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Motherhood involves raising the child, not being the child

Posted on May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I started my self-designed Summer Reading Plan yesterday. Now that I’m home from school and all that. One of the books I’d bought in the Banner of Truth “Godly Women” sale was a pamphlet written by a pastor’s wife, Sara Leone. It’s a short, 48 page book, called Her Husband’s Crown. It’s about the responsibilities of a pastor’s wife that do not relate to her supposed role as ‘The First Lady of the Church’ yet, nor is she ‘just another member’. She has certain basic responsibilities laid upon her, according to the blurb. The booklet aims to help her fulfill these as the pastor’s wife serves the Lord alongside her husband.

The book is full of plain common sense advice. Simple, but we need that nowadays, as books aimed at women too often are filled with either legalistic or complicated pseudo-psychological advice or overly simplistic bullet points pointing toward a faux man-made bliss. The author opens with the foundational premise describing the mission field of wifehood/motherhood, its high importance, and its beauty (long term).

One of the tidbits I enjoyed in the book was the following plain statement, when she contrasted the world’s view of women with God’s view.

However, we live in a time when the virtues of motherhood are discounted and undervalued. So much attention is given in our culture to self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-actualization. Motherhood, on the other hand, is all about caring for the needs of another. It involves self-giving and self-denial.

Elisabeth Elliot writes:

Maturity starts with the willingness to give oneself. Childishness is characterized by self-centeredness. It is only the emotionally and spiritually mature who are able to lay down their lives for others, those who are ‘masters of themselves that they might be servants of others’. (From: Let Me Be A Woman).

I’ll write a book review when I complete the book.

grace grace grace

sound doctrine, theology

Enduring sound doctrine in the days of tickling ears

Posted on May 27, 2019May 27, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Parts of this essay first appeared on the End Time in 2010.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…(2 Timothy 4:3)

Do you notice that word “endure”? The verse does not say “they will not like sound doctrine…” It does not say “they will not enjoy sound doctrine…” It doesn’t even say “they will not accept sound doctrine.” It uses the word endure. When you endure something, you writhe. You wish you were not there in the midst of it. If anyone has ever undergone physical therapy, you know that you have to endure it but if you could you would shoot out of the gym so fast you’d be like a speeding bullet. If anyone has ever had to get a root canal, you know that you endure it. You do not seek it, you do not like it, and if you could, you go away from it.

That is the process by which lukewarm Christians, fake Christians, and unholy pastors feel about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. To be sure, the true Gospel of the Risen Savior is full of warm fuzzies. He loves us. He prospers us. He sends angels to us. But the True Gospel is also full of truth, the unpalatable truth that the iniquitous lawless cannot endure: we are sinners. Rejection of the remedy for your sin means you will spend eternity in torment, apart from God. That there is nothing good in us. That we are fallen, craven, and deserve judgment. No, they will not endure that. So they don’t.

Instead they seek teachers to tempt us with what the devil has always tempted us with, and tempted Jesus too: health, wealth, fame. They may find it in some “preachers” and in some “churches”, but it is for a season. Most do not find prosperity in health, wealth and fame. The only ones becoming famous and rich are the false pastors who urge the hapless and desperate to send money.

A watered down gospel removes the book-end to the love parts that they seek. That other book-end is judgment. They will not endure sound teaching that His holiness involves love but it also includes righteous judgment.

“I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
“They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. (Isaiah 45:23-24)

The true word absorbed by submissive believers is sweet. But it is also sometimes accompanied by a bitterness felt by even the most beloved of followers, even the most obedient of disciples. Sometimes the true word is hard to hear and bitter even for believers, because it reveals to us the true state of our sinfulness and the fate of those who refuse His hand, those mockers and scorners whom we mourn over-

I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. (Revelation 10:10)

The only way to endure the knowledge of judgment that is coming is to rest on His truth and His promises. Those who do not rest in that truth, bitter as it sometimes is, do not endure it. Not only have they stopped asking the Spirit for wisdom, but they simply stop ingesting the sweet Words of the LORD and they flee away, being unstable in all they do.

