Posted in chris koelle, chris powers, discernment, evil, halloween, jesus, william blake

Halloween and Demons, and all that

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Halloween is coming, a holiday that is impossible to ignore when you work in a public elementary school among the youngest of students, as I do. I have an abounding abhorrence to Halloween.

As a child, my particular dislikes involved costumes, makeup, mascots, noise, and chaos; so being among ALL of that was a trial for me. I also didn’t like approaching homes and talking to people. So, ditto. But I loved candy and running around outside with friends. Being allowed out after dark was thrilling too.

As a Christian adult, promoting a night of evil and buying into satan’s lies perplexes me. Some churches forgo the evening entirely and do nothing regarding a “Fall Festival” or “Harvest Fest,” while others change the name of their event from Halloween to ‘Hallelujah Fest’ and invite the community in for hot dogs and games as a Gospel outreach. I’ve wrestled with both sides of the argument: I hate satan…I love outreach.

However, since it is a question of Christian liberty, I try to do all as unto the Lord and not cause anyone to stumble, so I remain silent about my decisions and simply helped where I could and then bowed out where my conscience came in. Make your decisions thoughtfully and prayerfully, and remember not to become prideful about whatever you decide.

Here are a few balanced essays discussing the question of Christians celebrating Halloween.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Where Did Halloween Come From? Can a Christian celebrate it?

Christians and Halloween

Speaking of evil spirits, here is a terrific essay on demonology from Answers in Genesis. In American culture we are so sanitized, so scientific, such a high-falutin’ advanced First World country that even Christians find mention of demons or evil spirits distasteful. The subtle or not-so-subtle undercurrent to such discussions even in church is “Haven’t we gone beyond that?” Well, no. And certainly satan has not, either.

The opposite problem holds true as well. Churches, especially ones that are starting to absorb Charismatic doctrines, tend to attribute every negative thing to satan, as if he was hiding behind every tree and was the evil force behind everything from spilling your coffee to the paper cut on your finger. When the fact is, our own flesh is usually the cause of of our sins. Our flesh is always with us and our lusts are more normally the cause of sinning than demons are.

Here is a biblical view of satan in an excellent article by noted scholar C. Fred Dickason. Professor Dickason served on the faculty of the Moody Bible Institute for thirty-four years and is known as a biblical expert on angelology and demonology. It is hard to find a balanced and not nutty article on demonology! He presents the truth of satan’s influence, extent, and limits, while focusing on the grace of God and the hope we have in Jesus. I recommend the article.

Demons on a leash at Answers in Genesis by C. Fred Dickason
Demons are alive and active today, but we can rest in the reality of our Father’s gracious and powerful control.

He examines the following topics in the article:

Biblical Perspective on Satan’s Role
Demons Through the Ages
Demonic Activity in the World
Demonic Opposition to Believers
The Time of Satan’s Fall (and refuting the popular ‘Gap Theory’)
God’s Provision in Our Battle
God’s Sovereign Control
Our Authority in the Battle

As Halloween approaches evil is increasingly on the mind of the pagans and even the Christians. Our eyes are assaulted by movie posters lauding the latest graphic depiction of the underworld. Our eyes avert from the neighbor’s brutal yard art depicting scenes of evil, all in “celebration” of Halloween.

Our sensibilities may be assaulted by seeing yet another child absorbed into dallying with the occult, or simply enduring the abounding sin that Halloween seems to loose. Yet we take heart. Jesus has overcome the world.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33). And the evil within it.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

He made a spectacle of those unholy angels AKA demons in His triumph of the cross!

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:15)

Posted in agriculture, donkey

All about the Donkey

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Studying the natural history of the Bible is a good thing to do. Plants, places, and animals are constantly mentioned in God’s Word. Processes such as wine-making and agricultural endeavors like threshing and irrigating are mentioned too. Knowing what the references mean helps deepen our understanding of such verses when we study them. For example in Psalm 21:1, it is stated,

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

This is a vivid metaphor that anyone can understand. But knowing that in ancient times and even today, Egyptian farmers by the Nile dig complicated channels in the earth and board the source of each one, and by lifting a certain board at any given time they could precisely direct the channel to a row of crops as they will. Now you have an even more clear picture of the metaphor. (More here)

Or this regarding passing under the rod. In Ezekiel 20:37 it says,

And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:

which Jamieson/Fausset/Brown’s Commentary says,

pass under the rod—metaphor from a shepherd who makes his sheep pass under his rod in counting them (Le 27:32; Jer 33:13).

As the shepherd bunked down nightly, he would count each sheep to ensure they were all collected. As each one passed under his rod entering the sheepfold he would count them. Knowing these things could develop into a deeper study of agricultural practices in order to provide background context for scripture study, or simply knowing a little bit about what the rod or the channels of water helps provide  a better understanding of the verse.

EPrata photo

There are many animals in the Bible either used in fact or referred to as symbols (like the ant in Proverbs 6:6). Donkeys are an animal mentioned frequently and used as beasts of burden to carry goods or people.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. (Genesis 22:3)

Donkeys were part of the Law.

