(no title)

‘It’s a darkness that claws at your sanity…’

Posted on June 27, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Darkness is a primal thing. No one likes it. No one seeks it. We think we have beaten our ancient fear of it, but it is only the fragile light bulb that makes us think we are less primitive than we are.

Darkness is disorienting, you cannot see the ground ahead of you nor the prey sneaking up on you. As a child, the prey is the alligator living under the bed. As an adult, the darkness is a thing to be laughed at in the light and a thing to be dreaded while in the dark.

For generations and centuries, man hated to see the sun set, having no candle to ward off the night spirits. Even with a candle or kerosene lamp, its flickering glow seemed too meager to combat the oppressive night.

Sailors for millennia will tell you that the night watch from 2-4 am is the most chilling. Terrifying is the night, especially if there is no moon and the stars are obscured. Samuel Taylor Coleridge captured this in the stanza about sailing at night in his famous Rime of the Ancient Mariner,

The Sun’s rim dips; the stars rush out;

At one stride comes the dark;

With far-heard whisper, o’er the sea,

Off shot the spectre-bark.

We listened and looked sideways up!

Fear at my heart, as at a cup,

My life-blood seemed to sip!

The stars were dim, and thick the night,

The steersman’s face by his lamp gleamed white;

From the sails the dew did drip—

Till clomb above the eastern bar

The hornèd Moon, with one bright star

Within the nether tip.

George Grie ‘Final Frontier Voyager’ Wikimedia commons

Night sailing is vertiginous, captured here in Grie’s painting. At every moment one believes the edge of the world looms and we will be pitched into a void from which there is no escape.

The River Styx is the Greek mythological river that separates the outer world from the underworld. It is a kingdom lorded over by Hades, and guarded by Cerberus the three headed dog. Charon is the ferryboatman who brings the lost souls across the river to their eternal doom. The term ‘stygian darkness’ comes from the Styx.

Here in the book Stories of the Ships, by Lewis R. Freeman, we read a description of a storm at night-

Riise3

“The ship was reeling through the blackness of the pit when I clambered to the deck after dinner, so that the driving spray and ice-needles struck the face before one saw them by even the thousandth of a second. The darkness was such as one almost never encounters ashore, and it was some time before I accustomed myself to close my eyes against the unseen missiles (when turning to windward) without deliberately telling myself to do so in advance.”

“Into the Stygian pall the vivid golden triangles from the signal searchlights on the bridge flashed like the stab of a flaming sword. One instant the darkness was almost palpable enough to lean against; the next, the silhouette of funnels and foretop pricked into life, but only to be quenched again before the eye had time to fix a single detail.”

“Darkness you could lean against” … so apt!

I was in total darkness once. I do not mean the dark night, or even the dark when sailing, though that is very dark. I mean under-the-earth kind of dark where there is no spot of light nor any particle of brightness nor any beam of luminosity…just oppressive dark. It was when we toured the Queen Copper Mine in Bisbee Arizona. The tour takes you down under the earth and as you go along, they explain about mining. When we got to the bottom, the tour guide says to turn off your headlamps, and for 5 to 8 seconds we sit in a darkness so black is it alive. It suffocates, and permeates the brain to the extent that you want to scream and scrape your way out. It is a darkness that is palpable, suffocating you with its wild dementia. It is a darkness that claws at your sanity. When the lights come back on your mind relaxes at the soothing balm that brightness brings.

In darkness such as this, your eye has no opportunity to grasp a single detail, and instead, the mind is floating as a raft upon the darkness, free-wheeling and unhinged from the anchoring light.

In this NY Times review of an art installation, Darkness Visible, and Palpable, the author wrote,

“Usually, when we see something, we see it in advance: we know we can approach it; we can assess it as we move forward. Sight helps shape our sense of the future.

Here we have a different experience of time. Sounds help us anticipate, but in this strange, darkened space, even voices seem to float, positionless, in a void. We don’t know what is about to happen; we aren’t sure where we have been; and it is a problem finding out just where we are. No wonder horror movies rely on darkness: Anything can take shape in front of our eyes, and we would hardly know it. The world becomes immaterial in one respect but all too solid with dangers in another.”

Dore’s illustration in Dante’s Inferno,
Gates of Hell, ‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here’

Studies have been done. Darkness does things to us. Participants in an experiment were put into a dimmed room. Their behavior became more dishonest than the participants in the well-lit room. In another study, participants were situated in a well-lit room with another person, except then they were given sunglasses. Participants wearing sunglasses acted more dishonestly than participants without.
Read more about “What darkness does to the mind” at The Atlantic.

The bible frequently uses light and dark to contrast truths. Ecclesiastes 2:14b says that the fool walks in darkness. John 12:35b says “Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.”

The way that darkness is used here is that movement in the absence of light could cause self-injury or harm to others. You walk slowly when it’s dark, you don’t run. That is because you do not know where danger is. Pulpit Commentary says, “they will drift over the fathomless unknown into infinite and endless suspense. When the Light of the world is spurned, … humanity and the world have no goal set before them; there is no end at which they aim – no mind or will to guide the progress of mankind.”

Sin is darkness. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)

The power of satan is darkness. (Acts 26:18)

The LORD spoke much in the Old Testament about the Day of Darkness. His judgment brings darkness.

“Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light” (Amos 5:18).

“Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to utter darkness and change it to deep gloom.” (Jeremiah 13:16)

But Jesus IS THE LIGHT!!

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

How wonderful we can follow Him, a Light that never goes on and never dims. We will never walk in darkness if we follow Him. He knows the way, because He IS the Way!

If you do not follow Him, O, my heart aches in sadness to say, but there the person will remain in outer darkness all their lives throughout eternity. A person who dies in their sin, will remain in that clawing, palpable, screaming darkness forever- in hell.

Hell is a place of outer darkness (Matthew 22:13) where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12).

People, the precious Light has come!

“Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” (John 12:36)

exaltation

Jesus, the name high over all

Posted on June 26, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son,a with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” (Matthew 17:1-8)

I was listening to Drive By Pneumatology today (yes, that’s what I did on my summer vacation, lol), and in lecture 10 by Emilio Ramos, I was struck by some insights by the lecturer.

The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to point to Christ (John 16:13-14). Christ is the pre-eminent Person in all the universe (Colossians 1:18). Peter, in his boundless and sometimes unthinking enthusiasm, wanted to make a tabernacle for all three of the glorified beings he saw before him. One for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus. In verse 4 Peter makes it clear, he says it twice, ‘three tents’ and then explains, ‘one for you and you and you…’

WHILE He was speaking, God interrupted Peter. Peter was off on the wrong track. We cannot put anything or any one equal to Jesus. He is preeminent.

God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” God says it twice, ‘this is My Son,” and ‘listen to Him.’

