Posted in beth moore, jesus callng, journaling, sarah young, spiritual formation

Is Christian journaling good or bad? Is it a ‘spiritual discipline’? Is it part of ‘spiritual formation’?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Lots of women and not a few men keep journals. Writers wouldn’t be caught dead without a notebook of some kind to record the good quote, stray thought, or burgeoning story.

Some of the greatest known literature are from diaries: the Diary of Anne Frank which became a first hand account of Nazi Germany’s oppression. The Diary of Samuel Pepys is another example of a man’s private thoughts which became historical window which generations of subsequent people can now look through. The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century, and is as Wikipedia states, “one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London.”

We know what happened to Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted because Pliny the Elder’s journal. Mark Twain’s travel journal through Europe and the Holy Land with a group of American travelers in 1867 became the best selling of Twain’s works during his lifetime and one of the best selling travel books of all time. Diaries are wonderful sources for historical record and travel advice.

In the Christian spheres, Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, kept a diary and also wrote letters constantly. Those became his autobiography after he died. The great theologian Jonathan Edwards kept a journal. In it, he penned his famous 70 resolutions. As the pastors say at the Netherlands Heritage Reformed Congregation, “these resolutions were birthed out of his felt weaknesses and known deficiencies, not his personal attainments. They represent, therefore, his sanctified, biblically-conditioned aspirations.”

Journaling has always been popular, for many different reasons, as we see above. Over the last few years, journaling for Christian reasons has made a comeback. Christians are told to keep track of thoughts in a journal. This activity is now variously called spiritual discipline, spiritual formation, or Christian journaling.

Is journaling good? Is journaling bad? Must I do journaling to “partner” with God in order to advance my sanctification? Does journaling aid the Holy Spirit? Let’s take a look at the pluses and minuses of Christian journaling.

When I first started out as a babe in sanctification, I was involved in some hobbies of a visual nature. I was taking classes in bookbinding and paper arts. As a result, I was making a lot of blank books. I put them to use by extending my creative impulses into a spiritual journal with collages representing my thoughts and interpretations of various verses which had captured my attention. It was a way to keep thinking about certain verses, keep my hands busy, and satisfy my creative urges. Here is a sample.

In my case, the visual journals were an outgrowth of my devotionals. I’d read the word, think about the word, and respond to the word. As Compelling Truth explains about devotionals:

“Daily devotionals also teach us truth. When we spend time in God’s Word, we gain wisdom and understanding. It has been said that the best way to recognize a counterfeit is to study the real thing. Satan is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). If we are not steeped in God’s truth, we are more easily duped. When we know the truth, we experience freedom (John 8:32). Daily spending time with God is a way to worship Him. Time is a limited resource. What we spend our time on is an indication of what we value. When we spend time with God, we demonstrate that we value Him. We claim that He is worthy of attention and of praise.”

So some people use a journal as a response to the Word in their daily devotions. Others use journaling to pray.

John MacArthur gives an example here of a famous Christian Henry Martyn and how he used his journal to pray. Martyn was a British-born man who became a Christian missionary in India.

“He arrived in India in April 1806, where he preached and occupied himself in the study of linguistics. He translated the whole of the New Testament into Urdu, Persian and Judaeo-Persic. He also translated the Psalms into Persian and the Book of Common Prayer into Urdu.” (Wikipedia).

Martyn took a fever and died a mere six years later, but his efforts on the entire Indian continent were tremendous. He wrote in his journal, “Let me burn out for God.” As Christianity.com stated, “Martyn compressed a lifetime of service into those six years.”

So, many people use their journals as a prayer journal. They write out prayers, or keep track of prayer requests in their journals.They use their journal to remember their reaction to certain situations to keep the flame of fervor alive for that particular prayer.

In his sermon, Characteristics of a Fervent Prayer Life, John MacArthur said,

It reminds me of Henry Martyn when he went to India and went into the Hindu temple for the first time and was so shook by his experience that he burst into tears. He wrote in his journal he ran top speed out of that Hindu temple and wrote, “I cannot endure existence if Jesus is to be so dishonored.”

He saw all of that as a dishonoring of Lord Jesus Christ, and that set him to prayer for the nation of India that the Gospel might be spread across that nation and God would not be continually dishonored there. … That’s the kind of prayer that gets answered. Prayer generated by the Word of God, grounded in the will of God, characterized by fervency, realized in self-denial, identified with others, strengthened in confession, that depends on God’s character and that pursues, ultimately, God’s glory. That’s how we pray.

That’s how we journal, too.

Martyn’s reaction to the deep paganism he encountered in India sparked a fervent response in his journal with a blazing, written exhortation to always pray for the people he was evangelizing.

Journals from others an be inspiring. Martyn had been deeply moved by reading the journals of David Brainerd, the Puritan missionary in North America who passionately labored among the Native Americans in the cause of Christ. Journals of old read by people today can be inspirational, moving, and catalyzing. We read how they struggled, how the Spirit used them, and for some of us the baton swings from their journal to our hearts as the Lord sets a fire in us. However, would the Holy Spirit had used Martyn’s fervency if he had not kept his reactions contained in a prayer journal? Yes.

Eventually I left off the bookbinding and paper arts. You know how hobbies come and go in your life. But I was still left with a lot of blank books. While those lasted, I simply wrote down my thoughts about the verses.
In the journal above, I am trying to figure out from the bible about the different resurrections.

The problem comes in the internal motivation for keeping a journal. The problem comes with the external impetus for keeping a journal. In today’s atmosphere of increasing mysticism (‘I’m not growing unless I hear from God’) combined with legalism (‘I’ve got to DO something to enhance my spiritual walk’) we are now hearing from people that we must journal in order to hear from God. They say not only that is it a must-perform “discipline” but is in fact a two way street of communication with God.

Journaling should not be a method to keep track of what God says to you. We use the bible for that. This is where journaling goes awry. Be aware: the line is very thin.

John MacArthur explains why the current definition of spiritual formation is false.

“In Christian circles, spiritual formation refers to more than mere academic instruction. Most often, it’s a reference to the dynamic means of sanctification. It deals with the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit and the various methods He uses to bring about spiritual growth in our lives. It’s at this point things can become confusing.

On one hand, there are the time-tested, practical Christian disciplines we’re all familiar with—things like personal and corporate Bible study, worship, prayer, discipleship, and service. On the other hand, many of the leading voices in the spiritual formation movement stress the need for more intuitive interpretations of spirituality. They encourage believers to incorporate a wide variety of extrabiblical spiritual practices, such as contemplative prayer, silence, meditation, creative expression, [Ed Note: creative expressions such as praise dance & journaling] and yoga. In fact, some of the most popular methods of spiritual formation have been lifted from Catholicism, new age mysticism, or other religions and rebranded with biblical-sounding terminology. But any kind of subjective spirituality that draws your focus away from the Lord and His truth can have disastrous results, derailing your spiritual growth and cutting you off from God’s plan for your sanctification.” 

Too often these days, the phrase “spiritual formation” or “spiritual disciplines” are code for man-made methods methods that delude us into thinking that if we perform them correctly that we will increase in spiritual formation and thus, sanctification. But sanctification is imposed on us by the Spirit and does not emanate from within us by what we do. Being enraptured by our own thoughts we’d put down in a journal does not sanctify us. It’s just spiritual navel-gazing.

