Posted in theology

Apostasy again: We say goodbye to Aimee Byrd

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

https://open.spotify.com/episode/38h2uxJaT9sn05xljbGPxA?si=127bd0344b434f2c

Introduction

This is an essay that chronicles the rise and fall of an influential person who was formerly in the faith. Among other topics, I use this blog platform to chronicle modern-day discernment issues and compare to the Bible. I did with Beth Moore. I followed up with: Beth Moore’s Spiritual Biography. I did also with Francis Chan. And Ravi Zacharias.

Now we see a departure from the faith with Aimee Byrd. This essay, like those others, is meant to illustrate how false teachers happen, or how it is that a once seemingly solid Bible teacher goes astray.

I finish with a warning from the Bible.

Apostasy in the Bible

We all know the story about Demas.

for Demas, having loved this present age, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. (2 Timothy 4:9-10).

Apostasy in 3 verses. In Philemon 1:24 Demas was a ‘fellow worker’ with Paul. In Colossians 4:14 Luke sent warm greetings to Demas. In 2 Timothy Demas fled to the world because he decided he loved it so much.

Philemon was written in about 57-62.
Colossians was written in about 60-62.
2 Timothy was written in about 64-65.

If we take the earliest writings to the latest writings as time brackets, the falling away of Demas played out in about 7 years.

Judas departed from the faith. His story played out in about 3 1/2 years.

Other people in our current times may take a short while to apostatize, or longer. We understand and accept apostasy stories like Demas and Judas because they are in God’s holy word. Seeing apostasy happening in today’s time is often harder. We have a difficult time believing or accepting that a famous person who seems so solid is a false convert.

But it’s the same. Some people are self-deceived that they are in the faith. (Matthew 7:21-23). They never were. Their veneer of belief erodes and reveals the unsaved person that they are. This leads us to the sad story of Aimee Byrd. Joining Demas, Judas, Chan, and so many others, Aimee Byrd is a gone girl.

Apostasy’s Progression

In 2013, Presbyterian Aimee Byrd published her first book. It was titled “Housewife Theologian: How the Gospel Interrupts the Ordinary” and the blurb says, “This book is for women—for all women who want to explore beneath the superficial and get to know God, and themselves, better.”

She had been writing a blog for a while and used the blog as the platform to get her material out there. She wasn’t an academic or a church staff person at the time, just a wife who wanted to write. She became known as The Housewife Theologian.

Wow! Great!

The book’s contents got the attention of Carl Trueman and Todd Pruitt. She was interviewed on their podcast, Mortification of Spin. It went well. She was asked to join the 2 guys on the podcast as a co-host. She began blogging for Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, too. (ACE).

The Alliance is a broad coalition of evangelical pastors, scholars, and churchmen from various denominations, including Baptist, Congregational (Independent), Anglican (Episcopal), Presbyterian, Reformed, and Lutheran who hold the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and who proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today’s Church. (Source)

Her first book was followed up by a second, Theological Fitness: Why We Need a Fighting Faith. Then two years after that, a third, No Little Women: Equipping All Women in the Household of God. So far so good.

Then in 2018 she published Why Can’t We Be Friends? : Avoidance Is Not Purity about male-female friendships among believers and how we should not avoid them just because sometimes ‘the sex part gets in the way’. Hmmm. Gender stuff. Hmmm. The brilliant and astute Carl Trueman was still providing recommendation blurbs for her books, and Aimee was still co-hosting the podcast. Yet Trueman called Why Can’t We Be Friends “provocative.” The Gospel Coalition issued a mild warning in their review of the book, which was generally positive:

Byrd is eager to destigmatize male-female friendship in the church, particularly friendships that involve time spent one-on-one. But she so frequently references sharing car rides and meals that it feels like she goes beyond defending those activities to almost implying people who don’t engage in them aren’t experiencing true friendship. (Source).

Byrd had become an important and influential voice in evangelicalism. A female voice, podcasting with the big boys (and Pruitt and Trueman are renowned minds in the faith). In 2020 when Byrd published “Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose” it hit like a bomb. Here is the blurb:

This book dismantles every mistruth that you’ve heard about the role of women in the Bible, her place in the church, and the patriarchal lie of so-called “biblical manhood and womanhood.” In its place, Aimee Byrd details a truly biblical vision of women as equal partners in Christ’s church and kingdom.