Do we get the message?

Jesus is preeminent. He is counted to have more glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:3). he speaks with more authority than Elijah, the prophet, and all the prophets. (Hebrews 1:1-2).

My prayer for you is that you put Jesus at the highest exaltation point in your mind and heart. He is pre-eminent, better than our idols, our celebrities, our traditions, and better than any picture or shadow of anyone else in the bible.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11).

Jesus, the Name High Over All, written by Charles Wesley

abu dhabi, prosperity, uae

A chicken in every pot and a mosque on every corner

Posted on June 26, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Though the ‘chicken in every pot’ slogan is attributed to Herbert Hoover, he never actually used it, exactly. The Republican party did. The Hoover campaign used a variety of slogans in 1928 including “Vote for Prosperity.” This source explains that “During the presidential campaign of 1928, a circular published by the Republican Party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won there would be “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.” America was at the height of an economic bubble at the time, ensuring a landslide victory for Hoover over Democrat Al Smith. Prosperity was at its peak.

However, the October 1929 Wall Street crash, occurring only 9 months after Hoover’s inauguration, ensured a defeat in 1932, where Americans felt Hoover had not been effective in halting the nation’s downward economic slide. Franklin Roosevelt won.

I think every president has promised prosperity in some way or another. It is always an attractive promise. (“Four more years of the full dinner pail” — 1900 U.S. presidential slogan of William McKinley”, “Peace and Prosperity — 1956 U.S. presidential campaign slogan of Dwight D. Eisenhower”, “Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?” – presidential campaign of Ronald Reagan”, “It’s the Economy, Stupid” 1992 campaign slogan of Bill Clinton’s campaign). I mean, who doesn’t want a full dinner pail and a new car? Promising prosperity works.

After move to $10.5 million River Oaks mansion, Joel Osteen offers Tanglewood land for $1.1 million
“At Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen proclaims,”It’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty.” The pastor of the Houston megachurch and wife Victoria certainly practice what they preach. The couple has moved to a $10.5 million mansion in River Oaks, while keeping their former Tanglewood residence, valued at $2.9 million. They are, however, selling a vacant lot next to their former home. Asking price for the half-acre property at the corner of Doliver and Sherbrooke: $1.1 million.” Below, Osteen’s house

In this generation, the preachers of Christianity have caught on to that fact, so they promise prosperity too. Get that lucrative job, find that mansion house, receive that promotion, plant a seed and receive a blessing 100-fold. Prosperity works. After all, you can have Your Best Life Now if you only follow these 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. (Joel Osteen). “Churches” started to grow. Immature believers and non-believers took that for proof that the prosperity preachers were preaching rightly, and flocked to see what they could get out of it. The goats stormed the castle and now they are all milling around the courtyard, looking for more. They are so busy naming and claiming it they do not see that the gates to the inside of the castle are still closed to them.

Name-it claim it prosperity preaching is unbiblical. “Jesus did not come to give us health, wealth and happiness now. He came to save us from our sins so that we can have an eternity of bliss with Him. Following Christ is not a ticket to all the material things men desire in this life but a ticket to eternal life. Our desire should not be to have our best life now but should be that of the Apostle Paul who had learned to be content “in whatever state I am” (Philippians 4:11). [source]

In the Middle East,the United Arab Emirates decreed a “New set of guidelines for mosques in Abu Dhabi” Places of worship to be within five minutes’ walk from every home in the capital

The article explains, “Abu Dhabi: Worshippers in Abu Dhabi will soon be no more than a five-minute walk away from the nearest mosque, as a new set of regulations requires a mosque within 350 metres of every home. … The guidelines have been developed by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), and they aim to ensure that mosques of appropriate size with high standards for hygiene and maintenance are adequately distributed across the emirate.”

Source

Though the UAE Federal Constitution declares that Islam is the official religion of the country, the UAE has traditionally left other religions alone, allowing congregants to worship in their own way, for the most part. There are some restrictions however. Proselytizing is banned. In general, Christians are allowed to worship as they please.

However, this new emphasis on a mosque on every corner, and it should LOOK like a mosque, too, may be a harbinger of coming change. This article explains some of the reasons for the design standards and the distance requirements:

Source

“We decided that mosques must be 350 metres within every home as this distance can be covered in a five-minute walk, which is the shortest time between the call to prayer and the start of the prayer,” Al Hammadi explained. The second section concentrates on design recommendations. “For example, the areas containing toilets where worshippers can wear their shoes will be clearly distinct from the ablution area, where worshippers must remove their shoes.”

In either case, the prosperity preachers or the Islamic governments, the emphasis is the same, and both are wrong. The emphasis is on the external.

In the case of the mosques, there is concern for how the mosque looks, there are “shoe zone and non-shoe zones,” and whether there are enough bathrooms for ritual washing.

“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”…But Jesus said “And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person. But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:1-2, 10-11, 19-20).

The externals do not matter, it is what is inside a person that matters. Are they clean inside?

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27).

As for prosperity preachers, my hope does not lie in my faith to get consumable goods here in my best life now. I follow the command of Jesus,

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19)

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

My treasure is the Holy Spirit inside me, pointing to the treasure of Christ, God’s son. Whatever the flavor of false religion, it will always point you to something that does not matter. The only thing that matters is Jesus…and whether you are reconciled to Him or are His enemy. Reconciliation is the eternal treasure, and that doesn’t happen externally, it is an inward transformation–

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

gay marriage, homosexuality, point of no return, sodom

SCOTUS helping to bring in the Days of Lot (Updated)

Posted on June 26, 2013 by elizabethprata

Updated to add Martin Luther quote

THE NEWS

Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court rulings boost gay marriage
“WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court delivered the history-making ruling sought by [homosexual] marriage supporters, striking down a 1996 federal law that denied benefits to same-sex couples. The court was more cautious in a second case involving California’s ban on [homosexual] marriage, Proposition 8, saying it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. But the result was likely again to benefit same-sex couples because it meant that a federal district court’s ruling striking down Proposition 8 stands, clearing the way for [homosexual] marriage to resume in the nation’s most-populous state.”

