Posted in bible, illegal, tyndale, word

Memorizing Scripture: two systems to help you- ScriptureTyper and Scripture Memory System

Posted on by elizabethprata

Yesterday I wrote about an impact from the Supreme Court’s decision regarding homosexual marriage that has not been discussed much yet.

Why the SCOTUS decision means we must start memorizing our Bibles in earnest, NOW

The decision has already opened the floodgates of irrational hatred against Christians and anything related to Christianity, including Bibles and biblical material. People carrying or displaying Bibles, or holding Bible studies, are being challenged in schools, hotels, even private homes. The forces of this present darkness want to remove anything related to Jesus from public life, and eventually even from private life. Just ask anyone in China or North Korea. It will happen here, too.

Soon it will be either forbidden (like at work) or even outright made illegal to own a Bible. And yet we are living in a generation that despite having the greatest access to Bibles in any time in history, is the most biblically illiterate. Nowadays people don’t read their Bibles and don’t know what is in it. Soon it may be that they can’t read them.

OOPS! I accidentally dropped your bible in the mud! Scene from movie
Secrets of Jonathan Sperry where a teenaged boy is bullied for carrying his bible

How are we, or the next generation, going to witness to the truth if we don’t know it and have been denied access to it?

MEMORIZE IT.

I’d listed many verses which exhort us to know His word, have it hidden in our hearts and minds. Not only is the Word necessary for transforming us and in restraining us from sinning against Jesus, it is necessary to know so we can witness effectively.

I’d urged starting a Bible Drill in your church, homeschool group or afterschool club. I’d urged personal study directly of the bible and memorizing it diligently.

I’m the first to say that I’m lousy at memorizing bible verses. I barely remember my own life verses and favorites-

Life verse:

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

Life verse:

and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

Favorite verse:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5, KJV)

I’d mentioned on Facebook about my #fail in memorizing verses. I do not want to be a hypocrite though, in exhorting for one thing on the blog and not doing it myself. I’m always conscious of doing myself what I call others to do. So a kind FB friend offered a valuable tip: she said she uses ScriptureTyper to memorize verses.

I do check out things before I offer them to you. I went to the ScriptureTyper site and created a free account and loaded 18 verses I want to memorize, and started. In addition to being totally free, it is pretty easy to use (I can’t speak to the download onto Kindle, Android, iPad or iPhone because I don’t own any of those). It is a good way to memorize verses and I like it very much. If you go to Amazon.com there are 65 reviews of it and they are uniformly good. Most of those are 5-star.

What you do is, simply load the verses you want to memorize onto My Verses page. Don’t know which verses you want to begin with? The site offers dozens of groupings such as verses on “Trust”, “Wisdom”, “Jesus” etc. They also offer a group of “Top 100 Verses.” It is a three-step method for memorizing, and once a verse is memorized the site keeps track for you of when you need to review a mastered verse in order to keep it fresh.

I like the advantage it gives busy moms and dads. You can use the App in car riders line, at the doctor’s office, at the ball field. Just take 5 minutes and practice one verse while you’re having those moments of time. I plan to use it during my lunch time. I eat at my desk where my computer is. At that time I usually pray and do a short devotional anyway. Folding verse memorization in for 5 minutes will be easy.

The saint who suggested the ScriptureTyper system testified to its ease and effectiveness of use. I do as well. Even given the limited time I’ve spent with it, I can see how this system can meld in easily to my lifestyle. I am never far from a device.

Another saint testified to a different system that does not use technology. It can be used in the family setting with children of any or all ages at once. It is Scripture Memory System at SimplyCharlotteMason.com. This memorization system uses a file folder and index cards, and is designed for best use with other people, such as parents with children, because it involves choral recitation.

‘The instructions and video at the site outline an easy-to-use system to help family members develop the habit of memorizing and remembering Scripture. By spending just five or ten minutes a day, you and your children can learn and retain hundreds of verses.’

Screen shot from Scripture Memory System instructional video

Either way, technology or index cards, alone or with family, the necessity of memorizing scripture has never been more important. During the first century church, the saints literally had no New Testament at their disposal. It wasn’t written yet. They had to wait for circular letters to be sent, read them in the assembly, and then pass them on. During the Dark Ages, scripture in the hands of the people was explicitly denied by the false Roman Catholic church. The Protestant Reformers gave their lives in many cases to write the holy scriptures in the people’s language and bring it to the masses. History records the travails of some of these men- John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, William Tyndale…men who brought the Bible to the people, at the expense of their lives in some cases.

The time is coming and may be now here, where Christians in America will have to make a stand for the Word of God. The time may be at the doorstep where possessing it in hard copy may mean we’ll be marginalized, bullied, persecuted, or killed. We have a hard copy now only because the aforementioned men stood for the Word of God. Will we make the same stand? William Tyndale did.

From Fox’s Book of Martyrs, the original language is so descriptive I’m quoting from it instead of the modern version-

Then Master Tyndale, as he was learned and well practiced in God’s matters, spared not to show unto them simply and plainly his judgment, and when they at any time did vary from Tyndale in opinions, he would show them in the Book, and lay plainly before them the open and manifest places of the Scriptures, to confute their errors, and confirm his sayings. And thus continued they for a certain season, reasoning and contending together divers times, until at length they waxed weary, and bare a secret grudge in their hearts against him.

Tyndale did not show them with his opinion or personal judgment, but from the scriptures. Isn’t that always the way, when you refute and confound the objectors with scripture, they become angry and bear a secret grudge.

As this grew on, the priests of the country, clustering together, began to grudge and storm against Tyndale, railing against him in alehouses and other places, affirming that his sayings were heresy; and accused him secretly to the chancellor, and others of the bishop’s officers. …

The bishops and prelates never rested before they had brought the king to their consent; by reason whereof, a proclamation in all haste was devised and set forth under public authority, that the Testament of Tyndale’s translation was inhibited-which was about A.D. 1537. And not content herewith, they proceeded further, how to entangle him in their nets, and to bereave him of his life; which how they brought to pass, now it remaineth to be declared.

William Tyndale is burned at the stake in Belgium in 1536,
from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

They “never rested” until the Bible was denied from the people and its bringer, Tyndale, was killed. Satan desperately wants us not to have it. This is why not only should we study it to show ourselves approved, but memorize for the day when satan temporarily wins his petty victory and removes it from our life.

At last, after much reasoning, when no reason would serve, although he deserved no death, he was condemned by virtue of the emperor’s decree, made in the assembly at Augsburg. Brought forth to the place of execution, he was tied to the stake, strangled by the hangman, and afterwards consumed with fire, at the town of Vilvorde, A.D. 1536; crying at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice, “Lord! open the king of England’s eyes.”

Such was the power of his doctrine, and the sincerity of his life, that during the time of his imprisonment (which endured a year and a half), he converted, it is said, his keeper, the keeper’s daughter, and others of his household.

As touching his translation of the New Testament, because his enemies did so much carp at it, pretending it to be full of heresies, he wrote to John Frith, as followeth, “I call God to record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus, that I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.”