What was noted to be “conspicuously absent from Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood” is any mention of 1 Timothy 2:12. A women may not teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. This was a stance Byrd had formerly proclaimed, one she said believed in and lived by. But apparently no more.

We see the tip-off word in that blurb – patriarchy. Another signal word, equality. Byrd was then asked to step away from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, (ACE), the Mortification of Spin podcast, and her blogs were removed from the blog section (which has a rotating panoply of writers, not just Byrd).

The ACE was not outright opposed to the theological ideas contained in Byrd’s new work, they said they understood the book to be polemical. They said they knew their Alliance contained a variety of flavors of theologies (within certain limits). But they did ask her Nine Questions about her new stance. Byrd answered, but in the ACE view, it was an ungracious and unsatisfactory defense. I’d suggest reading the above links in their entirety to get the flavor of the ACE’s dismissal of Byrd from their platforms.

Her denomination was in an uproar for a year. Divided and upset.

History Lesson:
–metaphorical Jezebel of Rev 2 split her church. Charge: False prophesying, misleading the church.
–Puritan Anne Hutchinson split the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Caused massive uproar. Charge: Teaching men, and claiming direct revelation.
–Beth Moore caused massive uproar in the SBC denomination. Charge: False prophesying, claiming direct revelation, & teaching men.
–Aimee Byrd, Denomination elders said her new stances caused a disruption of the peace of the church, rejecting biblical gender roles.

Yes, women are strong. But when strength is used in the wrong way, when we do not submit and remain in our roles, our strong will causes disruption to the peace of the church.

Byrd began writing about being a “survivor”. Of being “reviled”. Of not “being valued.” Of “abuse in the church.”

Discerning people began issuing warnings.

Like this prediction from Denny Burk in 2020- Denny Burk said of Byrd, “I predict arguments like Byrd’s will prove over time to be a briefly held way-station on the movement from narrow complementarianism to egalitarianism. Readers who do not wish to take that journey should be cautious about Byrd’s book.”

Like this one from Mike Myers in 2021, “My concern is that the writings of Mrs. Byrd have gradually drifted from helpful, orthodox, and godly, to harmful, heterodox, and worldly.” (Source)

Like this one from CBMW in 2022- “But as some reviewers argued at the time, the position offered by Byrd’s book is a kind of way-station to egalitarianism. Even still, many dismissed these warnings as defensive or overblown” stated the Council of Biblical Manhood & Womanhood in noting Byrd’s reversal of positions.

Side Note: When your mature theologians or credible discernment people issue warnings like those, please consider them seriously. We see the trends. We know the trigger words. We have the Holy Spirit’s wisdom in this particular gift to discern the crack in the foundation. You don’t have to wait till the house crumbles to begin testing a person’s theology and comparing it to the Bible.

Now cut loose from the ACE, Byrd formed “a new nest” (blogging platform). Soon after, she preached her first sermon. Once a hard and fast complementarian, a ‘housewife theologian’, in 2022 Byrd stood behind a pulpit on a Sunday morning to exposit the word to a congregation.

Aimee preaching at Covenant Baptist Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, a SBC church btw.

This is in direct violation of the 1 Timothy verse and her own previously stated beliefs:

Aimee in 2013: “There are many roles for women in the church, but Scripture makes it clear that the office of elder and pastor is not one of them (1 Tim. 2:12). Not only that, most men are never called to this position (1 Tim. 3:1-7). I believe God has ordained this for our good.“

Ten years after the lauded and doctrinally solid Housewife Theologian was published, Byrd has in 2023 become an abomination to God. Strong words? In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 we read,

The women are to keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. But if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.

The word disgraceful means base, sordid, shameful, dishonorable.

I again show you Aimee Byrd preaching, and therefore disgraced, shamed, and sordid in the eyes of God:

But that is not where it ends. There’s more, and it’s worse. Worse than being sordid and polluting God’s pulpit? Yes.

Applauding other women who preach in God’s pulpit. (Romans 1:32).

Byrd wrote this week (September 2023) an essay she titled, “What a Woman Pastor Showed Me.” As with so many egalitarian heathens, like Beth Moore, they drop out of their denomination and seek places where their ears and heart can be tickled with sin. Byrd left the Presbyterian denomination of which she had long been a member, but could not find a church home for an extended period of time, despite visiting around “desperately”.