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POLITICAL REACTION

“My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: “Jesus wept.” 5 people in robes said they are bigger than the voters of California and Congress combined. And bigger than God. May He forgive us all.” ~Mike Huckabee

“It’s an amazing overreach in arrogance by 5 members of the court who think they can redefine marriage for the Federal Government…there clearly is an overreach here on the CA Prop 8 case.” ~Tony Perkins of Family Research Council

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SPIRITUAL REACTION

“Can we now stop talking about the United States as a “Christian Nation” so that we can get back to preaching the Gospel to pagan Americans?” ~Chris Rosebrough

“The decision of an earthly court does not make so much as a ripple in the eternal decrees of God.” ~JD Hall

“We learn from Jeremiah among others that, as usual, the nearer the punishment, the worse the people become; and that the more one preaches to them, the more they despise his preaching. Thus we understand that when it is God’s will to inflict punishment, he makes the people to become hardened so they may be destroyed without any mercy and not appease God’s wrath with any repentance. So the men of Sodom long ago had to not only despise the righteous Lot, but even afflict him because he taught them—even though their own affliction was at the door [Gen. 19:1–13]. Likewise Pharaoh, when about to be drowned in the Red Sea, had to oppress the children of Israel twice as much as before [Exod. 5:6–21]. And Jerusalem had to crucify God’s Son when its own final destruction was on the way” – Martin Luther

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GOD’S REACTION

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

“Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Genesis 19:12-13)

“…Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.” (Jude 1:7)

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TO BE CLEAR:

“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28)

“How was it in the days of Lot? Lot lived in a city called Sodom. We have a word today called sodomy. We know exactly what that means. That is a homosexual sin. That is a vile kind of behavior drawn out of that city in the plains south of the Dead Sea. What did God do to Sodom? Buried Sodom under fire and brimstone completely. What kind of people lived in Sodom? Read the nineteenth chapter of Genesis and find that when two angels came to visit Lot, the men of that city tried to rape the angels. And when God blinded the men of that city, they still tried to feel their way to smash down the door to get to those angels. That was a vile, wretched place.”

“So the first thing you know about the days of Noah and the days of Sodom is that they were days of wretched, vile, massive, sweeping, consummate evil. And that’s the way it will be in the days when the Son of Man comes.” [source]

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MY TAKE

The verse above regarding the Days of Lot is speaking of the days during the Tribulation when evil pervades the world and the Messiah returns to end it all, not the run-up to the rapture. However, we see the current culture helping satan along to lay the infrastructure that will give immediate rise to such perversions when the rapture does take place.

In Romans 1 we read that homosexuality is not a sin like any other. Homosexuality in itself is an expression of God’s wrath. It is the only sin that IS a judgment upon the person exhibiting it.

However, though any nation that teeters too far against His ordinances will be judged in wrath, His grace is such that any individual is not a lost cause in terms of wanting to repent and find reconciliation with God. The wrath will be poured out on America but it already has been poured out in Jesus for all sins, including the sin of homosexuality.

“we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” (Ephesians 2:3)

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,…And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 11)

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20)

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Extremely rare: hail falls in Singapore, floods, strange weather prompts British weather summit

Posted on June 25, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Hail reported in western end of Singapore
“Residents in the western end of Singapore are reporting incidences of hail. Hail is a form of solid precipitation and consists of irregular lumps of ice. Mr Lucas Ho, 28, playwright and teacher said: “The torrent came in a five-minute burst; something was clanging on my windows and I went to my front door to see what was going on. I never thought I’d see hail in Singapore.” There is no indication at the moment if the hail stones are related to the haze.”

You have to know that hail is rare in a place where the news article has to explain what it is. Singapore has only had hail once or twice in the past. Ever. This article explains why-

“A severe hail storm along with damaging winds and heavy rain was seen across Singapore Tuesday afternoon. This is an extremely rare event for the island nation that only lies two degrees from the equator and never experiences temperatures below the freezing mark through a good portion of the lower atmosphere. Therefore hail of any size is a extremely rare event.”

They mentioned the “haze” in Singapore. The island nation has been experiencing a heavy haze of late. People are wondering if the haze and the hail are related.

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Indonesia plans air tactic as Singapore haze worsens
“Air pollution in Singapore soared to record heights for a third consecutive day, as Indonesia prepared planes and helicopters Friday to battle raging fires blamed for hazardous levels of smoky haze in three countries. The blazes in peat swamp forests on Indonesia’s Sumatra island have sent massive plumes of smog across the sea to neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, both of which are growing impatient with Indonesia’s response to the problem that occurs nearly every year.”

“Singapore is suffering its worst haze in history. Singapore’s main index for air pollution hit a measurement of 401 at midday Friday, exceeding previous highs of 371 on Thursday and 321 on Wednesday, both of which were record readings. Those measurements were classified as “hazardous” and can aggravate respiratory ailments. Plagued by the stifling smell of burning vegetation that crept even into homes and offices in this wealthy city-state, residents flocked to pharmacies to buy protective face masks after Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged people to remain indoors as much as possible.”

“I don’t know if it’s just my imagination but even indoors, my throat is starting to feel weird,” said business manager Tan Joa-Quim. “I want a mask but my company has a limited supply, which we prioritized for the older and less healthy staff, and a lot of shops have sold out.”
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Weird weather has been occurring on the other side of the world also. In Alaska, they are experiencing a heat wave.
“The jet stream, the river of air high above Earth that generally dictates the weather, usually rushes rapidly from west to east in a mostly straight direction. But lately it seems to be wobbling and weaving like a drunken driver, wreaking havoc as it goes. … The most recent example occurred in mid-June when some towns in Alaska hit record highs. McGrath, Alaska, recorded an all-time high of 94 degrees on June 17. A few weeks earlier, the same spot was 15 degrees, the coldest recorded for so late in the year.”

Terrible rains have caused flooding in northwestern India, killing 1000 people so far.

“Home Minister Sushikumar Shinde told reporters that the death toll will exceed the figure of 1,000 given on Sunday by the Uttarakhand government. More bodies were being found as troops and disaster rescue teams cleared debris from buildings and houses destroyed by flood waters, Shinde said. The unprecedented heavy rains triggered landslides and floods in the Ganges River last week, washing away thousands of houses and roads and cutting communication links in large areas of Uttarakhand.”

“Unprecedented” rains, and that in a country that experiences monsoon every year…

Britain’s weather has gotten drunk, too, going crazy and forgetting what season it is. After their coldest spring in 50 years, they are now dealing with this-

“Britain’s weather has now got so bad even the Met Office is worried: Forecasters to hold meeting over floods, droughts and even snow in May. Britain’s weather has now got so bad even the Met Office is worried: Forecasters to hold meeting over floods, droughts and even snow in May. The photo caption says: “Wintry: A blanket of snow covers Teesdale in County Durham on the first Bank Holiday in May this year, an event which has helped spark a Met Office summit.”

God is in control of the weather. Though satan can be the originator of some weather disasters, (Job 1:9-12, 19), he can only do so at the Lord’s permission. Ultimately, all weather is in the hands of the Creator.

