(no title)

Prince Edward Island (nearly) obliterated by snow

Posted on February 21, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A bit of news: from Canada’s National Post

Prince Edward Island disappears into snowy Maritimes in satellite photo after massive winter storm

P.E.I., as well as parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, were hit with as much as 70 centimetres of snow on Sunday. (27inches of snow, or over two feet). The storm shut down Confederation Bridge, which connects New Brunswick and P.E.I., and made several other areas impassable, including the Cobequid Pass, a 45-kilometre toll highway in northern Nova Scotia.

Source

From the Globe and Mail–
Monster snowfall completely buries cars and streets in PEI

Snow always makes driving more difficult, but in Prince Edward Island, so much of it has fallen many people can’t even find their cars. A winter storm has dropped almost a metre of snow (3.2 feet) in the past few days, and it’s often hard to see where the road ends and the ditch begins. On some rural roads, snowbanks are piled three times higher than the people standing next to them. The Journal Pioneer reported that some residents dug an eight-metre-long tunnel to try to find their car under white stuff piled two storeys high. The island itself is nearly invisible when viewed from space, as satellite images show.

All I can say is…wow.

ephesus, ice, love grown cold, love Jesus, prophecy, revelation

Encased in ice

Posted on February 21, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Yesterday I wrote about Love Gone Cold. I am still thinking about love gone cold among those in the church, and thinking further still of just how cold that will be when the prophecy Jesus pronounced in Matthew 24:12 comes to full fruition in the Tribulation.

Of course, the weather in these parts (Georgia) is the basis for the thinking- it’s cold. It’s icy. We had an ice storm Tuesday which knocked out power for anywhere from a few minutes to two days. Mine was out for 12 hours. We had a winter storm warning two days after that, threatening a quarter inch of ice build-up, power outages, and sleet driven snow and rain. Fortunately that storm just nicked us as it took a sudden northerly turn. The sleet we did receive amounted to no damage and was quickly gone. Thank you Lord.

On Tuesday after the first predicted ice storm did hit, I went out and took lots of ice photos in my yard. We lost some limbs, the man next door lost a tree. All the grass, trees, and bushes were encased in ice. I looked in the bible and in poetry and online for uses of the word encased, and I found so little after so much looking I became at first frustrated, then amazed. Encased is not such an archaic word, after all. I liked my photo of the holly bush outside encased in ice. It seemed to me that the branches were veins of a living body, the blood flowing slower and slower as the ice built up on the outside, reflecting the slow drain of love away from the heart. Love gone cold.

Anyway I settled on a Robert Frost poem. We know from the bible that the world WILL end in fire (2 Peter 3:10) but prior to that, the Matthew 24:12 verse will make the world seem like it is encased in ice. The unbeliever of the Tribulation will not love. The believers will have love initially, but “the many” believers will grow increasingly cold, as the prophecy says.

It’s interesting that Frost makes the comparison of hate with ice. Just as I mentioned, we think of love being warm or hot, but hate is cold. “Revenge is a dish best served cold” … “a cold and icy stare”… “cold as ice” … “break the ice”… “put the project on ice” …

It makes me all the more grateful for the warm envelopment of grace and love the Lord bestows upon us daily. I pray my own love for Him and my love for other believers who have Him in them does not grow cold, dim, wane, or diminish in any way, as Jesus charged the church members at Ephesus-

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Revelation 2:4)

Let this be ever on my mind and heart:

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

EPrata photo

olivet discourse, prophecy, spurgeon, tribulation

Love gone cold in a world gone cold: Spurgeon and "A Prophetic Warning"

Posted on February 21, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

What word in the New Testament is used only once, in Matthew 24:12?

First, the scene.

Olive Trees With Yellow Sky and Sun. Van Gogh 1889

The disciples had asked Jesus about the Temple, the times, and when His return would be. His answer is the longest discourse in the NT after the Sermon on the Mount, and the longest answer to any question the disciples asked. It comprises the entire chapters of Matthew 24 and goes on to Matthew 25. The response, given on the Mount of Olives and thus known as the Olivet Discourse, is about the Tribulation period. The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, when Jesus pours out His wrath on the unbelieving world, and punishes Israel for the final 7 years of time, three and a half of which are called the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 12:14, Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7).