If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. (Exodus 23:4)

There are some famous donkeys in the Bible. Balaam’s donkey for example, spoke. Or was it God speaking through the beast?

EPrata photo

Jesus’ Triumphal entry was on the back of a donkey. John 12:14 records,

And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

Initially, people who could afford them rode donkeys, such as Judges. (Judges 5:10). After that time, though, horses were imported, and high officials enjoyed riding white horses more than donkeys so they left the donkeys to the poorer folk. When Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey it was demonstrating his humility and meekness.

Donkeys were a beast of burden used frequently as the preferred animal because they were stoic and patient, and tended to panic less easily than horses. Physically,

Donkeys’ feet have a number of differences, including being more elastic, narrower in shape, and more upright than a horse’s. Donkeys can be prone to developing very long hooves as they do not chip and breakaway as a horse’s would do. The donkey’s digestive system is considerably more efficient than that of a similar sized pony. … Donkeys in general have a very efficient walking pace and to be honest, in most situations it is easier to walk at the donkeys pace rather than try and make them go at ours.  (source)

A boy and his donkey. This is in the town of Papallacta, high in the Andes. The type of saddle has been in use since Incan times. EPrata photo

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9).

PS: There is actually no Bible verse that says Mary rode a donkey on her way to Bethlehem with Joseph. More on that in an upcoming blog!

Further Reading

Bible topics: The Domestic Ass.

Posted in theology

Keep our creativity going! Read, write, draw

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Often as a new year approaches, people start thinking about their New Year’s resolutions. Many of those resolutions are vows to take better care of our bodies, by eating well or losing weight or exercising more.

But do we ever resolve to take care of our mind?

Christianity is a religion of the mind. We have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Spirit transforms us by the renewing of our mind. (Romans 12:2). The mind governed by the Spirit is
life and peace, as Romans 8:6 says. Mark reminds us in verse 12:30 that we must ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Start looking in the New Testament and the Psalms and Proverbs for the ‘mind’ and you may be surprised at how many times it’s mentioned.

The Internet was commercialized and came into widespread use in the US by 1995 or so, making the generation in their 30s now the first generation to live post-Internet. The rest of us, like me in my 60s, have used some version of the Internet for most of my adult life. I’ve been an Amazon customer since 1997. My final email address was established in 1998 and it has remained the same ever since.

As the Internet grows, our mind diminishes. You might think I am overstating the case, but the Internet, while having many boons and pluses, has served to make our thinking more shallow. 21st century media has pummeled our minds and not in a good way. We listen in sound bites and read in tweet-length script. Yet the two greatest books ever written, the Bible and The Pilgrim’s Progress, are old.

The Bible has a variety of literature within it, many genres, difficult concepts, and is a demanding read. It requires study.

Pilgrims’ Progress by John Bunyan is the single best selling English language book in the world, after the Bible. It was written in 1678 and uses antiquated language. Even if you read a modernized version, it is a book that even still, demands the reader’s attention and requires lengthy thought.

Our minds are being trained away from that kind of reading. The kind of thinking we are commanded to do in the Bible is the opposite, it’s the kind of reading that edifies us. Not to mention reading the ancients and the Puritans are, every day, getting out of reach because they demand attention spans that nearly don’t exist any more.

I myself do not read as much as I’m used to.

I write essays that range from 500 words to 2000 words. I remember the first time on the blog a reader commented “TLDR”. I had to look it up. It stands for ‘Too Long, Didn’t Read.’ I was irked and shocked. 2000 words is only about 4 single spaced pages long.

I’m speaking to myself here, not just you. As I get older and I come home from a busy day of work, all I want to do is make a cup of tea, sit down, watch a comedy, then go to bed. I have to work at keeping the energy up so that I can have a clear mind to absorb Christian classics and other great material.

I’m fairly aghast at myself, because reading didn’t used to be this hard. But now I’m nearing 65, and my mind is balking at difficult material. Reading Moby Dick a few summers ago was hard. I was surprised at how hard. My mind is a terrible thing to waste.

I don’t want to waste it. It’s the mind of Christ.

I feel it’s important to keep our mind active and our creativity up. When we spend time in the creative side of our mind different things happen. Here are a few resources along these lines:

3 Reasons Why You Should Read More Classic Literature in 2019
Why Great Literature, Especially Old Literature, Has Become Essential Medicine In the Age of Social Media

Call me Ishmael.

The famous opening sentence of Moby Dick, so short and provocative, is welcoming and familiar to the 21st century reader, who is accustomed to snappy prose with short sentences and lots of white space. A few sentences later in Melville’s masterpiece we get a sentence that’s more representative of the novel to come. In just a bit I’m going to quote that sentence, and insist that you read it.

My own personal reading challenge was to read these classics:

  • Sense & Sensibility By Jane Austen
  • It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
  • The Running Man Stephen King
  • The Machine Stops, E.M. Forster
  • The Decameron, Boccaccio
  • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

I did read end up reading Heart of Darkness, Running Man, Can’t Happen Here, and The Machine Stops. I didn’t like Can’t Happen Here and I quit in the middle.