“The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.” (Psalm 29:10)

“For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof…. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still..” (Psalm 107:25, 29)

God sends earthquakes, cold, snow, and fire. (Isaiah 29:6, Psalm 78:47, Job 37:6)

He controls the lightning and sends the wind. (Jeremiah 10:13, Exodus 10:19)

While every natural disaster is not a punishment from God, “God does use weather catastrophes — even resulting in deaths, or the destruction of beasts or property — but with a purpose: to unsettle the apathetic, to punish and judge, to alter our course of action, or to instill the fear of God.” (Source).

The Book of Revelation is an orderly progression of promises from long ago being fulfilled: the UNcreation. God will dismantle all the world’s systems, including weather.

(Revelation 6:12-13; Revelation 8:7-8; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 16:8; Revelation 16:18, 21; Revelation 6:12-14)

The creation should make you think of the Creator. I say “should” because it says so in Romans 1:20,

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

In the next verse it says that people who consciously or subconsciously know that God exists when they see creation, refuse to acknowledge Him,

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him,” (Romans 1:21a)

and eventually they “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,”

(Does ‘Mother Earth’, ‘Gaia’ or ‘the weather gods’ sound familiar?). Think of it this way, when you see hail, then all hail the power of Jesus name! Worship Him who created the creation!

Whether you are admiring a gorgeous sunrise, a calm sea, a snow capped mountain, or a powerful tornado or even hail at the equator, thank God for His creation, which is cursed with sin now, but will be restored to its perfection at the end of time. And what a day that will be!

sci-fi, screwtape, travel photgraphy

A few things you might enjoy

Posted on June 24, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Here is a roundup of some links and thoughts for you.

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Eric Metaxas essay: “Screwtape on ‘The Da Vinci Code’. A funny send up if CS Lewis’s famous character Screwtape (a demon) were to extol the virtues of the Da Vinci Code novel from his darkened and hellish perspective. Many parallels to issues with today’s Gnosticism and superficial thinkers accepting the original lie: there’s more and I’m here to show you. Plus, it’s funny. To wit:

“Indeed the mystical sleight-of-hand involved in shoehorning so many cubic yards of gasbag cliches, shopworn half-truths and straightfaced howlers into a single volume simply beggars belief; and if I didn’t know that the author had had unwitting “help” from my former colleague, the venerable Gallstone, I simply shouldn’t believe it could have been done at all!”

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The 15 Craziest Things In Nature You Won’t Believe Actually Exist
Here’s one- I had never heard of rainbow eucalyptus trees.

Books, books, books! If you love books you will like this page.

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According to DumbLaws.com, in Vermont it is illegal to deny the existence of God. The law might have been on the books but it certainly didn’t reach the heart, because Vermont is today this nation’s most Godless state.

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According to this poll, the top five most underrated Sci-Fi movie masterpieces are,

–Silent Running
–Gattaca
–Serenity (movie epilogue from the television show Firefly)
–Dark City
–Primer (this is #1 underrated movie, he said)

I’m not a huge fan of modern science fiction because it has gotten bloody. But I did enjoy (pre-salvation) Terminator 1 & 2, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Metropolis and of course Star Trek.

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Lately I have enjoyed End of the Spear, The First Grader, The Way (n a sad way because it shows the futility of life without Christ, an inadvertent message from the movie, I am sure), The Stranger with Orson Welles, Microcosmos, and That Guy…Who Was in That Thing (some language).

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If you want to read something encouraging, my friend with Parkinson’s Disease has a word. You might leave a word with her to encourage her also.
…My Help Comes From the Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth

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Some gorgeous HDR travel photography! If you can’t go there in person, this is the next best thing

Nomadic Pursuits

This French Chateau has 365 fireplaces.

discernment, false doctrine, genesis 3, satan

Discerning The Circle Maker’s advertising techniques and how they match Genesis 3

Posted on June 24, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Just two days ago, I published a piece about the book, The Circle Maker, written by Mark Batterson and released in 2012. I’d left the issue alone until then, choosing not to do a book review or a discernment essay on it because it seemed so obvious that this was something Christians should not be involved in. But at the end of 2012 it became clear that Batterson’s concept of casting a circle to claim God’s promises to unleash our dreams was saturating even the most stalwart bastions of the faith, when the organizers and participant of the True Woman conference including Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Joni Earicksen Tada, promoted it. These are elder woman who should be leading us women into a deeper faith, not into occult and pagan practices that originate from outside the bible. I was pretty shocked.

Many other fine essays exist on the internet that show you in biblical terms why Batterson’s circle making is unwise and even dangerous, including a review by pastor and Christian book reviewer Tim Challies. In the piece I linked to above, there is a set of links at the bottom to some of those writings.

So I developed a piece from an angle that demonstrated in pictures that the practice Batterson promotes is not new and it is not Christian.

However I’d like to write about it one more time, this time as a discernment piece to unpack the way he presented it. Something that Mr Batterson said sticks in my craw, and though I’d planned a piece today examining an uplifting verse from Matthew, I am switching to get this down first. It’s like what Jude said,

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

I am contending. Hopefully this will help someone be discerning, not just of The Circle Maker but in general and armed for the future by unpacking the techniques used to attract people to the book and its premise, and how they are the same that satan used in the Garden against Eve.

See, in his promotional video and in the book’s advertising blurb, Mr Batterson said:

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing?”

This is how successful advertisers always begin their pitch.

It is how satan began his pitch. He approached Eve and made her doubt what she knew, so she would be open to hearing a solution to a problem she didn’t know she had.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

Then satan, taking a cue from Ron Popeil, said, ‘but wait, there’s more!’ And satan presented to her a solution to her problem she didn’t know she even had until satan pointed it out.

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

Eve wanted to fill the lack that she now understands she has in her life,

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate”, (Genesis 3:6a)

And like all false doctrine, it spreads quickly, corrupting others right away.

“and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6b)

So there was Eve, the only sinless woman to ever live and she dwelled in utter perfection. The air temperature was perfect. Her surroundings were beautiful. Her body was perfect inside and out. The animals were perfect. She was never hungry or cold or angry or had any ache whatsoever. She had perfect harmony with her husband and perfect unity with God.

And yet satan was able to convince Eve that somewhere out there, there’s more. He told her that her life lacked something, and she believed it. Taking the fruit, she ate, rationalizing all the way. Now read Mr Batterson’s pitch again:

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing?”

I mourn daily that so many Christians forgo the praise that is due the Lord and forget how glorious a life we are actually living. Though we do not dwell in perfection like Eve did, we have perfection inside us.

First, let’s stop a moment and thing of how full our lives really are. We have been saved by grace. This is monumental! As Dr MacArthur preached, we should be “adoring God for our eternal inheritance.” When did we become discontent with the universe’s most glorious act, the salvation of a sinner to the holy breast of God!?

But wait, there’s more! God dwells inside us!! Wow! What a gift!