Compelling Truth explains:
The intent of Christian spiritual formation is to facilitate the Holy Spirit’s inward transformation of our hearts, which is reflected through our outward behaviors … Specific practices of Christian spiritual formation include disciplines such as prayer, meditating on Scripture, worship, study, and service. Some also engage in spiritual direction, or receiving spiritual counsel or mentorship. The methods used are modeled after the practices and behaviors of Christ and those of the early church.

Journaling then, is not a two way process. Journaling is for the disciple: to keep track of thoughts, response to verses, prayer requests, to mark personal growth, whatever edifies you. It in no way is partnering with God or hearing from God. We already heard from God and all that He wants us to know of Him is in the bible (and He also revealed Himself generally in creation- but the goal of creation is to point to Christ, (Colossians 1:15-18).

The problems come not only when we’re told that we must journal, but when we’re told how. Personal thoughts and private responses then become externally imposed mechanisms and we become merchandise. Marcia Montenegro of Christian Answers for the New Age wrote about spiritual disciplines, including journaling,

Disciplines or Rules?
I also take issue with the concept of “spiritual disciplines,” a term from Roman Catholic monasticism which indicated a salvation by works. And I question the idea that certain Christians can define disciplines for other Christians. Since the Bible does not specify any specific practice as a “discipline,” then I think it is up to each Christian to discover from God’s living word which area he or she may need to focus on and at which point in their lives.

 I do not see biblical validity for “silence and solitude” as disciplines.There is nothing wrong with silence and solitude, and I think they are of value at times, especially if one is praying or reflecting on God’s word. But I don’t think the Bible supports doing these as disciplines. Moreover, “silence” is often a code word for “going within” in order to hear from God.

 Other named disciplines include journaling, fasting, and stewardship. There is no prescriptive basis in the Bible for journaling or fasting as “disciplines” for Christians. There are biblical principles for stewardship of time and money, but is this a discipline? Christians are under grace; the Lord wants us to desire to serve Him, not live by imposed rules, or disciplines as defined by others.

When I ran out of handmade books,
I got a spiral bound notebook from the Dollar Store.

Where did all this journaling come from, anyway? Psychology. In his article, “Uses and Benefits of Journal Writing,”  Roger Hiemstra wrote,

“Journal writing as an instructional or learning tool in adult education has gained cogency during the past three decades. As early as 1965, psychologist Ira Progoff and his colleagues began seeing the value of personal journals in enhancing growth and learning. Progoff believed what he called an “intensive journal process” could “draw each person’s life toward wholeness at its own tempo. . . It systematically evokes and strengthens the inner capacities of persons by working from a non-medical vantage point and proceeding without analytic or diagnostic categories” (Progoff, 1975, p. 9)

Sure- it is good to record evolving insights, promote self-examination, keep track of questions. But the point is, none of that will sanctify you. It might be a response to sanctification, but it is not sanctification. Predators prey on our fears that we might not be growing, or we might not be doing the right things with our walk, engaging in the wrong activities. Here is a recent sales pitch about Christian journaling. You can see that the recent legalistic push to “journal” is already tiring us out.

Artist note: I have journaled off and on for years … and now somewhat addicted to the “Moleskine” notebooks … I am attempting a bit more creative means than just words on paper. photo credit: Bob AuBuchon via photopin cc

Are You a Journaling Dropout?
“Does the mere thought of journaling tire you out? Or does it conjure up spending time you don’t have detailing overly “serious” thoughts and spiritual insights? Perhaps you’ve tried to keep journals in the past—prayer lists, irregular accounts of your spiritual failures and victories, letters to God about your deepest dreams. But let’s face it: While journaling can be an amazing tool to help you record God’s transforming work in your heart, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the process. However, I’ve discovered some creative journaling techniques that have blown me away with their ability to renew joy and intimacy in my relationship with God. So whether you’re tired of your own humdrum attempts to journal, or if you’ve never given it a try because you don’t think of yourself as a “writer,” think again. Have I got some fresh ideas for you!”

I resent someone merchandising my private walk with a sales pitch. Anyway, that’s just me. Do this! Do it this way! Or else! Pay money! Be blown away!

Artist note: Youth Haven Ranch was a great place to capture nature on my camera this past summer. The wild raspberries were perfect for trying macro photography. I love this quote by Thomas Moore. Taking photos and making art are very spiritual activities for me. I am in awe of God’s creativity and His greatness when I am out walking around in nature and taking pictures.photo credit: marynbtol via photopin cc

Now to be fair, in that article one of the tips was to collect quotes from Christian authors, quotes that resonate with you. OK, fine, though remember that your sanctification comes by the bible and the Spirit, not words from other men. But collecting quotes certainly seems OK. In another tip, the author advises us that some people benefit from a ‘Creator’s journal’, by pressing leaves or making sketches of birds or flowers or trees, or photographing nature around us, to remind us of His power and creativity.

But from the same article, we read that her friend had just finished reading a book of dubious distinction and not to be recommended,

“Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, and she was struck by his contention that a lot of churches in America aren’t praying God-sized prayers. So a few years ago, I decided to jot down some “impossible” requests in my journal about everything from the speedy growth of my small group, to godly husbands for some of my single friends, to my desire to lead someone to Christ that year. God has answered each prayer in an amazing way.”

Artist note: My “grandkids”. These kids inspire me
everyday to live out my faith.
photo credit: marynbtol via photopin cc

God-sized prayers? Is there a measuring stick I can use to see if my prayers are the right size? People, every prayer is a God-sized prayer! When I pray for the salvation of someone, that is the HUGEST sized prayer of all, because without God it is impossible to be saved from His wrath! When I pray for my laptop not to break down, or for my corn not to hurt my toe, that also is a God-sized prayer, because I never forget that simply praying is an amazing miracle in itself. It is a further miracle that He listens. It is a further miracle that He answers! It honors God whenever we pray, if we do so in confidence and love and submission to His will.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 
(John 15:7)

Nothing in there about how big the prayers must be. And keeping track of these huge prayers tests God because the expectation of the journaler is that because they are “God-sized”, then He will answer. You’ve crossed into dangerous territory, then.

Quite often, I read that journaling is an ‘invitation” to God, or that engaging in it ‘allows’ God to do some kind of work in you. Like this:

Begin with prayer. Invite God to use your journaling experiences to draw you closer to Him and help you grow as a person. Ask Him to use your journaling to help you discover more about both Him and yourself.

So if I don’t journal then I am not inviting Him into my private life? I won’t discover more about Him? (where I can’t do that anyway outside of the bible). Where it is my experience that is the catalyst for growth, and not His word? Now here is THE danger. I do not grow by my own words on the journal page. To believe that increased sanctification comes by what I write is just an activity that circles the drain. Sanctification needs to come from without.

The key to determining if any activity helps or hinders my sanctification, journaling or not, is this: does it restrain the flesh?

Jonathan Edwards wrote down 70 resolutions in his diary, but that alone was not sanctifying. Edwards spent hours per day in the word, studying, worshiping, praying. He wrote the resolutions to help himself remember what kind of a Christian he wanted to be, and stayed in the Word as the energizing mechanism to move forward in it.