Jesus lists the conditions that will be on earth during the time, synopsis of the lengthier descriptions of the judgments of Revelation 6-18, which parallel Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus said one of the conditions on earth will be:

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12)

The “many” here means the “majority.”

Jesus means lawlessness in the spiritual sense. The Tribulation will be a time when Jesus asked if He would even find faith on the earth, so few will real believers be, (Luke 18:8) compared to the numerous population that will revel in a false religion of the global deception that the antichrist will perpetrate. The Greek synonyms for lawlessness in this verse are disobedience and sin, the end-result of a negative influence on a person’s soul.

iniquity is especially injurious to the growth of love.
~Charles Spurgeon
It is an interesting metaphor, the love gone cold. We often think of love between a man and a woman or husband and wife, in romantic terms as fiery, hot, the spark between us, a fire is kindled. When love dims between unsaved people, the songsters sing of love cold as ashes, the fire is gone out, the heat is gone. Of course, the songsters and poets mean sexual love and romantic love, but it is a common metaphor, love is hot or cold.

The unusual word Jesus uses uniquely here in Matthew 24:12 is psuchó. Psucho is used this one and only time in the NT. Strong’s Concordance defines it:

originally, “to breathe out,” cf. J. Thayer) – properly, “to blow, refresh with cool air” (figuratively) “to breathe cool by blowing, to grow cold, ‘spiritual energy blighted or chilled by a malign or poisonous wind’, used only in Mt 24:12.

Here Jesus means the love of Christians will grow cold. Love will be cold for Him, and love will be cold for each other (the two greatest commandments).

What could not be accomplished by persecutors outside the Church and traitors inside, would be attempted by teachers of heresy—“Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” They have risen in all ages! In these modern times they have risen in clouds till the air is thick with them, as with an army of devouring locusts!

These are the men who invent new doctrines and who seem to think that the religion of Jesus Christ is something that a man may twist into any form and shape that he pleases. Alas that such teachers should have any disciples! It is doubly sad that they should be able to lead astray “many.” Yet, when it so happens, let us remember that the King said that it would be so.

Is it any wonder that where such “iniquity abounds” and such lawlessness is multiplied, “the love of many shall grow cold”? If the teachers deceive the people and give them “another gospel which is not another,” it is no marvel that there is a lack of love and zeal.

Spurgeon, sermon #3301, A Prophetic Warning

Spurgeon spoke more as to the specifics of what causes love to grow cold, as the Strong’s definition interestingly shows us from this basis, “spiritual energy blighted or chilled by a malign or poisonous wind'”. Spurgeon poetically and theologically describes just how spiritual energy is blighted-

Iniquity is naturally opposed to Grace, but it is most of all injurious to the Grace of love. If sin abounds in a Church, it is little wonder if the love of many should grow cold. Young members introduced into the Church after a short time find that those whom they looked upon as being examples are walking disorderly and using lightness of speech and of behavior. Those young people cannot be very warm in love—they are led to stumble and are scandalized. Older saints who have for years held onto their way in integrity, and by Grace have kept their garments unspotted from the world, see those around them who have come into the Church who seem to be of quite another race, who can drink of the cup of Belial and of the cup of the Lord, who seem to follow Christ and the devil, too! Seeing this evil, these godly men and women gather up their garments in holy indignation and find it difficult to feel the love of purer days.

Oh, Friends, if the frost of sin rules in a Church, every tender flower is injured and nothing flourishes! Love is a sensitive plant and if it is touched by the finger of sin, it will show it. The lilies of Love’s Paradise cannot bloom amid the smoke and dust of unholiness!

I was reading the passage this week and thinking deeply about the theological definitions and implications of love gone cold (and Revelation 3:15-16 also). I was also reading the ‘Christian” headlines and noting the devastating apostasy abounding, the acceptance of gay marriage in the church, the refusal to draw doctrinal lines between believers and unbelievers, the refusal to rebuke false teachers, the refusal even to recognize them, the seeking after pornography, the ridiculous church services that are mere entertainments for the goats…and I noted finally the weather.

I could not help but notice the rapid apostasizing of “Christians” and the rapid cooling of the world, especially Israel and America. The word psucho and its definition, “to breathe cool by blowing, to grow cold”.