On the advice of a friend, Byrd recently checked out the Methodist church near her town. Byrd wrote that she never had thought she’d attend a Methodist church, saying of herself she’d been a “Reformed elitist”.

Rebuttal: dismissing churches which teach false doctrine isn’t elitist, it’s mature discernment and proper separation from theological pollution.

Byrd went on, noting that the congregation was small, older, and all-white. Byrd wrote, “But the all-white part is disappointing.”

Rebuttal: The Spirit sends whom He will send if it’s a real church. If He sends all white folks then so be it. They’re family. Period. If the church isn’t a true church, the people will congregate where they want due to their ears desire tickling.

Side note: I viewed or scanned through 35 of the services in the church that Aimee is gushing over. Aimee had noted the church’s demographics: small in number, mature, all-white, only a few families. One thing she didn’t mention that I noticed in these videos: the congregation seems to be composed mostly of women.

Byrd wrote: “The liturgy was refreshing. Christ was there. The whole service was saturated in the gospel. The pastor is a woman.”

“Reverend” Katie O’Hern Hamilton preaching with her son on her hip

Rebuttal: the place Byrd was in was not a church and they know not any Gospel. Christ was definitely not there. Christ does not affirm what He abominates and calls by His Spirit “sordid.”

Byrd wrote: She then dismisses the little ones who want to go to the children’s time outside of the sanctuary and transitions behind the pulpit with baby Wilbur still on her chest. I watched a woman deliver a wonderful sermon with a baby attached to her.

Rebuttal: I mourn the example Katie O’Hern Hamilton is giving her children, I mourn the congregation’s inability to see that this is disgraceful, I mourn the lost time her children are divided from attention from their mother, I mourn them when they grow up thinking this is OK. I am actually aghast and offended with this.

I mourn the loss of Aimee Byrd from the faith.

Above, this speaker whom Aimee Byrd believes is actually a pastor qualified to give sermons, her child is trying to get her mom’s attention during the service while this woman who thinks she’s a pastor is trying to give directions to the undiscerning congregation. Another child, perhaps Kate’s other boy, is playing the keyboard while the lady next to him tries to stop him. This is during the service.

1 Timothy 3:4 says in the qualifications for pastor, “He must be one who manages his own household well, [notice the he] keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),” emphasis mine.

Obviously, the dignity of the service is out the window with the “pastor’s” kids interrupting service, crawling all over, and distracting the congregation. Aimee revealed that the older child “likes to distract, be heard” and said, “Howard, the outspoken toddler, bypassed daddy and ran straight to pastor-mom as she raised her arms, yelling, “No, mommy; no, mommy; no mommy!” over and over through the entire benediction. How hilarious!”

Jesus does not think it’s hilarious. Not at all. “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5).

Fallen!

Aimee Byrd went from professing Christ and all His word true, including his ban on women preaching, to disillusionment with the church, and finally to identifying with the “marginalized, oppressed, and disillusioned“, rejecting churches with “patriarchal hierarchy,” landing in a church that is not a church, led abominably by a woman, and exulting in finding where her itching ears can be tickled.

The Danger of Apostasy

Do you know how many, MANY verses in the Bible warn of apostasy? Many. I would repeat them all but there are so many and this essay is already long. See here. Believers are repeatedly warned to check one’s self to make sure we are in the faith.

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons... (1 Timothy 4:1)

1 Timothy 4:16 says “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”

Do you think it doesn’t happen in these days? Think again! Do you think it cannot happen to you? Think again. Sin is crouching at the door waiting to have you!

Hebrews 6:4-6, For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

How many who did not pay close attention to their life or doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16) will try and appeal to Jesus on the Day by shouting about their works? (Matthew 7:21-23)

Do not be fooled. Apostasy exists and it hides WELL.

Apostasy, er, Angle Shades moth camouflage

In fact, Philip the Evangelist, who presumably had experience detecting a true and sincere testimony, traveled with Simon the Sorcerer after Simon’s baptism, only for Simon to unmask himself before Peter when Simon asked to buy the Holy Spirit. (Acts 20).

The Disciples were told at the Last Supper that there was one would betray the Son of Man, and the men were so sure of Judas that they questioned themselves before asking if it was Judas.