If you seek sound doctrine but have had a hard time finding it, I encourage you to enjoy the teachers I have been enjoying. John MacArthur is strong, loving, and firm in preaching and teaching all of the Gospel. His doctrine is sound because it comes verse by verse from the Living Word. His website is Grace to You, or gty.org. There, you can read essays and transcripts if you do not have a fast connection, or click on audio or video to listen or watch.

Alistair Begg is another good one. He is at Truth for Life.
RC Sproul at Ligonier.org
S. Lewis Johnson at Believers Chapel

Has solid preaching become an endurance test for you? Or are the hard but truthful words uplifting to you and filling in every way? If you have recently changed churches because the pastor is “a little too bible thumping for my taste”, or have you drifted away from regular worship lately because the sermons are too long, too convicting, or demand endurance on the part of your deceitful heart, then ask yourself if you are really just trying to accumulate a teacher in accordance with your own desires, and are wanting your ears tickled with a less filling but great tasting sermon. If so, you may be at risk.

resources, theology

Two New Resources for you! Short Podcasts To Enjoy

Posted on May 26, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Here are a couple of resources for you. I am not a huge fan of podcasts. I am not a fan of giggling and banter the production values are a distraction, which a lot of podcasts have. In addition, I figure if I’m going to listen to something for half an hour or more a sermon serves me better. But these are two podcasts are mini. There’s no banter or giggling or foolishness, though one of the podcasts is lighthearted. Both are put out by Ligonier Ministry.

Simply Put

The episodes are between 6 1/2 and 7 minutes long.

Ligonier explains their new ministry through the podcast Simply Put:

As a new Christian, did you ever feel “stumped” by theology? Maybe you were listening to a sermon, and it seemed like the pastor was speaking another language. Or perhaps you picked up a study Bible and realized you may need a dictionary, too. From imputation to justification, theophany to theodicy, keeping all these concepts straight can be a challenge.

Simply Put is a new weekly podcast to help you build your Christian vocabulary. Each episode explains a different theological term in clear, concise language and shares stories and illustrations that apply it to your life.

Simply Put episodes so far –

Original Sin
Sanctification
Justification
Imputed Righteousness
Satan
Aseity of God
General Revelation
Canon of Scripture
Five Solas

Another one by Ligonier that produces short and sweet podcasts at between 8 and 9 minutes are called Open Book.

We all love books, we’re readers, Christians are. We also love talking about books, and that is what this podcast is about.

Open Book is a weekly podcast about the power of books and the people they’ve shaped. In season one, host Stephen Nichols shares never-before-heard moments with R.C. Sproul in his home library, and now in season two, special guest John MacArthur tells the stories behind the books that left their mark on him and his more than fifty years of ministry. Join us each week as we hear amazing stories and insights they gleaned from the books on their shelves.

Episodes so far, are here.

aiony-haust-667702-unsplash — Photo by Aiony Haust on Unsplash

theology

Pharmakeia: psychedelic drugs and spirituality

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I have pneumonia. I’ll be posting ‘encore essays’ lol, until I can think clearly. This was first posted on The End Time in June 2010. It remains one of the most viewed essays on the site.

——————————–

“Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.” (Revelation 18:21-23)

Above, GIUSTO de’ Menabuoi 1376-78 Fresco in the Baptistry, Cathedral, Padua

We know from many verses that God is against sorcery, astrology, witchcraft, etc.; God hates sorceries.

The curious thing is that the word in the verse, “nations were deceived by your sorcery” the root Greek word for sorcery is actually pharmakeia. It is the word from which we get pharmacy. In the Strong’s it means “from pharmakeuó (to administer drugs).” It is further defined as “the use of medicine, drugs or spells.”

I am of the opinion that the verse in Revelation is NOT saying that legal drugs administered by doctors is bad. I am concerned with a trend I am seeing these days toward a renewed and vigorous interest in psychedelic drugs. How this ties in with sorceries, you will discover when you read on…

The trend I speak of is not new. It is ancient, actually. But in the search for God, many people take the broad way, the fork in the road that leadeth to destruction. That road is the search for experience, not a submission to belief. They seek feelings, and when they cannot find them, they turn to drugs. A melding of drugs and the spiritual is the most dangerous kind of sorcery, because it dulls the senses and creates a false god: self.