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” (Romans 8:9)

Jesus Himself deemed that He would send us a comforter, teacher, friend, and guide. Jesus said,

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”… (John 16:7). “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26).

But wait, there’s more! If all that wasn’t enough, we have the opportunity to pray to Him, and He listens. Have we become inured to the fact that God is God, He who calls Himself I AM, will listen to our petitions and pleas? Far from being disinterested or inattentive, Jesus is monumentally interested in bringing about Good for our sakes. He didn’t save us just to wander off and sit on another planet contemplating His navel. He is involved with His people. He accepts praise and worship, and He ordains good for us. He listens to our prayers!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26).

But wait, there’s more!

Jesus sent the Spirit to inspire men to write His words down, so that we could always have its wisdom and comfort to guide us also. The Spirit makes the words come alive and since they are eternal and come from the holy place, the words in the bible are eternally good.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16).

There is so much more, too. We are justified, sanctified, have the privilege of prayer, have the incredible word, have the daily opportunity to serve Jesus, have treasures stored up in heaven, have an eternity awaiting us in glory…and yet satan comes along and says-

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing?”

My answer is no. No, I don’t sense there is far more to prayer. I trust that there is and I trust the Lord to take care of things whether I “sense” it or not. No, I do not sense there is far more to God’s vision for my life, I know there is. I trust Him to unfold it in His timing and in His way. No, I do not sense there are more experiences to have, I know that there are. I trust the Lord to bring me along in sanctification whether I ‘feel’ it or not. I trust the promises in the bible about what my daily life will be like.

I trust what God hath said.

I get sad when adults are so undiscerning. I get upset undiscerning adults taint the children.

Jesus is very protective of the children. They are the means by which the successive generations carry the faith. (Joel 1:3).

“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Luke 17:2)

“but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

And yet on August 6, 2013, The Circle Maker for Kids will be released. An undiscerning generation will be teaching the next generation to rely on sensing, personal experience, and wiccan circle casting for their worship.

Within two years of the original book’s release, do you see how quickly we have been made merchandise of? For kids, for students, the daily journal, the curriculum, prayer challenge, it goes on and on.

Do you see the original book’s cover in hardback, ‘the solution to 10,000 problems”? Did you know there were 10,000 problems that Mark Batterson can help you solve? I thought the bible was the solution to 10,000 problems!

A classic advertising technique- you have a problem, and here is the solution. My prophet’s heart cries out, why, o why, aren’t the bible’s solutions good enough for people?

The blurb says “The Circle Maker will help you bring your God-given dreams into being through tenacious prayers that honor God and make the impossible come true.”

You…your… my prayers will make my dreams come true…let’s cut the middle part from the sentence and just say what is really his truth: “The Circle Maker will … make the impossible come true.”

It is God who answers prayer a God who does the impossible. Not my prayers, not my faith in my prayers not my method of prayer, and not my tenacity.

Jesus, please come soon and save the children from this ruinous generation!

Below I’ve pasted “Efficient Advertising Techniques“. Be aware when you are being sold a bill of goods and being made merchandise out of. It begins with a question, and intimating you have a problem you didn’t know you had.

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

“Advertising techniques can be of many kinds. All creative advertisers use some of the following techniques and tricks to grab the potential consumer’s attention and turn it to sales.”

Arouse Curiosity
“Nothing works better than this technique. Humans, by nature are always drawn towards the unknown, or in this case something new and advanced. Arousing curiosity with words, prints, images or visuals will definitely make an impact. On an average, an individual spends less than 5 seconds to go through an entire ad. If your subject does not arouse curiosity immediately, it is a lost opportunity. A well-crafted ad should be eye-catching, and difficult to ignore.”

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer?”

Hath God really said?

Promise a Benefit
“Most brands are associated with some pre-defined character, and they need to be re-emphasized with every new service advertised. The headline must promise a benefit for the consumer, because in most instances it is the headline that sells the product more than the copy, images or the celebrity. Advertisements should also carry general information about the service center address, phone numbers, credit cards that the business accepts, and the name of a person to ask for when calling for more information.”

“In this powerful booklet, excerpted from THE CIRCLE MAKER, Batterson helps you uncover your heart’s deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.”

Emotional Appeal
“Many advertisers attract attention by pulling at the heart stings and triggering emotions. An emotional response is by far the most powerful reason for making decisions. Emotional and rational thoughts are interdependent, as the ability to decide rationally is determined by issues that drive the emotions. We get more attracted to products and services that make us feel good and safe. The concept of emotional appeal are best seen in insurance ads made world over, and also companies that associate their sales with social upliftment causes.”

“How big is your God? Bigger than a positive MRI or a negative evaluation? Bigger than your secret sin or secret dream? Is He big enough to heal your marriage or your child?“

Children
“In most houses, children have a say in every big or small purchase made. Most parents just give in to the tantrums, a fact well-known to the advertisers. Out of ten commercials one sees through any medium, 8 have children featured in them who are generally a little more perfect than the target audience. These perfect children then go on to become role-models that have to emulated by other children.”

“The Circle Maker for Kids: Basing this story on his adult bestseller The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson shares the ancient Jewish legend of Honi the Rainmaker with children to teach them about the power of prayer. Ages 4-8.“

apostle john, foxe's book of martyrs, martyr

Sunday Martyr Moment: Apostle John

Posted on June 23, 2013 by elizabethprata

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. According to this summary from Christian Book Summaries,

Writing in the mid-1500s, John Foxe was living in the midst of intense religious persecution at the hands of the dominant Roman Catholic Church. In graphic detail, he offers accounts of Christians being martyred for their belief in Jesus Christ, describing how God gave them extraordinary courage and stamina to endure unthinkable torture.

From the same link, the book’s purpose was fourfold:

Showcase the courage of true believers who have willingly taken a stand for Jesus Christ throughout the ages, even if it meant death,
Demonstrate the grace of God in the lives of those martyred for their faith,
Expose the ruthlessness of religious and political leaders as they sought to suppress those with differing beliefs,
Celebrate the courage of those who risked their lives to translate the Bible into the common language of the people.

JOHN

The Apostle John, the brother of James, is credited with founding the seven churches of Revelation: Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Thyatira, and Ephesus. It was from Ephesus, it is said, that he was arrested and sent to Rome where he was cast into a large vessel filled with boiling oil that did not harm him. As a result, he was released and banished by the Emperor Domitian to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. After being released from Patmos, he returned to Ephesus where he died about 98AD. He was the only apostle to escape a violent death.

Even with the continual persecutions and violent deaths, the Lord added to the church daily. The Church was now deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and watered abundantly with the blood of the saints. She was prepared for the cruel persecutions to come.

