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What is the ‘still, small voice’?

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

This was an answer to a question posed to me on a comment stream. I am expanding it to a blog entry.

The Still Small Voice is not a voice of God nor is it a personal experience, intuition, or a word from the Lord (or word of knowledge). Revelation has ceased, the canon of the bible is closed. In these last days He spoke to us by His son. (Hebrews 1:2).

People who believe they have heard or seek after a voice, through prayer, or a labyrinth or contemplative practices or whatever are actually rebelling against the authority of God’s word. People who wait on a whisper from God are actually elevating themselves to a position equal to the throne.

Do you not think that God can orchestrate events He desires to come to fruition whether we ‘hear’ His voice or not?

What if you’re doing voice-listening and it said “Kill your children”? What then? Or “Leave your wife”? Or worse, “Is the bible really true? Hath God said?” We cannot trust the voice, the whisper, the process of osmosis whereupon God plops truth to your brain via voices.

GotQuestions.org discusses the still, small voice–
“The point of God speaking in the still small voice was to show Elijah that the work of God need not always be accompanied by dramatic revelation or manifestations. Divine silence does not necessarily mean divine inactivity. Zechariah 4:6 tells us that God’s work is “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” meaning that overt displays of power are not necessary for God to work.”

The still, small voice misuse has thus been ripped from its context as a demonstration of a narrow point to Elijah about Israel, to apply to all New Testament believers as expecting personal words from God. Not so.

That said, one of the Holy Spirit’s ministries is to reveal scripture to us. He brings these things to mind. (John 14:26). He develops fruit in us for the name of Jesus. (Galatians 5:22-23).

And this:

“And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

He is our teacher. Does He teach us scriptural truths via an audible or an inner voice? No. But He does clarify scripture for us. Here we have MacArthur explaining the difference between a voice from God about scripture and the Holy Spirit clarifying scripture:

“The line between clarifying Scripture and adding to it is indeed a thin one. But Scripture is not clarified by listening to someone who thinks he has the gift of prophecy. Scripture is clarified as it is carefully and diligently studied. There are no shortcuts to interpreting God’s word accurately (cf. Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 2:15).”

That was from a 4-part article series called “Does God give personal direction through a still, small voice?“

Does God clarify scripture by delivering a whisper to your brain, or by reading His word, where He said he revealed Himself? The ‘voice’ is the Word, given to us via scripture (John 1:1-5). Look at this comment about when John received his vision in Revelation,

“And John hears this voice and it sounds like the smashing surf in the midst of a storm. And it indicates to us that the Lord is not only interceding in His church, He’s not only purifying His church, but He’s commanding His church. He moves in His church with authority and He brings to bear commands in His church. He’s not making quiet suggestions. He’s not any longer speaking in a still, small voice. He is speaking commandingly in His church. And the commands that He speaks come through His Word, which is Scripture. He is bringing His people under the authority of His word.” (Christ’s role in the church today)

Any word we hear that is outside His word is outside His authority.

Scripture teaches us, as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states,

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

The WORD trains us in righteousness and equips us, not a small voice. For training and equipping, one has to study.

As for me personally, the practicalities of the situation are that I approach the bible in various ways. Sometimes I just read it, like a book. I might read a chapter with nothing else in mind but to simply read. During sermons I have the bible open and read along with the pastor. Other times when I prepare to study deeply, I pray first. I also repent. I spend some quiet time. When I get ready to study, I have a notebook and a pen handy. I use my study bible. Then, I read it, stopping frequently (like every verse or even within a verse) to ponder. I check cross references. I might look at parallel verses to see how it is said in other translations. As you can imagine, it’s painstaking.

But when I study, and all is quiet and I’ve prepared my mind, then the Spirit brings to mind connections to other verses I have read. Or He deepens my understanding of the one I am reading now and perhaps have read before. THAT is the voice, not something audible but the Spirit working in me to knit together an understanding of a passage that I had not had before. It is called illumination and it is a work of the Spirit. it is how He transforms my mind. But I have to work at it by cracking open the bible myself, first.

As for this “still, small voice” it is from 1 Kings 19:12. Barnes Notes explains, “A still small voice – literally, “a sound of soft stillness.” The teaching is a condemnation of that “zeal” which Elijah had gloried in, a zeal exhibiting itself in fierce and terrible vengeances, and an exaltation and recommendation of that mild and gentle temper, which “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (Barnes Notes)

Obviously, the verse from 1 Kings is not about dwelling quietly and tuning out the world’s noise. It is not akin to another verse that is ripped out of context, “Be still, and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10) which doesn’t mean ‘be still to hear from God’. It is not listening for a voice in the quiet to speak personal direction to you.

Then how does God guide us? Well, in the ways above via the Spirit, and through Providence.

He works all things together for the good.

“Also we know that all things work together for the best unto them that love God, even to them that are called of his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

What you do is submit to God, turning your life over to Him. You diligently study His statutes and learn what He expects. And you go forth and live your life. I’ll give two examples.

First, I have read in the past of a missionary who was converted and after a while of training and study, decided that he had felt God’s call upon his life to be a missionary. The man was convinced he was to minister to the French. He had a history in Paris, he knew French, he had a love for the French.

So he trained up in missionary school or whatever, and the time came when he was waiting for his orders. He didn’t get Paris. No France. No Europe. Initially the man was crestfallen, thinking that this whole time he had missed what he felt God was putting into him. But when his orders did come, it all made sense. He was to be a missionary in French Canadian Quebec. The man had it right, but just the details wrong.

In another example that is not even so dramatic and more properly applies to us regular folk living a non-radical life, John MacArthur was answering a question in one of his Bible Q&A sessions about the voice of God and how to know what to do in life. He said that he just lives his life, not waiting for voices or bells or dramatic circumstances to direct him. He gave the example of when presented with a list of speaking engagements he is invited to. There are always more engagements than he can attend. So he simply goes down the list in matter-of-fact form, checking off the ones he can do or not do. He looks at what is doable and God exalting and goes from there.

Later, he said, he sees the magnificent Hand of God’s Providence in his life. At a conference he met a man, and that man was just the man he needed to collaborate on a book. Or the speech led to another event which cemented a certain thing. Later he can see how all things were working to the good, but often we cannot see it at the time. But later, we can.