“A false paradigm of sanctification can’t restrain the flesh. So while all paradigms or strategies of sanctification purport to restrain the flesh and make one holy, they don’t do that any more than a false Gospel can save. It is critical that we understand and avoid false paradigms for sanctification. And one of those that is very popular today is called ‘spiritual formation.’ it is an imposing forms of mysticism and self-help and spiritual intuition imposed upon the bible. You can go back to many popular writers not only in the modern times such as Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, but you can go way back to mystics in the Middle Ages who espouse the idea that there is some mystical intuitive capability within a person that causes him- if manipulated correctly- to rise in spiritual formation. This is not a biblical concept.” (source)

Look how easy it is to gravitate from recording your own responses in a journal, to expecting to hear from God, to actually hearing from “God”.

I’d quoted MacArthur way above. Here are exact cases of how and when journaling is “derailing your spiritual growth and cutting you off from God’s plan for your sanctification.”

These three examples are people whose journaling went awry. Beth Moore sat in an empty cabin in When Godly People Do Ungodly Things“, was the result. In her preface she states,

Wyoming, prayed, and waited to hear from God. She says she did, and the book, “

“This book represents one of the most unique writing experiences I’ve ever had with God. Unbenownst to me, He’s been writing each chapter on my heart for several years. When the message for this book was complete, (in His estimation, not mine!) God compelled me to ink it on paper with the force of the Holy Spirit unparallelled in my experience. He whisked me to the mountains of Wyoming where I entered solitary confinement with Him, and in only a few weeks, I wrote the last line.”

It sounds like she had a Philip whisking-away experience (Acts 8:39-40), and wrote inspired scripture, to boot.

Sarah Young opened her journal and expected to hear from God, invited Him, actually, and said she heard back. The book Jesus Calling was the result. (Do you detect a pattern here, these journaling experiences turning into books that make money for the author?)  Julia at Steak & a Bible wrote a review of Jesus Calling,

“This is a root problem of personal revelation — you cannot know for certain that the internal voice you are hearing is God, yourself or from the devil. So she purports to write what Jesus told her, but she had to vet those words to “ensure they are consistent with Scripture.” I have a better idea. Study the actual words of God that have already been given to us. I’m sure there is plenty more in the Bible to challenge, convict, teach and change each and every believer for the rest of their life on earth even without whispers in your mind. In my view, waiting and listening for the voice of God is a recipe for deception.”

Journaling as a personal endeavor is fine, just watch out that you don’t wind up like Neale Donald Walsch, author of “Conversations with God“.

Source: From Matter to Spirit,
The Result of Ten Years’ Experience in Spirit Manifestations

“In the spring of 1992…an extraordinary phenomenon occurred in my life. God began talking with you. Through me. Let me explain. I was very unhappy during that period, personally, professionally, and emotionally, and my life was feeling like a failure on all levels. As I’d been in the habit for years of writing my thoughts down in letters…I picked up my trusty yellow legal pad and began pouring out my feelings. This time…I decided to write a letter to God. It was a spiteful, passionate letter, full of confusions, contortions, and condemnation. And a pile of angry questions….To my surprise, as I scribbled out the last of my bitter, unanswerable questions and prepared to toss my pen aside, my hand remained poised over the paper, as if held there by some invisible force. Abruptly, the pen began moving on its own. I had no idea what I was about to write….Out came….Do you really want an answer to all these questions, or are you just venting? … Before I knew it, I had begun a conversation. … and I was not writing so much as taking dictation.

This is known as channeling, or automatic writing, and it is occult. The same for Beth Moore and for Sarah Young. God is not taking their hand and writing down words.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 
(Hebrews 1:1-2)

Enjoy your journaling. I hope I’ve shown that there is a fine line in the practice. It can benefit you as long as you keep it for the right reasons and motivations. Ask yourself, ‘does it restrain the flesh? Am I expecting a dialogue? Is this journal a response to my growth?’ Journaling can all too easily veer toward a written expression of the mystical and unbiblical practice of contemplative spirituality.

Providence is the means by which we look back over the scope of time and see our growth. Some people need the journal as a visual reminder of where they’d come from. But doing journaling or not doing journaling doesn’t hinder or help the Lord’s Providential working in our lives. And thank goodness for that, for I am a sinful person, stumbling my way to the gates of heaven! All things will work to the good, because the Lord is in control.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Further Reading:

Prayer in evangelism

A Book Review: Donald Whitney’s “Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life” the bible say about holy living

What are the Spiritual Disciplines?

Steps to Sanctification

Posted in dogma, false doctrine, jesus, mary worship, mediator, pope francis, s bible

Pope Francis prays to Mary in Lampedusa

Posted on by elizabethprata

Outside of Catholic circles, you may or may not know that Catholics pray to Mary. They believe she is co-redemptrix. They also believe she was a virgin all her life, that she never sinned, and that she ascended bodily into heaven, where she co-rules with Jesus. All this is false of course. It is blasphemy and idolatry.

Here is the translation of the prayer that Pope Francis prayed today

Pope’s Marian Prayer at Lampedusa
Here is a translation of the Holy Father’s prayer to the Blessed Mother at the conclusion of the Mass celebrated in the island of Lampedusa this morning. Oh Mary, star of the sea, once again we recourse to thee, to find refuge and serenity, to implore your protection and help. Mother of God and our Mother, turn your sweet gaze towards those who face the dangers of the sea everyday to guarantee their families the necessary sustenance for life, to protect the respect of creation, to serve peace between peoples. Protector of migrants and itinerants, assist with maternal care all men, women, and children who are forced to flee their lands in search of a future and of hope. May their meeting with us and our people not become a source of new and heavier slavery and humiliation.

Mother of mercy, ask forgiveness for us who, blinded by selfishness, concerned by our interests and prisoners of our own fears, have become distracted towards the needs and sufferings of our brothers. Refuge of sinners, obtain the conversion of heart for those who generate war, hate and poverty, who exploit their brothers and their fragility, who make an undignified commerce of human life. Model of charity, bless all men and women of good will, who receive and serve those who dock on this land: may the love received and given be a seed of new brotherly ties and the dawn of a world of peace. Amen

The bible says that we are only to pray to God. Jesus is our only intercessor. (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25). The Catholic will explain that prayers to Mary (or requests of Mary to pray for us) are biblically justified, despite the clear command to pray only to Jesus, and the prohibition against communing with the dead. (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13)

In this video, a priest is teaching that because of the scene in Revelation 5:8, where the elders around God’s throne are holding harps and bowls of incense which are the prayers of the saints, that they intercede for us. He also says that in Revelation 8:3-5, that the angels do the same thing, bring our prayers to God. Yet the bible’s Rev 5 scene shows dramatically and clearly that though the elders hold the bowls of prayers, they are offering them to God, not rifling through the bowls themselves to pick a prayer to answer them. And, one would have to place Mary at the seated circle of elders so that she would be holding a bowl, in the first place, which the verse in no way describes.

This Catholic answers web page about praying to Mary states, “Secondly, because Mary was “favoured by God” [Lk. 1:30] when she was personally chosen by the Lord to become the mother of Jesus, God incarnated, Catholics believe that they have a greater chance of obtaining God’s grace for their daily physical and spiritual needs by asking Mary to intercede on their behalf. Thirdly, the above mentioned belief is partially based on the fact that Jesus is the King of kings and Mary, as the mother of the King, is the “queen mother.” Then, when studying Jewish history, it is discovered that the institution of the “queen mother” was established during the reign of King Solomon.”