—————–

I’ve often read that John was the only Apostle the Lord let live to a ripe old age, and the only one to escape martyrdom. Yet I often think that that in itself was a difficult end, also. John was one of the few who saw the Lord transfigured- standing atop the mountain in His glory. He was the only apostle to have seen the entire crucifixion, and was the first apostle to see the empty tomb. He saw, lived, breathed and tasted a small glimpse of glory .

Yet he lived so long…almost 70 more years after the crucifixion…he had seen his brother James die, the first apostle martyred (Acts 12:2). He had seen his family die. He had seen Mary the mother of Jesus whom he took care of, die. His friends died. He, alone, was left at the end. Having seen and tasted the glory that he knew was in front of him 70 long years prior, was made to wait the longest to come into it.

Thank you Lord for raising up such a patient and humble and long-serving servant- for your glory and our benefit. I’m so appreciative of the books he wrote: The Gospel of John, Revelation, and the epistles of John 1, 2, and 3. I know that in eternity the wait must not have seemed long, but while living so long and in such persecuting and difficult conditions, it must have felt like an eternity.

chalk circles, mark batterson, prayer circles, sorcery, wiccan

Showing in pictures how “The Circle Maker” practice is occult/Wiccan

Posted on June 22, 2013November 16, 2017 by elizabethprata

In 2012, Mark Batterson released his latest book. It is called “The Circle Maker”: and the blurb says:

“The Circle Maker, ‘Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn’t just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God. It’s a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us.’ Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing? It’s time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker—a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people. What impossibly big dream is God calling you to draw a prayer circle around? Sharing inspiring stories from his own experiences as a circle maker, Mark Batterson will help you uncover your heart’s deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.”

Chalk prayer circles have caught on in the Christian world, just as many other new techniques and methods for experiencing God have caught on. At the September 2012 Indianapolis True Woman Conference headed up by titans in the female evangelical world, Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Joni Eareckson Tada, those and other well-known conference speakers repeatedly urged women to pray inside a drawn or made circle, and they did so themselves.

There are so many unbiblical influences affecting the evangelical world, and some of them are so unbiblical they do not bear scrutiny. That was my stance, and was the Sola Sisters’ stance as well. They wrote this week of chalk circles:

“I have never bothered to address the problems with the book The Circle Maker, because the whole concept of “circle making” was simply so patently pagan and ridiculous on the face of it that I assumed it would be obvious to any Christian how unbiblical this book was.”

Me, too, Sister.

And yet, the influence is mounting, so the situation must be addressed. They wrote,

“Sadly however, I am getting more and more emails from people saying that their church leaders are recommending The Circle Maker, doing a Bible study with it, passing it out, etc.”

Me, too, Sister.

I am getting questions about prayer circles and chalk circles and the Circle Maker book and people are generally asking “It is OK to pray inside a chalk circle?”

Christian blogger Jamie McMullen attended the 2012 True Woman conference via simulcast and also wondered about why there was such heavy pressure to pray inside a circle. The emphasis at the Conference was a bit different than Batterson’s in that the women said that revival should start with ourselves, and that is what should be prayed for inside the circle. McMullen’s essay on the event is here. Her concern arose from the fact that despite the shift in emphasis by the women, chalk circles originate from an unbiblical message:

“Instead of calling people to revival, Mr. Batterson promotes a prosperity message that is centered on praying for God to make your hopes and dreams to come true by praying in a chalk circle or circling the promises in scripture. In his book and website, Mark Batterson, sites as his examples, Gipsy Smith and Honi the circle maker, a Jewish legend in the Talmud; who drew a circle on the ground and sat in it until God answered his prayer for rain.”

Here is Wikipedia’s explanation of who Honi was:

“During the 1st century BC, a variety of religious movements and splinter groups developed amongst the Jews in Judea. A number of individuals claimed to be miracle workers in the tradition of Elijah and Elisha, the ancient Jewish prophets. The Talmud provides some examples of such Jewish miracle workers, one of whom is Honi ha-Ma’agel, who was famous for his ability to successfully pray for rain.”

Honi’s appearance was in the first century BC, during the intertestamental period. Here is an explanation of this period:

“The intertestamental period is a term used to refer to a period of time between the writings of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament texts. Traditionally, it is considered to be a roughly four hundred year period, spanning the ministry of Malachi (c. 420 BC), the last of the Old Testament prophets, and the appearance of John the Baptist in the early 1st century AD, almost the same period as the Second Temple period (530 BC to 70 AD). It is known by members of the Protestant community as the “400 Silent Years””

Note with diligent concentration, please, that Honi was not a biblical character. Note again that he appeared during the time when God was deliberately NOT SPEAKING. He spoke through no prophet and had performed no miracle during this time. And yet it is on this non-biblical character and this extra-biblical legend during this silent time Mr Batterson bases his entire theology and method in “The Circle Maker.”

And Christians are eating it up. Below, Conference speakers DeMoss, and others praying at True Woman Indianapolis 2012

From DeMoss Revive Our Hearts website

From DeMoss’s website Revive Our Hearts, we read a transcript of some of the things that were said at the 2012 True Woman conference:

Holly Elliff: I loved that during the conference around the auditorium and in various places there were circles.

Holly: And those circles were symbolic because they represented the fact that every woman wanted to put herself there, draw a circle around her own life and say, “God, what do You want to do in me?”

Nancy (conf): And as you pass by those in the days ahead, I want to encourage you, if there is room, to just step inside one of those circles.

Joni Eareckson Tada: Because all the speakers had an opportunity to stand in it. And of course, I had an opportunity to wheel inside that circle. May revival begin with me.

Woman at the Conference,
From DeMoss Revive Our Hearts website

True Woman simulcast participant Jamie McMullen’s concern led her to research this circle making and praying, and also to contact the conference organizers to ask if they were aware of the deep occult and pagan origins of this circle making. She wrote, “I received an email back promptly assuring me these circles are to help us visualize our commitment to God as well as give an outward showing to God that we are repentant and want revival to start with us. Then the representative stated: “No occult connections”.

However they are severely deluded as to the occult connections. The pagan connections is the point of this essay. Sola Sisters, Jamie McMullen, and Pastor Swofford did a superb job of showing why chalk circles are not biblically supported, using Bible verses, and I urge you to read their essays to see why. All the links are in one place down below.

Therefore, I am taking this issue from the occult angle. Interestingly, after three hours’ research last night I came across Pastor Jason Swofford’s work which exactly confirmed my own research as far as why and how the practice varied from the Bible, and for that I’m grateful. He is pastor of the Myers Road Baptist Church in WA and his research on prayer/chalk circles can be read here. He has two essays and a video.

Mark Batterson says in his promotional video, that we should – “Learn how to pray in a new way.” “Dream big”. “You can’t just read the Bible. You need to start circling the promises.” “Your job is not to crunch numbers and make sure the will of God adds up. Your job is to draw circles in the sand. If you draw the circle, God will multiply the miracles in your life.”