Actually, waiting for a still, small voice means we may miss the Providence of God in our lives. Or we become dependent on the voice and when we do not hear it we wait and do nothing.

Providence is how it worked with me. I was saved in Maine, but my career in journalism was concluded, having sold the newspaper I’d started. I wondered what to do next. I was tired of the harsh winters and longed for a gentler climate. I had done a lot of traveling in the decade previously and I liked Florida. But when it came time to move, FL was too expensive for me. So I chose Georgia. The cost of living was lower, the climate was better, and I could make the fresh start I’d wanted.

Later I realized that the hills and pastures in this rural area were just the wonderful balm I had needed for my quaking soul, but had not known it. That the Godly people here were also the strength this new Christian required if I was to thrive. That the Lord would bring me around to working in the educational system again, with children, the lack of which in my life was slowly draining it of professional joy (I see now, but not then). He knew all that and more. His providence worked to the good in my life and to those around me whom I fellowship with. He nestled me into a berth that is perfect.

Could He have done that if I’d moved to Tuscon, or Houston? Sure. But he worked it out providentially here in GA and I am so grateful. I trust Him to work in me. Trust. I pick up my cross every day, and follow Him. Picking up the cross involves trust to be led whether I hear a voice or not.

How do we know that ‘voice’ we think we hear isn’t our flesh? An unconfessed desire? Or satan’s voice? I often hear a voice inside my head. It says “Eat cake!” but I don’t follow it. (OK, I do). If it says “Eat broccoli” I tend to trust it more. LOL.

The point is, did I pray contemplatively and walk a labyrinth and do centering prayer and wait for a whisper? No. I just live my life in submission to Him and amid the practicalities of my every day life.

So that’s the still, small voice. Now go eat some broccoli.

history channel, the bible

The Guardian: "History Channel’s The Bible series is worse than reality TV"

Posted on March 26, 2013 by elizabethprata

The British newspaper The Guardian has a US edition. Here is one reviewer’s assessment:

“The scriptures according to basic cable make a mockery of history and religion. Surely all these viewers deserve better”

Couldn’t have said it better myself! Some good quotes from the review:

“The History Channel more or less abandoned the pretext of history years ago. As programs like “UFO Hunters”, “Swamp People” and “Hairy Bikers” added up, the network’s decision to broadcast The Bible as a mini-series seemed like an obvious disaster. It is, too, in all ways except one: ratings.”

I never thought I’d see the following in one sentence together: “UFO Hunters”, “Swamp People”, “Hairy Bikers”, “The Bible”. It’s like a bad ‘which one of these doesn’t belong?’

“Bubonic plague…..Dismemberment…..Infanticide…..Puppies”

Uh, plague?

To continue- “The sum is bland, erratic, and would be incoherent if it weren’t somewhat familiar material. The Wire this is not.”

“Nobody expected art – or even history – from the History Channel, but the producers veered so far in the opposite direction that they erased all the personality and depth of the source, not to mention heart or wit. The History Channel has given us the Bible as reality TV. The result amounts to little more than an exploitation of faith.”

What have I been saying?!?! —

“and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; (make merchandise of you KJV) their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

contemplative prayer, discernment, john piper, lectio divina, ravi zacharias

Why are mature men of the faith suddenly seeming to go off the narrow road of orthodoxy and saying or doing wacky things?

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

I’ve been watching the Christian field with perplexity and dismay lately. It seems that the organizations an individuals we rely on suddenly take a left turn and drive pell mell off the road. They had been doctrinally steady for years and decades, and then suddenly they are doing strange practices or recommending heretics.

It makes me scratch my head, for sure. Why do mature leaders of our faith suddenly go wacky in the doctrine department? How does this happen? That is what this blog entry will seek to discover.

It stands to reason that babes in Christ lack some discernment because discernment is a skill. It comes with testing, with age, with study, with prayer, and by the Holy Spirit. It is why there are pastors and elders who are given instruction on how to behave with and teach the younger ones. Not that younger Christians can’t have discernment, but it is a skill that is refined with practice.

However the perplexity comes when the mature ones who should know better suddenly start displaying a lack of discernment. Let me offer a few recent examples:

–Focus on the Family has been a strongly mature and reliable biblical resource for families 35 years, but there are some with influence at the organization who have fallen hook, line, and sinker for Roma Downey and her Bible miniseries crowd. They have endorsed, even backed the series, and hosted a function to match up Downey and Burnett with gaming folks to create The Bible miniseries computer game, a game like “Where’s Waldo”.

—Answers in Genesis is an organization founded 35 years ago by Ken Ham. It is dedicated to bible apologetics with a particular focus on supporting young Earth creationism and a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. They have been strongly biblical for decades. Yet at least one reviewer on staff deemed the bible miniseries fairly acceptable, mostly because it played to their bias and presented Noah and the flood as historical. They stated,

“Nevertheless, even as a stand-alone production, The Bible will likely lead many to Christ. Why? Because it presents the Bible’s history as real history—instead of eroding trust in God’s Word from the very first verse…”

I believe the series has shown itself undeniably to have eroded the word of God. As a matter of fact, it has eroded it so much that AIG says the following in the same review, prior to the above statement:

“It unfortunately lacks a clear presentation of the gospel message like that included at the end of the 1979 Jesus Film AIG also notes because the miniseries has about 4,100 years of history to cover in just 10 hours, many of the events are compressed and shuffled, resulting in “a few things out of order and even a few outright discrepancies with biblical history.”

“Obviously, if you or your children are troubled by the presence of some factual errors, then you should consider not watching the film,” AIG notes.

We don’t come to faith because we believe the bible is historical fact. We don’t say, ‘hey it was pretty good, despite being unclear on that whole Gospel thing’. We don’t say, “gee, despite getting some things flat out wrong, the bible miniseries was acceptable!” We don’t say, “If you’re overly sensitive to our inerrant bible having error polluted by pagans with an antichrist agenda, maybe it’s not a good idea to watch it, but for the rest of us who don’t mind our blood-bought word presented corruptedly, it’ll be a comfy evening with the telly!” Except…they did say it.

