By Elizabeth prata
Ponder His grace today. His grace that preserved you until salvation. His grace IN salvation. His grace to prosper you. His grace to bring you to his heavenly home in the end.
Grace-grace-grace
The Suddenness of Job’s Tragedies
By Elizabeth Prata
I had a conversation with a young person about the man Job and his suffering. He thought everything happened all at once to Job. I said that at first satan asked to harass Job’s stuff and God said satan could, but don’t touch his body. Since Job didn’t renounce God, satan went back to God and complained that he needed to do more, and God said OK you can touch his body but spare his life.
I was sure I was right, but afterward I went back and checked anyway. Yes, that is Job 1 and Job 2, a two-stage attack from satan against Job. I got to reading it over again a few times, marveling at this amazing scene. So much to unpack. Isn’t it thrilling that every time you read the same passage over the years, something different ‘leaps out at you’?
This time, I began thinking about the suddenness of it all. I wondered, “How old was Job when this happened to him?” He was an adult and had been married a while. He had 10 adult children, many flocks, and servants. He had routines (making atonement sacrifices for his adult children), and they had routines (visiting each other). Job did his routines “continually”. (Job 1:5).
So as Sophia used to say on the TV show The Golden Girls, “Picture it, the land of Uz, 4000 years ago…” Job is living his life. Nothing remarkable happened. Oh, probably the usual servant issues, animals dying, an occasional tribal raid. But his life was stable and proceeding apace as the years went on. Like all of us, we think how it is now is how it’s going to stay. This attitude is even captured in the Bible where people are mocking, saying “For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4b).
But it doesn’t stay like that. Apart from the certainty of God, the only permanent thing we can count on in this life is change. For Job, suddenly, BLAM! Life changed in an instant. We know why. He didn’t.
For us here and now, we sink into having the same attitude toward life. This marriage will last forever. This job will last forever. I bought my forever home. My health is good and will stay that way.
But then, BLAM! A drunk driver…a sudden onset disease…a boss closes the business…spouse hatefully departs or sadly passes away…
We all learn through reading Job about the sovereignty of God. The power of God. Man’s humble state before God. Not how about this also: the Book of Job teaches the fragility and the impermanence of life. How it is ALL in God’s hand.
Our lives here seem like they will go on the same. Until they don’t. One moment Job had ten thriving adult children and he was looking forward to next generations. Then not. He was rich, the next moment- poor. One moment a father, the next moment- no children or hope of grandchildren.
Now, we know the LORD graciously restored Job double what he had lost. (Job 42:10). He lived for 140 more years and saw his seed continue for 4 more generations. God did not have to do that. I’m glad for Job and Mrs. Job’s sakes that He did.
We read in the Bible verses like in James 4:14, ‘Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.‘
Psalm 39:5, Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing before You; Surely every man, even standing firm, is altogether vanity. Selah.
Psalm 78:39, So He remembered that they were only flesh, A wind that passes and does not return.
We skim them and say ‘Sure, yah, I believe that. Life’s short.” But do we REALLY believe it? The truth of it doesn’t impress itself on us as much as this verse,
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to might, eighty years, (Psalm 90:10a)
and we think that is how long our life is going to be. We tend to think that our life will be long and “full of days”. It will follow a trajectory of growth to adulthood, a satisfying job, marriage, family, a long period of raising the family, then a comfy retirement and an easy death.
But God…may have other ideas about our life.
Life is short. Life in this flesh is impermanent. Life is fragile. Trust God, the permanent, unchanging One.
Back to Basics: What is a miracle?
By Elizabeth Prata
Miracle is one of those words that gets overused and then its meaning it diluted, like “awesome”.
“This ice cream is awesome!”
“God is awesome!”
“I found a parking space. It was a miracle!”
“I got an A+ on my paper. It’s a miracle!”
The dramatic rise in people accepting and even seeking the charismatic gifts means that more people believe that people are performing miracles, and believing that God is doing miracles left and right. Healings, gold fillings, gold dust falling, a wind coming up at just the right time, a financial windfall…all are claimed as miracles. But are they? What exactly are miracles, according to the Bible? And does God do miracles today?
While cessationists like me by no means deny that God has always had the power and will to do a miracle, and He does them today, they are much less frequent than we suppose. But nowadays, everyone is claiming a miracle.
A miracle is a supernatural event which has no human explanation. More than that, a miracle is a supernatural event which suspends natural law. (Source)
A miracle gives full warrant that it is from God.
~Augustus Strong
The popular South African charismatic evangelist Angus Buchan, of the movie Faith Like Potatoes, planted potatoes and said it was a miracle that they grew. To be sure, the soil in his field was not conducive to bumper crops of potatoes, and he had been warned if a high probability of failure, but he attributed the fact that potatoes grew to a supernatural, direct and divine miracle.
He is a long term, popular evengelist, at one time hosting huge crusades for men. He has made unsubstantiated claims of healing the sick at his services. His entire ministry is based on the ‘miracle’ of the potatoes.
Christian Apologetics and Resource Ministries defines miracle as
A miracle is an out-of-the-ordinary direct and divine intervention in the world. Examples would be the parting of the Red Sea, Jesus walking on water, the resurrection of Lazarus, etc. Some hold that it is a violation of the natural order of physical laws. Others maintain that there is no such violation upon God’s part but only a natural manifestation of His work.
They are also known as powers and signs (Mark 9:39; Acts 2:22, 19:11) and mighty works (John 10:25-28). They are a manifestation of the power of God over nature (Joshua 10:12-14), animals (Num. 22:28), people (Gen. 19:26), and illness (2 Kings 5:10-14). They are produced by God’s power (Acts 15:12), Christ’s power (Matt. 10:1), and the Holy Spirit’s power (Matt. 12:28).
I like Augustus Strong‘s definition,
A miracle is an event in nature so extraordinary in itself and so coinciding with the prophecy or command of a religious teacher or leader as fully to warrant the conviction on the part of those who witness it, that God has wrought it with the design of certifying that this teacher or leader has been commissioned by him.
Why are there miracles?
Miracles are the natural accompaniments and attestations of new communications from God. The great epochs of miracles—represented by Moses, the prophets, the first and second comings of Christ—are coincident with the great epochs of revelation. Miracles serve to draw attention to new truth, and cease when this truth has gained currency and foothold.