Geneva Bible, from Wikipedia

Tyndale’s plea to God to open the King’s eyes was heard. Two years after his death, King Henry VIII allowed the bible to be published and distributed widely. This was the Great Bible published in 1535. The Geneva Bible came next, had added verse addresses, and included study notes. The Geneva Bible was the version taken to America by the Puritans.

Wikipedia of the Geneva Bible: It was the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress. … Because the language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous, most readers preferred this version strongly over the Great Bible. In the words of Cleland Boyd McAfee, “it drove the Great Bible off the field by sheer power of excellence”.

The King James version came in 1611. All thanks to a long line of men the Holy Spirit raised up who valued the Word and kept it primary in their lives, at the expense of their lives.

The Holy Spirit energizes each saint who absorbs the word. The Spirit of the sword of God which is the word of God is already implanted in us. Be ye transformed renewing of your mind! (Romans 12:2)

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Further reading

Timeline of English Bible History: 1400 AD onward

Fox’s Book of Martyrs (text online for free)

Posted in bible, famine of the word, persecution, prophecy

Why the SCOTUS decision means we must start memorizing our Bibles in earnest, NOW

Posted on by elizabethprata

 I never like to exhort without offering a solution. Thanks to commenters and Facebook friends, here are two FREE systems to help memorize His word.

UPDATE: Memorizing Scripture: two systems to help you- ScriptureTyper and Scripture Memory System 

————————————-
On June 26, 2015, Christians got a wake-up call. That was the day that the Supreme Court of the United States decided, extant from law or precedent, that homosexual ‘marriage’ should be the law of the land in all 50 states.

The news hit like a tsunami. The reactions ranged from ones of outrage and perplexity among Christians, to reactions of ebullience from homosexuals and those who applaud them.

The ramification of this decision from the highest court in the land will take time to fully reveal itself. However, initial impacts are not good. Almost immediately a polyamorous triad applied for a marriage certificate in Montana. More ominously, just as immediately, a newspaper editor declared that he will not publish letters to the editor expressing an opinion in opposition to gay marriage. Most portentously,

Christian Colleges’ Right to Deny Married Housing for Gay Couples Is ‘on the Edge of the Indefensible,’ Rep. Barry Lynn Asserts

Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced Monday the launch of an “aggressive” initiative to combat any state or federal legislation, or court ruling seeking to protect religious objectors of same-sex marriage from government consequence for living according to their religious convictions. … In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 26 that it is unconstitutional for states to refuse issuing same-sex couples marriage licenses, the organization expects Christian conservatives to respond by introducing a plethora of bills, executive orders, regulatory and policy changes that are “designed to resist the Supreme Court’s ruling.”

You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 11:18).

What it’s saying is that the gay mafia will put to the legal test the notion that Christian colleges cannot and should not deny same-sex couples’ co-habitation at such a college. And if you’re wondering why a homosexual would even bother to enroll in a Christian college, never mind bring his or her partner and spend good money fighting to live together, it’s because homosexuals are disciplined, organized, and are fervently effective witnesses for satan. They go to the hostile places to witness for their demonic truths.

In the week or so since the SCOTUS ruling allowing homosexual marriage, some have begun to think about whether it is time for civil disobedience. Churches are drawing up policies and legal language articulating their position on whether their pastor will perform a homosexual wedding. Church treasurers are going over the bookkeeping accounts to see where they would stand if stripped of their tax-exempt status. Street preachers are settling in their mind how far to take submission to civil law versus speaking to what we have heard and seen, as Acts 4:18-20 says.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … (Colossians 3:16a)

The Banner of Truth posted a sobering article noting that the time for civil disobedience has come. They wrote that despite the clear commands of the Bible to submit to civil authorities, there are limits to that submission.

Yet the Bible itself sets limits to the submission believers owe the civil order. When some of the Old Testament kings of Israel and Judah practiced idolatry, the holy prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah stood against them. In the New Testament, when the unbelieving Jewish leadership told the apostles to quit preaching the gospel, they had to disobey this unrighteous order. Listen to Acts 4:18-20:

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.  (Psalm 40:8)

But that isn’t the point of this article.

I’m worried about a greater danger. There is another ramification of the SCOTUS ruling where a confluence of events have conspired to put Christians at a disadvantage in the battle.

What?! you say? Through Christ we can do all things? Even David, seemingly defenseless against the giant Goliath, was victorious?! How can Christians now be at a disadvantage?

 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.  (Psalm 119:16)

Our battle is not against flesh and blood.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God… (Ephesians 6:10-17)

Christians are unarmed and unready for the battle because we have failed to put on the whole armor. We were warned, Paul did a good job there. But we did not heed. We have become biblically illiterate, and during a time in which bibles are seen as hate material and are increasingly being forbidden from many public places. Perhaps to be made illegal some time soon. So now we are missing an important component of the battle armor:

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, THE WORD OF GOD.

US OWI WWII poster, series “Nature of the Enemy,”
response to Nazi religious book & religious material burnings

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. (Proverbs 22:17-18)

Biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high. People don’t study the word, they don’t know what is in the word, they don’t care. They twist the word (“Don’t judge!”) and thanks to football, they are just as likely to know the verse that a person can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, as they are to believe that Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and God helps those who help themselves. Neither of the last two are even in the bible.

Less than a year ago Ed Stetzer wrote in Christianity Today that “It’s obvious: We are living in a post-biblically literate culture.”

 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21).

And now we’re caught with our pants down and our mouths hanging open. I’m not talking about thoughtful writing on theological blogs or online religious news outlet articles. In those scenarios an author has time to look up a verse. I am talking about the all-important hide-in-your-heart, wide swathes of the word, to have at the mental ready when out and about. The battle, when it comes to you, will be abrupt. You might be at the Big Box Store checkout line and the lady behind you might see your cross necklace and says, “Hey! You’re a Christian, why do you hate gays so much?” If you say grace at the employee cafeteria table, you might be heckled. Out of nowhere you might be involved in something and you’ll WISH you had that verse you know would compassionately speak to the situation, it’s on the tip of your tongue… but now you just can’t remember…

And soon, very soon, it might even become illegal to publicly carry a bible, or worse, even to own one. Holding Biblical religious material may become illegal in the United States at some point. Don’t think it can’t happen here. Irrational hostility against Christians and Christianity has already started, as noted by the news articles posted above. Bibles and/or verses and/or Bible study are all being banned at some private homes, schools, colleges, hotels (Gideon Bibles) in the United States- before SCOTUS June 26…

So if Bibles become forbidden or illegal what then? [crickets]

Source: Voice of the Martyrs.

What happened to Wednesday night Bible Drills? To using the Bible as the basis for Sunday School Curriculum? To personal Bible study? Gone. Gone. Gone.

Pastors do everything BUT preach the word, busy families shuttle kids to every kind of practice BUT family devotionals. Taking time to study the Bible and not books about the bible is simply unheard of. And we will pay for that.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)

Look at what happened to the church at Ephesus. Sometime between 60 and 62AD, Paul wrote to the saints at that church, saying

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, (Ephesians 1:16-17).