Love gone cold in a world gone cold

Niagara Falls, frozen over. Photo: Lindsay Dedario/Reuters

Chill wind gives cardinal bad hair day. **Mary Reed Runyon photo**

**Snowflake. Mary Reed Runyon**

**Blizzards sweep Middle East, blankets even Negev, rare.**

The army has put tracked vehicles on standby to help civilians in the least accessible areas after the latest blizzard. In neighbouring Jordan, most roads were blocked, including those in the capital, Amman. Authorities broadcast warnings to people not to leave their homes. Lebanon also saw heavy snowfall, with schools closed across the country and some mountain roads blocked. “There was heavy hail in Beirut, and snow has fallen from 200 metres above sea level,” said Wissam Abu Hashfeh of Lebanon’s Meteorological Service.

Snow in Golan Heights

A rare snow in the Negev Desert. Source **JPost**

**Siberian Express Grips Midwest, Northeast, South; Four Cities Set All-Time Record Lows**

**120-year-old record low broken in D.C., one of many today and in the past week**

source

**‘Ice volcano’ forms at New York state park**

The arctic conditions have turned a fountain at a state park in western New York into a five-story-tall “ice volcano.” The pressure-fed fountain is in a pond near the Glen Iris Inn at Letchworth State Park, which straddles the Wyoming-Livingston county line 40 miles south of Rochester. Days of subzero temperatures have formed a solid cone of ice several feet thick with water still spouting out of the top. Park officials tell local media that the formation dubbed an ice volcano is at least 50 feet high.

**Great Lakes most ice since recorded time**

“Great Lakes ice is now running ahead of last year and ice will increase with more brutal cold coming,” says meteorologist Joe d’Aleo. “We are likely to have the most ice since records began.”

O church, where are you? Spurgeon said that a boat is fine even when waters storm outside it. But when the waters breach and stream inside the boat, the boat is in danger. It is the same with the church. When the world stays outside, no matter how they rage and storm, the church is OK. When the pollution of sin streams inside, there is the danger. Picture a boat frozen fast in the ice. Perhaps Shackleton’s The Endurance…

As long as the mighty ship bounded over waves she was OK. It was what she was built for. But once she became stuck in the ice and no longer moved, the ice built up. It built up and climbed over the top of the masts. It pressured, and pressured, and pressured against her, until one day, the icy cold broke a plank. The frigid water streamed in, and once it did, it formed more ice. The heaviness of the icy weighed her down, eventually thwarting her ability to move. She was completely stuck.

Shackleton looking down as the ship lists

As plank after plank broke and the water breached, she sank.

The final sinking

So you see the cycle. Love grows cold, and that is because sin abounds. If not dealt with, the icy sin’s fingers reach more hearts, and the ship of the church grows heavy and stuck. Sin unaddressed allows more sin, and eventually the pressure of so much sin breaks a plank and the world streams in. As it streams in, the ship of the church grows heavier, and eventually the pressures within and without sink her.

Of course the true church will never sink, but listen to Spurgeon’s pleas from his sermon A Prophetic Word, Matthew 24:12

iraq, ISIS, jonah, mercy, muslim nineveh

God loves the Muslim terrorists of ISIS

Posted on February 19, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I’ve written before of how many parallels there are between the ancient Ninevites and their brutality, and today’s ISIS members and their terrorism. From the same region as Nineveh, Assyria now comes ISIS, which one of their own leaders called/calls himself “Prince of Nineveh.” We know that the ancient Assyrians did not worship God but were pagan.

The ancient Ninevites were so held in terror and fear, and so firmly did the hapless cities which lay in their path know this, that oftentimes all the Assyrians had to do is march to a city and announce to the besieged residents a list all the other cities they had conquered, and capitulation would ensue almost immediately. (2 Chronicles 32:18)

As for their gleeful, maniacal brutality, the ancient Assyrians used to push meathooks into the jaws of captured prisoners of war and march them back to Nineveh. Others, they threw off ramparts as a warning, or skinned them alive and hung the skins over the walls to graphically illustrate the penalty for opposing them. Ancient Ninevites were brutal, bringing new meaning to the word.

ISIS is the same. From the exact region of ancient Nineveh, we see a re-emergence of that same demonic spirit. One of gleeful brutality, of worship of satanic gods, of horror and shock. We see swords flashing, heads rolling, blood-stained beaches, children fleeing, houses burning. We see exultation amid the black hooded ISIS men, and we pray for the people in their path, just as sister cities Lachish (which was conquered by the Assyrians, 2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles 32, Micah 1:13) and Jerusalem (which wasn’t, 2 Chronicles 32:1-33, 2 Kings 19:35) endured.