The Classics Spin is an activity from an online book club devoted to the classics. Readers list the top 20 classics they would like to read, sometimes the game is along the lines of a theme (Shakespeare challenge, Really Huge Book challenge) and other times not. They pick a number at random and you read that book. Since the Club is a community, the Admins of the site say,

We know it can be hard to stay on track and enthused about your Spin Book for the whole journey. We plan to provide support and encouragement to all our CC Spinners via twitter, fb, instagram and goodreads. We hope you can join us in cheering everyone on to finish another fabulous classics reading experience!

Four Good Reasons to Read Good Books
Tim Challies lists 4 reasons, here’s one of them-

Identify areas of weakness and read books to strengthen yourself there. This may be weakness of knowledge, weakness of character, or weakness of understanding. If you have too low a view of God, read The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. If you are struggling with parenting, read Gospel-Powered Parenting by William Farley. If you struggle with making decisions, read Decisions, Decisions by Dave Swavely. If you don’t know where you are weak, read a book on humility. Whatever your weakness, there is almost definitely a book that answers it specifically and well.

Colin Adams, the Unashamed Workman, goes Challies 16 better and lists 20 good reasons to read good Christian books. Here are a few of them

–You will be forced to cease from incessant activity and think
–You will receive a historical perspective on current problems and spot present day blindspots
–You will have some of your questions answered and confront other questions you hadn’t even thought of
–You will be able to practically apply Paul’s command to think upon “wholesome” things

Do you like Bible journaling, sketching things that Bible reading or Christian classics bring to mind? I’m a visual person too. I see all these magnificently illustrated journals and theologically rich blogs and I get intimidated and when I’m intimidated I quit before I start. So if you’re like me, scared of generating huge or fabulous content, write one sentence or sketch one quick scene. Everyone can do that. Even me! Here are two ‘challenges’ along those lines-

The Sketchbook Challenge is a daily draw where you draw, paint, or sketch one quick scene from your day that stands out to you. I think this is a good way to both practice your skills and keep the creativity going. You can adapt this to a quick sketch of a Bible visual. Whatever helps the brain keep flowing! 

Gretchen Rubin wanted to enhance her writing skills, and all writers know that to be a good writer you need to write every day. But she worked and had kids. Busy! So she developed the one-sentence journal. Gretchen says

Instead, each day, I write one sentence (well, actually, I type on the computer) about what happened that day to me, the Big Man and the girls.

She suggests that you can even do a one-sentence journal on a particular topic, your day at work, your divorce, a catastrophic event. In like manner, you can keep a one-sentence journal of your spiritual reactions or insights as you read the Bible or a Christian classic. By the end of the year you’ll have 365 sentences or around 15-20 pages.

Let this be the year you spent 21 days developing a new habit (some say that is how long it takes, others say that it takes longer, but I stick with the 3 weeks because it’s not as intimidating). Read, write, draw, whatever kind of activity you know enhances your mind is the one.

Let’s train and protect our bodies, but also let’s take care of the mind.

What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. (1 Corinthians 14:15).

Posted in discernment, scripture, spiritual armor, spiritual warfare

Have you laid down your sword of the Spirit?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Jesus promised us trials in this world, but He followed that promise with a reminder, He has overcome the world. (John 16:32-33). There are many reasons we undergo trials. Sometimes it’s to count it all joy that we are participating in the trials Jesus underwent. Sometimes it’s because the testing we receive through a trial helps us discern the will of God. (Romans 12:2). Trials produce endurance (James 1:2-4). Testing and trials prove our faith. (1 Peter 1:6-7).

We live on a battlefield, and it isn’t even our home turf we are fighting for. Our home is in heaven, we are strangers and aliens here. Satan wants to subdue us, break us, entice us into a snare and immobilize us. We are warned to remain vigilant (1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 26:41). So we fight, relentlessly, constantly.

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

The Lord didn’t leave us defenseless. He gave us armor. We are outfitted from head to toe, and we hold a mighty sword.

and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Ephesians 6:18)

The sword is specifically the word of God. It is the only offensive weapon in the Christian’s armor. The helmet, breastplate, shield, belt, and shoes are defensive.

The sword mentioned in the verse is not a broadsword. It is a sharp dagger, which all soldiers had at hand.

What happens though is that a Christian may be vigilant for a while, and then he lays down his sword (which is the scripture). He is sitting at the campfire, mending his shoes or polishing his breastplate. The vigilant soldier keeps the sword handy for taking up when the battle heats up again. But some lay it down in the grass, and wander a bit away, looking for daisies to pick, or to follow a butterfly. They wander farther and farther, and then suddenly the battle heats up and they are caught without their only offensive weapon! They go back to try and find it but weeds have sprung up and hidden the sword.