Paul was effusive and enthusiastic in praising them for their faith and love.

The next time we hear of the Ephesian church it is in Revelation, written about 95-96 AD.

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent (Revelation 2:4-5)

Jesus praises the Ephesians for their enduring patience, good works, and hatred of evil. But it counted for nothing, nothing, because they had lost their first love. Their good works counted for nothing, their patience counted for nothing, not even their pure doctrine counted. They had abandoned their first love, THAT was what mattered. What was that love? Jesus. What keeps that love aflame? Being with Him in His word. The Head of the Church said “I have this against you…” And it took less than 40 years for that church to lose their love.

What was Jesus’ command for a remedy?

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (Revelation 2:5)

1. Remember
2. Repent
3. Do the works you did at first

What were those works? The very ones Paul commended 40 years earlier and the very same works which characterized the early church; devotion to prayer, worship and rich bible study.

Without the sword of the Lord, we are defenseless against the wiles of the devil. And that is no good place to be. Today people won’t read the Bible. Soon it may be that they can’t read the Bible.

So here is my exhortation:

Personally read and study the bible. Not a devotional or a book or a curriculum or a study. THE BIBLE.

Make an effort to memorize verses. I fail miserably at this, so I am preaching to myself. We don’t know how long it will be until we are banned from carrying or displaying religious material in public, nor how long it will be until we are prohibited from even owning a bible, but it is hard is to fan the flames of faith without His word as the bellows. Have it ready in your heart and mind. Some of the verses urging us to do just that are listed on this essay from top to bottom.

Be diligent about studying with your children. Not just studying, memorizing. We do not know how long the Lord will tarry, but the next generation must have the Word at the ready in their hearts and minds in order to witness because access to biblical material may be too risky to obtain. Our mind may be all that we can carry.

Think about starting a memorization Bible Drill program at your church or homeschool group or after-school club. This one in Ohio is typical. There is one in just about every state, with levels that progressively lead to age-appropriate competitions. It can be modified for adults, like this one in Georgia.

Start NOW. Today.

Don’t go to battle without your sword. No good soldier would leave it dusty beside the campfire. No good policeman would go out without his gun, club, radio, handcuffs, etc. Don’t leave yourself defenseless in these times, times in which persecution is knocking at the door and is even beginning. Memorize, memorize, memorize.

Because if you think it won’t happen here I am sad to say it won’t be long before you are proven wrong. And I do not believe I am being a scare-mongering inflammatory sky is falling nutcase about this.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.  (Amos 8:11)

Bible verse memorization has a two-fold purpose. It keeps the person memorizing them in a good and holy position so they may not sin against God, and it allows that person to witness on the spot or in places where bibles are forbidden or hard to come by, and to teach others to the truth of the Living God, coming again in glory to judge the quick and the dead.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)

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Further Reading

Why is Bible memorization important?

Is Bible memorization important? Why?

Personal Bible study

Blog series: How to Study the Bible 

Posted in bible twisters, calvinist, challies, steve lawson

Steve Lawson Thug Life, Calvinist Light Bulb joke, how to twist the bible, Challies graphic, etc.

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here are some dribs and drabs. Nothing too long or involved.

From Ray Comfort’s Facebook page:

(Ray Comfort) QUESTION is asked: “What do you say to devoted and faithful gay Christians?” R.J.
RAY COMFORT ANSWERS: “I would say the same thing that I would say to devoted and faithful adulterous people who call themselves Christians. Or to devoted and faithful people who steal or fornicate, and call themselves Christians.I would tell them that hypocrisy is self-deceptive, that we cannot serve sin and call ourselves Christians.I would only say that because I care about those who profess to be saved, but don’t have “the things that accompany salvation.”

I love Tim Challies‘ work with graphical presentations of truth.

“If a truth is worthy to be revealed in the Bible, it is worthy of being preached. And so, I don’t make apology – well, you knew that – I don’t make any apology for preaching the doctrine of predestination or election.” S. Lewis Johnson, sermon The Grandest Epistle

Here is how to not just twist, but mangle, God’s word. Making the rounds on nominal Christian’s Facebook pages. Satan is the creations’ MOST subtle creature.

A guy on Youtube takes very short clips from famous pastors dropping the boom on this false teaching or that false pastor. Thug Life, lol. Here, Steve Lawson drops the boom on Joel Osteen.

Ouch. Hard truth ahead. Judgment cometh

I laughed very hard at this. And again and again and again as I re-told it at church Sunday to my three Calvinist friends there.

John MacArthur preaching through the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. This is his sermon in the series, “Happiness Is…“

Listen, if you’re looking for happiness in the world’s goods, you’re in the wrong place. The tree of happiness doesn’t grow in the cursed earth. It’s not there. Physical things don’t touch the soul. Did you get that? It’s a simple point but I want you to think it through. Physical things don’t touch the soul. You cannot fill a spiritual need with a physical substance. It can’t be done. But people try to do it.

You know, I mean if you’re really miserable in your marriage, go buy a new car. Or if you had a rotten argument with your wife, go out and buy a new suit. You’ll feel better. You cannot fill a spiritual need with a physical substance.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; Psalm 1:1

Posted in creation, discernment, God, paul, southern lights

What do Aurora Australis, Romans 1, and Apostle Paul have in common?

Posted on by elizabethprata

In Romans 1, the famous passage in which Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit describes the pagans’ reaction to experiencing the God of Creation, begins in verse 18.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

How does this play out, exactly? How are His invisible attributes seen and known? How is it that what can be known about God is made plain to people whose minds are darkened?

I was watching a very excellent documentary called “Antarctica: A Year On Ice”. It follows the people who live and work through a year’s cycle at the various scientific stations on the most remote and brutal continent on the planet. The continent is staffed with about 1100 people at various international stations up and down the Antarctic coast. The largest is the United States’ McMurdo Station. In most documentaries, they show the scientists working. Penguins, climate change, volcanic action, geology…but this documentary features the people who staff the stations in support of the scientists’ work. The regular folks.

The documentary further features the many hundreds of regular people who both work there during the summer, and who “winter over.” They man the store, staff the fire station, fix tractors, cook the meals, wash the dishes, take inventory of all the equipment, etc. When the last plane out at the end of summer leaves, they stay. Thus, the wintering over experience is unique to only a few individuals each year, as the full swell of 1100 during summer dwindles to only about 200 souls spread out among 30 scientific stations during winter in the Antarctic.

Living where there is no hope of departure for 6 months, in brutally cold and windy conditions, in darkness as the sun disappears below the horizon, with only a few dozen people around you…is something that only a few are allowed to experience.

Screen shot from “Antarctica: A Year On Ice”. Aurora Australis

Interestingly most of the people who “winter over” in the Antarctic love it. The landscape under the moon has a stark and glowing beauty. There is an astounding resplendence in the sky that only a few people are privileged ever to see. The stars, planets, Milky Way, moon, and of course the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) dance across the sky in majestic processions, all the time, for there is no sun to hide their glories.