The Gnostic always ties in what you do with your spiritual success. “If you do this…God will do this…”. That is one way to tell if you are being fed a Gnostic technique.

Secondly, run fast and far from anyone who says they have come up with “a new way” to do anything regarding Christianity. God delivered His word once for all to the saints. (Jude 1:3). Moreover, Jesus was very specific when He taught us how to pray. (Matthew 6:5-15.) In Matthew 6:9 Jesus said “Pray, then, in this way”. It is not possible to get any clearer about how to pray. For Batterson to declare he is teaching us a new way directly goes against what Jesus said in the canonized and complete revelation we know as the Bible.

I believe in the power of photos so I gathered photographs from different eras and different cultures and different religions which depict people praying inside a sacred circle. Looking at the pictures it is clear that chalk circle praying is pagan.

Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker,
demonstrating how to cast a circle

This is not a “new” thing, despite Batterson’s advertising it as such. As a matter of fact, ritual circle making is as old as the hills, and has always been unbiblical. I ask you, is Batterson’s making a chalk circle above any different from the Wiccan making a prayer circle below? Both are making a space they claim is sacred, as opposed to the space inches away outside the circle that is common. This sacred space keeps evil away, they both claim. Both claim that it is a bubble that has power and will draw down promises from on high to the benefit of the petitioner.

The man below is a Wiccan, showing how to “cast a prayer circle”. You can see he is a Wiccan, I placed an arrow atop his shrine that points to his pentacle. In Wiccan circle casting we are told that we cast a circle “to direct your energy (read – make your thoughts materialize –) …and to create a concentrated flow of energy and direct it into the informational system of the Universe. In other words, casting a circle ensures you achieve the result faster and do it safer.” This description matches Batterson’s concept completely.

In Batterson’s The Circle Maker, he promises that if read his book, “we will claim God-given promises.” He also states that “if you draw prayer circles, God will answer those prayers.” Both the Wiccan and Batterson say the same thing- draw a circle, pray to a higher power, and get results.

This is witchcraft.

Speaking of magic, Wikipedia explains what a “magic circle is. “A solomonic magic circle with a triangle of conjuration in the east. This would be drawn on the ground, and the operator would stand within the protection of the circle while a spirit was conjured into the triangle.” Wikipedia, Magic Circle

That explanation is no different from Revive Our Hearts’ email response noted above, that we should stand inside a circle, visualize, and call on the Spirit for what we want. No. Different.

This is conjuring.

“A prayer circle in Hinduism is a Mandala. “a mandala is a circle used in prayer. It is a kind of diagram. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.”

Did you catch that “focusing attention” reason of the mandala’s use in Hinduism? The same thing the Christian prayer circle was said to promote, “to visualize our commitment.”

The photos below are explained thus: In Hinduism, Human beings with their finite instruments of knowledge, cannot conceive of the formless Infinite. So the use of images aids concentration. Last month, we had performed a ‘Graha shanthi homa’ in our home. As part of the prayers to the Sun God, a beautiful mandala was drawn on the floor in front of the puja room.

Source

Native Americans pray inside a medicine wheel.

Indigenous Cultural Education Center – ICEC

In the photo below, Native American Sacred Wheel (Shaman), “Paul Davids by the Medicine Wheel that overlooks Boynton Canyon, Sedona, where Rahelio explains the wheel’s sacred mysteries and powers for prayer.”

Druids prayed inside a sacred circle –

Here is a Mystic praying in a circle-

Photo Laura Briedis

Participant at True Woman conference

Here are Buddhists praying at a circle-

The most potent objection to sacred circles in my opinion is their origin from Wicca. In Witchcraft we learn how to cast a circle, something in the photo way above I’d posted.

Below, a Witch coven in the 1940s.

Prayer labyrinths are also similar to chalk circles.

Above, people walk the Saffron Walden turf labyrinth in Essex England.

Discernment tips:

1. Whenever someone says they have a NEW way of doing Christianity, run. This includes a new way to fast, a new way to pray, a new way to experience God, a new way to do church … I say run, because Jesus outlined what to do via the Spirit in the Bible. It is all there before us. There are no new ways. There is only THE way.
2. Whenever someone discounts the Bible implicitly or explicitly, run. Mr Batterson had said, “You can’t just read the Bible. You need to start circling the promises.” He has added a work, and this implicitly says the Bible isn’t enough.
3. Ritual/Idol/Activity – Whenever someone says you have to perform some activity to get God’s notice, run.
4. Gnosticism always implies the author has either a secret knowledge or a hierarchy to get closer to God and is revealing it for the first time now. Batterson said if you perform circle casting, the following will occur- “the CLOSER you get to God the BIGGER your dreams get.” I don’t know how much closer we can get to God than having Him INSIDE us.
5. Beware of people who use personal examples and not the Bible to “prove” their new method works.

The bad news…”The Circle Maker for Kids” is being released on August 6.

God condemns idolatry:
“Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.” (Isaiah 57:8)

Sorceries have always been condemned in the Bible and we are told that even at the end during the Tribulation they will have been going strong:

“nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:21)

I hope you can see by now that despite Batterson’s claim that this circle praying isn’t a ritual, it is. I hope you can see by now that despite the True Woman conference people saying it has no link to the occult, they are wrong. I hope you have read enough to see that if the book or Bible study is presented at your church, you can refuse on solid grounds. It never originated from the Bible, and therefore is not profitable for us.

Here are more links to read thoughtful and biblical explanations as to why, when it comes to praying inside a circle, you should leave the practice alone and stick to Matthew 6.

Jason Swofford, Myers Road Baptist Church in WA–
Mark Batterson is promoting ritual magic
The Circle Maker Exposed: One Long Comment From The Circle Maker Addressed
The Circle Maker Exposed

Sola Sisters–
Nancy Leigh DeMoss Endorsing Chalk Circles? Mercy.

Tim Challies:
The Circle Maker book review

Jamie McMullen, Christian blogger, The Velvet Covered Brick
Prayer Circles

food network, n word, paula deen, racism

(UPDATED) Paul Deen alleged as a racist, dropped by Food Network

Posted on June 22, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Updates at bottom.

I’ve written about the Food Network several times lately, lol. (Here, here, and here) Maybe because the level of sin has reached even this last ‘bastion’ of G-rated programming. This morning I delved into the Paula Deen issue where she has been revealed to be (allegdly) racist and has been dropped from Food Network.

I live in Georgia, but I’m from New England. Famous cooking personality and foodie titan Paula Deen has many supporters down here. This is big news in GA, Deen’s home state.