–John Piper has been a pastor for 30 years and has authored 50 books. He is well regarded as a pastor, having just retired this month. Yet of late has participated in a Lectio Divina, a Catholic mystical practice involving prayer, endorsed it and offered resources on his website on how to perform it, and hobnobs with heretics, all at this late date in his career. (He retired this week).

If you don’t know what Lectio Divina is or contemplative prayer (or centering prayer) know that it is a method of prayer that does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied but a is mystical exercise of substituting for study an intuitive experience of having emptied the mind to receive a special revelation from God directly. The following bloggers have explained why Contemplative prayer and lectio divina are bad.

Sola Sisters: Piper encouraging Lectio Divina
Do Not Be Surprised: Biblical silence vs. mystical silence.
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: Centering prayer
Wretched Radio explains contemplative prayer and discusses Piper’s promotion of Lectio Divina at the Passion 2012 conference.

–Ravi Zacharias is a Canadian-American evangelical Christian apologist. Zacharias is the author of numerous Christian books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner Can Man Live Without God? and bestsellers Light in the Shadow of Jihad and The Grand Weaver. He is the founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and host of the radio program Let My People Think. He is a high-end intellectual, brilliant and wise, gentle and profound. He has stood on the bible and its doctrines as the only truth for decades.

That is why I was stunned when he appeared on heretic Joyce Meyer’s show and worse, said she was “a great bible teacher” and that “God was using her”. I can understand if he wanted to appear on her program to reach her lost followers, John MacArthur was asked to speak at the Mormon temple and they still invited him after he stated he was going to present the Gospel and say what he had planned to say. But this wasn’t that. It was Ravi endorsing Meyer as a bible teacher and announcing that God was using her. I went totally off my rocker when I saw that.

Youtube link here

If it is news to you that Joyce Meyer is a heretic, go to CARM to read why. Also in Justin Peters’ updated bible teaching titled A Call For Discernment, he uses Meyer’s material to show why and where it is false.

We are all scratching our heads, saying WHAAAAT is going on? It is a fact that these strange and unsettling things are happening. My question is, why?

The number one issue related to the church, pastors answer when asked, is that its people lack discernment. As John MacArthur says

“Today’s church is like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, who could tell the difference between superficial things like pleasant and stormy weather, but not between truth and error (Matt. 16:1-3). So many churches have relinquished biblical ethics and doctrine, a deep reverence and worship of God, repentance over sin, humility toward God and fellow believers, and a profound understanding of God’s character and work. All that has resulted in a low-level commitment to holy living.”

However, the men I’ve quoted are individuals or are with credible organizations. It does not seem to me that Ravi Zacharias has made a low-level commitment to holy living. Nor John Piper. So what’s the deal?

Tim Challies wrote a book on discernment. He says that lack of discernment leads to backsliding. That is a good thought. Personally, I think that backsliding, or unaddressed sin, also leads to a lack of discernment. I do know that the bible says we cannot be mature without discernment, but the perplexing lack of discernment we are seeing is from many mature, elder pastors and men of the faith who have demonstrated steadily mature discernment for decades. Could it be they have had a failure to repent of some unaddressed sin which is causing dullness of hearing? Perhaps. Hebrews 5:11-14 says–

Warning Against Apostasy— About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

The writer of Hebrews here is talking of a regression. They should be more advanced than they were but the writer despaired of even going forward with what he originally wanted to say because they had become ‘dull of hearing’ and it would be pointless. What causes dullness of hearing? I think anyone can make a mistake, and anyone can have an unaddressed sin in their life. But if one does not repent of it, compounds the tendency to regress back to milk, and the refusal/inability to hear leads to more drifting. This is a deadly trajectory. Again we go to Hebrews, this time chapter 2.

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” (Hebrews 2:1-4)

At The Expository Files we read, “The first reason for this exhortation is that there is a real danger of “drifting.” It is actually possible for us to “drift away” from our salvation. In 2:3 we learn that we can “neglect” our salvation. Later in 3:12-14 we are told that we can “depart” from God. In 6:4-6 we are told that we can so “fall away” that it becomes impossible to renew us again to repentance. And then in 10:26:27 we are told that we can reach a point where the sacrifice of Christ is no longer available for our sins. So the danger of “drifting” is very real!

(Go here to see how the Hebrews verse is NOT talking about a solid Christian losing their salvation)

The verse does not say we plunge. It doesn’t say we plummet out of faith. It seems to happen slowly. We drift. It happens when we neglect, and we fail to pay attention.

In the novel “Watership Down” a fictional story of rabbits searching for a new field to create a warren in, they would entertain each other with tales and myths. They had sayings. One of them was about the weather, and the onset of bad news, “One cloud feels lonely.” Let’s change that to my own motto, “One sin feels lonely”.

If there is a sin, and it’s not addressed, it hardens us a little bit. It makes us a little bit sluggish in the spiritual department. We get wax in our ears. Jeremiah 7:11 says “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.” You refuse to pay attention, and your ears get dull. More sins come. Just look at what happened in the Garden, and pretty quickly, too. Genesis 3. They disobeyed, they blamed, they hid. By the next generation, there was murder. It doesn’t take long for sin to pile on!

Matthew 13:15 also speaks of the hard hear and dull ears. In all three cases, (Hebrews, Jeremiah, Matthew) it was the person’s refusal to hear. They did it deliberately either through neglect or through rebellion.

This drifting, this regressing, is a process. It’s spoken of in 2 Timothy 3:13 “while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Once the trajectory is begun, they go from bad to worse.

It is really important for a mature person who deviates from the solid food of doctrine, if not caught early, will fall away and it will be impossible to restore them to repentance. Hebrews goes on in chapter 6 thus:

“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

So you see the danger. When we see mature elders suddenly veer off, it is either they were false all along and their true colors are coming out (something I hesitate to believe in the above cases) or they have some unrepented-of sin, have become dull, neglected some aspect of their faith walk, and are sliding and drifting away. In the latter case, perhaps when we see a perplexing behavior or doctrine come out of them that makes us scratch our heads, that is the first signal. The check engine light just came on, and it better get checked, because one sin feels lonely.