However, you notice that the queen mother item is a man-made tradition. Nowhere in the bible does it call Mary royalty. As a matter of fact, Paul says simply “Jesus was born of a woman.”(Galatians 4:4)

The Catholic page continues,
In the Old Testament, we learn of the favoured position of the queen mother through the following words, “… then the king sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. Then she said, ‘I have one small request to make of you, do not refuse me.’ And the king said to her, ‘Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.'” [1 Kgs. 2:19-20]

Following the reign of King Solomon, many of the kings kept this practice. The mother of the king, through who the king received his throne, was trusted as a confident and advisor. So important was the function of the queen mothers in the days of the Old Testament that their names were listed in the succession records of the kings of Judah. [See 1 Kgs 14:21, 15:13; 2 Kgs. 12:1, 14:2, 15:2, etc…]

Why not pray to Queen Esther? She really was a queen, AND saved all the Jewish people, something that, after all, Jesus did too. Why not pray to Queen Nitzevet, mother of King David and who was in direct line of the Messiah? Because we should only pray to “Queen Mary,” a Catholic might say? Well, where is that in the bible? You see how far off-track we get when we apply man’s traditions and extra-biblical interpretations on top of the bible.

Similar to the intercession of the Queen Mother, when a child desires a favour and cannot obtain it from his/her parents, frequently the child will make the request to the grandparent to intercede on his/her behalf, therefore obtaining the favour that was being sought. This does not mean that the child is seeking the parental favour from the grandparent. Rather, the child is seeking the intercession of the grandparents before the parents.

Likening a disobedient grandchild manipulating his two grandparents to Catholic Marian intercession is just false on the face of it. The child’s authority are the parents. Period. Going around the parents’ back means you have a disobedient child on your hands, and he should be punished.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (Ephesians 6:1)

Furthermore, Catholics do not differentiate between the living (in this world) and the dead (those who departed) members of the Body of Christ (the fullness of the Church.) The fullness of the mystical Body of Christ is found in the union of all the saints, past and present, here below and those above in Heaven.”

Catholics would have to see the living and the dead as the same for their false construct to hold up, as well as purgatory and indulgences and many other false Catholic doctrines.

For more information explaining why praying to Mary is a blasphemous activity, go here. Here is a snippet:
“The Bible nowhere instructs believers in Christ to pray to anyone other than God. The Bible nowhere encourages, or even mentions, believers asking individuals in heaven for their prayers. Why, then, do many Catholics pray to Mary and/or the saints, or request their prayers? Catholics view Mary and the saints as “intercessors” before God. They believe that a saint, who is glorified in Heaven, has more “direct access” to God than we do. Therefore, if a saint delivers a prayer to God, it is more effective than us praying to God directly. This concept is blatantly unbiblical. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we, believers here on earth, can “approach the throne of grace with confidence.”

I mention the Marian prayer by Pope Francis for two reasons. First, to show how subtly the false religions twist the bible. It takes skill and discernment to see how and why the Catholic stance is incorrect. I listened to the priest three times in that video. Not because I believed him but I wanted a thorough understanding of what he was saying and how he was saying it. He used Revelation 5 very well. He is very plausible sounding. Yet the bible says that the false doctrines will sound plausible.

“I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.” (Colossians 2:4)

Secondly, in this day and age of “tolerance” I want to keep saying all the more boldly and flatly: anyone adhering to these doctrines is not saved and will go to hell if they die believing them. If Pope Francis were to die tonight, he will go to eternal fiery torment in hell. He is a child of hell (Matthew 23:33) and a curse upon the earth. (Galatians 3:10). He is in all likelihood a very nice man, that is not the issue. He is a child of the devil. (1 John 3:10).

How can I say these things with such certainty? No one becomes pope unless they have demonstrated throughout a lifetime of believing, protecting, teaching, and promoting these false doctrines. And tonight we see the fruit: praying to Mary.

I am not happy about the fact that if Pope Francis were to die tonight he would go to hell forever. Not at all. I wish no one would go there. But one must believe on Jesus alone and not a hellish amalgam of grace plus works plus a heavy dose of idolatry and blasphemy in order to be declared righteous before God.

Though I am sad that a man like Mr Jorge Bergoglio is going to hell, I am also upset that he is deluding many millions with these doctrines of demons.

Be careful not to be swayed by fine words using the bible. Be careful not to be drawn away by mystical practices which entice the flesh under guise of spirituality.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”  (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Does Jesus need Mary as prayer buddy because He is too busy? Is she the heavenly secretary, bringing prayers to the overwhelmed CEO because His desk got piled too high? Never let it be so! Does He use Mary because He is distant and unloving? Then He is not God! Does He need Mary because He must be persuaded? Then He is not sovereign!

Jesus is our High Priest, loving, able, compassionate, willing to hear our prayers and grant them if they align with His will. (Hebrews 6:20,  Hebrews 9:11). Jesus paid it all, and He was accepted by God as the one sacrifice for sins, therefore He now performs a most excellent office, Priest, interceding for us. Why would you WANT to pray to anyone else, when we have the most unique Being, the most perfect Judge, the most loving Shepherd, in the entire universe, who knows our name and the very numbers of hairs on our head?!

Love Jesus and love His offices of Priest, Prophet and King. He is the ONLY ROYALTY.

Posted in gog magog, oil, prophecy, russia, syria

Pakistanis hoard food, Australia stikes big oil, Syria crumbles, US mulls military intervention

Posted on by elizabethprata

I think this is a big deal- Netanyahu pondering a massive withdrawal from West Bank.
(Joel 3:2, And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,)

Netanyahu to bring referendum bill up for cabinet vote on Sunday
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to bring in the referendum bill for a cabinet vote on Sunday, and then submit it to the Knesset for a preliminary vote on Wednesday before the parliament disbands for summer recess. The bill stipulates that if an agreement that is reached with the Palestinians calls for Israeli withdrawal from territory, the public would have to approve it in a referendum for it to take effect. Netanyahu is expediting the bill in response to pressure from the right wing, spearheaded by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett.”

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If the Aussies become self-sufficient, or a global oil power, that might make Russia more jealous for the remaining oil in their neck of the woods. Remember the Gog Magog war begins because they come to take a spoil. (Ezekiel 38:12).

Oil find ‘can fuel Australia’
“SOUTH Australia is sitting on oil worth more than $20 trillion, enough for Australia to become a self-sufficient fuel producer. The Advertiser reports Brisbane company Linc Energy yesterday released two reports, based on drilling and seismic exploration, estimating the amount of oil in the as yet untapped Arckaringa Basin surrounding Coober Pedy ranging from 3.5 billion to 233 billion barrels of oil. At the higher end, this would be “several times bigger than all of the oil in Australia”, Linc managing director Peter Bond said. This has the potential to turn Australia from an oil importer to an oil exporter.”

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I feel terrible about people who don’t have enough to eat! Imagine the hoarding and fighting when famine is in the land, and a loaf of bread costs a day’s pay! (Revelation 6:6, Revelation 6:8, Matthew 24:7).

Hoarding drives up food prices in Pakistan
“Prices of food usually rise during the month of Ramadan. But in Pakistan, it is not so much supply shortages that are causing the inflation, but hoarding by criminal gangs. Prices of food usually rise during the month of Ramadan. But in Pakistan, it is not so much supply shortages that are causing the inflation, but hoarding by criminal gangs. With the onset of Ramadan in Pakistan, the Nawaz Sharif government has set up special food markets across the country to provide affordable food items to all. However not all are satisfied with what is on sale, with some complaining about the quality of products and the range of items on sale.”