Now here comes the Romans 1 passage lived out among a Gentile. One of the workers described her experience seeing all this for the first time. Here is what she said:

I was out on the sea ice, and all of a sudden comes rolling these waves and waves of green like fairy dust. Giant curtains of fairy dust, just kind of undulating over me. It filled the whole sky and moved in waves across the sky. And I thought this is either what it looks like when aliens are about to abduct you…lol, because this is the green stuff coming down and you feel like you can reach up and touch it. Or if you are a person who believes in heaven, maybe this is what you see in heaven. I’m not sure.

But it was really an emotional, life-changing experience for me. I found myself, not believing I’d done it, when I’d figured out where my body position was, I was actually on my knees crying. That’s how beautiful it was to me.

She sounds like every other person who had an encounter with the Living God. She didn’t directly meet the Living God like John, Paul, Isaiah, or Ezekiel did, but she experienced His power through His creation. When you do, you grope for words. You fall on your face. She had a mental reaction and a physical reaction.

First, you notice she described her experience in supernatural terms. It was either aliens, and in context it was clear she was joking, or it was God (“heaven”). Here she was more serious. The blinded mind does see and know of the Living God when they perceive His qualities through His creation, and her description was exhibit A in this process.
 
She lives and works with scientists in a place that only exists to perpetuate science and to discover scientific reasons for the way the planet is and how it works. All her conversations with people on McMurdo are founded from that basis. That is why they are there in the first place. Yet when she encountered the creation power of the Living God, her first thought was heaven. She did not say “Wow the Big Bang all those billions of years ago manifested itself in perfectly organized ions that traveled over millions of miles in a beautiful display!” She said “heaven” … and who lives in heaven? God.

Secondly, you notice her physical reaction. She was so overwhelmed with glory of His creative power she became insensate. She didn’t know if she was ‘in the body or out of her body’. She had to ‘come to’ and when she did, noticed she had fallen to her knees. Do we fall on our knees when we detect a scientific principle at work? Are we so awed by the process of pasteurization that we cry tears of joy on our knees? Maybe Louis Pasteur did, but anyone else? No.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  (2 Corinthians 12:2)

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. (Ezekiel 1:28b)

screen shot from the documentary. McMurdo station under southern lights

In the Bible men and women fell down when they experienced the direct glory and power of the LORD. Peter fell to his knees when Jesus brought all the fish to the boat, for example. Isaiah fell down in his vision seeing the heavenly throne room. However, people also fell down when they encountered the near-glory of God, experiencing the things sent from heaven. John fell down at the angel’s feet. Cornelius fell down at Peter’s feet. Saul Saul, he fell down when the light from heaven shone around him. The difference as the Romans verse reminds us, is that we are not to worship the creation, not angels nor light nor other men, which are all created. We are not to worship southern lights or the sun or birds of the air nor creeping things.

But those who encounter a direct power from God through the creation react. This reaction is from a conscience which knows what they are seeing is from God and that He exists. This is what the Romans verses mean.

When Apostle Paul witnessed, he always began in the synagogue when giving the Gospel to Jews, reasoning from the scriptures. (Acts 17:2-3). With the Gentiles though, he always started with creation. He did this with the Lycaonians (Acts 14:6, 15) and the Greeks (Acts 17:22–31). Paul started with Creation and God’s attribute as Creator, and he exhorted Gentile listeners to see what can be seen in nature as the evidence for this.

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. (Romans 11:13)

That is because they know the truth. They know God has created all, but they suppress it. Knowing but suppressing, understanding but denying, is an ongoing mental and emotional struggle inside each and every Gentile. It takes energy to suppress the truth that manifests itself in unwanted forms, such as falling to one’s knees, becoming insensate, or crying. The question is, what will they do with the information afterwards?

That’s where we as Christians can bring some more pressure to bear on their internal emotional and physical tension. We are witnesses to the God of creation. Before I was saved I lived unplugged close to the land and on the sea, experiencing the natural world in many ways. It became obvious to me that there IS a God. Nothing of what I was seeing in His creation could have come about through haphazard bangs and solar wind and evolution. So, I knew God is real because I was seeing His invisible attributes. But that is where I became stuck. What now? What does it mean? Who is this God and what does He want from me?

That is where we can be effective in sharing the next step for the questioning pagan. That next step is sharing knowledge of Jesus, sin, and judgment. Paul used but switched their concept of the God of creation to the God of intimate, loving involvement in their lives, a God who demands holiness but provided the way to achieve what we could not.

Posted in rebel, sin

"Blank the alligators" he said, and was immediately killed

Posted on by elizabethprata

This came across Jake Tapper’s twitter stream. Tapper is a correspondent for CNN. I thought it had an interesting spiritual application.

Man mocks alligators, jumps in water and is killed in Texas

A man who apparently mocked alligators, then jumped in the water — despite warning signs — is dead after being attacked in Texas. Orange County Justice of the Peace Rodney Price told CNN affiliate KFDM that Woodward ignored verbal warnings and a posted “No Swimming Alligators” sign and seemed to mock the deadly creatures before going in the water. “He made preparations before going in. He removed his shirt, and removed out his billfold…”…someone shouted a warning and he said ‘blank the alligators’ and jumped into the water and almost immediately yelled for help,” Price said….. “It’s heartbreaking. It hurts, a lot,” the witness said.

The man was 28 years old. He had recently moved to Texas from St. Louis.

Screen shot from the news article and video

Spiritual application:

There were plenty of signs posted about what not to do, which were visible and evident. One was posted under a spotlight. Also, there were witnesses pleading with to change from his intended path due to obvious and imminent danger. He ignored them all.

His decision to persist was not impulse. He did so deliberately. He chose to rebel, taking calculated steps to complete his decision.

He mocked the giant animal, shaking his fist at it and ignoring the fact that it could crush him in an instant.

Moments later, he was dead.

It IS heartbreaking and it DOES hurt a lot when we see loved ones persist on their path of destruction.

If the rebellion and hubris of man is so persistent with visible warnings and earnest pleas from witnesses who know the territory and behavior of alligators, what kind of persistent rebellion is in a man who ignores the pleas of Gospel witnesses who know the territory and behavior of God? If a man will mock a dangerous creature in front of him, he will mock a powerful God above him.

Man’s sin goes deep.

And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. (Revelation 16:11, KJV)

Posted in 4th of july, fourth of july

Stars and Stripes for now

Posted on by elizabethprata
EPrata photo

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, (Acts 17:26)

YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. (Hebrews 2:8)

I posted the photo above. A pastor friend of mine responded on Facebook. His explanation captured perfectly the sentiment behind why I posted this photo on the Fourth of July and the verse from Acts. Here is his comment which I believe complements the photo well. Posted with permission.