Matthew Henry says,

Those who would prove themselves to have true grace, must aim at all grace; and put on the whole armour of God, which he prepares and bestows. The Christian armour is made to be worn; and there is no putting off our armour till we have done our warfare, and finished our course. (Matthew Henry)

Don’t let too many days go by without reading the Word. When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, He countered with the word. And the fact that the Ephesians verse distinguishes between the two types of swords, the broadsword v. the dagger and specifically used the word for dagger in this case, means that the the Christian is to wield it with precision. Jesus knew exactly which scriptures to use in reply to the devil. A Christian who knows some scripture but not many isn’t going to be an effective soldier nor a good witness.

There is no armor specified for the back, but only for the front of the body; implying that we must never turn our back to the foe (Lu 9:62); our only safety is in resisting ceaselessly (Mt 4:11; Jas 4:7). Jamieson Fausset Brown)

Is your Bible in the weeds, metaphorically? Or is it by your side, in your heart, on your mind? Be a good soldier, and have your offensive weapon ready when trials come. They will come. Jesus promised it. And He always keeps His promises.

 

Posted in theology

Great Cities of the Bible #5: Capernaum

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Damascus, the first city mentioned in the Bible and the oldest continually lived in city in the world. Babylon, majestic city of Mesopotamia, and from whence comes great evil. Rome, dubbed itself the Eternal City, city of Paul’s jailing end demise, and city that will learn who the REAL eternal city is. Jerusalem, the Holy City, where God placed His name and where He will dwell. All dominant cities of the Bible and all worth a look that my meager blog essays that really cannot do justice to. Great Cities of the Bible series is linked below.

Capernaum: Where was it?

I found this 10-minute video about Capernaum to be moving. It’s well done. https://youtu.be/ifTro5uRaT8?si=ELkGopxu5N-kYI7L

Let’s add another city to the four I’ve mentioned and wrote about. Maybe not as large. Maybe not as well known. But it was the city where Jesus chose to establish most of His ministry, performed miracles, taught in the synagogue, and more.

Capernaum was on the north end of the sea of Galilee. It is about 30 miles from the birth town of Jesus, Nazareth. The city calls itself today “The City of Jesus” and that is not far off.  The Gospel writers refer to it as Jesus’ “own city”. In Matthew 9:1 it reads, Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city. Jesus settled in Capernaum, says Matthew 4:13, after He left Nazareth.

Unlike Nazareth which was a backwater, Capernaum was bustling. It was a Roman Tax Center (hence Levi/Matthew’s life there.) The city was the center of fishing and trade. The city of Magdala 6 miles down the coast was in fact much larger than Capernaum, but critically, Capernaum connected to Damascus by road. A milestone found by excavators reads The Emperor Caesar of the divine … showing that Rome considered Capernaum to be a strategic post.

Capernaum was an important fishing town.

When Capernaum is mentioned in the New Testament, it is often in conjunction with the Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:13–22; 8:5–24, Mark 1:16–21; John 6:17, 24).

Though Peter and his brother Andrew were originally from Bethsaida, they were seasoned fishermen by the time Jesus came. The brothers had lived in Capernaum a long time. It is also likely that James and John who were also fishermen, lived in Capernaum also. And we know that Matthew was living there, since he worked the tax post for Rome.

Life in Capernaum

Though there were always tensions between Gentiles and Jews, tensions were much less in Capernaum. It seems that the two groups lived more harmoniously than elsewhere. We see that the centurion highly regarded his slave, but the slave was ill and about to die. The Centurion sent some Jewish elders to Jesus asking them to ask Jesus to heal his slave. The elders did so, approaching Jesus and saying the centurion is ‘worthy’.

“When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.” (Luke 7:4-5)

Photo of synagogue in Capernaum. From Google street view, photo by Jess Alejo

Jesus taught in and around Capernaum for a period of his public ministry. He taught many times in the synagogue. He proclaimed Himself to be “the living bread that came down from heaven” there.(John 6:26–59)

Capernaum in the Gospels: source Logos 9.

Sadly, though Capernaum was Jesus ‘own city’, and despite the teaching, preaching, ministering and miracles done there, along with Chorazin and Bethsaida, Jesus cursed Capernaum.

And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. (Matthew 11:23).

Such is the fate of all who reject the Saving King.

Further Reading

Great Cities of the Bible #1: Damascus
Great Cities of the Bible #2: Babylon
Great Cities of the Bible #3: Rome
Great Cities of the Bible #4: Jerusalem
Great Cities of the Bible #5: Capernaum

What is the significance of Capernaum in the Bible?

Why Was Capernaum Such an Important City in the Bible?

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Kay Cude poetry: Our Fortress Prevails

Posted on by elizabethprata

Poetry by Kay Cude. Used with permission.  Right click on image to open larger in new tab. Or read the text below. Artist’s statement:

I keep returning to our (me!!) needing to “remember” God’s promises and provision. GOD THE I AM is the only fortress in Whom we find a righteous protector, defender and provider. He is the only place of eternal refuge from the world’s continuing tragedies and chaos. He is the stronghold Who is and Who will provide peace, wisdom, understanding, instruction and endurance.

OUR FORTRESS PREVAILS

FACING FEAR:
IN THE MIDST OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE
As waves of fear rolled nearer still, as deep its swell approached us nigh; our hearts near failed as we cried out, “O Lord, Your servants rescue now!” And crashed the waves of terror strong, our lives at risk — we knew death’s tide; yet stilled our hearts Your Glorious Word and on we clung and Truth prevailed.