Judean captives being led away into slavery by the Assyrians
after the siege of Lachish in 701 B.C.

But God loved the Ninevites.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1-2)

We know from the biblical account that Jonah did not do this. He fled in the other direction. Why, we’re never quite told. Perhaps Jonah was afraid. After all, no one likes having a meathook put in their jaw and being led across the desert sands as a captive. Perhaps Jonah had had family that was killed at Lachish or some other place. Perhaps Jonah was simply afraid. We do know that Jonah resented God’s version of justice. Salvation and repentance were not for the Ninevites, thought Jonah. “Why should they get it?” (Jonah 4:1)

The ancient Assyrian royal city of Kalhu, The archaeological site of Nimrud
was known in antiquity as Kalhu (biblical Calah). It is located just to the east
of the Tigris river, in what is nowadays northern Iraq, some 30 km (roughly 20 miles)
south of the the modern city of Mosul. Although Nimrud is now a peaceful archaeological
site in the countryside, in ancient times Kalhu was a huge and bustling city. It served
as the capital of the mighty Assyrian empire for nearly 200 years, from the early 9th to
the late 8th century BC, but was also inhabited for many centuries before and after.

Soon, Jonah needed to repent for his disobedience and hope in the LORD’s mercy be extended to himself. And it was. God delivered Jonah from the great fish and then said a second time to go preach judgment, repentance and salvation to the Ninevites.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. (Jonah 3:1-3a)

The evil, brutal people heard the LORD in Jonah.

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. (Jonah 3:5)

Starting with the King.

And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:7-10)

God loves the ISIS terrorists, the folks of modern day Nineveh (Mosul) and all pagan peoples. We know this because back in the day God did the best thing possible for them: He sent Jonah to preach judgment and righteousness to them so that they may know the LORD. Today He sends missionaries for the same reason.

And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10-11)

The main lesson of the book. If Jonah so pities a plant which cost him no toil to rear, and which is so short lived and valueless, much more must Jehovah pity those hundreds of thousands of immortal men and women in great Nineveh whom He has made with such a display of creative power, especially when many of them repent, and seeing that, if all in it were destroyed, “more than six score thousand” of unoffending children, besides “much cattle,” would be involved in the common destruction: Compare the same argument drawn from God’s justice and mercy in Gen 18:23–33.

Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

but the persons in Nineveh whom God had compassion on were all the work of his own hands, whose being he was the author of, whose lives he was the preserver of, whom he planted and made to grow; he made them, and his they were, and therefore he had much more reason to have compassion on them, for he cannot despise the work of his own hands (Job 10:3). … That though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, yet he will not suffer them to lie still in it, but will take a course effectually to show them their error, and to bring them to themselves and to their right mind again…That God will justify himself in the methods of his grace towards repenting returning sinners as well as in the course his justice takes with those that persist in their rebellion

Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible.

We can be a part of the effort to urge mercy rather than judgment. God loves and pities His wayward people, even the brutal ones.

there is one Lord over all, that is rich in mercy to all that call upon him, and in every nation, in Nineveh as well as in Israel, he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him; he that repents, and turns from his evil way, shall find mercy with him

Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible.

encouragement, ephesians, redeeming the time

Redeeming the Time

Posted on February 19, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Ephesians 5:15-16

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Of this passage in context, Matthew Henry said,

“These verses contain a caution against all manner of uncleanness, with proper remedies and arguments proposed: some further cautions are added, and other duties recommended.”

One of the cautions is that the days are evil, so we redeem the time. If we do, we are wise. Henry further comments on the part about redeeming the time,

It follows, redeeming the time (v. 16), literally, buying the opportunity. It is a metaphor taken from merchants and traders who diligently observe and improve the seasons for merchandise and trade. It is a great part of Christian wisdom to redeem the time. Good Christians must be good stewards of their time, and take care to improve it to the best of purposes, by watching against temptations, by doing good while it is in the power of their hands, and by filling it up with proper work—one special preservative from sin.
Our time is a talent given us by God for some good end, and it is misspent and lost when it is not employed according to his design. If we have lost our time heretofore, we must endeavour to redeem it by doubling our diligence in doing our duty for the future.