It always strikes us at the heart when a person is uncovered who suddenly seems to be lacking in the discernment department, and disheartening too. However, we have the privilege of praying for them and others that we may know who seem to suddenly be coming up with unorthodox behavior or doctrines. We can ask for discernment (wisdom). The glory is that Jesus promised to deliver it to us if we ask. (James 1:5).

offense

Student suspended for NOT stomping on Jesus

Posted on March 25, 2013 by elizabethprata

Florida Atlantic Univ. student claims he was suspended for not stomping on Jesus
A student at Florida Atlantic University has charged that his professor in intercultural communications class told the whole class to write the name JESUS in bold letters on a piece of paper, then drop the papers and stomp all over them. The alleged incident happened three weeks ago on the Davie, Florida campus of FAU, according to WPEC-TV. (Scroll down for the video.) Junior Ryan Rotela, a devout Mormon, is the student making the charge. “Anytime you stomp on something it shows that you believe that something has no value,” he told the South Florida CBS affiliate. “So if you were to stomp on the word Jesus, it says that the word has no value.” Some students stomped; others, including Rotela, didn’t. He said he told the instructor, Deandre Poole, that the assignment offended his religious convictions. Two days later, the junior alleges, he went to an FAU school official to express his unease with the assignment. The result? Rotela has been suspended from the class. An FAU official defended the decision, telling WPEC that the Jesus-stomping was part of a classroom exercise from a textbook: “Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 5th Edition.”

When’s the Allah-stomping class? Hmmm?

Later, the College apologized. They are not going to use this exercise anymore. The exercise really is from the textbook. The manual reads:

“This exercise is a bit sensitive, but really drives home the point that even though symbols are arbitrary, they take on very strong and emotional meanings. Have the students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper. Ask the students to stand up and put the paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a moment. After a brief period of silence, instruct them to step on the paper. Most will hesitate. Ask why they can’t step on the paper. Discuss the importance of symbols in culture.”

There’s just one thing, though. Jesus is not a symbol. He is GOD. he is real, walked the earth as a man, and rose again to reign over our lives from His throne in heaven. He isn’t a symbol like a stop sign is a symbol. he is not a symbol like an alphabet letter is a symbol. Calling this “a bit sensitive” understates things. And would the textbook ‘dare’ to use Allah’s name instead? Of course not.

Luke 21:17 says, “and you will be hated by all because of My name.” The name of Jesus evokes anger, disdain, and hatred.

“They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” (John 15:21)

cross, horizontal cross, jewelry, merchandise, sideways cross

The latest Christian fad- Is wearing a sideways (horizontal) cross good, or bad?

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

Kelly Ripa has one. Taylor Jacobson, Rachel Zoe’s assistant has one. Jessica Biel wears it too. Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, Jillian Michaels…all sport one. (And if you know who those people are, more power to you.) It has been described as “wildly popular”, “the hottest trend,” “totally cute”, and the “in fashion.” What is it? The sideways cross necklace.

Any time there is innovation related to anything in Christianity, we perk up. Our first question should be “What does it mean?” Why do we ask this first? We must be reverent–

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,” (Hebrews 12:28)

“And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” (Revelation 19:5).

Fads are nothing new. They affect Christianity just as they affect the world. Most often, fads are related to doctrine, movements, or worldwide phenomena in the ecclesiology department, affecting preaching. As Phil Johnson says of fads,

“In the past two decades we have seen a relentless parade of phony miraculous phenomena, and literally millions of Christians have jumped on this bandwagon, running from one charismatic fad to another, desperately trying to get in on the latest display of divine power.”

But there are Christian merchandising fads, too. Love Dare diaries from Fireproof, Courageous Decree, WWJD bracelets, prayer blankets… fads, fads, fads. As Phil Johnson asked in 2005 of the merchandising fads, “Shall we sell our birthright for a mess of faddage?“

“So why has the recent culture of American evangelicalism—a movement supposedly based on a commitment to timeless truths—been so susceptible to fads? Why are evangelical churches so keen to jump on every bandwagon? Why do our people so eagerly rush to buy the latest book, CD, or cheap bit of knockoff merchandise concocted by the marketing geniuses who have taken over the Christian publishing industry?”

Some of the beginner-level fads have seemed harmless enough—evangelical kitsch like Kinkade paintings, Precious Moments® collectibles, singing songbooks, moralizing vegetables, bumper stickers, Naugahyde® Bible covers, and whatnot. Such fads themselves, taken individually, may not seem worth complaining about at all. But collectively, they have created an appetite for “the ugly and the superficial.” They have spawned more and more fads. Somewhere along the line, evangelicals got the notion that all the fads were good, because the relentless parade of bandwagons gave the illusion that evangelicals were gaining significant influence and visibility. No bandwagon was too weird to get in the parade. And the bigger, the better.

Johnson goes on to say that somewhere along the line bandwagons become Trojan horses. I recommend Pastor Johnson’s essay in its entirety. He sure can write. (His retirement from blogging left a huge hole! Wah!)

Is it bad to wear a sideways necklace? I’d written a few days ago about hair, clothes and jewelry, here: “Adorned in Christ, how should we dress for Holy Week?” In that essay I’d mentioned, ” 1 Timothy 2:9 says “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,” and went through the historical reasons for that admonition and the one in 1 Peter 3:3.

So we ask again, is it bad or wrong to wear a sideways cross necklace? is it respectable apparel?

I looked for a definitive interpretation of the horizontal cross, and though a definitive one was lacking, I found the following in most places I looked:

One interpretation holds that wearing the cross sideways means that “humanity is positioned right in the middle of heaven and hell. This makes it a neutral symbol.”

This seems like an innocuous and even a pleasant notion. But, no, there is no neutrality. There is no middle road. In fact this is an insidious teaching that is contrary to what the bible teaches. Either you believe and you’re saved as a son of God, or you do not believe and you are condemned already as a child of hell. (John 3:18, Matthew 23:15, Hebrews 3:19). Humanity is already in either heaven or hell.

Another interpretation holds that: “Because of this meaning, some people say that wearing a sideways cross necklace means that you are aware of your place in this existence; And that you are grounded here on earth.”