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Oh, Syria! Syria! What is to be done? (Isaiah 17:1-3a), “Damascus will be destroyed, The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid. The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus”)

Syrian rebels capture key village near Aleppo city
“Syrian rebels seized a strategic village on the edge of the northern city of Aleppo on Monday, activists said, just a day after opposition fighters sustained some of their heaviest losses in months in battles to the south near Damascus. Government troops killed at least 75 rebels in and around the Syrian capital on Sunday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday. It was one of the deadliest single-day tolls for opposition fighters recently.”

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Who do we root for?? No one! Joel Rosenberg’s analysis:

“Who exactly would we arm and assist? We’re talking about a civil war that is pitting Shia radicals (Assad’s regime, Iran and Hezbollah) against “the rebels,” most of whom are Sunni radicals (including al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood forces). I don’t want any of them to win. Are there small numbers of rebels who might be better if they could really come to power? Perhaps. But the fact is they have very limited chances of getting to the top of the greasy pole. Indeed, if the wrong people seize control of Syria, the situation for the Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and the West could actually become much worse.”

Joel Rosenberg again from a different article,

Iran, Hezbollah are actively moving to take over Syria, says new Israeli report.
“A new analysis by an Israeli national security think tank argues that Iran not only sees Syria as strategically vital to the mission of the Islamic Revolution in the Middle East, and is determined not to let it fall into enemy hands, but is thus actively planning to take over the nation of Syria and effectively make it part of sovereign Iranian territory. The report, “Iran’s Plans To Take Over Syria,” suggests upwards of 150,000 troops from Iran, the Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon, and some Shia forces from the Gulf states, are involved in the take over. The report was written by retired IDF Brigadier General Dr. Shimon Shapira and was recently published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.”

And yet, there is still talk of military intervention.

General outlines options for U.S. intervention in Syria
“As the U.S. begins to wind down the war in Afghanistan, some members of Congress are trying to pressure President Obama to take more direct action to stop the bloodbath in Syria. More than 100,000 people — mostly civilians — are believed to have died in the civil war. In a letter to the Senate Armed Services committee, America’s top military officer outlined several possible plans for U.S. intervention. But each plan comes with a heavy price.”

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I can’t remember a time when the headlines were so sick, depraved, atrocious. I know there has always been bad news, but not to this level. And no, these aren’t the worst. I choose not to read or publish the worst.

SHOCK VIDEO: Students sign petition to legalize abortion AFTER childbirth…
Neuroscientists plant ‘false memories’ in brain…
FEDS demand firms turn over passwords…
Small plane crashes into house in Indiana…
Dead body falls from plane preparing to land in Niger…
Train derailment kills 77 in Spain…worst disaster in 40 years…
North Korea floods leave 23,000 homeless, crisis worsens…

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I don’t have any prophetic insight, all that is contained in the bible, so you know what I know and I know what you know. But the spiritual pregnant pause is excruciating. The pressure is intense, it seems to me. Does it feel like something big is about to happen, or what?

Jesus has it all in hand. He is on His throne. Blessedly, we were given a glimpse of it! Truly, I can’t stop thinking about this scene

The Throne in Heaven

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.”

You know, WE WILL SEE THAT! If you are in Christ, born again and thus saved from the wrath of God, you will be in front of that throne, and Jesus will smile at you and say, “well done good and faithful servant, welcome home.”

Posted in muon, mystery, universe

Shape-shifting muons solve problem of antimatter?

Posted on by elizabethprata

A new discovery.

Strange particles shape-shift from one flavor to another
“Exotic particles called neutrinos have been caught in the act of shape-shifting, switching from one flavor to another, in a discovery that could help solve the mystery of antimatter. … The discovery opens an intriguing avenue for studying antimatter, the strange cousin of matter that’s mysteriously missing in the universe.”

Why does this matter? ha ha. Here is the Telegraph UK:

“We need to look back to the start of the universe, 13.7 billion years ago, to explain why this is important. In the moments after the Big Bang, the universe – according to our understanding – consisted of equal parts matter and antimatter. If that is the case, we should expect that the two would annihilate each other, but they did not. Almost all the antimatter in the universe is long gone, but somehow, we were left with enough matter to create a working universe. That would make sense if there were some difference between antimatter and matter which meant that antimatter disappeared more readily. But it is a fundamental feature of modern physics, stretching back to Dirac’s equations, that antimatter and matter are symmetrical. “Any hint of symmetry-breaking would require a serious rethink of our understanding of nature,” says Prof Hangst. “But half of the universe has gone missing, so some kind of rethink is on the agenda.” Indeed, the very fact of our existence is one of the greatest mysteries facing modern physics.”

“A key goal of antimatter physics, then, is to find out what the asymmetry – or difference between matter and antimatter – is.”

Yeah, but then the question of the shape-shifting muons becomes, HOW do the muons know WHEN to change? Mua ha ha! Or is that “Muon ha ha?!”

Posted in itching ears, jesus calling, sarah young, sound doctrine

Reaction to the book "A Christian Rebuttal to Sarah Young’s ‘Jesus Calling’ "

Posted on by elizabethprata

Sarah Young wrote a successful book titled “Jesus Calling.” The book’s blurb states,

After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her.  It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue.  She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God.  Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages.  They are written from Jesus’ point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling.  It is Sarah’s fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.”

I reviewed Jesus Calling here, and here. 

“Journaling” is a new kind of activity that the New Agers are calling a spiritual discipline. Beth Moore does it, that is, she listens for God and accepts the force that comes and guides her very hand into writing things that are not from her own brain. I am not making this up. You can learn more about why journaling to listen for God, is not a spiritual discipline but in fact is a false spiritual activity.

In any case, this blog entry is not about Sarah Young’s book. It is about reaction to criticism of Sarah Young’s book. Pastor Robert Allen King wrote “A Christian Rebuttal to Sarah Young’s ‘Jesus Calling‘” and released it on Kindle. A slim volume, the book goes through

“Young’s erroneous method of placing her own personal reflections and meditations from her quiet time with God into the mouth of Jesus, infusing them with a false divine authority that will mislead her readers. The booklet will also go over the false teachings and incorrect theological concepts that have been presented to the world under the guise of approval by Jesus.“

The reviews were immediately negative, and oh so familiar in content and tone. Here are the titles of each review. The content of each review goes on in similar vein as you’d imagine from reading its  heading:

“Another person trying to kill hope”
“Arrogant and Jealous”
“How Dare You?”
“So Very Sad”
“A “Christian” Rebuttal?,” [Note the scare quotes around the word Christian]
“How sad for you”
“What a ***”
“Pray for Alan King! He needs to hear the voice of God through Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling!”
“stop the criticicizm” [sic]

The reviews ran 2-1 against.

Chris Rosebrough posted the following tonight:

I have no further deep theological insight into this, other than to remark that this is to be expected and to encourage you all.

First, the bible:

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, (2 Timothy 4:3)

This verse has always been true since they were written 2000 years ago. It is no different today. Except it is.