The Bible Exposition Commentary by Warren Wiersbe says of the Eph 5:15-16 verses,

It is a mark of wisdom (v. 15). Only a fool drifts with the wind and tide. A wise man marks out his course, sets his sails, and guides the rudder until he reaches his destination. When a man wants to build a house, he first draws his plans so he knows what he is doing. Yet, how many Christians plan their days so that they use their opportunities wisely? True, we cannot know what a day may bring forth (James 4:13–17). But it is also true that a planned life can better deal with unexpected events. Someone said, “When the pilot does not know what port he is heading for, no wind is the right wind.”
Life is short (v. 16a). “Buying up the opportunity—taking advantage of it.”

An old Chinese adage says, “Opportunity has a forelock so you can seize it when you meet it. Once it is past, you cannot seize it again.” Our English word opportunity comes from the Latin and means “toward the port.” It suggests a ship taking advantage of the wind and tide to arrive safely in the harbor. The brevity of life is a strong argument for making the best use of the opportunities God gives us.

I ask Jesus to expand the time for me, to help me make use of the time, and to convict me when I fail to be “wise.” He always hears that prayer, because it belies a heart that wants to glorify Him more, and not less. If I can glorify Him one minute more each day, even one minute, by purposeful prayer, or conduct, or bible study, then that is a beautiful thing.

EPrata artwork, paper collage, scanned, & digitally altered

book recommendations

Book recommendation: In The Footsteps of Faith

Posted on February 17, 2015 by elizabethprata

I was given a gift certificate to Amazon.com, and one of the books I purchased is In the Footsteps of Faith, by John F. MacArthur. The book blurb says,

“By highlighting the defining moments of their lives and discussing the impact of their responses to tough times and to God, John MacArthur unveils lessons of faith and servanthood from beloved men and women of the Bible.”

In the Footsteps of Faith examines the lives of several men and women of the bible. * Noah * Abraham * Moses * Rahab * Hannah * Jonah * Mary * John the Baptist * Peter * Paul * Lydia * Timothy * Epaphroditus * Jesus

I’ve read the first two ‘faith bios’, (Noah, Abraham) and I enjoy the book very much. I recommend it highly. I don’t like marking my books with pen or highlighting, so I use a colored transparent post-it kind of arrow to stick on the paragraph or sentence I want to return to. Just in the first two bios I have a ton of sticky arrows poking out of the book. It makes the book look like a porcupine. But there are so many gems to mark, …like this:

We base our present lives and future destinies on invisible realities. It has always been that way for followers of God.

Faith in Him is the only means God has ever provided for people to be justified. Faith is never the ground for justification, the death of Christ is. Faith is simply the channel through which God applies His saving grace.

Anyone who trusts in physical circumcision, or any other such work or ceremony, in order to be made right with God places himself under the law’s impossible demands and voids Christ’s sacrificial death on his behalf.

When faith does weaken, it is often because we allow doubt to cloud and undermine it.

Of course these read better in context. The point is, what a blessing to have a storm day when it’s quiet, with no power and thus no internet distractions, to read an edifying book and ponder the majesty and mysteries of Christ and His followers who went before us.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

coptic, copts, martyr, orthodox

Copts are not Christians

Posted on February 17, 2015August 8, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

What the terror group ISIS is doing is undoubtedly evil. No person, village, or region should have to suffer the tortures and terrors perpetrated upon them like the Islamic ISIS maniacs have done. I want to say, and this will likely be unpopular, but the 21 Egyptian Coptics that were beheaded recently were not Christian. Copts are not Christian. They are not martyrs for the faith, they will not be resurrected to a glorified body in heaven, and Revelation 20:4 does not apply to them.

Copts have popes, believe verbal confession to priests is necessary for the forgiveness of sins, worship icons and idols, are highly sacramental and ritualistic, pray to dead “saints” asking for their intercession of the living, believe in apostolic succession (from John Mark), have a works based theology of salvation, and more. Orthodox Coptics are a split-off from Roman Catholicism. Again, Coptics are not Christians.

There is an outline of what Copts believe here.

What happened to the 21 Egyptian men on the beach is horrific, but please stand on the Gospel and remember that Copts are an unreached people group needing evangelism, not veneration as brother martyrs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Visual Theology: Chris Powers & Full of Eyes

Posted on February 17, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Chris Powers is doing magnificent work. I’ve written about him before, here

Chris explains that his website, Full of Eyes, exists,

to see, savor, and sing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, using pixel, ink, and word. I hope to do this through Christ-exalting, Biblically-submitted, heart-haunting videos about the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son and Image of God.
With the continued help of various song artists, and the support of the Body of Christ, my plan is to make these videos and resources available for free to the global Church.