Above, a picture of someone‘s imagined entheogen, with the title “awakening the divine within” and a video link promising “expanded perception.”

An entheogen is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic or spiritual context. Peyote, LSD, DMT are all natural or synthetic substances that are ingested with the intent to find God inside us. The very name entheogen is from the root ‘God inside us’, note the “theo” as in theology, and “gens”, created, as in Genesis.

The upsurge in psychedelic drugs as an accompaniment in the spiritual path was brought to the mass population in America in the late 1950s. In 1957 Life magazine published an article called “Seeking the Magic Mushroom.” The article documented the use of peyote mushrooms in the religious ceremony of the indigenous Mazatec people of Mexico.

“Anthony Russo, a colleague of Leary’s, experienced psychedelic (or entheogenic) mushrooms during a trip to Mexico, and related the experience to Leary. In August 1960, Harvard professor Timothy Leary traveled to Cuernavaca, Mexico with Russo and ate mushrooms for the first time, an experience that drastically altered the course of his life. In 1965, Leary commented that he “learned more about… (his) brain and its possibilities… (and) more about psychology in the five hours after taking these mushrooms than… (he) had in the preceding fifteen years of studying and doing research in psychology.” source.

Later we saw the rush to India by the Beatles and others in search of gurus who seemed to have all knowledge, shamanic experiences sought by Carlos Santana, and Mircea Eliade’s seminal 1951 study “Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy” finally becoming more popular as a form of ‘spiritual ecology’ in the 1960s. Pharmakeia.

Above, Leary: “You have to go out of your mind to come to your senses.”

The most famous experiment back in the Leary days was the Marsh Chapel Experiment (a.k.a. “the Good Friday Experiment”). It was administered by Walter N. Pahnke, a graduate student in theology at Harvard Divinity School, under the supervision of Leary. The goal was to see if psilocybin would act as reliable entheogen, or, as a drug that offered or enhanced individual spiritual insight in religiously predisposed subjects such as the seminary students.

It wasn’t long after that when Leary became known to the Beatnik generation for his motto, “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” The ‘turn on’ was LSD. What is less well-known was the context of the speech and the reason for the motto. It was Leary’s friend Marshall McLuhan who challenged Leary to he come up with “something snappy” to promote the benefits of LSD. By the time Leary gave his speech in New York, he’d thought of a snappy catchphrase:

“Like every great religion of the past we seek to find the divinity within and to express this revelation in a life of glorification and the worship of God. These ancient goals we define in the metaphor of the present — turn on, tune in, drop out.”

Pharmakeia. The ultimate sorcery, because it uses mind-altering drugs in a search for God and, worse, replaces God with the devil’s lie: that the divine is within us. Therefore, this witchcraft activity also becomes idolatry and blasphemy in their worst senses.

Cut to today. One would think that with all the medical and scientific knowledge we’ve gained since the Leary days about the dangers of drugs and of the wonders of the brain, that we would have quit looking for God in a pill. No. Roland Griffiths is interested in entheogens and the spiritual, as they relate to patients suffering from dread diseases such as cancer. He has a lab in Johns Hopkins University, affectionately dubbed mushroom mecca, and is taking up where Leary left off, but with a focused purpose, more money, and better science. His initial paper is here. It is titled “Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance.”

The God Chemical: Brain Chemistry And Mysticism

“But now, some researchers are using new technologies to try to understand spiritual experience. They’re peering into our brains and studying our bodies to look for circumstantial evidence of a spiritual world. The search is in its infancy, and scientists doubt they will ever be able to prove — or disprove — the existence of God. … “Andy Harvey, a ceremony participant, said peyote serves as a mediator between the human world and the divine. “Sometimes we ask the peyote to help us cleanse the illnesses away and cleanse our mental being, our spiritual being,” he said. “And we believe that’s what peyote does, too. That’s why we call it a sacrament, a sacred herb.”