As deep and dark, as depth of brine, we battled ‘gainst the foe’s onslaught; its torrents fierce as bounding main, — with cruelest rage this foe can slay. Yet in Your Will, O Saviour ours, Salvation’s Light’s our mighty Ark; afloat we stay midst evil’s gale, for You prevail within its rage.

Afloat we ride with knowledge sure, we look ahead with strength not ours; Endurance meets us Face-to-face, ’tis You our Strength our sure Bulwark, The fears we face — our spirit’s gain, makes strong we resolute of heart, to live God’s Will through providence — and triumph through His Will’s Intent. ~kay cude, October 1, 2017


Study Resources:
desiringgod.org/articles/god-s-bright-design-
for-your-bitter-providences

mikeratliff.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/persecution-
is-the-natural-result-of-teaching-or-preaching-
gods-word-without-compromise/

bible.org/seriespage/lesson-61-god-s-providential-
protection-acts-2312-35

gty.org/library/sermons-library/TM13-15/
providence-iisi-remarkable-phil-johnson

OUR FORTRESS PREVAILS
Refer to Psalm 46. FEAR NOT, GOD IS OUR ETERNAL REFUGE AND STRENGTH.
“We will not fear, for God hath willed His Truth to triumph through us; The body they may kill. God’s Truth abideth still, His Kingdom is FOREVER.” ~Martin Luther

IT IS the grace of God through His unfathomable mercy through the power of His predetermined love that urges us to remain and stand in His will concerning providence! WHAT THEN

IS IT that assails our thoughts with such unrelenting vengeance that can tempt us into overbearing fear when trials overtake us?

IT IS not remembering His Word — that He is Sovereign over all circumstances and issues we will encounter during our lives, during our service to, for and through Him…

Art: THE NINTH WAVE, Hovhannes Aivazovsky (1817-1900) PD, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid-21854187

Posted in theology

Of toxic empathy, false zeal, and how satan’s demons masquerade to fool you

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Allie Beth Stuckey published a book that’s out this week, called Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion. The book is making waves and causing a hearty discussion on social media.

That’s good. Stuckey explores the concepts of the current cultural mantras, “love is love”, “trans women are women”, “abortion is health care”, “social justice is justice”, and pointedly, that empathy is not always empathy. Love, justice, empathy are good words, but they can and are appropriated by bad people who use those words to manipulate the people around them, especially Christians. Stuckey wrote in her introduction,

But empathy alone is a terrible guide. It may be part of what inspires us to do good, but it’s just an emotion and, like all emotions, is highly susceptible to manipulation. That’s exactly what’s happening today. Empathy has been hijacked for the purpose of conforming well-intentioned people to particular political agendas. Specifically, it’s been co-opted by the progressive wing of American society to convince people that the progressive position is exclusively the one of kindness and morality. I call it toxic empathy. Source: page xii)

Of course the culture will push back on a Christian re-redefining the words that the progressives have appropriated and redefined. Here we see one reaction-

Mason Mennenga @masonmennenga wrote on Twitter, “if you think empathy is toxic then you’re going to hate this guy named jesus christ“.

According to our own understanding of the word ’empathy’, of course the guy is right. But then again, this is a situation that calls for thought, not knee-jerk reactions such as “Yeah!” then press ‘like’.

The ever wise Ron Henzel @ronhenzel replied to Mennenga, (≠ means ‘does not equal’):

“toxic substance” ≠ “all substances are toxic”
“toxic waste” ≠ “all waste is toxic”
“toxic relationships” ≠ “all relationships are toxic”
“toxic empathy” ≠ “all empathy is toxic“

We must, MUST think things through. Christians are a thinking people, (Philippians 4:8). As Stuckey said, emotions can be manipulated.

Emotions are a part of life. But I bring this to your attention…what were the first emotions seen in the Bible? Shame, guilt, blame. Genesis 3. Satan manipulated Eve’s curiosity into a temptation and we know what happened from there.

Of ‘toxic empathy’, the American writer Flannery O’Connor said,

“If other ages felt less, they saw more, even though they saw with the blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of faith. In the absence of this faith now, we govern by tenderness. It is a tenderness which, long cut off from the person of Christ, is wrapped in theory. When tenderness is detached from the source of tenderness, its logical outcome is terror. It ends in forced-labor camps and in the fumes of the gas chamber.”

AI explains the quote-

This quote, by Flannery O’Connor, argues that modern society, lacking a strong religious faith, governs itself through a detached “tenderness” that, without the grounding of Christ, ultimately leads to horrific consequences like violence and oppression, symbolized by the gas chambers of concentration camps.

And haven’t we seen that? “Love thy neighbor” was the covid-flu mantra pressuring the populace to ingest untested or unwieldy vaccinations, to close down society against common sense, and to become isolated robots. What happened was the elderly were left to die alone and society’s children were impacted negatively for a generation to come. That’s just one example of how progressives used toxic empathy against the people in their society.