Byrd is egalitarian now. Sin doesn’t end there. Amy Spreeman said of these sad, well-trod paths away from Christ, “Egalitarianism appears to be the gateway drug for total [homosexual] affirmation”. That’s what’s next. It always happens. In fact, Aimee’s new church which is led by a woman is having a class of a “detailed study of the Bible passages most commonly cited in the church’s disagreement about same-sex marriage and LGBT+ inclusion.”

It is not clear which side this particular UMC will fall on…but with a Princeton Seminary graduate as a female pastor teaching this class, I am not hopeful that it will be biblically correct.

Sin leads down, to the abyss. Repentance leads up, to Christ. Ladies, watch your life and doctrine closely.

Further Resources

CBMW: That Was Then, This Is Now: Aimee Byrd Preaches Her First Sunday Morning Sermon

The End Time: Markers on the way-station of downgrade: Exhibit A, Aimee Byrd

The End Time: They make such excuses: Exhibit B, Aimee Byrd

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Jesus is the I AM

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’m so glad I have a Savior who is eternal. Because He is eternal, He is independent, self-sustaining, and forever self-sufficient. He is outside of time and matter, therefore He is the I AM, as seen in these statements-

I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51);
I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12);
I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9);
I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14);
I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25);
I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6);
I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5).

And these absolute statements:

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14).

Praise Him today for one of His attributes. Or all of them!

Further Resources

GotQuestions: What are the seven I AM statements in the Gospel of John?

Ligonier: The Great “I AM”

Posted in theology

Why doesn’t God answer my prayer? Should I quit praying it?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Elizabeth Prata

We pray for things near to our heart. We pray and pray and pray. Years go by. There is no answer. Does God listen? I’m feeling hurt, is that OK? Do I keep praying?

These are questions many women ask, think about, or feel. What do we do when God seemingly isn’t hearing our pleas?

Ladies, I am sorry if your prayer has not been settled in your mind and heart with an obvious answer as yet. It’s especially hard when our petitions to Jesus are aligned with what would please Him, such as salvation for another, or to strengthen a husband, or a stronger faith in one’s self; something along clear biblical lines.

The first thing we should do is, reassess your petition. Ensure it is something the Lord would bless and/or something that would bring Him glory. Is it near and dear to HIS heart? If it is, no worries:

And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14-15)

Then make sure of your motivations. Are you praying like the Pharisees did, to be seen by others? Are you making long prayers for a show?

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matthew 23:14).

Next, don’t worry about the time it seems to be taking for your prayer to be fulfilled. With the Lord, a thousand years as if a day, and a day as if a thousand years…so 2 years or 4 years or decades is long to us but mere “seconds” in time for the Lord…His timing is always perfect.

Anna was widowed at a young age, probably around 21, and decided to remain at the temple and praying and fasting night and day, at age 84 speaking to one and all who were also waiting for the redemption of Israel. “She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers” says Luke 2:36-38. We all can’t literally be Anna, devoting ourselves totally to praying, fasting and looking up for our redemption, but the concept is there:

PERSIST.

Marie Durand was a Huguenot who was imprisoned in 1738 for 38 years in the Tower of Constance for her faith. The powers-that-be wanted her to recant Christianity and turn Roman Catholic. Every single day for 38 years they came to her cell and asked her to recant. Every single day for 38 years, she didn’t. She even scratched RESISTEZ on the wall of her cell with a knitting needle.

We hear much from sermons, memes, quotes and of course the Bible about persevering. “The Perseverance of the Saints” is a phrase we are familiar with. Prayer IS perseverance. If you are still praying, you are still persevering. Keep praying!

In the Parable on Prayer in Luke 18, the “Persistent Widow” was lauded. She kept after the Judge asking for justice. Jesus said in His conclusion to that parable,

“Now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).

Meaning, don’t give up. Don’t stop praying in despair or discouragement that God isn’t listening, or somehow doesn’t care about your issue. Have faith.

Look up the verses that discuss prayer. You can go to Bible Gateway and search for “prayer” and Old Testament and New Testament verses will come up, all organized into the books of the Bible that mention it. Then read up from the verse and down from the verse to get the context, and then believe.

God delights in the prayers of the upright- Proverbs 15:8. So as long as you are praying you are persevering. You are also pleasing Him!

Pursue God relentlessly. Prayer is part of that pursuit.