I understand the sentiment behind, “Stars and Stripes FOREVER!”… however, indeed, they are only for an allotted time… even as our temporal lives! On this day of rejoicing in the blessings that are ours in America, and of giving thanks for the many who gave their lives for our freedoms, and of having fears as we behold the magnitude of problems and enemies to our cherished way of temporal life, and of being urged to a resurgence of resolve to fight for those freedoms– IT WOULD BE WISE FOR ALL WHO ARE IN CHRIST to have RENEWED gratitude, commitment, loyalty, and service to JESUS CHRIST our LORD and SAVIOUR! — ONLY He and His Kingdom are FOREVER! ~Pastor James Bell
Posted in celibacy, homosexual, jesus, matthew vines, overcome, same-sex

A heartfelt reply to Matthew Vines 40 questions about gay marriage, and an open letter with a personal plea

Posted on by elizabethprata

A few days ago, Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition published “40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags”. It was an excellent and gentle way to approach the subject of same-sex attraction and homosexual marriage. One could detect immediately that his piece would have an impact. It did.

One of the leading apologists for same sex attraction and the homosexual lifestyle as biblical is young Matthew Vines. He wrote a book called God and the Gay Christian. He has not been silent about his advocacy for the gay lifestyle being biblical. Today he issued his own response, “40 questions for Christians who oppose marriage equality“

I am a Christian opposed to homosexual marriage. So, I’ve chosen to answer them. Vines’ questions are in bold. My answers follow. (Left, M. Vines)

Dear Mr Vines,

My young friend, I am thoughtfully and earnestly answering these questions you posed. Since you took the time to create them and publish them, and I took the time to answer these questions, I ask you kindly to read them.

I have a special, personal, heartfelt message for you at the end, Mr Vines … Matthew. My heart really goes out to you. In my message at the bottom, I am honest, transparent, and perhaps you will detect in me that at one time we were the same. Hang in there with this piece and please, I do want the best for you and I’m not here to be your enemy. I’m answering as an old Baptist lady twice your age, lol, that has some things to share based on experience in the Lord, that I believe would bless you to read.

• Do you accept that sexual orientation is not a choice?
No. All sin is a choice.

• Do you accept that sexual orientation is highly resistant to attempts to change it?
Yes. All sin is highly resistant to change- in the flesh. Ask an alcoholic/drug addict/kleptomaniac/nymphomaniac…Yet through Jesus we can do anything. (John 15:5)

• How many meaningful relationships with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people do you have?
Define “meaningful”.

• How many openly LGBT people would say you are one of their closest friends?
Are we defining biblical truth by our experience with a randomly allotted number of friends?

 • How much time have you spent in one-on-one conversation with LGBT Christians about their faith and sexuality?
Again, are we defining spiritual truth by the number of hours talked?

• Do you accept that heterosexual marriage is not a realistic option for most gay people?
No. “And such were some of you”. (1 Corinthians 6:11).

• Do you accept that lifelong celibacy is the only valid option for most gay people if all same-sex relationships are sinful?
Lifelong celibacy is not unbiblical and it’s not a jail sentence. ALL people who are single are expected to be celibate. (Matthew 19:11). And post-conversion, marriage IS in the cards for some who were previously gay, previously fornicators, previously sexually overactive in any way. The only people marriage is not in the cards for biblically are those who divorce for unbiblical reasons.

• How many gay brothers and sisters in Christ have you walked with on the path of mandatory celibacy, and for how long?
The bible mandates celibacy for all single people, and constrains sexual intercourse to marriage between one man and one woman. It’s not a punishment, though your phrasing indicates you believe it is.

• What is your answer for gay Christians who struggled for years to live out a celibacy mandate but were driven to suicidal despair in the process?
Celibacy=despair=suicide?

• Has mandatory celibacy produced good fruit in the lives of most gay Christians you know?
Has celibacy produced good fruit in most of the heterosexual Christians we know? Yes. And by the way, this is the fifth question out of ten you’ve asked so far directly dealing with sex. And homosexuals say it’s not about the sex? Methinks…you…doth…

• How many married same-sex couples do you know?
Until last Friday, same-sex marriage was illegal in our state.

• Do you believe that same-sex couples’ relationships can show the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
No, not in a way that is pleasing to God because same-sex couples do not have the Spirit in them. The Spirit is not given to unrepentant sinners.

• Do you believe that it is possible to be a Christian and support same-sex marriage in the church?
No, because it would mean denying the clear teachings of scriptures in the Old Testament and the New Testament and defying God’s picture of His Son and His bride.

• Do you believe that it is possible to be a Christian and support slavery?
Since we are talking spiritually, bondage to sin is the ultimate slavery. Jesus came to set us free from it.

• If not, do you believe that Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards were not actually Christians because they supported slavery?
Let’s look at fallible men to make your case for a biblical truth. Not.

• Do you think supporting same-sex marriage is a more serious problem than supporting slavery?
More serious? Less serious? On a scale of one to ten, … it has a good beat and I can dance to it. Matthew, moral relativism has no place in a discussion of biblical truths, because God’s moral law is absolute. We find that absolute in the bible.

• Did you spend any time studying the Bible’s passages about slavery before you felt comfortable believing that slavery is wrong?
You’re aiming for an emotional argument here, one from conscience. Owning another human being has nothing to do with the sin of sexual union with the same gender. By the way, slavery is more endemic in this day and age than it ever was previously in any age. All sin is rising in the world.

• Does it cause you any concern that Christians throughout most of church history would have disagreed with you?
Once again you appeal to experience and behavior to attempt to prove a moral law, which can’t happen because man is sinful and God is not. God is the only arbiter of morals.

• Did you know that, for most of church history, Christians believed that the Bible taught the earth stood still at the center of the universe?
Did you know that mankind still cannot figure out how the pyramids were built?

• Does it cause you any concern that you disagree with their interpretation of the Bible?
Not as much as my concern over your misinterpretation of the bible.

• Did you spend any time studying the Bible’s verses on the topic before you felt comfortable believing that the earth revolves around the sun?
I admire that the bible confirms science.

• Do you know of any Christian writers before the 20th century who acknowledged that gay people must be celibate for life due to the church’s rejection of same-sex relationships?
The church rejects same-sex relationships, as well as animal-human sexual relationships, sexual relationships outside of marriage, and incestuous relationships because they are sinful

• If not, might it be fair to say that mandating celibacy for gay Christians is not a traditional position?
Celibacy for anyone who is not married, is “mandated”. That is the traditional position.

• Do you believe that the Bible explicitly teaches that all gay Christians must be single and celibate for life?
The bible teaches that all persons not in a marital relationship must remain pure, and abstain from all sexual activity. There is no such thing as a Gay Christian. I say this with no snark and much sorrow because I know you identify as such…

• If not, do you feel comfortable affirming something that is not explicitly affirmed in the Bible?
Celibacy for anyone not in a biblically ordained marriage is explicitly affirmed in the bible.

• Do you believe that the moral distinction between lust and love matters for LGBT people’s romantic relationships?
Anyone, and that means anyone old or young, straight or gay, who lusts in their heart has already committed adultery. (Proverbs 6:25, Matthew 5:28).

• Do you think that loving same-sex relationships should be assessed in the same way as the same-sex behavior Paul explicitly describes as lustful in Romans 1?
There are no loving same-sex relationships because they are all built on hate for the word of God and for our redeemer Jesus Christ. Anyone who sins and has not repented is an enemy of Jesus. That’s hate.