In terms of speed with which the tide has turned, I’ve never seen it pile on faster than it is now, and today it is piling on faster than yesterday and tomorrow will be faster than today. Each day the heated rhetoric and the hate against Christians from people who call themselves Christians is getting hotter and hotter, higher and higher. Daily, it seems, the vitriol against speaking the truth in love is rising. No one seems to be allowed by the liberal or false element to judge, discern, criticize; nor to compare a speech, sermon, or work to scripture. None of that. We are supposed to accept anything and everything as long as the name “Jesus” is attached. Unquestioningly and wholly.

“They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.” (Isaiah 30:10)

Please never stop preaching the truth in season and out of season. Please never stop comparing works to scripture to see if these things are true. Please never stop speaking up FOR Jesus, and His truth which He died to offer to the saints once for all.

Expect vitriol, but that is no matter, because Jesus is coming soon. And then, expect glory.

Posted in facebook, hoax, Pastor Jeremiah Steepek, test all things

(UPDATED) Pastor Jeremiah Steepek: I’m a French model, and they can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true

Posted on by elizabethprata

(Update at bottom)

I do quite a bit of work on Facebook, keeping up with friends (in exactly the way my Asperger heart enjoys keeping up with them- at a technological distance, lol), do some witnessing and a lot of encouraging.

Quite often, depressingly often, someone will re-post what, at least to me, is an obviously a hoax. The tropes and tripes are constantly circulating. They used to come fast and furious via email, with forwarding to mass numbers of friends on contact lists. Today it’s Facebook and sometimes Twitter. It is a wonder that the social media hoax-investigative outfit, Snopes, doesn’t self combust with the overload. There are virus email hoaxes, giveaway email hoaxes, charity hoaxes, bogus warnings, email petitions, protests over things that aren’t even real, email chain letters, celebrity email hoaxes, prank emails, fake celebrity death notices, and on and on and on. If people want to be taken in by the Nigerian Prince who needs money or the bogus warning about the parking lot stalker, so be it. Youse guys pays yer money and youse takes yer chances.

The hoaxes that circulate so widely are never usually religion-oriented so my irritation at seeing the one that is circulating now is greater than usual. It is this:

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek (pictured below) transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service….only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food….NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

 As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation… “We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek”….The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation…..The homeless man sitting in the back stood up…..and started walking down the aisle…..the clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him….he walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment….then he recited

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

 After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning…many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame…. he then said….Today I see a gathering of people……not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples…when will YOU decide to become disciples? He then dismissed service until next week…….Being a Christian is more than something you claim. It’s something you live by and share with others.

“OK”, I thought when I first saw this, “it is probably a hoax.” Do I possess X-ray vision to see behind the LCD screen to detect the “HOAX” watermark? No. Did the Spirit audibly tell me? No. Am I telepathic? No. How or why can a person see almost immediately that this is a hoax, then? Because I thought about it, deconstructed it, and decided that this didn’t really happen. I didn’t say anything on FB but left it up to its own cyclical trajectory to see where it went. Today Snopes published their research conclusion, “Erm, nice story, not so very true.” Hoax Slayer found the same.

How could you tell this wasn’t going to be a true thing? Many reasons.

First: the dirt on the man looks real. Do the homeless in tv shows ever really look homeless? No, and that is because it takes a long time to get grime under the first layer of skin cells to become an almost permanent member of your body. There is a look to homelessness that comes from months and years of no access to proper sanitary conditions. The man in the photo looks homeless. Absolutely. And it turns out, that he is.

Snopes: “Additionally, the photograph of “Pastor Jeremiah Steepek” that accompanies the online version of this story is actually a picture of an unidentified homeless man snapped by photographer Brad J. Gerrard in Richmond (London): “I was walking down the street in Richmond, saw this man talking to someone, could see he was quite a picture in the making. On the way back, when he was free I had a short conversation with the gentleman and he agreed to let me photograph him. I liked the result. He was very friendly.”

No pastor is going to be able to fake a real look to homelessness with that much authenticity between the time he is hired and the time he has to show up on the first Sunday. Never mind the clothes, which also looked authentic. And never mind the beard and the hair. It takes a while for hair and beard to grow that shaggy, even if a pastor had a beard and long hair in the first place. How long does he have between the job acceptance and the first sermon? Months? No hardly ever. If a church needs a pastor they need him now.

I lived in a VW Camper van in the desert for three months, and on a sailboat for two years, I know about grime, and what happens when you go long stretches without full immersion in hot water. Even though we took sponge baths and showered in marinas, the first time we stayed in a hotel, about four months out, I had to take two baths, soaking for almost an hour total before the water was clean.

Secondly, the hoax includes the little detail that that it was a large congregation, likely to dilute the first thing that would come to our mind when reading this- wouldn’t somebody recognize him? Well, even in a large congregation of 10,000, the answer is yes. The elders who hired him, the associate pastor who would have been there to introduce him, all the men that knew him from the interviews and the practice/interview sermon, would have recognized the man. Even worse, is that the story as written says that the “elders were in on this”, so, the pastor not only lied but put a stumbling block in front of his brothers and caused them to lie too.

That was the physical evidence.

Let’s look at the biblical evidence. Is this kind of thing likely to happen? The answer to this is no.

To pull off a scene like this, a pastor would have had to lie, perpetrate the lie over time, and fool people. Is a pastor who loves Jesus going to begin his tenure with the flock he is hired to protect going to TRICK THEM? EMBARRASS them? USE THE BIBLE for a gotcha moment? Use the pulpit to turn attention to himself instead of Jesus? Of course not. If he was hired then it must have been deemed that he was a bible-loving man, and the elders had adhered to this:

“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach,” (1 Timothy 3:1-2).

Above reproach meaning not a liar and a trickster.

Is a pastor going to abuse the pulpit, a section of sacred ground to pull off a trick that hurts people? No.

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

Did Jesus come in secret and by subterfuge, trick the people into self-examination? No this scene would be an abuse.

“‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.(Jeremiah 3:1).

A man after Jesus’ own heart would not be a liar and a trickster, teaching by subterfuge.

“Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.” (John 18:20)

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

And if the man the elders had hired was a wolf, a false shepherd, he would not care about the homeless and not deign to dress down in the first place.

People, don’t accept these things but test all things. (1 John 4:1). Don’t say to yourself, ‘it did happen.’ But say “did it happen? Are these things true?” (Acts 17:11).

Now, it certainly is a nice parable. It presents a picture in our minds that is really relevant and quite vivid. What would I have done in that situation? Am I showing partiality? How would I respond if a homeless person came to my church? All that is good.

But alternately, we must also ask questions about the scene as if it was your pastor who did that, and a newly hired one, too. “Would a pastor trick us? Is this how he plans to teach us as our shepherd? Is it right to abuse the pulpit to make a point? If he lied once, will he pull another one again? Is this the basis on which we forge a relationship?”

One other thing: the pictured real homeless man is a real person, but the someone who started this hoax is using him to perpetrate a lie. I don’t like that.

Conclusion: “If that trope about “Pastor Steepek is true, then I’m a French Model.” Bon jour.

Update–

The Blaze weighed in this morning

The man in the photo has a name, it is Surrey, and he abides in Richmond England. Here is photographer Brad Gerrard’s flickr page with the same photo of the man that is supposedly Pastor Jeremiah Steepek but is not.