Prayer is a mechanism thru which He promised to reward us. Matthew 6:6->
But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Our Intercessor brings those prayers to the Father. No matter if it is yes, no, or wait, our prayers keep us submitted to Him (the very act of praying signals that we know we need Him), delights Him, He acts as intercessor on our behalf…

The answer might be YES in 10 years or tomorrow. it might be NO in ten years or tomorrow. We just don’t know. But everything He does is good and is for our good, says Romans 8:28. So even this time of praying and waiting IS for our good. He heard the cry of Hagar in the wilderness and He hears your cry, too. And He has compassion for it.

Here are some good resources:

Praying With Perseverance

Ligonier devotional: Consistent, persevering prayer

Ephesians 6:18
praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

Posted in theology

The very small!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Yesterday I wrote about very large things in the Bible. The Anakim, large giants of the antediluvian Flood, (and afterwards too), The Ark, large armies killed in a single night. The observable universe is said to be 95 billion light years across. So just imagine how big God is to be transcendent from that.

And in typical squirrel fashion, I then thought about the opposite of Very Large Things, what’s in the Bible that is very small? Of course, the mustard seed was the first small thing I thought of. Let’s take a look at the verses and the facts about this very small seed.

He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is the largest of the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32).

Source

[Mt 13:31; Mk 4:31; Lk 13:19; Mt 17:20; Lk 17:6]): The minuteness of the seed is referred to in all these passages, while in the first three the large size of the herb growing from it is mentioned. In Mt 13:32 it is described as “greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree” (cf Lk 13:19); in Mk 4:32 it “becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches.” Several varieties of mustard (Arab. khardal) have notably small seed, and under favorable conditions grow in a few months into very tall herbs—10 to 12 ft.

From The Plants of the Bible by JH Balfour:

Professor Hackett tells us that when crossing the plain of Akka, in Palestine, he saw before him a little grove of trees. On coming nearer they proved to be a grove of mustard-plants. Some of the trees were full nine feet high, with a trunk two or three inches in circumference, throwing out branches on every side. He wondered whether they were strong enough for the birds to “lodge in the branches thereof.” Just then a bird stopped in its flight through the air, alighted on one of the limbs, which hardly moved beneath the weight, and began to warble forth a strain of sweetest music. The professor was delighted with the incident. His “doubts were charmed away;” the “least of all seeds” had actually grown into a substantial tree.

Balfour, J. H. (1885). The Plants of the Bible (p. 61). T. Nelson and Sons.

Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: 25The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer; The shephanim [shy, furry mammals, field mice, some think] are not a mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the cliff; The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in rank; The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

Who would admire an ant? it’s an insect, of no account, small but as Matthew Henry says, “yet they are very industrious in gathering proper food, and have a strange sagacity to do it in the summer, the proper time. This is so great a piece of wisdom that we may learn of them to be wise for futurity, ch. 6:6. When the ravening lions lack, and suffer hunger, the laborious ants have plenty, and know no want. [Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1024). Hendrickson.]

The same admiration in different ways for the field mice, locusts, and lizards. Thus, these small things are not of no account, but the writer was inspired by the Holy Spirit to include these for meditation on their admirable aspects.

A small boy. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this miracle but only John mentioned its catalyst was a small boy. (a lad, a young child; Greek paidarion)

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” (John 6:9).

The loaves were barley loaves, a lesser grain than the fine wheat grown in Palestine. He had only 2 loaves, and likely they were the usual ‘cakes’ and likely they were small enough for the lad to be able to carry them. Same with the fishes- small so he could carry them. But from the small boy carrying small loaves and smaller fish, Jesus multiplied it to a largesse unknown before that moment- feeding 5000 men, who were probably married, so that’s 10000, who probably had kids, so maybe as many as 15,000 people there received the blessing from the ‘small’ boy and his ‘small’ meal.

Conclusion

For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of Yahweh which roam to and fro throughout the earth. (Zechariah 4:10).

God sees the heart, not the externals. Saul was seen to be head and shoulders above the rest, but God knew Saul’s heart. It didn’t matter that Saul was impressively large. It didn’t matter that David was small and young. David was to be king, not Saul.

It didn’t matter that the widow was an at-risk person in that culture, often overlooked and/or poor. The Persistent widow was lauded, so was Anna. Dorcas’ sewing needle mattered to God as much as Paul’s pronouncements in amphitheaters to Kings and leaders. In fact, God allowed Dorcas to be raised from the dead.