Here is Griffiths’ call for study participants:

“In recent years, scientists at some US universities have been conducting studies using entheogens, resuming research in pharmacology, psychology, creativity and spirituality that was suspended following the drug excesses of the 1960s…. … participate in a scientific study of self-exploration and personal meaning brought about by the entheogen psilocybin, a psychoactive substance found in mushrooms used as a sacrament in some cultures, given in a comfortable, supportive setting.”

The Apostles strongly urged believers not to use mind-altering drugs but to remain sober-minded and alert (1 Corinthians 15:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8; 2 Timothy 4:5; 1 Peter 1:13; 4:7; 5:8). These prohibitions likely are designed to remind us that we must be vigilant against the wiles of the Devil (1 Peter 5:8), who seeks to ensnare us through deception. The Christian disciplines his body and keeps it under control 1 Corinthians 9:27, so that he is able to set his mind on things above, [not within] Colossians 3:2. And even if you are in a “supportive setting” the devil will still come in, and give you a “divine experience” you are not likely to forget. If you’re lucky, it will be an experience you are unwilling to remember.

Revelation says that Babylon-ish sorceries will be condemned. The use of mind-altering drugs in combination with the search for spiritual truth is on the upswing with shamanism, neo-paganism, and even University sponsored experiments.

If there is such legitimized use of these mind-altering drugs in the context of “finding God”, with the Restrainer on the earth and the Holy Spirit easily available to all, just imagine how it will be when the Resterainer is removed, and most of the world is laboring under the delusion. Leary’s line comes to mind, but it will be more like “You will go out of your mind and never come to your senses.”

Stay strong, Christian! Do not seek Him in your mind through drugs, but in truth and in spirit with a clear head and scripture before you. Ask that the eyes of your heart be enlightened. Tune in to the Holy Spirit! Turn on the lamp that cannot be hid! And soon, God knows, we will drop out of the world only to fly, not with drugs, but on His wings of Grace and Glory, to the home of Grace and Glory!

encouragement, theology

Thought for the Day

Posted on May 24, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Satan attacks through the mind. He ultimately does this in two ways. He either gets you to think about God differently. (Eve). Or he gets you not to think about God at all. (Demas).

God transforms us through the mind. If we put our mind on Christ, our mind will be renewed from the craven, fallen thing it was to the holy and pure thing God wants it to be.

The place for that is through prayer, the Bible, and worship in song and preaching.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6).

Do you want peace? I know I do, we all do. Then think on these things. (Philippians 4:8).

set the mind verse

theology

Poppies reaching for the sun

Posted on May 23, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I used to vacation in the small village of Lubec, Maine. It is the “nose” on the map of Maine that looks like a silhouette of a dog. It sits across from Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. I mean a stone’s throw. See?

lubec narrows

The boat is docked in Lubec, USA. The lighthouse is in Canada.

Sunlight is a precious thing in Maine, especially that far north. Lubec is just 5 miles from the 45th parallel, which is the halfway point between the equator and the north pole. Daylight hours in July (when I visited) are 15 hours but in December there are only 8 hours of sunlight.

There is a street facing Canada called Water Street. There is an old cannery, the town library, a hotel, some pubs and cafes. One place you can stay is called the Betsy Ross B&B. It faces east, toward Campobello Island and has a bank of poppies and other plants growing in front. There is a slight overhang over the flwoers, plus the building is tall. The poppies are aiming, seemingly desperately reaching for the sun, as it rises over Campobello and arcs quickly across the sky before leaving the poppies in shadow again. See?

100_1908 poppies.jpg

I wish I had a further-out view for you. But every flower is parallel to the wooden brace you see at a nearly 45 degree angle.

This isn’t a new thought, or an especially creative thought. But I think it is a good thought.

Though creation is fallen, it is still subject to God. Even the plants ‘know’ enough to reach for what is good for them. They need and thrive on the sun.

