savior, worshiping Him in perfect glory.

Losing someone you love is not easy. Without Christ it’s almost impossible. But God…He knows the grief and loss that batters the Christian heart. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb.

To the folks that have lost someone recently, please know that I grieve with you. The loss of a friend, husband, family member or child is mournful. It is especially sad when we are fairly sure the loved one was not saved. But God…in His inscrutable ways, gives love to those whom He gives life, and death to whom he gives death. It’s not a comfort in the moment of highest grief, perhaps, nor a comfort in the deep of night’s loneliness, but is it a fact. A good fact. Cling to it, and perhaps if you are suffering, it may make the suffering a molecule less painful…

Posted in theology

‘Eat the meat and spit out the bones’? Why not?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

To the casual or immature discerners who say “just eat the meat and spit out the bones”… I ask you this:

If you are a parent, even if you’re not, picture your sweet baby in his high chair. You are preparing food for him and place it in his plastic bowl in front of him with his little spoon. In the bowl is a hunk of meat along with its bones. You tell the toddler to eat the meat and just spit out the bones.

Is this a safe way for your baby to consume food?

It’s a hypothetical question. We all know it’s not safe to serve a baby meat with bones and just tell the child to spit out the bones. This illustration was designed to highlight one fatal flaw: PRIDE. We think we are smarter than we are.

How do I know this? Because we all are babies. We are little children, stumbling along like helpless sheep, trying to do our best to serve God. How many times in the Bible are WE called sheep (which are stupid animals), or babes? We are naïve and vulnerable to the world, to our sin, and to the devil. We need God’s strong word as a fortress, a haven, a sheepfold with Him as guide to get us safely through this life and across the Jordan to eternity.

We think we ‘can handle’ this or that. But we can’t. We are as ignorant and helpless as a baby in a high chair when served what the world has to offer and when served what the church has to offer. We must stay closely in the word of God, lest we be deceived. We are often not smart enough to be bone detectors.

Always test whatever lessons we receive with the word of God, and

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7).

Do not eat bone-riddled meat. You’re a baby.