Some of the miracles in the Incarnation of Jesus’ time were making the blind to see. Do you realize there was no other recorded healing of this type in the Old Testament or the New, until Jesus did it? John 9:1-7 records Jesus performing a miracle of making an adult man born blind to see.
This is an amazing case, because Jesus didn’t cure a temporary condition recently onset, he reversed a biological, genetic defect.
The case of Lazarus was also a bona fide miracle, because Jesus raised a man who had been dead so long. Once again, He reversed biology by renewing the man’s very cells at the same time He gave Lazarus life again.
Finding a parking space in the front row, by comparison, is not a miracle.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines miracle as:
An event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and the truth of his message (John 2:18; Matthew 12:38).
The Apostles performed bona fide miracles also. They healed, raised the dead. Philip was whisked in a lateral ‘rapture’ or snatching away from one place to another. (Acts 8:39-40). That was a miracle. I’m hoping that in the New Jerusalem we can all travel that way.
To look at what a miracle is, let’s look at why they exist. S. Lewis Johnson said in his sermon “Divine Providence, or What About Miracles?” (Matthew 12:25-30),
Now you can see from just these passages that in our Lord’s mind, the miracles were not done simply to give evidence of the power of God, but they were given and performed by him with reference to a particular Messianic purpose. That is, the ultimate coming of the Messianic kingdom.
As for the apostles, the reason they were given power to do signs, is as Dr Johnson explains in the same sermon,
2 Corinthians 12:12, “Truly, the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience in signs, wonders and mighty deeds.” Now notice here the expression, “The signs of an apostle.” And he goes on to say that the signs of the apostles are signs, wonders and mighty deeds. Miracles were the signs of the relationship of the apostles to our Lord. They were the signs that they were apostles, and they also were signs that in their ministry there was a connection between what they were saying and the kingdom of God that would come upon the earth.
We don’t need people to perform a miracle any more because the bible now tells us about the Kingdom. We were not alive to hear Jesus in His incarnation, but the Spirit recorded the words through men, and we can read them and hear them. The signifying events are no longer necessary.
Miracles were done in in Moses’ day; in Elijah and Elisha’ day; in the day of our Lord and the apostles. He performed the miracles Himself or through men so as to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The miracles were signs of the accomplishment of his purpose of salvation. He will perform miracles again, Himself, via angels, and through men during the times prophesied in Revelation.
Here is a list of all the miracles, according to ATS Bible Dictionary,
The creation of all things, Genesis 1:1-31.
The deluge, comprising many miracles, Genesis 6:1-22.
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| Moses &the Burning Bush, illustration from 1890 Holman Bible |
The destruction of Sodom, etc., Genesis 19:1-38.
The healing of Abimelech, Genesis 20:17,18.
The burning bush, Exodus 3:2-4.
Moses’ rod made a serpent, and restored, Exodus 4:3-4 7:10.
Moses’ hand made leprous, and healed, Ex 4…6-7.
Water turned into blood, Exodus 4:9,30.
The Nile turned to blood, Exodus 7:20.
Frogs brought and removed, Exodus 8:6,13.
Lice brought, Exodus 8:17.
Flies brought, and removed, Exodus 8:21-31.
Murrain of beasts, Exodus 9:3-6.
Boils and blains brought, Exodus 9:10,11.
Hail brought, and removed, Exodus 9:23,33.
Locusts brought, and removed, Exodus 10:13,19.
Darkness brought, Exodus 10:22.
First-born destroyed, Exodus 10:29.
The Red Sea divided, Exodus 14:21-22.
Egyptians overwhelmed, Exodus 14:26-28.
Waters of Marah sweetened, Exodus 15:27.
Quails and manna sent, Exodus 16:1-36.
Water from the rock, in Horeb, Exodus 17:6.
Amalek vanquished, Exodus 17:11-13.
Pillar of cloud and fire, Numbers 9:15-23.
Leprosy of Miriam, Numbers 12:10.
Destruction of Korah, etc., Numbers 16:28-35,46-50.
Aaron’s rod budding, Numbers 17:8.
Water from the rock, in Kadesh, Numbers 20:11.
Healing by the brazen serpent, Numbers 21:8,9.
Balaam’s ass speaks, Numbers 22:28.
Plague in the desert, Numbers 25:1,9.
Water of Jordan divided, Joshua 3:10-17.
Jordan restored to its course, Joshua 4:18.
Jericho taken, Joshua 6:6-20.
Achan discovered, Joshua 7:14-21.
Sun and moon stand still, Joshua 10:12-14.
Gideon’s fleece wet, Jud 6:36-40.
Midianites destroyed, Jud 7:16-22.
Exploits of Samson, Jud 14:1-16:31.
House of Dagon destroyed, Jud 16:30.
Dagon falls before the ark, etc., 1 Samuel 5:1-12.
Return of the ark, 1 Samuel 6:12.
Thunder and rain in harvest, 1 Samuel 12:18.
Jeroboam’s hand withered, etc., 1 Kings 13:4,6.
The altar rent, 1 Kings 13:5.
Drought caused, 1 Kings 17:6.
Elijah fed by ravens, 1 Kings 17:6. Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—(Galatians 3:5).
Meal and oil supplied, 1 Kings 17:14-16.
Child restored to life, 1 Kings 17:22-23.
Sacrifice consumed by fire, 1 Kings 18:36,38.
Rain brought, 1 Kings 18:41-45.
Men destroyed by fire, 2 Kings 1:10-12.
Waters of Jordan divided, 2 Kings 2:14.
Oil supplied, 2 Kings 4:1-7.
Child restored to life, 2 Kings 4:32-35.
Naaman healed, 2 Kings 5:10,14.
Gehazi’s leprosy, 2 Kings 5:27.
Iron caused to swim, 2 Kings 6:6.
Syrians smitten blind, etc., 2 Kings 19:35.
Hezekiah healed, 2 Kings 20:7.
Shadow put back, 2 Kings 20:11.
Pestilence in Israel, 1 Chronicles 21:14.
Jonah preserved by a fish, Jonah 1:17 2:10.
New Testament Miracles.
The star in the east, Matthew 2:3.
The Spirit like a dove, Matthew 3:16.
Christ’s fast and temptations, Matthew 4:1-11.
Many miracles of Christ, Matthew 4:23-24 8:16 14:14,36 15:30 Mark 1:34 Luke 6:17-19.