And amazingly, this story is resonating wildly- two hours after I posted my deconstruction of it last night, the post received 1,600 hits. That was between 10:00 and midnight, no less. This morning it is climbing rapidly over 2,000. Only a few times in five years has a post I published garnered so much attention so quickly. (Man spends his savings in advance of the rapture, Comet Elenin, Sideways necklace, and Ghost Horse of Tahrir Square). As always, my goal is not just to report what is happening, but how to critically think about it through the filter of a biblical worldview.
———————

Further reading

This blogger did a good job of deconstructing it too.

Posted in actionjones, animations, chris powers

ActionJones and his videos and art

Posted on by elizabethprata

Thanks to Sunny Shell on Facebook, I learned of Action Jones (Chris Powers) and his animations. As Sunny wrote,
“This is an incredibly talented young man (Action Jones) who draws great animation to biblical truth. “All I Have is Christ”

I watched it and it is incredibly moving. Please give it a watch and get the tissues.

His blog is at Full of Eyes. He states, “Please feel free to share, download, and distribute any of this media for the furthering of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” He has videos, art, and a Gospel tract for free.

His gallery is here. This piece is called “Judgment”

 Aren’t we blessed to have such a Savior who took all of God’s wrath for us?!?!

Posted in listening, preaching, sermon

How to listen to a sermon: part 2 "Expository Listening".

Posted on by elizabethprata

Yesterday I’d posted a piece called How to listen to a sermon: part 1 “The mechanics of listening”. It examined the surface elements of how to listen and looked at what distracts us from listening well. Listening is a skill that needs to be practiced and honed, actively. The ultimate goal of a good listening is to be able to listen to a sermon and to the man preaching it, to the highest ability we possess.

Expository listening goes deeper. I am going to take portions from Ken Ramey’s book “Expository Listening” and present them for your consideration. His book is a handbook of biblical listening and I found it to be very helpful. The blurb on the back of the book states,

“In many people’s mind, if they don’t get anything out of a sermon, it’s the preacher’s fault. But that’s only half true. The bible says that listeners must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming a life.“

In the first part of this two part series, I said that listening is a process. The process moves through three steps—receiving, attending, and understanding. They happen in order. Read the first part for more information on how those work and what hinders them.

In Expository Listening, AKA biblical listening, first are the visual cues that ready the mind for receiving information auditorially. There is a connection between theology and church architecture. The Christian Pundit published a tremendous series on ecclesiastical architecture and how it got to be that way, and why. In part two of their series on pulpits, we read, “because the Word is indispensable, the pulpit, as the architectural manifestation of the Word, must make its indispensability architecturally clear” (Bruggink and Droppers, 80.) Proclaimed gospel, however, has historically held and should hold primary importance in Protestant worship. Everything else in worship and the sanctuary should revolved around it and point to it.”

Visual cues both support the Word and set a stage for listening. Your ears expect something different when your eyes see a high, formal pulpit versus a stage with bright colored lights and no lectern. The Christian Pundit explains this in their  ecclesiastical architecture series, regarding pulpits,

“The pulpit was large, not only so that it was visible from all parts of the sanctuary, but also so there was space to hold the preacher’s notes, a hymn book and a copy of the Scriptures which the congregation could see. The other reason that pulpits were large was to make the minister look smaller, hiding most of the man behind this architectural manifestation of the Word. When a man preaches Christ faithfully, he himself begins to disappear in the minds of the hearers, as God and His work is magnified. Large pulpits facilitate this reality. Pulpits were the center around which every other piece of furniture in the sanctuary was arranged.”

In former times, pulpits looked like the ones below. The reason was because the Word was magnified and the man speaking it was reduced. John MacArthur on large screens in church:

“I actually try to minimize myself, if I can. That’s why you will never see big screens in here, because people need to hear the Word of God, they don’t need to see my nose hairs. They don’t need to become overly familiar with every nuance of my face and my expressions, it’s not about me.”

Pulpit of the Gallus chapel in Greifensee ZH, Switzerland. Wkipedia Commons

When you go into a church, look at the pulpit. Is everything arranged so that the place where the Word emanates is promoted to primary position? How does the church elevate the word and prepare you for hearing it? Seeing a majestic pulpit tells your mind that this place takes the word seriously and this helps to prepare you in a mindset that lays the ground work for sober listening.

Below we have a pulpit from puritan times in at the Old Ship Meetinghouse, in Hingham Massachusetts. This architecture is similar to most early pulpits in New England- high, wooden with stairs at the side. For a fascinating story on pulpits, this one at Boston, go here, “Mystery of the Old South Meeting House Pulpit“

Source
Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance 
Proverbs 1:5

Think of it this way. At a concert, your ears expect something different if you’re laying on the grass at a 4th of July Concert in the Park in Central Park NY than if you were inside the Rockefeller Center listening to the Opera Aida. Don’t underestimate the setting as to how it coaches your mind to receive text.

The Christian Pundit said,

“a central pulpit makes a clear statement to any stranger walking in the door: “We have something for you to hear. It’s not what we say, it’s what God says in His Word. The pulpit looks important because what you are going to hear from it is essential for life and eternity.”

I’m not saying we all have to build high pulpits. However, today’s listener sees a man on a stage, a man dressed in torn skinny jeans and sweatshirt, one gluteal cheek perched on a wobbly stool, and a music stand, if that. We have gone from this,

To this:

Rob Bell speaking at Rick Warren’s Willow Creek Community Church

We don’t have pulpits today. Joel Osteen doggedly refused to even call his stage a pulpit when pressed by Larry King. “It’s a podium,” he said. He has no cross behind him or anywhere on stage.

So the expository listener of today has been coached via architecture (or the lack of it) to prepare for a reduced word or prepare for a heightened word before a word is even spoken.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15)

Gill’s Exposition explains the verse:

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. A way of speaking used by Christ, when anything serious, and of great importance, was delivered; and which required attention, and was not easily understood”

As Ken Ramey stated in his book “Expository Listening, “Those who take to heart God’s call to listen will transcend the discouraging trends in the church today.“

Ramey continues in describing the sacred partnership the preacher and the listener has with each other, and the Word of God binds them. We come to church to hear a sermon, but in addition to listening, we must also heed it. Almost every book of the bible contains a reference to hearing and obeying God’s word. Mr Ramey said,

“We might systematize everything the bible teaches on the subject of listening by arranging the verses under four summary statements, or theological truths, as follows:

 1. God has spoken and commands us to listen and to obey what he has said,
2. We all fail to listen and obey God and deserve to be punished by Him,
3. God grants us the ability to listen to and to obey Him by His Holy Spirit, whom we receive through Jesus Christ,
4. God promises to bless us both now and for all eternity if we listen to and obey Him.

How do we do this? We know the parable of the soils explains that there are four kinds of soils. One of them is hard packed. If you garden, then you know that for the soil to receive the seed, it must be prepared by aerating, breaking up the clods and making rows to put the seeds into. Our heart is like that hard packed soil. We need to prepare it before we listen to the seeds the preacher sends forth from the Word in a sermon.

We do this in several ways. One is, we must read and meditate on God’s word every day. Mr Ramey wrote,

Reading the Word on a daily basis will develop in you a healthy appetite for God’s Word. You can’t expect to come to church on Sunday with a hunger for God’s Word if you haven’t been feeding on it throughout the week.

We prepare to listen by praying throughout the week.

“Pray for yourself. You should pray that God would grant you an honest and good heart that would hear and accept the Word and that it will bring lasting fruit in your life, that he would make your heart receptive to the Word. … Second, you should pray for the preacher. Pray that the preacher would preach with great liberty and boldness and clarity (Eph 6:19-20; Col 4:3-4), that God’s Word would run rapidly, transforming people’s lives for His glory.”