Again this is contrary to what the bible teaches. Christians who believe by faith in the Gospel have a home in heaven. This earth is not our home. (Hebrews 13:14). We are not to love the world or anything in the world. (1 John 2:15). If you are a Christian wearing a sideways necklace to show you are grounded here on earth, either you have a flawed idea of what Christianity is or you have no clue about the glory that awaits.

“There are also people who believe that the sideways orientation of a necklace symbolizes Jesus Christ carrying the cross, this is one of my favorite interpretations.”

But He is not still carrying the cross. He died and rose again from an upright cross, declaring that it is finished. (John 19:30). That trumps the Savior’s carrying of it.

“It has also been based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The horizontal orientation of the necklace connotes that Jesus Christ has actually risen and that the cross has already been laid down to signify that humanity has been saved.”

This is also a false notion. It sounds Christian-y but it is actually untrue. First, He didn’t lay down the cross. And nether are we commanded to lay it down, we are to take it up (Mark 8:34).

Secondly, humanity has not been saved, only those who are in Christ are saved. For the unsaved billions, a sideways cross would be a futile symbol. What about them?

No, more to the point, if you’re going to symbolize things, ‘Lay down your arms” means it is being dispensed with. It is over. Done. Fighting is stopped. You accede, acquiesce, quit, surrender.

Yet Christians are called to pick up our cross, not lay it down. (Luke 9:23). We are called to arm ourselves and fight, taking up the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13). Wearing a sideways, laying down cross seems antithetical to what we are called to do in scripture.

And how many times are we called to stand? We are not standing in our own strength, either, but stand in Jesus. (Romans 14:4). His cross is still standing! Why would we ever signal that we are laying down our Christianity?

If you are not all that into symbolical interpretations of these things, and just want to wear a horizontal cross without all the hoo-haa, then before wearing sideways cross jewelry, ask yourself these questions:

Does it make you, the wearer, consumed with how the jewelry makes you look? (1 Peter 3:3).

It’s trendy, but should we join hands with the world and monkey with the 2000 year old symbol of our faith just to be “in”?

Would you be offended if your church laid the cross at the church altar on its side?

Is it a silent statement against Christianity, a jewelry wearer’s rebellion?

Is it making a commodity out of the Gospel by monkeying with its traditionality for the sake of fashion and money? Remember, Nadab and Abihu innovated a sacrificial service, and were killed for it. (Leviticus 10:1-2). Not that I am saying you will be killed by God if you wear a sideways cross, certainly, but is innovation proper? God gave us our faith, the holy bible, and its symbols. The most important one is the cross. God didn’t have Jesus die on a guillotine, or by the sword. He died on a cross, and that was for a specific, holy, perfect reason. Do you really want to innovate that, when God set it forth in perfection in the first place?

If there is this much confusion about its meaning, can it be good?

Does it exalt Jesus? Or bring confusion to the symbol and its universally understood meaning for the past 2000 years?

Are you succumbing to a merchandising fad? “That is the culture the evangelical movement deliberately created when it accepted the notion that religion is something to be peddled and sold to consumers like a commodity. That was a major philosophical shift that created an environment where unspiritual and unscrupulous men could easily make merchandise of the gospel.” ~Phil Johnson

The bible says that there will be fads and they come on the backs of greedy teachers bringing false words- “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (2 Peter 2:3).

Here is the most compelling reason not to wear a sideways cross!

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,”

John 3:14, Numbers 21:9

israel, jews, Obama, prophecy, turkey, zechariah

Israel PM brother-in-law says Obama is an anti-Semite

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

I happen to agree with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s brother-in-law. Here is news today regarding Obama in Israel-

Netanyahu’s Brother-In-Law Says Obama Is An Anti-Semite, Hates Israel
“In the midst of trying to ease tensions following one of the worst diplomatic rifts between the US and Israel in recent memory, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to distance himself from his brother-in-law Wednesday after he accused US President Barack Obama of being an anti-Semite during a radio interview. “It’s not that Obama doesn’t like Bibi,” Hagai Ben-Artzi said during the interview, according to Haaretz. “He doesn’t like the nation of Israel.” Ben-Artzi attributed Obama’s alleged anti-Semitism to his long association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose views Obama came to disavow during his presidential campaign in 2008. “When there is an anti-Semitic president in the United States, it is a test for us and we have to say: We will not concede. We are a nation dating back 4,000 years, and you in a year or two will be long forgotten. Who will remember you? But Jerusalem will dwell on forever,” Ben Artzi said.”

Netanyahu immediately distanced himself from his brother-in-law and rejected his opinion.

However, as with anyone, anywhere, check to see that what they say and what they do match up. Obama’s behavior over the last 4 years as president toward Israel’s prime minister has not been one of love or even regard, but of barely disguised disdain.

Last September, Reuters reported, In an unusual snub, Obama to avoid meeting Netanyahu

In 2010 the UK Telegraph reported, “Obama snubbed Netanyahu for dinner with Michelle and the girls, Israelis claim“
“Benjamin Netanyahu was left to stew in a White House meeting room for over an hour after President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of tense talks to have supper with his family, it emerged on Thursday.”

In January 2013, an American columnist with close ties to the White House described Obama’s disdain for Netanyahu.

This is not how you treat your ONLY ally in a harsh and hostile part of the world, not if you have regard and respect for its people nation to nation, that is.

Obama seems to be getting some props for “brokering” a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey. Their relations had broken down after Turkey violated (allegedly) a marine blockade by Israel and Israel shot several Turkish officers in the sea scuffle. Diplomatic relations had been called off since late 2010-early 2011, with only one phone call by Netanyahu to Turkey to offer help after Turkey’s earthquake. Turkey said no thanks.

The Japan Times explains, “Israel and Turkey were once close allies. Relations began to decline after Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey’s Islamist movement, became prime minister in 2003. Erdogan has embarked on a campaign to make Turkey a regional powerhouse in an attempt to become the leading voice in the Muslim world but has in the process distanced the country from Israel.”

However, despite those ambitions, at least for today, the two nations appeared to ‘bury the hatchet’ as Japan Times said. Haaretz reports, “In November 2012, Israel and Turkey resumed talks on ending the crisis in relations between the two countries. On March 22, 2013, Netanyahu made the phone call to Erdogan, apologizing over the deaths of the nine Turkish citizens in the flotilla incident. The normalization agreed by both countries included the return of the Turkish ambassador to Tel Aviv and the Israeli ambassador to Ankara.”