Lepers cleansed, Matthew 8:3-4 Luke 17:14.
Centurion’s servant healed, Matthew 8:5-13.
Peter’s wife’s mother healed, Matthew 8:14.
Tempests stilled, Matthew 8:23-26 14:32.
Devils cast out, Matthew 8:28-32 9:32-33 15:22-28 17:14-18.
Paralytics healed, Matthew 9:2-6 Mark 2:3-12.
Issue of blood healed, Matthew 9:20-22.
Jairus’ daughter raised to life, Matthew 9:18,25.
Sight given to the blind, Matthew 9:27-30 20:34 Mark 8:22-25 John 9:17.
The dumb restored, Matthew 9:32-33 12:22 Mark 7:33-35.
Miracles by the disciples, Matthew 10:1-8.
Multitudes fed, Matthew 14:15-21 15:35-38.
Christ walking on the sea, Matthew 14:25-27.
Peter walking on the sea, Matthew 14:29.
Christ’s transfiguration, etc., Matthew 17:1-8.
Tribute from a fish’s mouth, Matthew 17:27.
The fig tree withered, Matthew 21:19.
Miracles at the crucifixion, Matthew 27:51-53.
Miracles at the resurrection, Matthew 28:1-7 Luke 24:6.
Draught of fishes, Luke 5:4-6 John 21:6.
Widow’s son raised to life, Luke 7:14,15.
Miracles before John’s messengers, Luke 7:21-22.
Miracles by the seventy, Luke 10:9,17.
Woman healed of infirmity, Luke 13:11-13.
Dropsy cured, Luke 14:2-4.
Malchus’ ear restored, Luke 22:50-51.
Water turned to wine, John 2:6-10.
Nobleman’s son healed, John 4:46-53.
Impotent man healed, John 5:5-9.
Sudden crossing of the sea, John 6:21.
Lazarus raised from the dead, John 11:43-44.
Christ’s coming to his disciples, John 20:19,26.
Wonders at the Pentecost, Acts 2:1-11.
Miracles by the apostles, Acts 2:43 5:12.
Lame man cured, Acts 3:7.
Death of Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:5,10.
Many sick healed, Acts 5:15-16. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:4).
Apostles delivered from prison, Acts 5:19.
Miracles by Stephen, Acts 6:8.
Miracles by Philip, Acts 8:6,7,13.
Eneas made whole, Acts 9:34.
Dorcas restored to life, Acts 9:40.
Peter delivered from prison, Acts 12:6-10.
Elymas struck blind, Acts 13:11.
Miracles by Paul and Barnabas, Acts 14:3.
Lame man cured, Acts 14:10.
Unclean spirit cast out, Acts 16:18.
Paul and Silas delivered, Acts 16:25-26.
Special miracles, Acts 19:11-12.
Eutchus restored to life, Acts 20:10-12.
Viper’s bite made harmless, Acts 28:5.
Father of Publius, etc., healed, Acts 28:8,9
It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. (Daniel 4:2)
But in no way were miracles themselves proof of faith. Miracles confirm already existing faith, but rarely if ever catalyzed a person to faith. As A. Strong describes:
Miracles alone could not produce conviction. The Pharisees ascribed them to Beelzebub. Though Jesus had done so many signs, yet they believed not…. Though miracles were frequently wrought, they were rarely appealed to as evidence of the truth of the gospel. They are simply signs of God’s presence in his world. By itself a miracle had no evidential force.
There are interior miracles, and external miracles. An interior miracle would be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit into a newly regenerated person. Justification is an internal miracle. We can’t see the actual breaking of bonds or the new heart, but we can see the effects of this interior miracle, the fruit of the Spirit.
The growth of a person in sanctification is another internal miracle. These are miracles because they are done by God without an intermediate instrument directly upon a person’s soul, heart, mind, and body. It truly IS a miracle when we are saved!! These are the miracles in works of grace.
An external miracle are all the others I posted above in the ATS Dictionary list. Consistently, the word for miracle in the Bible is “sign”. A sign points to something. In the case of a miracle, the sign points to God.
John MacArthur said in his sermon, Does God Do Miracles Today?
And the types of miracles that are being claimed today are absolutely nothing like New Testament miracles, absolutely nothing like them. In fact, the types of miracles today could be distinctly seen as different than New Testament miracles. Jesus and the apostles instantly and completely healed people born blind, a paralytic, a man with a withered arm. All obvious and disputable miracles, even Jesus’ enemies didn’t challenge the reality of His miracles that He had the people there to verify them. He raised the dead, of course, as we well know. They never did a miracle that was slow, they never did a miracle that took time, they never did a miracle that was less than permanent. By contrast, most modern miracles are partial, gradual, temporary, sometimes reversed, and almost impossible to verify.
So before we go around claiming this or that miracle, let’s honor the Holy Spirit, our High priest
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| The Gathering of the Manna, c1470 |
The miracles in the Old Testament and the New Testament signify of God. There were miracles of creation, where He used no instrument but by the power of His word, created something ex nihilo or out of nothing. Genesis 1:1 is an example of that. So was the coin in the fish’s mouth and the appearance of manna. There are miracles of healing, of triumphs over demons, of demonstration of power over nature, such as calming the storm at Galilee or shriveling the fig tree or causing rain or stopping the rain. There were miracles over animals, such as making Balaam’s donkey speak or the animals passively migrate to the ark or commanding the ravens to feed Elijah.
Miracles are a tremendous thing to ponder in scripture and to reverentially ascribe to God’s power, love, and creative artistry. Let’s not willy-nilly diminish that awe and reverence by calling mundane things miracles or ascribing to God what He has not done.
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Mark 13:22)
Our God is not to be trifled with, loving as He is. Miracles are done every day in sustaining this world alive, and all the people on it. Let’s not diminish that by rejoicing over a parking space at the mall. Convenient, yes. Miracle? No.
What does “Dayspring” mean?
By Elizabeth Prata
During a Christmas season you might sing the old hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The hymn is thought to have originated in the 1100s! The 1861 translation of this ancient hymn from the Latin contains the verse about a Dayspring.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
Back to Basics: Who is Satan?
By Elizabeth Prata
Satan is real.