Chris does a fantastic job of bringing visual theology to life. In addition to wonderful videos, tract cards, and other artistic representations, Chris has been hard at work developing curricula to supplement each of his videos.

For his startling video “It’s Not Enough“, about sin and idolatry, Chris developed a study guide for small groups. It is available in Spanish as well. The study guide is free, as all his work is free to use for the glory of Christ. More study guides will be coming along as h transitions to working on his animations full time.

Here is his caption for the piece below.

Christ alone gives us unshakable peace because HE HIMSELF is our peace (Eph. 2:14). In this picture you can see all the world’s promises of peace shattering like teetering towers of stone in the face of a tidal wave…and even though the Christian is certainly buffeted by troubles (John 16:33), in the face-to-face fellowship we have with Christ, there is untouchable peace… we all grow in the knowledge of Christ, our Peace!”

Below is his sketch

Please visit Chris’s website, order his tract cards (I did and they’re wonderful), listen to the music & animated videos, and if you feel led, support him monetarily through Patreon or Gaius.

We definitely want to support and encourage the next generation coming up, and Chris is one of the good guys, doing Kingdom work in faith and humility.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Further Reading

Tim Challies and Visual Theology

Vyrso Visual Verse of the Day

John Bunyan, the first visual theologian, Mappe Shewing Order and Causes of Salvation

death, encouragement, lazarus, resurrection

O death, where is your victory?

Posted on February 15, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I don’t understand all that God does, or why. We understand some, because He revealed it to us in His word and through His Son.

But death…when a friend or loved one dies, it’s so sad. Even Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. He wept even knowing He would raise Him.

But what a spectacular event!

The Death of Lazarus

1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (John 11:1-6)

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (John 11:17-21).

Jesus Raises Lazarus

Giotto: Raising of Lazarus

38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:38-44).

How beautiful is the glorification of the Father through His Son. And, His words echo in a spiritual truth- ‘death, let him go.’ Jesus is Master over death. He let us go! What a day it will be when Jesus says finally to satan, let go all my people, and satan is cast into the Lake of Fire.

Death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?

50 shades of grey, marriage, mommy porn, porn

Many links on the subject of rejecting 50 Shades of Grey, AND edifying links about Christian marriage

Posted on February 14, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Today marks the debut of the movie 50 Shades of Grey. it is based on the book of the same name. The book and movie (as well as its origination texts, the Twilight series of vampire romances) has sparked concern and outrage from evangelical Christians. Here is a roundup of some of the best write-ups regarding this film and the damage it causes, and what interest in its subject means for our culture.

By Men

Dr. Al Mohler
Fifty Shades of Shame — The Evolution of Pornography

Life Site News
The real reason 50 Shades is so wildly popular

Matt Walsh
To the women of America: 4 reasons to hate 50 Shades of Grey

Landon Chapman
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and the Annihilation of Christian Women’s Innocence

Christianity Today
Is There Anything Redeeming in the ’50 Shades’ Trilogy?

John Kennedy, Assemblies of God News
Christian Leaders Warn Against Fifty Shades Movie

From Fight the New Drug, Aimed at a readership of young women and men, their “mission is to raise awareness on the harmful effects of pornography through creative mediums.”
5 Things ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Teaches About Sex

Tim Challies, article includes links to other articles, book recommendations on the subject of porn, and addresses the cultural phenomenon of 50 Shades
10 Articles on Pornography

By Women

DebbieLynne Kespert
50 Shades to Avoid
50 Shades, 40 Days And None Of The Above

Elizabeth Prata
Why Christian women are drawn to 50 Shades of Grey

Sola Sisters
Fifty Shades of Grey? It’s Really Just Black and White

Becky Thompson
Christian Women and Christian Grey

Secular

Daily Beast
More ‘50 Shades’ Ticket Preorders Have Happened in Mississippi Than Anywhere Else

Fox News
50 shades of abuse? New movie sending wrong message to women

Christian Marriage

GotQuestions
What Constitutes Marriage According to the Bible?

Grace To You essay
What can my spouse and I do to build a strong marriage?

Grace To You article
Marriage As It Was Meant to Be