Some say that it is good that diplomatic tensions have eased between the two nations. The region is aflame with Syria’s civil war and refugees streaming into Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Israel could use Turkey’s help with the situation and vice versa. Others say it is not a good idea, Israel looked weak to bow to Turkey after all this time and lowered morale of the soldiers. His apology created a firestorm at home. And after all, biblically, Turkey will attack Israel in the Gog-Magog war. (Ezekiel 38:6). If they form warm relations now, it won’t last.

At the end of Obama’s trip to Israel, he stopped to tour the ancient rose-red city of Petra in nearby Jordan. Petra means rock, and it is located in the region of Bozrah, which means sheepfold. It is the place where the Jews will flee to when they see the abomination of desolation. (Matthew 24:16). How do we know this?

Daniel 11:41 declares that Jordan is the only place that will escape the domination of the antichrist in the last days. The Jews at that time will flee over the mountains as per Matthew 24:16 and as Revelation 12:14 says, they will cross the desert. Geologically, the only mountains and desert is toward the southwest, over the Jordan river and into Edom. Isaiah 63:1 shows the Lord Jesus coming from Bozrah with blood stained robes, indicating one of His stops before He lands on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) will be to save the Jews hiding there.

To see a person such as Obama who has such a strong antichrist spirit (1 John 4:3 and also here) standing in such a prophetically wonderful and important place for the Jews, and he who hates Israel so much…it is a jarring juxtaposition.

As far as Netanyahu’s brother-in-law goes, I am in total agreement. Obama by his behavior and by his placement here at this time in America, seems to have severe disdain for the nation of Israel. But that is no more or no less than the rest of the world, which seems to be hurtling toward fulfillment of the following prophecy:

“On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” (Zechariah 12:3)

Zechariah has much to say about the coming times. There is an incredible amount of last days prophecy throughout Zechariah’s book, including parallels with Revelation. As Pastor Steve Hadley says, pound for pound, Zechariah has it almost over even Daniel in terms of prophecy. If you would like to listen to a preacher preach through this book, verse by verse, I’d recommend Steve Hadley at Harvest Family Fellowship, here.

Always keep your eyes on the Lord through His word. What He is doing is amazing. We look at the news in wonder but the real wonder comes when we read His valuable and precious word, and see what He has planned. Did you ever stop to think that it is amazing in itself that He even tells us what He plans to do? He is God after all. He doesn’t have to. Just reading the bible is a miracle for us, because it is the place where His holiness and perfection and love is revealed. If your bible is dusty, brush it off and open it up. There are many wonders awaiting you there.

history channel, parable, the bible

"A Parable: History Channel Does a Reagan Documentary"

Posted on March 23, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

A reader of this blog who corresponds occasionally, has started his own blog. He is young, eager, and loves the Lord. He is learning. It is a pleasure to see what the Lord can do with a willing heart.

The young man sent me this essay he’d written as an email, that he turned into a blog post, that he sent to me to link to or post it in its entirety myself, if I wanted to. I want to.

The Lord is alive and well in His body, growing us, sanctifying us, comforting us, delivering wisdom and discernment to us. We are all stripes, young and old, energetically vital or world-weary and plodding, male and female, singles and marrieds, parents and childless. What unites us is the Lord, who by no merit of our own, elected us to His saving grace and brought us to His bosom. We’re many facets of a single prism, and the light pouring out from it is Jesus.

Please take a moment to read his essay. And if you ever have time, go on over to his blog to offer some guidance, encouragement or just to read what comes from the Lord’s work in His young people. I really liked the essay about today’s praise music, called “The Wretched Podcast“.

—————————-
Begin contributed essay “A Parable: History Channel Does a Reagan Documentary“

Imagine that I’m a movie producer.

I really love president Ronald Reagan. I want to honor his contribution to American politics and to the world by filming a dramatic documentary featuring him. It’s going to cover his personal life, his journey to the White House, the events of his presidency, and finally end with his death and funeral.

So I set about doing research so that I’ll do my best job representing Reagan as who he was. First, I need to consult historical experts. I decide to ask the governments of Russia and Iran for their historical analysis of his contributions. Furthermore, I interview Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, for their insight into the presidency. I go to other famous documentary filmmakers such as Michael Moore and Oliver Stone to see what I can learn from them. Naturally, I consult with Matt Damon, Ricky Gervais and George Clooney, whom I might consider inviting to play a key acting role in the film.

Now that I’m ready to film, I decide that the best location would be Johannesburg, South Africa. I film exclusively there. While there, one of our crew members gets shot in the butt, since South Africa has the world’s highest violent crime rate–2,000 per 100,000. We interpret this as a miraculous occasion, since Reagan was also shot by someone but survived.

While filming, we present Reagan as a transgendered Japanese orphan growing up in a cardboard-and-sheet-metal “house” in the slums outside the city. He was forced to become a member of an underground boxing ring to earn money to feed his family. One day he meets the King of France, Genghis Khan, who takes him back to Brazil in his rocket ship to be his personal servant. Reagan grows and learns to maneuver through Brazilian politics, and eventually becomes a successful leader of a drug cartel. This is how he eventually gets to America. Reagan then becomes elected to the White House, and while president, invades Russia and nukes Iran. Minor details, it’s called artistic license. Get over it. Eventually Reagan leaves the white house and dies by getting shot by a Tea Party maniac wielding an AR-15 while he was attending a pro-Obama rally during the 2012 election campaign.

Wait, wait, wait, you say. You’ve got all the details wrong. This isn’t the real Reagan. Sure, he was president of the US, but all the facts are wrong. Who he is, where he came from, what he did and why he did it. Everything is changed in your movie.

But my supporters respond by saying, well, shouldn’t you be happy that at least someone had the nerve to do a documentary about Reagan in the first place? Think of all the people that could become Republicans as a result!

It’s like that with History Channel’s The Bible. It’s the Bible in name only, but all the details are wrong. Which Jesus do you follow? The one who came to “change the world,” or the one who came to SAVE the world?

———————end essay———————

See? Pretty good huh?! The Lord uses all His children.

“Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 1:6-7).

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

bolide, fireball, meteors, signs in the sky

Are there more meteors?

Posted on March 23, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Wow, there are a lot of meteors, bolides, and comets crossing the skies these days.

A meteor crossed the skies of the United States last night and was seen from New England to Florida.
“East Coast residents were buzzing on social media sites and elsewhere Friday night after a brief but bright flash of light streaked across the early-evening sky –in what experts say was almost certainly a meteor coming down. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environmental Office said the flash appears to be “a single meteor event.” He said it “looks to be a fireball that moved roughly toward the southeast, going on visual reports.” “Judging from the brightness, we’re dealing with something as bright as the full moon,” Cooke said. “The thing is probably a yard across. We basically have (had) a boulder enter the atmosphere over the northeast.” He noted that the meteor was widely seen, with more than 350 reports on the website of the American Meteor Society (AMS) alone.”

The end time through eyes of a child

Posted on March 23, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I work with five-year-old children for my job. It’s with kindergarteners at a public elementary school. I love children and I contend that I have the best job in the world.

Sometimes it’s a little disheartening, though. I just want the best for every kid, and some kids never get the best. Enough said.

The Lord is THE most sensitive about children. He spoke much about them and this is recorded in the bible. We know one of the most famous verses about children:

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:3-5)

“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” (John 16:21). Therefore you can guess what the Lord thinks of abortion…just sayin’.

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” (Proverbs 17:6)

Look at the scene here in Mark 9:35-37-

“And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”’

Not just what He said but the scene. Picture it in your mind. Jesus had been teaching The Twelve all day and then they came to the house at Capernaum where they stayed. He continued teaching. And to illustrate His point, “He took a child”. So I ask, what child? Where did the child come from? Luke 9:47 says the child “was by His side.” Usually didn’t the children remain outside the adults’ purview, especially when important matters were being discussed? Yet Jesus hadn’t dismissed the child when He continued teaching the Twelve inside the house.

The idea there was that children are weak, powerless and innocent. You come to the Kingdom like that, with no achievements, no portfolio of awards, nothing to commend one’s self. Like a child.

Susannah Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley, raised seventeen children and had these words to say about raising children: “The parent who studies to subdue [self–will] in his child works together with God in the renewing and saving a soul. The parent who indulges it does the devil’s work, makes religion impracticable, salvation unattainable, and does all that in him lies to damn his child, soul and body forever” (cited in The Journal of John Wesley [Chicago: Moody, n.d.], p. 106).

In other words, children are important to Jesus.

I follow a guy on twitter who tweets from Syria. As you know, the situation there is one of chaos, strife, hunger and war. The rebellion against Dictator Bashar al Assad has been going on for two years and there is much shelling in all areas of the nation, including Damascus (Isaiah 17:1) and Aleppo, one of the largest cities in Syria. The gentleman posted the following last night:

A young child who looks to be about age 12 is interviewed after a rocket barrage had destroyed his neighborhood in Aleppo. The set of his chin, struggling mightily to not cry, the dignity and the cut-to-the-heart question of “Why”, brought tears to my eyes.

I post this not to depress you but that though we are mindful of the times, let’s also be mindful of the people. Especially the children. When we in America say ‘man up’ to a young kid usually we mean get along without your cell phone for half a day. ‘Man up’ for this boy means pulling out dismembered cousins from the rubble of their home and telling his father he is not injured so as to spare him further worry.

Please be in prayer for the people of Syria, and all children around the world who are experiencing unimaginable hardship, who don’t know Christ and don’t understand why this is happening.

Reporter: “Tell us what happened.”
Boy: We were sleeping. It was about 10 pm. At a point we heard a sound coming from above and we said get out of here. I screamed to the people to help me but those were the people who needed help. We entered and pulled out my brothers, cousins. 40 have gone. My grandfather’s family members have gone. The missile fell on their home, and there was a leg and there was a…what can I say to you? My grandmother was in 4 pieces, my aunt “flew away” because we have not found her. We don’t know. I just want to know, why is he shelling us? For the law of the powerful over the weak? Only for that?”

He goes on to say that though he was injured, he did not want to tell his father, who was having enough trouble with the situation. Throughout, he manfully tries not to cry.

Gabriele Galimberti photographed children around the world with their toys. That’s it. Accompanying each photo is a very short bio. That’s it. And though the photo is simple and the text is short, these photos are powerful in their storytelling.

Arafa and Aisha are twins. They sleep in the same bed, have the same clothes, go to school together and share the same toys. They live in a two-room house in which both of the rooms are bedrooms, and the kitchen and restroom are outside. The big photo above the closet is a portrait of the formal president of Zanzibar.

Bethsaida was born in Port-au-Prince where she has always lived in a house with her family since, almost 2 years ago, a big earthquake destroyed it. Her parents are both deaf and dumb but fortunately she’s not. Now they live in a camp site out of the city. The camp was built from an American NGO which works with deaf and dumbs, so in the camps almost 90% of the people can’t hear and talk. All the toys that Bethsaida has are donated from the NGO. She wants to be a hairdresser and loves combing her doll to practice, but unfortunately her brother has cut off half of the hair of the doll.

Chiwa lives in a small hut with her mother, father and sister. They don’t have electricity and running water. Chiwa used to help her mother to carry water at home from the river. In the village there are other 50 children (more or less) and they always plays all together outside. Chiwa has just 3 toys that some volunteers of a NGO gave to her when she was born. Her favourite is the dinosaurus because she says that he can protect her from the dangerous animals.

Tangwizi was born in a Masai village in the south of Kenya in a small hut made of dung and straw. His bed is made of a few rags on the ground. He always plays outside with all the other children of the village but every night he sleeps together with his unique toy: a little pelouche monkey.

Kalesi loves to cook for her dolls using her small cook tools and the mud from the garden. She has an older brother which goes to school every morning and she love to pretend to go to school too. She puts small toys and some paper in her back pack (the one from transformers is her favourite one) and she goes in the garden where there is a small table that she uses as a school desk.

Niko was born in a small town in the mountains of Alaska in the Kenai peninsula. His father is a fisherman and his mother is a teacher. Niko loves to play with Legos and similar games. He built a small Lego spaceship and likes to imagine he’s bringing little men up to space.