He was God’s covering cherub, it is believed the highest of the high angels, and the most beautiful. (Ezekiel 28:14-17). Since he is an angel he is therefore a created being, thus, under God’s sovereignty. The eternal clash between good and evil is not one of equal opposites, but one of rebellion of a created being against an uncreated, holy powerful God. (Isaiah 14:13-14)
We hear satan’s actual voice three times in the Bible. Once in Genesis 3:1-5 when he (as the serpent) is talking with Eve in the Garden of Eden. There, he insinuated to Eve that God is not good enough to her by not letting her have all the fruit of the Garden. The second time we hear him speak, it’s in heaven to God about Job. (Job 1:7-11). There, he told God that God was being too good to Job. The third time is when satan tempts Jesus. (Luke 4:1-12). In that scene, he used several the schemes in his arsenal (temptation of the body, temptation of power, temptation of testing God) and when he failed, he went away until another opportune time. (Luke 4:13).
These scenes tell us that satan has many schemes in his bag of tricks, he is not hesitant to use them against people, or Jesus or even GOD, and that he never quits.
Satan is mentioned in the Gospels twenty-nine times. And twenty-five of those times, Jesus is the one talking about Satan. Satan is mentioned in seven Old Testament books and every New Testament book.
He has different names to which he is referred. That Old Serpent, Adversary, Devil, Satan, (which is a title)
Satan is a real person. He is not allegory, a metaphor or a figment. If you believe he is an allegory or figment or just an evil force, then you destroy the integrity and truthfulness of every NT book, each Gospel, a quarter of the Old Testament, and the character of Jesus. It is not possible to disbelieve satan is real but also believe the rest of the Bible is truthful, historical, prophetic, and the word of God.
He is real and thus has a will, goals, plans. He is seen spoken of in Isaiah 14:13-14,
But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
So his goal is to supplant God….usurp God…BE God!
Satan is not in hell. He is not the ruler of hell. So where is he? He is roaming up and down upon the earth. (Job 1:7, Job 2:2; 1 Peter 5:8). Satan is the prince of the air. (Ephesians 2:2). Satan is in heaven accusing the brethren. (Revelation 12:10; Job 1:6). God has granted limited and temporary sovereignty to satan, for he is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). From this we see that satan has been granted much latitude by God on earth, the air and in heaven.
Satan is busy! He is accusing the brethren, roaming the earth, fighting the holy angels, sowing tares among the wheat, ensnaring the unwary, polluting the doctrine. He is wreaking devastation and destruction. (John 10:10). And much more!
What is satan’s destiny? When satan rebelled in the primordial past, God prepared hell for satan and his angels. (Matthew 25:41). There will be no offer to repent and no opportunity to come to salvation. The devil and his angels’ futures are fixed. (John 16:11). Meanwhile, God uses their evil for our good and His glory.
During the time since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, satan has been allowed latitude in each of the three spheres of earth, air and heaven. However, midway through the Tribulation, he will be thrown out of heaven and access will no longer be granted to him or his angels. Perhaps satan thought he would be able to go on like this forever. God’s patience is longsuffering, but it does have an end, and satan gets tossed. He and his angels will be furious and will wreak their fury on the population of the earth. Woe to the people! (Revelation 12:7-17).
At the conclusion of the Tribulation, satan will be thrown into the abyss and locked up for 1000 years. When 1000 years is over, he will be let out for a little while to foment one last, short, rebellion that God puts down with a word. (Revelation 20:3; 8). Finally vanquished, he will be thrown into the lake of fire, the place prepared for him in the prehistorical past. His angels will be thrown there too, (Revelation 20:10) along with every person who followed him. (Revelation 20:15).
If you are a believer and are struggling or strong or persevering or weak: He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. We need not fear satan, but we do need to appreciate his capabilities and thus rely on the Holy Spirit more than ever. And to the lost: make no mistake, satan is real.
Oh, woe to those who disbelieve Jesus’s words about future judgment for sin and His word to John in Revelation about the Book of Life. If your name is not written in it, you will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever.
Look at the cross! God’s love of humanity- expressed through Jesus- triumphed over evil and sin and death! (Colossians 2:13-15). Holiness wins too. (John 9:39). All one needs to do is look at the lake of fire- the place prepared for the devil and his angels, and all those who follow satan. (Matthew 12:30-32). Unless you believe in Jesus, you are actually following satan by default. When you die, you will follow satan right into the Lake of Fire.
A caution: Satan is real, powerful, and we are continually warned in the Bible not to dally with him or his flavors of sin and perversion. It’s dangerous to ignore these sober warnings from the One who knows all! However it’s just as dangerous to excessively focus on the devil. Some people look for him around every rock, attribute every major and minor thing to satan, and see him as an equal with God battling it out for the universe.
Our own sin nature advances satan’s goals for him much more than we’ll ever know. We are usually too puny to even be bothered with by him. Focus on obeying Jesus and slaying our own sin, while being mindful we do have an actual living adversary. Balance is best.
Now for some encouragement to the brethren:
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31).
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Thanks be to God for Jesus!
Those are a few facts about satan. As always, read the word for yourselves to see if these things are true.
Further Reading
The Wiles of Satan, William Spurstowe (Puritan Paperback)
GotQuestions essay, Who is Satan?
Ligonier devotional, The Devil
The Devil’s Wiles, 37 minute sermon by Sinclair Ferguson
When heaven becomes silent
By Elizabeth Prata
I’m fascinated with heaven. Aren’t you? It is our home, the next destination for us, and where Jesus is. We SHOULD be fascinated with it.
Jonathan Edwards is known for his monumental sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, with its vivid focus on the terrors of hell, but he actually wrote about heaven much more. Here in his sermon The Christian Pilgrim, or The True Christian’s Life A Journey Toward Heaven, he observed:
That we ought not to rest in the world and its enjoyments, but should desire heaven. We should “seek first the kingdom of God.” (Mat. 6:33) We ought above all things to desire a heavenly happiness; to be with God and dwell with Jesus Christ. Though surrounded with outward enjoyments, and settled in families with desirable friends and relations; though we have companions whose society is delightful, and children in whom we see many promising qualifications; though we live by good neighbors, and are generally beloved where known; we ought not to take our rest in these things as our portion. We should be so far from resting in them, that we should desire to leave them all, in God’s due time. We ought to possess, enjoy and use them, with no other view but readily to quit them, whenever we are called to it, and to change them willingly and cheerfully for heaven.