Moving away from toxic empathy to examining toxic zeal, Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached a 2 part series on true zeal versus false zeal.

There IS such a thing as false zeal. False Christians who seem so zealous for God are actually not zealous for God. It’s a manufactured zeal cloaking their zeal for themselves, or for satan. See this verse-

Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:1-2).

By this verse we see there is such a thing as a zeal that is not of God. There can be zeal, or fervor, or energy around religious things, but not according to what we know from the Bible. AKA knowledge.

Zeal: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Synonyms: passion, fervor, enthusiasm.

Photo by Luan Cabral on Unsplash

They went across the world to make one proselyte, but wound up making him twice the sons of hell they were. (Matthew 23:15). That verse is the example of zeal without knowledge. You can be passionate, you can be busy making disciples, but a false zeal will make disciples who miss the mark completely and will wind up in hell as a son of hell. Zeal, no knowledge.

Beth Moore has been consistently described through the years as “energetic”, “charismatic”, “passionate”. She puts out an energy as zealous for God. But because we know she is a false teacher, her zeal is without knowledge. She is full of emotion but lacks the tether to the Rock via faith.

She was recently interviewed by Ed Stetzer at Church Leaders. He ended by asking Moore how she prepares for a lesson. I was struck by her answer.

Question: Can you encourage teachers and preachers, especially in this season when it is hard to speak truth and there is a lot of destructive forces that are trying to take down teachers and preachers?

Answer:
“Keep asking the Lord to give you fire in your bones, to teach and preach and communicate the Scriptures so that you can’t keep it to yourself. Ask him for it when it wanes, and it’s going to wane…Nobody just keeps that naturally on their own.“

It’s love for scripture, love for Jesus, that drives the Christian to search the scriptures and then the scriptures fire up that proper zeal.

“Is My word not like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?” (Jeremiah 23:29).

You get a ‘fire in the bones’ when you open up the scriptures!

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?(Luke 24:32).

But Moore said it is important that “we’re not just going to the scriptures to prepare a lesson.“

To be fair, she was talking of the teacher having a right relationship with Jesus as one prepares the lesson. I can intuit that she means not apathetic, in prayerful humility, regular church goer, etc But she didn’t say those things. She just muddily talked of the overflow (whatever that means). Consulting the scriptures is primary. But for the false zealer, it’s secondary. Emotions tops the list.

I was struck by what she said and what she did NOT say. Any thinking Christian must think of both- what is said and what is not said. Moore did not say it was crucial for the leader to pray for perseverance in staying in right doctrine. To ask for moral righteousness. Begging to rightly divide the scriptures. Her reply focused on emotion. ‘Fire in the bones’ (whatever that means) was most important to her because, as we know, she is driven by emotion. Zeal misapplied is false. Zeal untethered from the Rock will lead you nowhere good.

False teachers appear to be doing a religious effort, they look like they are on the right track, and part of that appearance is because of their fervent energy.

The Bible says that satan and his demons masquerade as angels of light. That means behavior, outward appearance. The thinking Christian must look deeper.

Do not fall for toxic empathy. Do not mistake toxic zeal for righteous fervor. Above, all, THINK!

Lloyd-Jones’ sermon can be heard here, for free: True Zeal and False Zeal: A Sermon on Romans 10:1-2. Or on Youtube with closed captions (which might help due to his accent).

Further Reading

Real Zeal vs. False Zeal part 1

Real Zeal vs. False zeal part 2

Here is a good article on turning information into knowledge by Rick Holland.

Here in this article What do you think about emotional sensationalism in the modern church? Stephen Nichols of Ligonier says there are valid emotions, but “especially in the American church, we seem to be very susceptible to this. There is a difference between emotion and emotionalism.”

Posted in theology

Prata Potpourri: Work, Eschatology, Discernment, the Universe, Ladies who teach…more

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Fall is here, the season I wait for all year. In New England where I’d lived for 46 years, fall was fleeting. Two weeks of vivid leaves and nice temperatures, then after Columbus Day the wind and rain came and washed it all away. You were left with cold, dark, drizzly remainder of fall then struggled all wintr to stay warm, to not drive off the icy road, and to shovel, shovel, shovel.

In Georgia fall lasts longer. The break from summer heat is a joy, and though the leaves are not as vivid, at least you can go outdoors and not freeze while you’re looking at them.

Fall also means the thoughts turn to Reformation Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! It’s a great season. The only struggle I have is to resist turning on the heat. How long can I go? The buffer month between paying for air conditioning and paying for heat is one I like to stretch, paying for nothing. Now, where is my sweatshirt?

Here are some interesting links I’ve rounded up for you this week. Enjoy!

I love thinking about work and God. He gives us work to do and in it we can minister to others, praise Him, and sustain ourselves so we can eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10). I found this short series out of The Master’s Seminary called Thinking Biblically. The series is called Thinking Biblically About Business and Work by Dr. John Beck. Two ten-minute videos help shape our thinking about our vocation, job, or employment. Even if you are not in a job that is personally fulfilling, career-oriented, or even well paying, we still can and do praise God for it, because we don’t just work for the weekend, we work for God.