There are many more photos at the link. They are wonderful.

The end time is a time when mature Christians pray and sing and anticipate with joy the coming of the Lord to remove us from this earth and bring us to glory before the Tribulation. Often, this attitude is mocked by others who call us escapists, or weaklings. Aside from being the wrong attitude to have (because every Christian should want to be with the Lord more than cling to the sinful world and the things in it) I say that why wouldn’t we want the rapture to come…if that means that all the children will finally be safe??

Though the bible does not specifically address the issue of children being taken in the rapture, I believe it is consistent with the implicit verses in the bible, and consistent with the character of God’s mercy to take the children and babies in the rapture. GotQuestions thinks so as well.

O, come, Lord Jesus, remove us, and the children from the world. Its sinful effects are so towering and so devastating, and wear the most on those least powerful or able to comprehend.

clothes for church

Adorned in Christ, how should we dress for Holy Week?

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

I have a quandary. I never know how much or how little to dress up for church.

With Palm Sunday and Easter coming up, I’m thinking about it more than ever.

By nature, I like simple clothing, no makeup and little to no jewelry. However, for church, I like to make an effort to dress distinctively. It is a different day than the work-a-day weekdays, and errands-busy Saturday. It is the Lord’s Day. I want to look my best to show God His value to me.

However, the verse in 1 Timothy 2:9 says

“likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,”

First, I need to discover what this means in context. Is there a historical reason for this? We know that the richer people of the times wore purple. (Acts 16:14, Luke 16:19). It was the most expensive kind of garment because it was the most expensive kind of dye. It had to be processed from tiny mollusks. Wearing purple in those days was a deliberate statement of “I’m rich,” rather than a personal choice of “I like purple.” Do we do that today? Make clothing purchases that deliberately show our wealth and status, rather than having been purchased simply because it was a nice garment?

“Tyrian Purple,” the purple dye of the ancients mentioned in texts dating back to about 1600 B.C., was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye.” (source History, Shellfish, Royalty, and the Color Purple)

As for other adornments, the women used to treat their hair with fine curls and interweave jewels or pearls into them. The hair of a Roman woman or lady was dressed in plaited braids and worn at the back of the head as shown.

Roman women also wore headdresses especially if they had an important position in society. The image below shows the headdresses worn by Roman empresses.

Ladies would interweave jewels, pearls, or gold into their hair in complicated patterns-

Source

Barnes Notes:

That women adorn themselves – The apostle by the use of the word “adorn” (κοσμεῖν kosmein), shows that he is not opposed to ornament or adorning, provided it be of the right kind. The world, as God has made it, is full of beauty, and he has shown in each flower that he is not opposed to true ornament. There are multitudes of things which, so far as we can see, appear to be designed for mere ornament, or are made merely because they are beautiful. Religion does not forbid true adorning. It differs from the world only on the question what “is” true ornament.

Hmmm. So true. God loves beauty. Barnes continues:

“Not with broidered hair – Margin, “plaited.” Females in the East pay much more attention to the hair than is commonly done with us. It is plaited with great care, and arranged in various forms, according to the prevailing fashion, and often ornamented with spangles or with silver wire or tissue interwoven; see the notes on Isaiah 3:24. The sense here is, that Christian females are not to imitate those of the world in their careful attention to the ornaments of the head. It cannot be supposed that the mere braiding of the hair is forbidden, but only that careful attention to the manner of doing it, and to the ornaments usually worn in it, which characterized worldly females.”

OK, so the message seems to be ‘don’t go overboard.’ I can understand that. At some point, a lengthy bout in front of the mirror will begin to transfer attraction for the self instead of the One who is being dressed for. More Barnes:

Any external decoration which occupies the mind more than the virtues of the heart, and which engrosses the time and attention more, we may be certain is wrong. The apparel should be such as not to attract attention. It is a poor ambition to decorate a dying body with gold and pearls. It should not be forgotten that the body thus adorned will soon need other habiliments, and will occupy a position where gold and pearls would be a mockery. When the heart is right; when there is true and supreme love for religion, it is usually not difficult to regulate the subject of dress.

That is why Peter says,
“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear” (1 Peter 3:3)

For the holy days, Palm Sunday and Easter, and all the Sabbath days, I think we should dress in clothes that match the occasion and the place. We should never dress like the world. Of course we understand that means not so casually and also not so formally that we are rarified dandies, but modestly and separate from how the world dresses.

I have church clothes but they aren’t all that fancy. My personal tastes and my personal finances do not allow for finery such as I used to wear in the days when I was flush but unsaved. I’ve sold much of my jewelry to pay the bills and what I do still have I rarely wear. I just feel funny about putting it all on. I certainly don’t wear clothes that show my body immodestly. But I am sure that there are some who think I don’t dress up enough.

If I wear finery and my jewelry, am I consumed with how it makes me look? Am I trying to be an object of attention rather than blending in so that Jesus would stand out in the church service more than the flash of my jewelry? Or should I wear it so that I am dressing for my groom on a holy day that is separate from the days I dress for work, my boss, and my peers?

I think the happy medium is to dress in a way that doesn’t cause anyone to stumble, that is modest, and reflects Jesus in my heart rather than adorning an empty shell. This goes for men, too. He knows the heart. Christ is the adornment. I loved what Barnes said above, “It is a poor ambition to decorate a dying body with gold and pearls. It should not be forgotten that the body thus adorned will soon need other habiliments, and will occupy a position where gold and pearls would be a mockery.”

Dress for Holy week with Him in mind. As GotQuestions advises,

“We would all benefit from a “spiritual bath” to confess and get rid of sin before we go to church. This is making ourselves pure. For some people, clean is their “best.” For others, their heart tells them that wearing their best is showing God His value to them. For still others, there needs to be a caution that their best isn’t merely showing off.

It is always the heart God is looking at, rather than the exterior. However, what we wear to worship our holy, pure God may be an indication of where our hearts are. If you have never considered it before, ask yourself, “Does it matter to me how I look when I am going to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? More importantly, does it matter to Him?” We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It’s a personal choice, keeping in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is important preparation for worship at church.