For a while in Christian publishing we had a spate of books that were classified as “Heaven tourism.” That is, books whose authors had recounted an alleged trip to heaven. Their books were filled with gushing, breathless descriptions of what heaven looks like, what people were doing there, even the smells and sounds. And of course, many times, it was Jesus guiding the person around. Thus, ‘Heaven tourism’.
I understand the curiosity about heaven but we cannot look to man’s alleged visits there to satisfy our need for knowledge about the place that’s really our home. Only the Bible has that information. These heaven visits are ‘extra-biblical’, and cannot be trusted. Only a few people in the Bible were given a glimpse into heaven while they were alive and told about it: Stephen as he was dying, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micaiah, and Paul. Paul said it wasn’t permitted to tell what he heard. And he didn’t.
There were several views of activity in the second heaven, or the sphere above ours, such as Elisha and his servant seeing the chariots all around, and Jacob seeing the ladder from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending.
But the Lord did give us several ‘permissible’ glimpses of the “third heaven” or God’s abode. He obviously wanted us to know about these because they are in God’s word. Ezekiel’s vision, Isaiah’s vision, John’s book of Revelation are biblical places to see true information about heaven.
Of these glimpses into heaven we see that heaven is an active, busy, and loud place.
There are seraphim surrounding the throne of God proclaiming “holy holy holy is the Lord God almighty” so loud the pillars shake and the place fills with smoke. (Isaiah 6:3-4).
There are people singing and worshiping. There are harps and trumpets. Angels are busy proclaiming. There are living beings with 4 faces rushing left and right. “And the living beings ran back and forth like bolts of lightning.” (Ezekiel 1:14).
And I also heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of a crowd like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stopped, they let down their wings. And a voice came from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings. (Ezekiel 1:24-25).
In Revelation 5 there is much activity. There are proclamations in a loud voice, myriads of angels:
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:” (Revelation 5:11-12)
In Job 1 and in 1 Kings 22:19-21 we see the myriads of angels assembling, reporting, discussing. Angels are constantly coming and going from heaven to earth.
Heaven is busy and it’s loud. Not bad-loud, but loud. Activity, whirring, proclaiming singing, bustling, flashing, shaking…Which makes the next verse all the more significant.
As the seventh seal is about to be opened,
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Revelation 8:1)
EVERYTHING STOPS
The grim significance of the moment has stunned all into silence. There are no words. God is about to speak in wrath, and the fury unleashed upon the world in the previous seal judgments will be as nothing compared to the coming fury of his righteous anger.
When we think of heaven we may think of bucolic pastures and green lushness and peace and quietude. Perhaps talking quietly with Abraham or Paul on a bench by the Tree of Life. And I’m sure that beauty and peace will be present, certainly.
But God’s current administration of His universe is busy and active. It’s stunning that all the sounds stop when the 7th seal is about to be opened.
Saints, judgment is a fearsome thing. We should be in awe of it, and eager to tell the GOOD NEWS that will release a lost soul from its coming certainty to one of peace with God and a blissful eternity in heaven.
Our citizenship there should also give us comfort and gratitude. We will be “up there”, “over yonder” when that seal is unsealed, stunned into silence ourselves, not down here about to endure the worst time on earth there shall ever be. No, the Lord graciously had mercy on our souls and transferred us from the domain of darkness and judgment to the domain of glory and bliss.
Thoughts of heaven can’t some at the expense of gratitude that we escaped judgment, either on earth during the Tribulation or in hell for all time. And as Edwards said of any pleasures or comforts of earth, we should be “readily to quit them, whenever we are called to it, and to change them willingly and cheerfully for heaven.“
Our cheerfulness resides in the fact that we know heaven is where Jesus is. Someday we shall see His face. If you are in Him, it will be a smiling face, saying, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:23)
Markers of sanctification part 2: Songs
By Elizabeth Prata
A few days ago I’d written an essay about how to tell if you are growing, listing some markers of sanctification. (Here). I kept thinking about it. Meanwhile I kept listening to praise songs and hymns.
Songs carry theology, both good and bad. Be careful what you listen to, the ideas and concepts sung in a song go into our mind just as much as a sermon. Here are three songs I realized I respond to differently than I did years ago. I consider these waypoints of growth.
Amazing Grace
I loved that song even before I was saved at age 43. I didn’t ever go to church much, maybe someone’s wedding, or the occasional Christmas service. But I heard the song and liked it. EXCEPT the lyric “a wretch like me”. I firmly clamped my mouth shut when that came around and refused to speak it. I was offended at the thought that I was a wretch. I certainly was not. The rest of the song was nice though.
LOL now on the other side of salvation these years later, if course I’m a wretch. Peeling the veil apart and now seeing behind it I am aware of my sin and Jesus’ holiness, and it’s an apt description of our sinful state.
In the Garden
This one got on my nerves in stages. Here are some of the lyrics-
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
I used to enjoy thinking about God ‘walking and talking with me’ assuring me personally. It’s a nice scene. But it’s wrong.
OK, first, God doesn’t speak to me. I cannot hear His voice, unless I am reading the Bible out loud (thanks Justin Peters for that great quote).
God doesn’t walk with me in the garden like He did with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. His Spirit IS in me, and Jesus said He would be with us till the end of the age,, but thinking of him personally relating sweet nothings in our ear is not the picture I want in my head.
Finally, after a while this grew large in my mind: “And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known”.
No. Other people, all other brethren in the faith have known the joy of knowing the Lord. But mainly, the joy that Jesus knows with His Father God and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity’s communion with each other, surpasses all joy we could ever conceive.
Far Side Banks of Jordan
But I’ll be waiting on the farside banks of Jordan
I’ll be sitting drawing pictures in the sand
And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout!
And come running through the shallow waters reaching for your hand
Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash sing this (among other musicians). Initially I felt it was poignant because of the sweetness of the Cash’s love story. Aw, they love each other so much, and would be pining up in heaven till the other gets there!
But wait…as I grew in understanding of what heaven is, I realized the lyrics were completely wrong. No one in heaven will be lax, doing nothing or doodling idly while one’s back is turned to the throne. We won’t be looking back. We won’t be pining, grieving, or waiting. Heaven is busy. (Revelation 4:8). Angels coming and going, the dead in Christ singing, assembling, thronging the throne. (Revelation 5:11). The machinery of God spinning and flashing (Ezekiel 1:14, 17).