Hagar was a cast-off slave girl, but God saw her pain in the wilderness and personally ministered to her.

The walls of Jericho were large and impressive, but they fell flat when God moved His hand. Nothing is hidden from Him.

Large or small, impressive or seemingly overlooked, God sees all. It’s the heart that matters. He counts every hair on our heads, He knows every dust mote that wafts in the wind, he is intimately involved with every soul whether they are reserved for wrath or for blessing.

God is amazing!

Further resources

No wonder they were grasshoppers in their sight: The Very Large

What does it mean when it says God looks at the heart?

Posted in theology

No wonder they were grasshoppers in their sight: The Very Large

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Numbers 13:33 says, There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.

The Nephilim were a race of antediluvian giants. GotQuestions says,

The Anakim/Anakites were a formidable race of giant, warlike people (Deuteronomy 2:10, 21; 9:2) who occupied the lands of southern Israel near Hebron before the arrival of the Israelites (Joshua 15:13). The Anakim’s ancestry has been traced back to Anak, the son of Arba (Joshua 15:13; 21:11), who at that time was regarded as the “greatest man among the Anakim” (Joshua 14:15).

The name “Anakim” most likely means “long-necked,” i.e., “tall.” The Hebrews thought them to be descendants of the Nephilim, a powerful race who dominated the pre-Flood world (Genesis 6:4; Numbers 13:33). When the twelve Israelite spies returned from exploring the Promised Land, they gave a frightening report of “people great and tall” whom they identified as the sons of Anak (Deuteronomy 9:2). The Israelites, seized with fear and believing themselves to be mere “grasshoppers . . . in their sight” (Numbers 13:33), rebelled against God (Deuteronomy 1:26-28) and refused to enter the land God had promised them.

Other vestiges of large peoples are seen in the Old Testament. Taking the a Hebrew measurement of a cubit being about 17.5 inches and converting it,

Goliath: (1 Samuel 17) was 9’9″.
The Egyptian was 5 cubits, or 7’2″. (1 Chronicles 11:23- He had also struck down an Egyptian, an impressive man, five cubits tall. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.)
Og King of Bashan (Deuteronomy 3:11- “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit”). King Og’s bed was 13″, so we can assume the King was around 11 or 12 feet tall.

To put it into visual perspective, let’s take a look at what the world calls “The Tallest Man Who Ever Lived”: Robert Wadlow. (American, 1918-1940). Wadlow’s height was 8 ft 11.1 in. And Goliath and King Og of Bashan were taller than this!

Source: Guinness Book of World Records

No wonder the spies were scared and seemed like grasshoppers in the giants’ sight! The giants seemed invincible.

But if God is with you, all things are possible. The seemingly impregnable walls of Jericho fell down flat. The huge Assyrian army 185,000 strong were all killed overnight by the angel of the Lord. The King of Aram’s army was not alone but was surrounded by God’s military forces, invisible to all but Elisha and his servant. The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

It is a shame that the world consults the Guinness book instead of THE Book for verification of the tallest people who ever lived. There is no more sure word than God’s word.

Speaking of very large things, did you know the reproduction of the Ark in Kentucky at the Ark Encounter is the largest free standing timber structure in the world? If you consult Google with that question, the Ark in Kentucky won’t come up. But it is the biggest: The Ark Encounter, the world’s largest timber-frame structure, is seven stories tall and 1.5 football fields in length – 510’ long, 85’ wide, and 54’ high (based upon the Egyptian cubit of 20.4”).

The New Jerusalem recorded in Revelation is a huge city. It is said in the Bible to be ‘12,000 stadia’, which equals 1,400 miles in length, width, and height (Revelation 21:15-16). Scripture says that the dimensions are given in “human measurement” (Revelation 21:17). A city that big if plopped in the middle of the United States, would cover from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border. So, most of America. Most of Australia, too, if you overlaid the dimensions on that continent.

Source

Trust the Bible. Even something we read seems outlandish and hard to believe, the dimensions given for the people, animals, structures in the Bible are true and good.

Today we looked at the very large. Tomorrow: let’s look at the very small. 🙂

Posted in theology

“Why do you like the session about false teachers best?”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Screen shot of the Justin Peters’ title card for his talk at G3 2023 National Conference

I have returned home to digest the edifying material I absorbed at the recent G3 National Conference in Atlanta. This is a 3-day conference featuring stupendous music (solid hymns accompanied by orchestral instruments), and wonderful preaching all around a theme. This year the theme was The Sovereignty of God.