• Do you believe that Paul’s use of the terms “shameful” and “unnatural” in Romans 1:26-27 means that all same-sex relationships are sinful?
Seeing that Paul’s exact words were inspired by the Godhead, I’d say yes.

• Would you say the same about Paul’s description of long hair in men as “shameful” and against “nature” in 1 Corinthians 11:14, or would you say he was describing cultural norms of his time?
“Would I say” is not the way to go about interpreting the bible. Proper hermeneutics and an understanding of the verse/passage/chapter in context is how to go about understanding what the Spirit is saying to us. Nevertheless, there are many things described as shameful in the bible. When we read one of them, we should take heed.

• Do you believe that the capacity for procreation is essential to marriage?
I believe this because the bible proclaims it. However that capacity is God-given, and we know that the capacity to procreate is not God-given to absolutely everyone.

• If so, what does that mean for infertile heterosexual couples?
It means that God has not deemed those persons to procreate, just as He has deemed some to remain unmarried for periods of time, and others to remain celibate. In the main, though, marriage is a picture of Christ and His church, it is for partnership complementary to one another for life, and is for sexual union and the blessing of being given a child. All this is plain in the bible.

• How much time have you spent engaging with the writings of LGBT-affirming Christians like Justin Lee, James Brownson, and Rachel Murr?
None. I spend my time in edifying materials. First, the bible and next in material Philippians 4:8 urges us to digest. Why would I want to think on materials that are at enmity with God and teach against His moral principles? Just so, I also choose not to read writers who urge us to sexually partner with children or animals. Why would I?

• What relationship recognition rights short of marriage do you support for same-sex couples?
Absolutely none. Indulging in sex outside of biblically ordained marriage is a sin.

• What are you doing to advocate for those rights?
We already possess the highest “recognition” in the universe: all are made in the image of God and while we were still sinners, God loved us. When I repented and became a citizen of heaven, all my “rights” transferred to Jesus and flow from Jesus. I (try) to do only what is “right” in His eyes.

• Do you know who Tyler Clementi, Leelah Alcorn, and Blake Brockington are, and did your church offer any kind of prayer for them when their deaths made national news?
Our church frequently prays for many of the families of people who die, (we don’t pray for dead people themselves, their eternity is fixed by then) though we tend to stay away from “national news” oriented situations.

• Do you know that LGBT youth whose families reject them are 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide than LGBT youth whose families support them?
First, it is shameful for families to reject any of their children. It is an especial sin for Christian families to do so. (Col 3:21, 1 Tim 5:8). Your question didn’t distinguish whether it’s Christian families or NON-Christian families doing the rejecting. As for the homosexual youth who kill themselves, that is because their sin and rebellion is causing them intense depression and despair. ALL sinners are in despair, and many sinners perform suicide. However the antidote for suicide is not to indulge their sin. Jesus overcame all sins of oppression, depression, possession, and despair, and once a person is in Christ, has the strength and help available via the Spirit to climb out of their sinful hole and resist the temptation to kill themselves.

• Have you vocally objected when church leaders and other Christians have compared same-sex relationships to things like bestiality, incest, and pedophilia?
No, why would I object? Homosexuality is in the same list as the things you mentioned and all of them are an abomination to the LORD. They are all sexual sin and Jesus came to die for pedophiles, animal lovers, homosexuals, and incestuously active, the same as He came to die for embezzlers, liars, hypocrites, gossips, adulterers, coveters, etc.

• How certain are you that God’s will for all gay Christians is lifelong celibacy?
Not certain at all. Many gay people who repent and have the Holy Spirit in them go one to enjoy productive and happy relationships in marriage with the opposite sex. Even bearing children. Of the ones He deems to be celibate, and not all of those are gay people, Matthew, He gives the strength to remain so. In fact, in the last days Tribulation, Rev 7 and 11 shows us there will be 144,000 celibate virgins running around doing God’s work. Happily. Imagine that. Moral sexual purity during the WORST sinful time Matthew 24:21 says there shall ever be.

• What do you think the result would be if we told all straight teenagers in the church that if they ever dated someone they liked, held someone’s hand, kissed someone, or got married, they would be rebelling against God?
The result would be that the pastor and deacons and elders would take me aside to explain my error in biblical interpretation regarding marriage.

• Are you willing to be in fellowship with Christians who disagree with you on this topic?
I am already in fellowship with Christians who disagree on a variety of topics. That’s called the normal Christian life.

—————————–

Personal message to Matthew Vines:

My dear young man, and I mean the “dear”, in reading your list of questions it becomes obvious that you view leaving the identity of homosexual and turning to Jesus as one of loss. “Woe is me, I won’t be able to have sex.” “Woe is me, I’ll never be able to marry.” “So sad for me, I’ll be denied hand-holding and cuddles.”

This is why you rail against the Christians who attempt to correct you. You are focused on what you have to give up, on what you think you’ll lose. You never see the true benefit of repenting and the treasure hidden in the field you will receive instead. You’re clinging to a boulder on a sinking ship, and you never look up to see the helicopter with a lifeline ready to take you to glorious heights.

I said I’d be transparent with you. I am not gay and I’ve never once thought about a same-sex relationship. I was married but now I’m divorced. That happened at about the same time I was converted, at age 43. That was 11 years ago. I’ve been celibate for all these years. In the inimitable way the Lord has, He made it clear that I was not to be married. I am one of those people Paul speaks of who has “the gift of celibacy.”

I self-identified as a healthy, excessively lusty woman, interested in cuddles, hand holding, all the way up to sex with a man, who would be my husband. When the Spirit inspired John’s Gospel and he recorded the incident with the woman at the well, He likely had me in mind, lol. I liked sex, a LOT. I was defined by my sin. But it was getting pretty heavy.

When I was converted by grace of God, I struggled. I was single, and looking down that long hallway of life and had a very hard time coming to grips with the notion that I would be not only single, but- gasp!- celibate. I could barely say the word. What would I do? That aspect of me comprised almost all of me. It was who I was and was who I identified as being. Who would I be if I gave it up? I know you can relate.

I struggled mightily for a year. Yet the bible was very clear. I loved Jesus. I loved sexual relations. How could He do this to me, deny me? The tension between who I wanted to identify as (sexually liberated woman) and who I was now (pure daughter of Christ) grew unbearable. Something had to give. It soon became apparent I had to give up my self-identity because it was based on the sin of lust, and I now must rest “in Christ”. On July 4, 2006, I laid down on the floor of my vacation cabin, put my face to the ground and said, “Lord, this sin of lust is keeping me from thinking straight. It is keeping me from a biblical mind-transformation that I need to have. It is keeping me from YOU. I cannot serve two masters. Lord, the bible says,

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:43-48).

That is pretty graphic, no? And it is equally clear. I had to let go of the boulder. I was clutching at something that I thought made me, me, and it was drowning me. The boulder was NOT my self-identification, the Lord had now identified me as His child. I must be pure. Help, me Lord in this that you require.