We will be fellowshipping with the saints, not mourning a lost marital relationship, one which Jesus told us expires on earth anyway. (Matthew 22:30). Relationships will be different up there, even long term, loving marriages. (Matthew 12:47-49).
I grew to love the hymn Amazing Grace even more after salvation, while other songs I grew to love less. The sentiments in the song Far Side Banks of Jordan In The Garden don’t align with the Bible. You might enjoy these songs, It’s OK. There might be songs I enjoy that you don’t and vice versa.
The point is, allow our conscience to speak to us. As our sanctification grows, we might grow into or grow out of certain songs, or activities, or clothing, or reading material…and that is as it should be. The sanctification process is always ongoing and our tastes change as sanctification grows.
One day our sanctification will be complete. But we will still be growing. In Jonathan Edwards’ essay “Heaven is a World of Love” he wrote that he believed heaven is a state where we continue to progress in love and advance in knowledge, holiness, and happiness. It’s not static, in other words. Heaven itself is busy and our own internal emotional state grows. He said in THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM; OR
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN’S LIFE A JOURNEY TOWARDS HEAVEN,
God is the highest good of the reasonable creature; and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.—To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean.
I think it is wise every once in a while to scan our heart and mind to see if we’re growing. To take a fresh look at the bookshelves, podcast bookmarks, song playlist, clothing, etc to see if we have outgrown them or if we have grown more fond of the holy things we have in our lives.
This way we can praise the Holy Spirit for advancing us in our walk. It glorifies God when we praise Him:
He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; (Psalm 50:23a)
Happy Lord’s Day!
By Elizabeth Prata
‘Unite Georgia’ Crusade Event in Athens: Some Thoughts
By Elizabeth Prata
Me: I wasn’t going to write about it but now I can’t seem NOT to write about it.
Observer: How could you have negative thoughts on an event that brought thousands youth in one place to hear about Jesus, pray, confess, and be baptized?! Are you crazy? Or just a Pharisee?
Me: Neither, but let’s unroll this and see what you think afterward.
On April 3, an event called UniteUS was held in the city of Athens GA at Stegeman Coliseum. It attracted college kids, thousands of them, to hear preaching and music from the Passion music group (Passion as in the Passion Conferences). False teacher Jennie Allen had been invited to preach. There was also preaching from JP Pokluda. Afterwards hundreds of kids were invited down the aisle to decide for Jesus, and many others sought baptism, which was accommodated by bringing the kids to a parking lot stationed with pickup trucks filled with water.
Observer: Why do you say Jennie is false? She founded IF:Gathering for heaven’s sake, a globally successful parachurch ministry!
Me: Jennie is false because her catalyst for founding her parachurch IF:Gathering was based on a direct revelation. In her words, “a voice from the sky” ordered her to “gather and equip this generation”. (Too bad for past and coming generations, I guess?) Sadly, Jennie’s IF movement preaches a twisted hermeneutic, models an unbiblical lifestyle, and is saturated with a Gospel of doubt: their tagline says ‘IF God exists, then what?’
Observer: But, but, but Jennie’s message in Athens GA was so good! She “spoke about the dangers of social media and comparison and encouraged the audience to be open to each other about the things they have been hiding in their lives“, SO apt for these kids! You Pharisee. God can do anything with anyone!
Me: I agree Allen’s speech about social media is a good topic. But it’s not a sermon and it’s not the Gospel. And, yes He can do anything with anyone. He did with Saul/Paul the murdering Pharisee. But why did the demon possessed slave girl who was speaking something true, aggravate Paul so much? (Acts 16:17-18). Why didn’t he let her continue following and hollering? Because God doesn’t need truth to come from lying lips and rebels.
To continue- The UniteUS event organizers’ About page state they have 3 goals for their events,
SALVATION
For non-believers to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel in a welcoming environment. Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9
FREEDOM
For believers to know and experience true freedom from sin and burdens on their hearts. Galatians 5:1
COMMUNITY
For students to find community and discipleship through connection to local ministries and the local church. Ephesians 4:1-6.
Observer: These are good goals! It’s “a night of Christian worship, prayer and motivational speaking!” We need more motivational speaking in evangelicalism. And more environments that are “welcoming”!
Me: Beth Moore started as a motivational speaker. And look how that turned out. I’d love to know what the organizers mean by saying the Gospel will be given in an environment that’s “welcoming”. Past history shows that usually means the potency of sin is overlooked or diminished and the dire necessity of confession and repentance is whitewashed.
The Founder of UniteUS is Tonya Prewitt, wife of Auburn University Basketball Coach Chad Prewitt. “After hearing students stories about battles with anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and addiction, Prewitt said she felt like she needed something to help.” (Source)
Indeed, University of Georgia students have had a difficult time this spring semester, with a suicide of a popular boy, and the killing of girl near the campus. Crime in general is up in the city. The world’s social and emotional pressures are tremendous upon youths more than ever before.
They do need our support and guidance. But not en masse preaching from a female rebel and an emotional approach to resolving life’s difficulties. Jesus is not a patch ‘to help’ people overcome emotional depression.
I’ve written before about the Passion Conference (and also here) which bans adults from attending and manipulates kids with emotional music;
and the
Urbana Conferences, where hundreds heard David Platt speak and at the end he had them repeat a prayer, and the youths signaled their profession of newfound faith (which speakers affirmed) with a glow stick.
In an interview about the Florida State University event held this past February, the local UniteUs organizer concluded, “They came forward in droves tonight to trust Jesus.”
[The End Time: Are There too Many Conferences?]
The problem at these youth-aimed conferences is with decisional regeneration. It seems that UniteUS is in the same vein. “Choosing to follow” or “deciding for Christ” or “inviting Jesus in” have become synonymous with the supernatural act of Godly justification. They’re not the same thing.
And now here’s another ‘movement’ or ‘revival’ as Prewitt calls it (remember the Asbury Revival on another college campus?). Prewitt’s ultimate goal with this movement is “to unite the nation.”
Observer: What beef do you have with women in ministry? Are you a misogynist or something?
Me: The Bible calls women to keep her sphere to the family if possible, to the local church, and to resist stepping out in leadership. Why is it that women who are moms and wives are not content to persist in ministering to their family or locals, but must be founders of massive movements with lofty goals like ‘unite the nation’, or ‘disciple this generation‘ or be ‘a woman who leads and believes you were made to lead‘? Whatever happened to ‘Be a mom’?