Isaiah 55:12,

For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Barnes’ Notes says,

Here it is an expression of the universal rejoicing which would attend the extension of the kingdom of God on the earth.

The conscience-less creation groans now and will be praising with joy later. Metaphorically? Actually? The Bible doesn’t explain. Yet, we know that God has a relationship with creation. Maybe it’s a general call to praise, or perhaps the trees will clap and the mountains will shout.

For all our human wisdom and machinations and progress, we Christians, do we reach for what is good for us? The Son? With our superior relationship with Jesus over the creation and even over the angels, do we reach? Bask? Long for the Son?

prophecy, theology

Urgency of the Times

Posted on May 23, 2019May 23, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I have pneumonia. I’ll be doing re-runs until I can clearly think and research. The essay below the line was published in October 2012 on The End Time.

A prefatory note: I’ve always been interested in prophecy. Jesus’s return has always been imminent. It was for Paul 2000 years ago and it is even more so for us. In my short time as a Christian, but having lived a long time as a pagan (through the 60s sexual revolution, the 70s feminist revolution, and the 80s decade of greed) it’s obvious that the veneer of civility and morality covering American culture is melting away like a snowflake on a hot iron. In addition, the more recent developments in evangelicalism with the high rates of biblical illiteracy, charismaticism, female rebellion, social justice replacing the Gospel, and the collapse of the Southern Baptist Convention (long thought to be a bastion of conservatism) the snowflake melting has occurred in the visible church as well.

It’s something to mourn, but nothing to be surprised about. Jesus will return soon and right every wrong. I’ve been warning of His soon return for 12 years and if I warn of it for another 50 years His return would still have been imminent.

Now on to the re-post.
____________________________

I’ve been reading Jeremiah 4, a tough, tough chapter. There are so many parallels between Jeremiah’s time and ours… So when I finished reading, I re-listened to John MacArthur’s sermon that he delivered in June 2011 about Jeremiah and his times, called, “Prophetic Message to an Ungodly Nation” and he compared it to our times. They are so similar it is amazing. I guess maybe not so amazing…because sinful people are still sinful people and pride is still pride and culture is still fallen.

I also listened to a sermon on Jesus as the Word from John 1. My favorite verses in the bible are John 1:1-5. So that was a good sermon to listen to, very edifying and beautiful. Stay in the word. Jesus is our rock to cling to.

Here is an essay by Dr. David Reagan on the topics of Urgency and Encouragement. I hope it encourages you as it did me.

——————————

Urgency
Dr. David R. Reagan,
Monday, October 29, 2012

There is a sense of urgency in the air. Our nation is on the brink of moral and economic collapse. The world is caught up in an insane frenzy of terrorism. The Middle East is about to explode. And the biblical signs of the times are shouting from the heavens that Jesus is about to return.

In the words of Charles Dickens, “It is the best of times, it is the worst of times.”

It is the worst of times because the depravity of Man is manifesting itself in the increasing rejection and blasphemy of God. The result is an exponential increase in violence and immorality.

It is the best of times because the collapse of society worldwide is the fulfillment of end time prophecies that point to the soon return of Jesus.

An Exciting But Challenging Time

We are privileged to be living in such an exciting and momentous time when we can witness the stage being set for the triumphant return of Jesus. But it is a time that calls for courage.

We simply must keep our eyes on Jesus, and we must remember that even if our nation has no hope, we as individual Christians have great hope.

But that sense of hope will prevail in our lives only if we consciously and determinedly live with an eternal perspective.

God is in Control

We must keep in mind that as the world falls apart around us, God’s Word says that He “sits in the heavens and laughs” (Psalm 2:4). His laughter is not prompted by a lack of concern. Rather, He laughs because He has everything under control, for He has the wisdom and power to orchestrate all the evil of Man and Satan to the ultimate triumph of His Son.

He has also promised that He will walk with those who are Christians, accompanying us through fire and high water (Isaiah 43:1-3).

And He has promised us an escape before the world totally collapses into absolute chaos (Luke 21:36). That escape is called the Rapture. When Paul revealed this escape in detail in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, he concluded by saying, “Comfort one another with these words.”