I did not have a safety net. There was no “leap and the net will appear.” I had no idea what lay ahead. I just knew that I needed Christ’s strength and I clung to his promise to GIVE ME LIFE AND LIFE ABUNDANTLY instead of my boulder of lusty-self-identification.

I said, “If this is what it means to have a deep relationship with You, Lord, I cut out my beloved sin. I cast it at Your cross. I repudiate it.”

Do you think, Matthew, that the Lord would “mandate” celibacy for singles, a word you enjoy saying so often, and not help us maintain it? BTW He has the authority to “mandate” everything, you know. Do you believe that He is that weak, uncaring, impotent to overcome all your temptations? He HAS already overcome them. Do you believe He may not have a gracious and loving woman in reserve for you to marry, should you repent and convert? Do you not believe He wants your best, a best that is outlined in the bible? Even if it means still allowing you to struggle with sexual lust, do you not think that there are others who have similar struggles and temptations in all areas of life? Don’t you think it’s a bit self-involved to think no one else has temptations like you men who self-identify as gay have? Yet somehow they and I find the strength in Christ who rely on Him to help us. We have wonderful lives full to the brim and overflowing with grace and service and love.

He forgave all my sins, and lifted all my temptations. He gave me abundant life, He gave me HIMSELF. I traded a dusty and rotten old boulder on a sinking ship for glorious heights in His service, happily, in the new life He made for me. I am the woman at the well. Here is how she ended:

 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:39-42).

He can be your Savior, complete and powerful, offering you release from the chain that you are attached to, that boulder of lust for men. Don’t be Mrs Lot, looking back at what you think you will lose. The full Christian life is not about losses and lacks. Look ahead, Matthew. No, look up.

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

Sincerely,
Elizabeth, some ole Baptist lady in Georgia who loves you and wants the best for you.

Posted in discernment, false teacher, jesus, prophecy, rick warren

SBC pastor Rick Warren to co-preach with archbishop at Catholic convention in advance of Pope visit

Posted on by elizabethprata

Rick Warren has been chosen to co-preach a keynote speech along with Cardinal Sean O’Malley at Pope Francis’ World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this September 2015. [HT Pulpit & Pen]. Every three years the Pope holds this conference in a different city and every three years it has a different theme. This year’s theme is “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.”

Mary Beth Yount is director of content and programming for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. She wrote extensively in ‘Catholic Philly’ of the selection process, the organization of the program, and the background of the Meeting:

The first step is the preparatory catechesis, the foundation on which a World Meeting of Families rests. The host diocese for each World Meeting writes a preparatory catechism that guides the proceedings. It contains a collection of Catholic teachings about the purpose of human life, marriage and the family, and addresses all stages of life.

The criteria for Warren and the others being chosen to speak at this eagerly anticipated, august global Catholic event were:

“We wanted speakers who were engaging and who could offer practical takeaways on how to help change lives,” Yount said.

Because being winsome and teaching practical life skills is what the Gospel is all about.

In addition to the event being an opportunity to preach, promote and affirm Catholic teachings, the speakers and organizers seek intercessory prayer from the august duo of intermediaries in heaven-and if you said Jesus and the Holy Spirit, you would be wrong – it’s Mary and Joseph.

We look forward to gathering with people from around the world in Philadelphia. As we prepare for this event, we particularly ask the intercessory prayers of Mary and Joseph, parents of the Holy Family and patrons of all families. (Source)

This is the environment in which Warren is co-preaching.

Ten years ago a question arose as to whether Warren was distancing himself from the Southern Baptist Convention. At that time, Warren firmly maintained he is Southern Baptist Convention aligned. He said,

“I’m Southern Baptist, our church is Southern Baptist, and we cooperate in SBC missions support at every level both in the United States and with our IMB [International Mission Board] missionaries around the world,” Warren told Baptist Press. 

In the ensuing decade Warren has obviously become apostate. I will refrain from enumerating his many questionable statements, partnerships, and activities besides the ones listed in this essay, but suffice to say they are evidence of an unfruitful Christian life. Sadly as of this writing the Southern Baptist Convention remains in friendly cooperation with Warren and his church at Saddleback. Yet the bible says:

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. (2 John 1:9-11)

Last year Warren was keynote for the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference,
the largest Protestant denomination in the world.

This year, keynote for the Catholic denomination, the largest apostate denomination on the world.

Rick Warren is busy.

His bio according to the Catholic Organizers of World Meeting of Families, includes of course being

pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, the author of The Purpose Driven Life and 10 other books. He is also founder of the Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan (Promote reconciliation, Equip leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation). He established the Purpose Driven Network of Churches, and has trained over 400,000 priests and pastors in 197 countries. [emphasis mine]

The title of the Keynote the duo will deliver is absolutely hypocritically ironic and devastating. Far from being the Gospel of Life, their Gospel is the Gospel of Death. What we should be saying to those captured by satan’s snare in false religion is:

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, [whore Babylon religion] my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. (Revelation 18:4-5).

Warren is not evangelizing the Catholics and calling for them to depart from their dark schema. Warren says the Pope is “our new pope”, is “doing everything right”. He said he enjoyed a recent headline in the Orange County newspaper, “If you love Pope Francis, you’ll love Jesus”, so much that he “saved it to show to a group of priests I was speaking to a while back…”

John MacArthur said,

Reclassifying the Pope, reclassifying Roman Catholics as believers isn’t that simple. It has massive implications. It has implications that literally overturn centuries of missionary effort. It has massive implications that overturn centuries, if not millennia, of martyrdom. In the long war on the truth, the most formidable, relentless and deceptive enemy has been Roman Catholicism. It is an apostate, corrupt, heretical, false Christianity. It is a front for the kingdom of Satan. The true church of the Lord Jesus Christ has always understood this. And even through the Dark Ages, from 400 to 1500, prior to the Reformation, genuine Christian believers set themselves apart from that system and were brutally punished and executed for their rejection of that system. (source)

The Catholic Church is a false church and teaches false things. From Christian Research and Apologetics Ministry, here is A list of false teachings in the Roman Catholic Church

source

It must be stated and re-stated that the Catholic Church is false and those people believing in its teachings are lost and under God’s wrath. It must be stated that “pastors” and others joining with them are perpetuating a gospel-less partnership in which the need to evangelize Catholics is forsaken for the plaudits of men and social works that are as filthy rags to Jesus.

It is important to recognize this because depending on your view of Catholics it changes everything. John MacArthur said that ten years ago, a document called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” came out and many pastors and professors were signing it. That document stated that Catholics and Protestants celebrated a common faith and a common mission, it said we need to embrace each other and carry out this gospel mission together.

MacArthur said that a great many of the pastors got together and had a discussion, sometimes heated, as to what impact this document would have and whether pastors should sign it. MacArthur was on the ‘No’ side, along with RC Sproul and Michael Horton. He said they discussed things like:

Are they saved because they “believe in Jesus?” It was a very heated discussion at many points. What was at stake? I’ll tell you what was at stake. What was at stake is whether or not we evangelize Roman Catholics. That’s what’s at stake. One billion of them in the world, are they a mission field or are they our co-laborers for Christ? That changes everything. Everything.