Prewitt has said, “When your faith is strong and you trust God to do big things. Big things are going to happen and we’ve just seen that” [at Auburn’s UniteUS event]”
Why is it that these non-Titus ladies desire “big things” like large platforms but not the REAL big things like, a child’s justification…a strong, beautiful marriage modeling mutual submission, a prayerful devotional at home…honoring elderly parents… why do the “big things” always seem to mean to these non-Titus ladies, high profile and filled arenas?
Let’s take a look at UniteUS founder Tonya Prewitt:
“My husband was probably as far from God as you could be and it’s like when we met I knew he was supposed to be my husband…”
God has said not to yoke with unbelievers. What was she doing with dating a person who she admits was so far from God? If he was unsaved he was not “supposed to be” a husband to a believer. (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Later, Prewitt said Chad would not go to church but he would go to a concert, so she took him to a Christian Concert where they did an altar call at the end. Chad went forward and decided for Christ. “It changed his life and he went in full on with God.” So THAT’S where she gets the idea that mass decisional regeneration events are acceptable ways to convert.
Oh, I should have waited a second, because she says exactly that in the next video frame:
“Even what happened at Auburn is almost a correlation of what we saw with him [Chad], in that you you can take somebody as far going as him, but an event like that can sometimes be an encounter that changes someone’s lives for eternity.”
In an interview, Tonya Prewitt named herself as “a mom and a spiritual mom” when describing her former ministry to young girls on campus. Initially counseling 5 young women though discipling and prayer, something the Bible applauds and expects of older women, within one year she founded a multi-state organization and now adds to her named jobs of mom and spiritual mom, “Incorporator and Director of a non-profit business entity in the State of Alabama.”
UNITEUS is an Alabama Domestic Non-Profit Corporation filed on November 16, 2023. The company’s filing status is listed as Exists and its File Number is 001-108-449. Source Alabama Secretary of State.
Yet the Bible says we are told to live quietly, “encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” (Titus 2:4b-5).
Did you know that ‘God’ gave Tonya a vision for revival and for thousands of youths filling arenas?
Tonya said on one interview, she was praying with students “for revival…God gave me a vision for thousands of students gathered in Auburn’s arena.”
In another interview, she said “God gave me a vision ahead of time of what was to come and I’ll tell you this; I have a vision for what’s coming even greater than what we witnessed on September 12th. Nationally… globally… something so big that is coming it’s going to hit our college campuses.” (Source)
“I saw the students gathered, I saw the worship, but I didn’t see the baptisms that were coming. It was really cool because God didn’t show me the full vision. I could have messed that up and gotten in the way of it” (source).
Yes, because puny humans who are given direct revelation from God are powerful enough to thwart His plans. Oy.
Apparently Tonya is not only a biblical visionary but a prophetess too:
“About a year before Unite took place, we were sitting in small group one night and I just stood up and I looked at the girls and I said ‘Something so big is coming a year from now and you’re going to be part of it.’ What’s coming? and my co-leader said ‘What’s coming?’ and I said ‘I don’t know all I can tell you is something so big is coming. I feel it.” (Source).
“God could and only the spirit of God could draw all of these students into this Arena.” (Source)
Observer: See?! And it came true. Ha.
Me: No, Satan draws them too. Not “only” God. Just because the event worked out like she wanted it to does not mean necessarily it is of God. In fact, the numbers are usually small when it comes to a real move of God. Noah’s 7. Lot and 2 daughters. The crowds left Jesus and would not follow any more. (John 6:66). Only 5 were at the cross with Jesus when He died.
Prewitt said she emphasizes getting plugged into a local church, so “we had every campus ministry, every local church represented at our event so students could go to the back into the Concourse and get plugged in to a church.” (Source)
Hm, including the Auburn Catholic Campus Ministry, the college ministry of St. Michael the Archangel Parish? And the Adventist Christian Fellowship Auburn Chapter of the 7th Day Adventist Church? And the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on College Avenue? Those campus ministries and local churches also had a table on the Concourse kids could sign onto?
Observer: They have the right approach, for sure.
Me: Well…not so fast. First, I wonder HOW the organization links thousands of bouncing, burbling, emotionally high students with local churches on the spot before they wander off. Secondly, this approach has not been too successful in the past. Some Parachurches like Walk to Emmaus/Chrysalis compete with local churches to deliberately draw away congregants, or like IF:Gathering, they become a sort of substitute church all on their own.
(FYI: The End Time The Problem with Parachurch Organizations is…)
Also, remember Billy Graham Crusades? You might be too young. But Graham was a global itinerant preacher who gathered hundreds of thousands to huge arenas and preached. He called people forward at the end of his sermons where endless choruses of the song Just As I am played, to make a decision for Christ (language never in the Bible). Counselors were stationed at the bottom to counsel seekers who flooded down by the hundreds. Except, Graham had Jewish rabbis and Catholic priests there to counsel folks back to their own ‘church’ where they’d be returned in the same state of non-belief they were in before.
It should be noted that Cecil Andrews said in his video called, “The Man and His Message” about Billy Graham’s Crusades, “I know of a number of men who do door-to-door work in Northern Ireland. They constantly come across people whose view is ‘Oh I made a decision at a Billy Graham Crusade, but I don’t go to church now. I haven’t gone for years.’ But yet somehow or other they’re relying on this emotional response they made 30 or 40 years ago. Yet they would have gone down as one of the people who went forward as an ‘Inquirer’ and they would be viewed rightly or wrongly by others as fruit.”
Sadly, it’s reported at a recent UniteUS crusade, that:
“We ended up having hundreds of students walk forward to receive salvation,” Denning said. “And then almost 300 students got baptized in our Westcott Fountain, in the front of our campus.” (Source).
So it’s the same all over again. The way is NARROW. It’s a turnstile, not a mass event.
This turnstile only takes one at a time. It is exclusive from the start. It is intensely personal. You can’t be born into it. You can’t join the church and sort of be swept in with the crowd. It is intensely personal. It is intensely individual. It is you and you alone. All our life prior to coming through that gate we ran with the crowd, but when we came through the gate we came alone. Many others have come, but they came alone. Salvation is an individual miracle. You don’t go through a turnstile in groups. You go through by yourself.” John MacArthur, on the Narrow Gate sermon “The Way to Heaven.”