Additionally, we have the promise of the Millennial reign of Jesus to look forward to. What a day that will be!

Jesus will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords from Jerusalem. David, in his glorified body, will reign as King of Israel. We, in our glorified bodies, will be scattered across the earth to reign over those in the flesh. And the earth will be flooded with peace, righteousness and justice, as the waters cover the seas (Isaiah 2:1-4 and Isaiah 11:3-9).

Maranatha!

rapture11

prophecy, theology

The Promise of Future Bounty

Posted on May 22, 2019May 22, 2019 by elizabethprata

Editor’s Note: I have pneumonia. I’ll be doing re-runs until I can properly think and research. This essay appeared on The End Time in June 2012.

By Elizabeth Prata

The spring has been gentle and the Lord has provided bounty from the earth. The summer garden crops have been planted and they are plenteous. The figs are coming in. The muscadine vine is full. It reminds me in particular of two verses in the Bible. They are promises. That is what prophecies are, you know. Promises of things the Lord has in store for the people who love Him and for those who don’t love Him.

Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken. (Micah 4:4).

In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree. (Zechariah 3:10)

EPrata photo

In the Bible, vines (usually grape) and fig trees were emblematic of agricultural abundance and that abundance bespoke wealth. Many fig trees meant prosperity. The promised land was described in Deuteronomy 8:8 as “a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates.”

It was not described as a land flat and therefore ripe for land prospecting development. It was not described as a land full of silver and gold mines. It was not described a land of great cities producing a rich population. The prosperity that was promised was riches from a bountiful earth. Remember that after the Fall, Adam was cursed with toil, and that the land would not yield unless he worked it with sweat and labor, and even then it would produce thorns and thistles.

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, (Genesis 3:17b-19b).

What was it like before the Fall? I can’t wait to find out, and that is what these prophecies promise. That curse will be reversed and the land will pop with generous abundance. Remember the two spies who came back, in Numbers 13:23 reporting that they saw huge grapes and figs and pomegranates? Doesn’t sitting under our own fig tree and our vine and sound relaxing? Refreshing? Like walking with God in the garden in the cool of the day.

And Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). And look what Jesus did! He did everything!

He accomplished redemption for mankind, by breaking His own body and allowing it to be poured out! We are His branches, connected to the Great Gardener whose vine covers us, and which provides all sustenance. When you’re out haying this summer, sweat running down your face, or you’re out mowing this summer, and thirsting because of the heat, or you’re gardening and battling the bugs who are killing your bean plants, remember the prophecies. Someday, working the land won’t be so hard

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. (Isaiah 32:18).

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. (Isaiah 5:1).

How beautiful the relationship. We are the branches, closely grafted into the true vine. The true vine covers us, and we sit under it in peace and abundance. The abundance comes from the Vine Dresser who is the Father (John 15:1), who cares for the true vine in love and cares for his children, the branches.

Our God is a tremendous God!!!!!

evangelism, theology

The Gospel is advancing

Posted on May 21, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Though the world is dark and satan prowls, the Gospel’s power to transform lives and enlarge the kindgom is advancing!

As you shake your head is dismay at the darkness that is covering the world, remember the Light is advancing MORE because Jesus is the power! I offer you this trailer from the DVD Dispatches from the Front series and I’m sure you’ll be moved by the Gospel’s power and awed at the grace and love of our Savior. THIS is what it is all about: salvation. There are more at the link below.

“Frontline Missions is an amazing ministry that produces the Dispatches from the Front DVD series. Here is what the ministry is all about: Frontline’s key objective is to advance the Gospel, forming vibrant, Word-centered, disciple-making churches, especially in those regions of the world that have the least Light. We are driven by the same desire that animated the apostle Paul who said it was always his ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known (Romans 15:20). We pursue this goal by equipping Christians on the frontlines to reach their own people for Christ, by forming strategic partnerships with them, and by developing creative platforms in countries closed to traditional missions.”

