By Elizabeth Prata
Kay Cude is a Texas Poet. Used with permission. Below is her artist’s statement. Her writing this week focuses on Jeremiah 17:9-10.
“Now, more than ever, we see clearly that the whole world, specifically our lives as American citizens, is confronted with the inerrant truth of Scripture that by a greater measure than we could have imagined just a few years ago, the souls of the governing authorities, secular and specifically in far too many hearts within the evangelical church, “lie in the lap of the evil one,” Satan (1 John 5:19).”
“We know that when such evil putridity is condoned, disregarded, and unmarked as aberrant, it will be accepted and practiced by the unregenerate beyond our mere imagining; and that through affecting persuasion, it will become palpable enough to be lived-out with little heed by those who consider themselves to be the elect of God, but who are in truth pretenders to the faith or are the “almost Christian.”
(An excellent and penetrating study reference by Mike Ratliffe into the ‘Almost Christian’, based on the Puritan Matthew Mead’s book of the same name, can be read here: “What is an Almost Christian?” Possessing the Treasure, January 23, 2021).
Cude continues- “Such lawless rebellion and trespass against God will become an acceptable way of life to the many who will follow after the persuasive deception of the heretic and apostate preacher/teacher; even by those who consider themselves to be brethren but in truth are not. If such is acceptable by the many “leaders” of the Southern Baptist Convention (and even local churches who refuse to accept the truth of the SBC’s downgrade and fall from God’s “true” grace), it will be easy for the unregenerate and the deceived within the evangelical church to live it out believing that “hyper-grace” will cover their sins. They have been deceived; worse, they practice the deception that they have been well-taught. Subsequently they teach others to become sons of Hell, and to an even greater degree.”
“I am overwhelmed by the exacting and deadly nature of the deception that is now almost wholly acceptable within evangelicalism and that it has been given free reign over the hearts and minds of the many who may never hear the true Gospel. I am also very sensitive to the fact that we must live out our lives by the Spirit and by our words and deeds. We must reflect the light of the true Gospel of God the Father and Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master and Saviour.” –end Kay Cude artist statement
Dear friends, what we see visibly is only a small part of the story. If you remember Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6:17 who was afraid but when Elisha asked the LORD to open the servant’s eyes, the servant saw all the chariots of God with fighting angels all around. Or Archangel Michael fighting in the second heaven, battering his way through legions of unholy angels hindering the angel from answering Daniel’s prayer for three weeks (Daniel 10:13). There is so much more going on than we know, but God is in control of it all!
If you are angry, like I am angry and Kay Cude said she was angry, rely on the sovereign wisdom and plan of God. Satan is holding his infernal councils, but he knows his time is short. When his evil time ends, what a day that will be!