I’m suspicious of conferences aimed at youth. I feel protective of children and youth, and college students are children. These mass conferences tend to be filled with false teachers, false gospels, emotionalism, and affirming declarations of faith in an instant rather than careful scrutiny and waiting to see if actual fruit develops. I’ve written about this before-
Tonya Prewitt, who claims visions from God and utters prophecies in the midst of a gathering, who states she served formerly as a Youth Pastor and as a Deacon, discontent with ministering to 5 and now wants 5000, who hires Jennie Allen to preach; lacks discernment and should NOT be organizing events for thousands of emotionally worn, spiritually floundering youth.
While I admire Tonya Prewitt’s desire for youth to have comfort in their life difficulties, putting forward a goal of “uniting the US” is not what the Bible calls women to do.
Observer: You’re just a Negative Nellie Debbie Downer, aren’t you? You have a critical spirit!
Me: I always bring things back to the Bible. Women are to be tending the home, at home, raising the children if the Lord gave any to her, ministering to the husband as helpmeet, and doing good in the community. (Proverbs 31, Titus 2, Genesis 2:18, Proverbs 29:15, 1 Timothy 5:14). She should have a reputation for local good works and again, be primarily oriented for the home.
Nothing in the Bible shows women gallivanting off to found revival movements to unite the entire world. Not even the unique time of the first century church. Lydia hosted gatherings in her home. Dorcas didn’t run off from region to region gathering women into the Areopagus or Solomon’s portico to “change their lives.” She sewed garments for the poor. Do we hear of Mary Magdalene (allegedly the first evangelist?) after the moment at the tomb? (John 20:18). No. Not one mention after that. No Billy Graham-like Crusades for her.
Observer: You gave me a lot to think about. I’ll read some of the links you posted. I still think you don’t have to throw cold water on everything. Maybe some of those kids were actually saved.
Me: Maybe some were. And maybe a lot more weren’t but THINK they were, which is worse. The name of Jesus is the most important name in the universe and salvation is the most important event ever. We must be careful and see if these things are so. Always look at the founder’s testimony and lifestyle, and also see what she says, not just what she does. Compare to the Bible. If she claims direct revelation, utters extra-biblical prophecies, or lives a lifestyle the Bible doesn’t allow for her point in life, avoid her and her ministry.
The Good News is available in any church, THE welcoming place Jesus established for people to confess, repent, and be saved. THE place to discuss a growing conviction of sin and sort out what it all means, in the quietude of a conversation with a knowledgeable, wise believer or pastor. What an eternal shame it would be for these college kids to grow up, relying on their emotional response they made 30 or 40 years ago when they face the Lord Jesus on Judgment day, only to discover Matthew 7:21 applied to them
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Am I growing? What are some markers of sanctification?
By Elizabeth Prata
How do we know we’re growing in Christ? How do we know the Holy Spirit is at work in us?
Firstly, because if you’re genuinely saved, you know He is because He said He would be. It’s a matter of faith and trust in believing what God says He will do, He will do.
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
Secondly, because we look back. If you sit on your lawn and stare at the grass, you cannot see it growing. But go away for the weekend and arriving home, suddenly you can see it’s grown 2 inches and needs a mow!
Our sanctification may be fast or slow, hurtle along steadily or go in chugs and fits, but it’s happening.
Finally then, brothers and sisters, we request and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel even more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1).
Of course, it doesn’t happen passively, with God dripping down holiness to our mind and heart. We participate in this sanctifying work. There are verbs for us in this process, verbs such as walk, pursue, slay, cleanse… We are active in the sanctifying work.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1).
I sometimes despair, like Paul did, that I am a wretched woman, sick of my sin, pleading ‘who will deliver me from this body of death?!’ But then I find a marker on my walk. We do not have a personal roadmap to see the way ahead, but we know that if we stay within the guardrails of His commands and pursue holiness, our steps will be directed forward.
Establish my steps in Your word, And do not let any wickedness overpower me. (Psalm 119:33).
I’ll share a few personal insights to some of the markers that show me the Spirit is alive and working inside me.
1. Prayer moves me. It’s mind-blowing to think that we can clasp our hands, bend our heads, and speak to the Majestic, Powerful God above, and He eagerly listens! This makes my eyes tear up every time. Before I was saved, I cared not for any of the things God cares about, and I certainly didn’t speak to Him. I suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. Now I am moved just at the thought I can petition Him.
2. Some particular Bible verses move me. All the Bible’s word is emotional, causing conviction or rejoicing in my heart. But there are a few I just don’t know why they bring me to tears every time I read them. One is Zechariah 1:11, the scene of the Man among the Myrtles. It brings me to tears. Why should such unremarkable words bring me to my knees? It must be the Spirit. I’ve long ceased trying to figure it out.
Another one is the verse from Acts 2:27/Psalm 16:10, FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR WILL YOU ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.
Thinking of our precious Savior’s body moldering in the tomb is beyond infinitely grievous to my soul.
Lastly for the purposes of this essay, the nickname Dayspring for our Lord. It also moves me. It’s the King James version that uses the word dayspring, it’s now an archaic word and we usually just say ‘dawn’ or ‘sunrise’.
Why should so old and innocuous a word move my spirit? It can only be because the Spirit is alive and working within me. The Holy Spirit rejoices at the Dayspring Himself, and so must I.
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, (Luke 1:78 KJV)
Here is a rabbit trail into MacLaren’s Expositions on ZACHARIAS’S HYMN: THE DAYSPRING FROM ON HIGH, Luke 1:78 – Luke 1:79.
“As the dawn is ushered in by the notes of birds, so the rising of the Sun of Righteousness was heralded by song, Mary and Zacharias brought their praises and welcome to the unborn Christ, the angels hovered with heavenly music over His cradle, and Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed it. The human members of this choir may be regarded as the last of the psalmists and prophets, and the first of Christian singers.”
Look back on your road of sanctification. See what markers of progress you find. Books you own but now see aren’t as healthy or edifying as you once thought? Movies where the language or certain scenes now bother you? Old tee shirts with slogans you now find corrupt? Verses which move you, ones that ‘leap off the page,’ or stick in your head?
If the Spirit is in us, He will be working on our corrupt nature, slowly siphoning off the dross and cleansing the heart ever purer.
Oh what a day it will be when we are finally purified, glorified, and no sin in us! And it is due to Him who died for His people, love beyond words.
the-end-time.org 