Her shows on Food Network are- Paula Deen’s Best Dishes, Paula’s Party, and Paula’s Home Cooking. Not to mention the shows her sons have also. She has restaurants, a line of cooking wares. She has cookbooks, and makes guest appearances on many other Cooking Channel and Food Network shows. She’s everywhere.

I never liked her.

But to each his own, I said, and went on with my life.

However, a while ago it came out that she had had Type II diabetes for three years but kept it hidden, all the while cooking fatty and sugary foods on her shows. That’s hypocrisy of the highest order, and lying. Then it came out that not only she had diabetes but came clean on the same day she had a lucrative contract with a drug company she was promoting to help with diabetes. That’s crass greed.

NY Times put it this way:
“January 2012 when she announced she had Type 2 diabetes on the same day she endorsed the diabetes drug Victoza and a lucrative collaboration with Novo Nordisk, the drug’s manufacturer. Because she had built her career on a no-holds-barred approach to sugar and fat (creating recipes like a cheeseburger patty sandwiched between two doughnuts and a Better than Sex cake made with cake mix, pudding mix, and heavy cream), she was roundly criticized for encouraging an unhealthy diet for others, hiding her illness and then trying to profit from it. “

Exactly!

Then it seems she and her brother, who own a restaurant together, were being sued for sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and a creating fearful workplace in which the plaintiff (Manager Lisa Jackson) was subjected to profanity and gender discrimination among other things, on a daily basis for five years.

I read the GA lawsuit. I can’t even repeat some of the things that Jackson alleges Paula Deen and her brother said, they are so crass, gross, and profane. The plaintiff has her side, and Deen of course has her side, but in this incident I paste below from the plaintiff’s lawsuit, let it be known that in Deen’s deposition she did not deny saying that she was planning a southern style plantation wedding- it’s just that Deen discounted the slaves/racial aspect of it. Click for larger.

This is Deen’s response to that allegation of the desire to have a “true southern plantation wedding.”

“And I remember telling them about a restaurant that my husband and I had recently visited. And I’m wanting to think it was in Tennessee or North Carolina or somewhere, and it was so impressive. The whole entire wait staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie. I mean, it was really impressive. And I remember saying I would love to have servers like that, I said, but I would be afraid that somebody would misinterpret.” (source)

Go ahead and read the plaintiff’s allegations, you will be shocked. There are allegations of hiring only whites to work the front of the restaurant, to calling the black staff “monkeys,”, to having a black-only bathroom in the restaurant for their workers, and these things are corroborated by witnesses in other depositions.

From the deposition:

Q. Miss Deen, earlier in your testimony you indicated that one of the things that you had tried to — that you and your husband tried to teach your children was not to use the N word in a mean way, do you recall that testimony?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And could you give me an example of how you have demonstrated for them a nice way to use the N word?

In the deposition it was also stated, as well as in the lawsuit alleged by the plaintiff, that the plaintiff had hired a consultant to review the evidence and make a determination as to whether there was sufficient cause to go forward with the lawsuit. There was.

Compare with Paula Deen’s back-pedaling in her deposition. Deen was asked in her deposition if she had ever used the N-word. Her response was –

“Yes, of course.”

Of course? Like we all do? Like it’s a normal thing? No, of course NOT.

She tried to say that it was when she was held up at a bank and a black man held a gun to her head, but her response of “yes of course” belied an inner familiarity with using the word that many in the rest of America do not possess. That, plus the other times she admitted to using the word, (but could not recall exactly when), committing to an appearance on the Today Show, and then not showing up, did it for me. In reading what she is alleged to have said at the restaurant by the Manager Lisa Jackson, it all added up to a distasteful bundle I do not care to unwrap any longer.

One incident perhaps can be explained away. Or two. But using the n-word as a matter of course, planning a plantation wedding and seeking black-only waitstaff, her and her brother’s repeated pattern of racial, ethnic, and gender harassment- in front of witnesses, cannot be explained away. There were just too many things to overlook.

A television network is a corporation and corporations exist to make money. It says a lot that a money maker like Deen was dropped summarily, even though the network had stuck by her when the diabetes issue came to light.

Read the lawsuit and the deposition. It presents a dark and ugly picture. Apparently Food Network was fed up too, and they dropped Deen from the network.

In Numbers 32:23 we read a familiar verse:

“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

“Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:3).

It is every northerner’s secret certainty that all southerners believe and act as Mrs Deen did, sweet on the outside and racist on the inside.

Many southerners who do not believe as Mrs Deen does fear that they will be lumped into the racist category without cause.

It is a sad day when sins such as hers are revealed to validate both the secret certainty of the Yankee and the secret embarrassment of the fair-minded southerner.

It is also a blight against Christianity and Jesus in particular when someone who professes Jesus holds contemptuous views and even uses their faith in fringe ways to oppress others (as I read in the deposition).

It’s not easy to have the floodlight of Glory shine on you to reveal all the ugliness inside. I know I would hate it and will be embarrassed at myself when it does happen, either on this side of the veil or when Jesus comes. Mrs Deen needs prayer to open her eyes and heart to the true love of Jesus so that she will embrace these verses:

“Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11)

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.” (Romans 10:12)

In heaven we will all be one tribe: the body of Christ-

“so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12:5)

I cannot wait for the day when we are all truly one, without sin and glorifying and worshiping Jesus from every tongue, tribe and nation as ONE people: as Zephaniah 3:9 says we will do-

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord.”

The ugliness of the world is heartbreaking, which makes the glory and light of heaven so appealing, desirable, and beautiful!

———-

Updates.
here are a few articles that in my opinion relay the meat of the In this CSM article, they raise the issue I had above-
Paula Deen and the N-word: A plate of bigotry with that fried chicken?
Paula Deen, the woman who has put Southern culture on a pedestal, may be responsible for raising deeper questions about whether the marketing of Southern cuisine comes with a side of bigotry.
“But what really irked a lot of Americans about Deen’s comments is a long-held suspicion about Southern culture and its food: that it’s all honey and biscuits on top, but ultimately debilitating and unhealthy below the crust. That may not be the whole truth, but to say it’s not part of the truth would be disingenuous, especially given the controversy cooked up by arguably the South’s greatest culinary ambassador.”

In this article from Mediaite, “Paula Deen’s Sin Wasn’t That She ‘Said A Bad Word’”. In Deen’s wish to plan a wedding that featured all-Black waitstaff dressed as in the Shirley Temple tap dancing days, (her own words according to plaintiff), “See, to Paula Deen, the slavery part was incidental to her appreciation for that scene. The aesthetic that she enjoyed was centered around her own experience of living in the South. That’s the essence of white privilege, the ability to just adore the crisp “professionalism” of these men and women, without a thought for the price of that comforting visual. She didn’t like the slavery, she just liked the way it looked.”

Well said.