Thinking Biblically About Business and Work

What did Jacob see? What was this ladder? The guys from G3 have an interesting article about this fascinating scene from the Old Testament:

But the most important part of this vision is not the ladder or even the angels, but the fact that God himself stands at the top of the ladder, as stated in verse 13. This indicates that God is the source of the connection between heaven and earth. He alone is the one who bridges the gap, not human effort or works.

What was Jacob’s Ladder?

I love language, words, and expressing one’s self in writing. I enjoyed tis to-the-point essay from Cody Libolt on the evolution away from pointed phrases to acceptance of the watered down version. He does a clear job explaining the real meaning behind these phrases and shows what we have lost when we adopt them: Six Bad Catch-phrases Explained

“Discernment Ministries” love ’em or hate ’em, they certainly generate a lot of ink on both sides. I do a lot of discernment (in addition to historical living essays and encouragement). But I do not apologize for doing discernment, nor am I embarrassed. However, there is always the danger of becoming unbalanced. I wrote about that here, especially in reference to eschatology. Eschatological ministries usually tend to go off-center, followed closely by discernment ministries.

In this 55 minute video, Midwest Christian Outreach Inc. led by Don Veinot and Don Henzel with guest Rudolph Boshoff from Ad Lucem Ministries, the men discuss “Guarding the flock was given as instructions to the pastors and elders in the First Century. Jesus warned us to beware of false prophets. All of the New Testament, with the exception of Philemon, addresses heresy and false teachers. Apologetics and defense of the faith are biblical, but all of those were part and parcel of church life with accountability. The call for discernment seems to have birthed a sort of apologetics industrial complex of discernment ministries. But are they servants or cowboys?“

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midwestchristianoutreach/videos/434269662813632

Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/live/d6pyIXpP0yg?si=bPaTe6N6ATht2zgQ

And speaking of discernment, and speaking of solid ministries. Todd Friel of Wretched interviewed Justin Peters recently. 10-min, enticingly titled, If You Want to Have Better Discernment, Watch THIS

I enjoyed this from Allen Nelson IV, and if you aren’t following him on Twitter why aren’t you?

Ken Ham @aigkenham of Answers in Genesis wrote this on Twitter (X) on but if you do not have Twitter I am posting it here.

Over the 40 years I’ve been involved in the Answers in Genesis ministry, I’ve had many Christians/Christian leaders accuse me of saying a person had to believe in six literal days of creation and a young earth to be saved. Such an accusation is simply not true and can be documented as false from my many talks and articles I’ve written over the years clearly showing I have never equated salvation with believing in a young earth and literal creation days. What my accusers don’t like is the fact I speak with authority on what Genesis clearly says. They want me to allow other views. But there’s only one view, God’s Word as written. Now salvation is conditioned upon faith in Christ, not what a person believes about the age of the earth or days of creation. People respond saying it’s not an important issue then. But, even though it’s not a salvation issue, it’s a very important matter indeed, as it’s one of authority. It’s a biblical authority issue—and that’s a first order issue! They are putting man’s word over God’s Word and making man the authority, not God. Sadly, many pastors and Christian academics have taught generations of young people this. In doing so, they’ve unlocked a door that one can take man’s word over God’s Word. So if you can take millions of years and reinterpret God’s Word, why not take man’s word on marriage and gender and reinterpret God’s Word to allow gay “marriage,” etc. And this is happening. Over the years because so many Christian leaders have compromised God’s Word in Genesis, many have been led to doubt God’s Word, and that doubt leads to compromise and unbelief. We can and should speak with authority on Genesis, just as we can with the rest of Scripture because it is the infallible Word of God! “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”” (Romans 3:4)

If you’re confused, curious, or concerned about which eschatological stance to beleive/follow/adopt, here is Mike Vlach, a noted theologian of eschatology, with a video titled “3 Millennial Views Compared and Contrasted: Premillennialism, Amillennialism, and Postmillennialism“. It’s 28 minutes.

And because the harvest super moon, aurora northern lights, and the visible comet are all in the news, here is more about our fantastic universe that God created and Jesus sustains! Did you know the Red Planet has blue rocks?

Yes, the Mars Rover is still roving: Perseverance Rover Spies Incredible Blue Rocks on Mars and Makes Incredible Discovery

If you’re of a mind to delve into UK country life, here is a video from the UK’s magazine Country life showing the world’s most amazing theater. And it’s seaside. AND it’s made by hand by a lady who decided to, well, carve a theater into the Cornish cliffs next to her home.

https://content.jwplatform.com/previews/berzrNKJ

Posted in theology

What a comfort the Psalms are!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Psalms are personal, warm, and human. As Joni Eareckson Tada said, “The Psalms wrap nouns and verbs around our pain better than any other book.“

Here is Psalm 32:10, one verse out of the 2,461 verses in all of the Psalms.

The sorrows of the wicked are many, But the one who trusts in the LORD, goodness will surround him.