When I read things like Rick Warren, a supposed evangelical pastor in good standing with my denomination, partnering with Catholic Archbishops under the umbrella of Catholic dogma and Catholic Catechism to promote and affirm it, I alternately become sick, angry, and heartbroken. Because 1 billion lives are at stake. One billion-plus souls which are in bondage to a works-legalistic scheme of a false religion that is as dung to Christ and will arrive in hell the second they die. And Warren preaches “love” – yet his hate is the most obvious and virulent of all the false pastors out there, because it is more subtle than Osteen and more insidious than Hinn.

The lesson is several-fold, my friends.

1. Prophecy: It is prophesied that in the last of the last days falsity would rise and apostasy would grow.

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

2. Discernment: Be warned, stay away from the teachings of the false teachers, lest you be dragged in also.  Shun evildoers.

“…if he refuses even to listen to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17).

3. Encouragement: If you detect and understand that the Catholic Church is false, that Rick Warren is apostate, and the SBC is a dangerous compromiser, then praise our Spirit for delivering this wisdom to you.

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

Posted in discernment, ephesians, humble, Humility, meek

I’m great! And I’m greater than you! I’m the greatest person in this whole town!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Not really, of course. But in reading Ephesians I learned something about humility.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

We are called to walk a certain way in the world. It must be a walk worthy of the calling. What makes the walk worthy is the demonstration of our:

–humility
–gentleness
–patience
–tolerance in love
–diligence for unity
–in bonds of peace

Boy, Paul can cram a lot into one sentence, can’t he. Where we receive all that from is Christ. Let’s look specifically at humility. It is the first quality mentioned. Humility is urged upon the faithful throughout the New Testament, repeatedly.

These characteristics, of which humility is the foundation, form a progression, the genuine exercise of one leading to the exercise of those that follow. Tapeinophrosuné (humility) is a compound word that literally means to think or judge with lowliness, and hence to have lowliness of mind. John Wesley observed that “neither the Greeks nor the Romans had a word for humility.” The very concept was so foreign and abhorrent to their way of thinking that they had no term to describe it. Apparently this Greek term was coined by Christians, probably by Paul himself, to describe a quality for which no other word was available. To the proud Greeks and Romans, their terms for ignoble, cowardly, and other such characteristics were sufficient to describe the “unnatural” person who did not think of himself with pride or self-satisfaction. When, during the first few centuries of Christianity pagan writers borrowed the term tapeinophrosuné, they always used it derogatorily –  frequently of Christians – because to them humility was a pitiable weakness.” ~John MacArthur, Commentary on Ephesians

In Christianity, humility is a foundational virtue. When we read in Acts 17:6 that the rioters dragging Paul and Silas and Jason to the authorities characterized them as “having turned the world upside down.”

But humility before an equal or a lesser was morally suspect. It upset the assumed equation: merit demanded honour, thus honour was the proof of merit. Avoiding honour implied a diminishment of merit. It was shameful. SourceIn one sense we understand that means that uproars and chaos followed them wherever they went (a chaos the Jews themselves fomented). But trouble did follow Paul wherever he and the other missionaries and evangelists went. It’s like when we look at each other in today’s time and shake our heads and say “Things are getting crazy!”

In the other sense though, Christianity DID turn the world upside down. Everything was opposite. Jesus taught that:

The meek shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
The last shall be first (Matthew 19:30)
The first shall be last. (Matthew 19:30)
Pray behind closed doors, not marching around in the marketplace to be seen by men. (Matthew 6:6)
Give secretly, sounding no trumpet. (Matthew 6:2-4)
Rejoice in trials and tribulations. (James 1:2)
Think of others more highly than yourself. (Philippians 2:3)

To obtain an idea of how entrenched the Romans and Greeks were in pride and public recognition, one example is the Roman Triumph. This event was a spectacle that honored and sanctified the returning military general and his troops from a victory. Sanctify, because a triumph, which included a lengthy parade and celebration, was also a sacred rite in their pagan religion.

In the pagan world, personal achievement deserved lengthy and public praise.

As for the Greeks, their word was philotimia, literally, the love of honor. John Dickson in his book Humilitas, wrote

…one of the most difficult concepts to get across to late Western students is the concept of an ancient honor and shame culture, a culture where not truth nor life is the top value in the hierarchy of values, but rather obtaining honor is. The Greek word is philotimia literally the love of honor, and it dominated the matrix of values in the Greco-Roman world, in particular the male part of that world tasked with obtaining, maintaining and sustaining the honor of his family and their family name etc. “Uppermost in a father’s mind in the ancient world was not whether his son would be happy (in the modern sense) or make money or live morally [or tell the truth], but whether the boy would bring honor to the family, especially to his father, and to himself.” (p. 86). One was to seek to build respect and garner praise for one’s family and its name. The greatest fear in such a society was being publicly shamed— such as Jesus was on a cross. (source)

Ali’s “I am the greatest” speech. Photo source

So imagine Peter and Paul and Silas and Titus, preaching humility to Greeks and Romans who not only have a flesh nature which loves pride, but have a family pressure to boast, a culture that exalts boasting, and a pagan religion that sanctifies personal achievement. Imagine how difficult it was for them to hear, “Pick up your cross and follow me.” They were being asked to behave in the opposite manner of everything they knew and were taught, to drag around the very emblem of shame, and follow the most humiliated Man of the ancient world, Jesus hung on a tree.

Jesus turned the ancient world upside down.

He still does. We battle with our flesh nature and find it hard to be humble. I know I do. I want to tell people and the world of my achievements. Yet any of my achievements before I came to the cross are really as dung to Jesus, and anything I achieved after the cross was done for Him and in Him and because of Him. So what do I have to boast about? Nothing.

O THOU TERRIBLE MEEK,

Let not pride swell my heart.
My nature is the mire beneath my feet,
the dust to which I shall return.
In body I surpass not the meanest reptile;
Whatever difference of form and intellect is mine
is a free grant of thy goodness;
Every faculty of mind and body is thy undeserved gift.
Low as I am as a creature, I am lower as a sinner;
I have trampled thy law times without number;
Sin’s deformity is stamped upon me,
darkens my brow, touches me with corruption:
How can I flaunt myself proudly?
Lowest abasement is my due place,
for I am less than nothing before thee.
Help me to see myself in thy sight,
then pride must wither, decay, die, perish.
Humble my heart before thee,
and replenish it with thy choicest gifts.
As water rests not on barren hill summits,
but flows down to fertilize lowest vales,
So make me the lowest of the lowly,
that my spiritual riches may exceedingly abound.
When I leave duties undone,
may condemning thought strip me of pride,
deepen in me devotion to thy service,
and quicken me to more watchful care.
When I am tempted to think highly of myself,
grant me to see the wily power of my spiritual enemy;
Help me to stand with wary eye on the watch-tower of faith,
and to cling with determined grasp to my humble Lord;
If I fall let me hide myself in my Redeemer’s righteousness,
and when I escape, may I ascribe all deliverance to thy grace.
Keep me humble, meek, lowly.

Valley of Vision, PRIDE. (p. 88)