Please support missionaries with your prayers and your money. They are on the frontlines. And lives are being changed, eternally.

summer reading, theology

2019 Summer Reading Schedule: My most ambitious ever?

Posted on May 20, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I work in education as a teacher’s aide. That means I get summers off. At this stage of my life I enjoy the time off more than the money. Yes, I get paid through the summer, but it’s pro-rated. I live for 12 months on a 9-month salary. They just stretch it out. Which means I really stretch it out.

But as I said, the time is important to me. I live frugally and simply. I have all I need. I’ve been blessed to have had many experiences in my life that would cover many lifetimes. So I have zero to complain about. I have all I need and more.

As a single person I am ever mindful of Paul’s admonition to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16) and to remain anxious for things of the Lord since I have no husband and I am not anxious for things of the world-

And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:34-35).

I have an opportunity to secure my undivided attention to the Lord. Yay!

But I’m lazy. Waaah.

Given half a chance, I’ll secure my undivided attention upon myself.

More than one school vacation or summer break has gone by, both before and after becoming a Christian, where I had grand plans for home or garden improvement projects, or craft projects, or reading through my piles of books, and none of it got done.

A few years ago I put two and two together and finally acknowledged that I’m on the autism spectrum. Autistic people typically have a poor sense of time and difficulties with time management (because executive function is impaired). At school I’ve got an excellent sense of time because the day is broken into segments to the minute. My day is neatly prescribed for me.

But like in tug of war, if you let go of the rope you tumble, when the school year ends and I’ve let go of the rope, I’m in free fall. Time here in this life on earth is a finite product, a discrete thing. In May I think I have all the time in the world to start reading and then suddenly it’s July 30 and I have to go back to work. All I’d accomplished is navel gazing.

Is that why the Lord made me a single person? I think not.

Anyway, I created a schedule. I replicated my days and weeks at school by making them segmented. I piled up the books I want to read, divided the pages into number of pages to read weekly, interspersed Bible reading and devotionals, and voila, I have something tangible to keep me on track.

I’m not rigid about it, it’s a tool, not a ball and chain.

This year’s schedule is a lot more ambitious than last year’s. Last year I read 8 books along with my personal Bible reading, Dr Abner Chou theology lectures, and Systematic Theology lessons.

This year I topped out at 14 books, personal Bible reading, devotional reading, systematic theology reading, and lectures from Ligonier (to be decided). I’m almost done with Sproul’s lectures on Life of David so I’ll buy another series this Friday at teh Ligonier $5 sale. They are usually 24 minutes long and there are about 9 to 12 lectures in the series on average.

I stalled out on my annual Bible Reading plan, but I’m looking forward to resuming. It’s organized by chronological authorship, earliest book to the latest book.

I do not have any trips planned. My cats are sick and need to go to the vet, so the timing is a blessing in that I can staying close to home to watch them, or get an appointment at any time of day.

For other hobbies, I bought a set of watercolor markers at school from the pop up shop, so I’ll do some crafting. Evenings I’ll be read-ed out, lol, so movies or TV for me. I will make a photo expedition or two, but gracious sakes, the temps have suddenly shot up to the upper 90s all of a sudden and are predicted to be that way for this week and next. This is unusual. I hope it cools down some so I can pound the pavement at the Golden Hour to get some cityscapes. I’m not THAT dedicated to my photography hobby to go to the city in hundred degree weather just to amble around and get pictures.

Here are some ideas for inspiration on a 365 photo series (A Photo a Day). I did a picture a day last year, testing my creativity to snap something just from around and within my very tiny environs here in the apartment and the yard. I might make a theme this year. Maybe “Metal.”

I’m not tied to the reading schedule, as I said, it’s a tool to help me make sure I’m doing the most for the Lord I can do. So, if something comes along in terms of fellowship, I’ll take it. Otherwise, I refuse to be a slug! Saturday and Sunday of the first two days of summer vacation are booked. Saturday is a wedding and Sunday is church and then I’ll start the Reading program on Monday. Monday is a good day to start things, isn’t it? 😉