Charles Spurgeon in his commentary on the Psalms called The Treasury of David, wrote of Ps 32:10,

Faith is here placed as the opposite of wickedness, since it is the source of virtue. Faith in God is the great charmer of life’s cares, and he who possesses it, dwells in an atmosphere of grace, surrounded with a body-guard of mercies.

As Robert Godfrey said in his book Learning to Love the Psalms (teaching series and workbook available at Ligonier)

“In the Reformation, the recovery of the Bible for all in the church meant also a recovery of the Psalms. Luther had learned the Psalms early as a monk and continued to love them. He called the Psalter “a little Bible,” saying, “The Psalter ought to be a precious and beloved book, if for no other reason than this: it promises Christ’s death and resurrection so clearly and pictures his kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom-that it might well be called a little Bible.”

The value of the Psalms (aside from being God’s perfect word, of course) is that “…the Psalter explained the life they lived in relation to both the wicked who opposed them and to the God who sustained them,” said Godfrey.

As we are living in such a turbulent period of our human history here on earth, and as it is likely to become more turbulent in the days and months ahead, remember the Psalms. All of God’s word is sufficient for reproof, teaching, correcting, training in righteousness, but the Psalms allow us to sink into comfort like no other book. Stand firm on where to turn for help and comfort.

Martin Luther loved the Psalms. He said, “The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea driven about by winds blowing from all four corners of heaven. The Book of Psalms is full of heartfelt utterances made during storms of this kind. Where can one find nobler words to express joy than in the Psalms of praise or gratitude? In them you can see into the hearts of saints as if you were looking at a lovely pleasure-garden, or were gazing into heaven. How fair and charming and delightful and the flowers you will find there.“

‘Heartfelt utterances’, Luther said. Do we sometimes forget that the Bible is populated with real people who endured real pain, trials, and successes? We will meet them one day. Until then, we can ‘meet’ them in the pages of God’s holy word, to see their humanity and perhaps to see ourselves in it too; and to learn how they turned to God for help in of trouble. Our God is a very present help.

Troubles don’t change, because sinners don’t change. Life in Luther’s time, life in Paul’s time, life now, all the same. They dealt with wicked rulers and leaders, injustice, apathy, rejection, atheism, idolatry, beatings, wars, famine…the list is endless of the troubles humans endure on this earth. The Psalms give us a taste of our union with former believers and the view of God’s help in them.

As Spurgeon wisely said,

May it be given to us of the Lord at all times to believe in the mercy of God, even when we cannot see traces of its working, for to the believer, mercy is as all-surrounding as omniscience, and every thought and act of God is perfumed with it. The wicked have a hive of wasps around them, many sorrows; but we have a swarm of bees storing honey for us.

Remember that in the days ahead.

Posted in theology

Spiritual accounting that counts for nothing

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I often take stock. Taking stock is something we do ‘to
review or make an overall assessment of a particular situation, typically as a prelude to making a decision‘ as it’s defined.

Sometimes the process is called “personal inventory,” when we go through some self-examination to reflect on one’s thoughts, actions, motivations, and other aspects of yourself. In other words, How’m I doing in life?

People go through a spiritual accounting as well. I used to do that before I was saved, and of course, after I was saved too. But though the process is the same, the outcome is totally different.

The main difference is the pronoun. Before salvation if one takes stock, every item in the spiritual inventory will begin with “I”, as in I did this or I did that. Afterwards, it focuses on “You” as in Jesus, the Redeemer. Let’s take a look at some examples from scripture.

The Rich Young Ruler. First of all, notice his emphasis even in the beginning, his question focused on himself:

“Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). Jesus answered, referencing the Commandments, and the Rich Young Ruler replied, And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” (Luke 18:21).

EPrata photo

His was a spiritual accounting that was of no account.

Of course, we are all familiar with the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees. Let’s review the Pharisee at the Temple.

The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ (Luke 18:11-12)

Did you notice the verse in the NASB says the Pharisee prayed in regard to himself? The focus (and the pronoun) is I-I-I.

Saul before he was Paul, prior to salvation, thought he was earning his way to heaven with all his spiritual deeds,

If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. (Philippians 3:4-6).

Before salvation it was all about him, wasn’t it? But Paul found out different, didn’t he? His spiritual accounting was based on wind.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; (Isaiah 64:6).

Boasting in one’s self displeases God, but relying on God does please Him.

Job’s spiritual accounting changed from the beginning of the book to the end, where Job, though spoken of as a righteous man by God, finally acknowledged his inadequacy.

Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes. (Job 42:6).

Humility. Focus is on God. Not self.

The Tax Collector near the Pharisee who was boasting in himself, had a total focus on God and a right view of himself. He knew he was a sinner, he knew he was unworthy.

But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!‘ (Luke 18:13).

In all of Paul’s post-conversion pleadings, his repentance and please were bundled into one word, CHRIST.

In our repentance, in our prayers, when we take stock or do a spiritual accounting, let us (me) be focused on our Good Savior, the only good, the only worthy, the only One who can receive our prayer AND do something about it- Jesus, The Trinitarian Godhead persons who delight in humility and penitence.