Let us not forget about sin. In order to be good, biblical listeners, we need to confess our sin on a regular basis so that it does not form a block, a wall, or a stronghold against the implanting of the seed. James 1:21 says “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Here is another tip for becoming a biblical listener which you may not have expected as a tip for how to listen to a sermon. Mr Ramey suggests,

“Reduce your media intake. …  The media saturation in our society has a deadening, dulling effect on our hearts.” These conditions diminish our receptivity to hearing God’s word.

Do you prepare to listen? Just as architecturally, the pulpit is central in a sanctuary, do you orient your week with the focal point being the ministry of the Word? Is Sunday the most important part of your week? In Mr Ramey’s book “Expository Listening,” he wrote,

You should try to schedule your work activities, get-togethers and vacations around church. You should live by the principle that Sunday morning begins on Saturday night. Here are some practical suggestions on how to prioritize the Lord’s Day:
–Make it a habit to be home Saturday night
–Be careful not to do, watch, or read anything that will cause lingering distractions in your mind the next day
–Get things ready on Saturday evening to alleviate the typical Sunday morning rush
–Get a good night’s sleep so you can be sharp and energetic to worship and serve God. It’s hard to listen when you’re nodding off!

And so on. The book contains many more instructions for how to be a good, biblical listener. I recommend it.

I hope these tips on how to become a biblical listener have helped you in any way. There is so much more to receiving God’s Word than plopping down in the pew in a huff and a rush, and half listening with a closed heart. We honor God to do our part before-hand to work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

“The Gospel is not the doorway into Christianity, it is the unending, ever-expanding, always sweetening country that we will be exploring for eternity.”

———————

Further Reading

How to listen to a sermon: part 1 “The mechanics of listening”.

What is expository preaching?

What is biblical theology of worship?

Posted in manger, prince william, royal baby

A baby king was born

Posted on by elizabethprata

I am so out of tune with some cultural issues. I had to look up the British Royal family tree to figure out who William was and why people were so excited he is a father of a baby boy now. I still don’t get all the hoopla, though.

Royal succession is an interesting thing. It is called primogeniture. Britain recently made a new law titled, “The Succession to the Crown Act 2013”, which provides that a first-born daughter will become queen even if a younger brother is subsequently born. All that is moot now as the boy born to Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton (The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) are now the parents of a healthy baby boy. This means that the current Queen’s son Prince Charles is first in line to succeed her, then William, then the baby boy to be named shortly. Queen Elizabeth II is 87 years old now so this is kind of a pressing question. Her son Charles, Prince of Wales is 64. He has waited a long time for his inheritance.

I remember the night Princess Diana, William’s mother and former wife to Charles, died. It was 1997, and late at night. I had been watching Saturday Night Live, and around 12:30 AM on what was by then a Sunday morning, a news break came on with Tom Brokaw saying Princess Di had been in a terrible accident. A while later he made the sad announcement, “Princess Diana…has died”. I always remember the little pause and the catch in his voice.

I was sad because two little boys were to grow up without a mom. Now the little boy is a dad! Apparently there is a wild celebration in Britain and its commonwealth nations.

I’m very glad for the parents and the family. A healthy baby is always something to celebrate. The family seems eager to welcome him and seem like they will love him. He won’t lack for anything, certainly! The Commonwealth is relieved too, knowing that there are three living and healthy males in line for succession to King.

Source UK Daily Mail via Sky News

You know the saying, “The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire”. This was because at its height, the Empire had colonized geographic territory in ever time zone. Somewhere in the world at any given moment, the sun was shining on territory the British owned. Here is a Wikipedia map showing the extent of the British Empire and some Wikipedia facts:

“At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world’s population at the time. The empire covered more than 13,012,000 sq mi, almost a quarter of the Earth’s total land area.” It was the world’s first truly global empire.

Wow! So what happened? The British Empire crumbled, and fast. In 1947, British India, Britain’s most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence two years after the end of the war. After that they fell like dominoes. Some theologians connect Britain’s wily dealings on the Balfour Declaration as the reason. “The Balfour Declaration (dated 2 November 1917) was a letter from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.” In effect, giving Britain-controlled land to the Jews for a homeland. All of Jordan was to be part of the agreement.

Britain later reneged on it, caving to the protests of Muslims. It wasn’t until 1948 and a much smaller parcel until the Israelites got their homeland. I don’t know if that was a direct reason the British Empire crumbled, because that would mean knowing the mind of God with specificity. But we do know He loves His people and gave them land He calls His land and puts His name on it. He could not have been pleased with the British dealings over Balfour.

This week the Queen signed a law that legalizes gay marriage in Britain for the first time.

Britain legalizes homosexual marriage
“Britain on Wednesday legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval, clearing the way for the first same-sex weddings next summer. Lawmakers cheered as House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said royal assent had been given — one day after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in England and Wales cleared Parliament. The queen’s approval was a formality and is the last step necessary for a bill to become law.”

Caption: “Britain on Wednesday legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval, clearing the way for the first same-sex weddings next summer.”

We don’t know the mind of God with specificity, as in, we don’t know what He is thinking right now about this. But He spoke about homosexuality in the bible, and we know in general He said homosexuality is an abomination and marriage is a covenant between Him and a man and a woman. We know that He said in Romans 1 that He gives nations over to their perverse desires as a judgment on them. When we see a nation embrace homosexuality, it is in the last stages of His judgment. (Romans 1:27-31).

So for Britain, I’m sad. Their citizens are celebrating what should be a joyous event, but in my mind, it is overshadowed by the larger issue of this one: Will Charles, William, or Baby To Be Named Later even have a nation to rule? The outlook does not bode well.

I also can’t help but think of the parallels. I named this blog entry “A baby king was born.” A nation celebrates a little king. He was born into luxury, openly to two parents and an extended family who loves him. He has the best of care and everyone will protect him. There were crowds and fanfare,

“At least one group of well-wishers brought flowers, champagne and a card for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. … I’m sure that right across the country and indeed right across the commonwealth, people will be celebrating and wishing the royal couple well,” said British Prime Minister David Cameron.”

Yet our king was born poor, in a manger on straw, under suspicion of parentage by naysayers, not in a clean facility with doctors. He was unloved by His people. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:11). Only the shepherds welcomed Him, and later three kings from a Gentile nation far away. He was hated, and hunted. Everyone wanted to kill Him and he had to flee to Egypt with his parents. A baby king was born, and no one celebrated.

Where were the people standing outside the Inn, ready to raise holy hands that our King was born? Where were the hosannas that peace had come to the earth? I mentioned above that Prince Charles is 64 years old and has been waiting for His inheritance for a long time. Jesus is still waiting! His inheritance, a redeemed, holy Bride! He waits, for two thousand years, for six thousand years, since time began, Jesus has been waiting to redeem His people and bring us to His bosom in glorified bodies. Us! He loves us so. “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mark 6:34) He wants us home!

Unless Prince Charles who would be King, and Prince William who would be King and the baby who would be king come to know the real king, they will be laid low-

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17)

I’m glad a king was born to a family in London. I’m gladder our King was born, and has the power to save all earthly kings and peasants. Let’s celebrate the right thing and the right King.