Many different sermons were offered on the topic. There are endless ways to plumb the topic. You could do so for a thousand years and not even come close to scratching the surface.

A common question heard around the convention hall was “Which one was your favorite?” Every man who was selected to preach or woman who was selected to lead a breakout session has the skill to exegete their portion of scripture, and do so expertly. It isn’t a question of personality. It’s a question is which presentation spoke to your mind, which session that the Holy Spirit convicted you with or that He encouraged you with. It’s a spiritual question.

Emotions do play a part, yes. When one is convicted or encouraged on the basis of the preached word, it not only illuminates your mind but it expands your heart. The word does something to you. It is living and active after all.

The material presented to me at the G3 conference which most affected both my my mind and my heart, is Justin Peters’ talk on how false teachers attack the sovereignty of God.

False teachers attack God’s sovereignty through His omniscience, through His use of suffering and sickness, through His solitariness, through His work in salvation, and through him in general. Justin culled clips from some of the most popular of the heretical speakers of the day who demonstrated these points.

It’s one thing for a speaker to say the quotes, it is quite another for us to watch these people say them. AND have their audiences by the masses…applaud.

Their heresies were jaw-droppingly blasphemous. They were unutterably sickening. They were unrelentingly scandalous.

When Justin presented a clip featuring one of these false teachers saying one of their heresies and blasphemies, the G3 audience at Justin’s session would groan or exclaim involuntarily. We could not help it. Truly, it is amazing how deeply the false teachers hate God.

So, why would I bask in this session? Why would I say it was my favorite? Why would I even want to come close to a presentation featuring this cesspool of abyss-worthy hate?

Have you ever gone to a real jewelry store? Or seen someone on TV or a movie go to a jewelry store? Maybe you’re looking for fine jewelry for your mother, or you’re a man looking or an engagement ring for your girlfriend. You peer down into the glass case and see a jewel you like. You ask the clerk to please take it out of the case so you can get a better look. What does he do?

He takes it out for you. You anticipate looking at the sparkle and brilliance. But that is not all he takes out. He places a square of black velvet on the counter too, and lays the jewel on it. Why?

The black backdrop of the velvet enhances the brilliance of the diamond. It can be seen more clearly. Its sparkle is brighter. The jewel remains sharp and well-defined against the dark background.

And so it is. When a heretic’s words issue forth into the air, they become the black backdrop to the Lord’s brilliance in holiness and purity. The contrast makes me see the Lord as exalted even higher. My love for Him increases, and my hatred of my own sin grows. Seeing black sin for what it is against the purity of our Holy God is a contrast I always want to keep present in my mind.

Now, I don’t recommend a steady diet of purposefully seeking to contrast heresy vs. Truth. Swimming in heretical waters is a risk and not one that we take lightly. The Lord has done a superlative job of keeping Justin Peters sane and spiritually safe as he researches these items to bring to his audience’s attention. For me, it’s not a risk I want to take very often. But once in a while when the opportunity presents itself, like it did at G3, reminding myself with knowledge of the hatred these false teachers have for God, and refreshing my own soul with reminders of God’s brilliance as THE jewel of the universe, is good for me.

It also propels me into a desire to always be a precise steward of the truth. Falsity begins somewhere. These heretics didn’t start out at the bottom of the abyss. Sin is incremental, and it grows. I don’t ever want even a germ of falsity in my writing or speaking the glories of Jesus. I know there will be at times, because I’m not glorified and I have a mind that needs renewing every day. But the goal is to minimize it and to cast it out when its presence is brought to my attention. Heresy is a death sentence. But it begins with a small waver from the center line of orthodoxy.

So that is why I liked the conference session about false teachers best.

EPrata photo
Posted in theology

G3 Conference Day 3: Final day, Final Thoughts

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I waited two years for this conference. That’s 730 days. It was over in a heartbeat, just 2 and a half days. That’s just 0.34% of the time of the last 2 years.

But it was everything! It was 100% edifying. 100% eternal. 100% joyous.

We started the day with an altered schedule. Last night just as the movie The Essential Church was to begin its showing, a bomb threat was called in. The building was evacuated. Many of the speakers were staying at the next door hotel, and as police pushed people further and further back, and when it became obvious they were not going to be able to return to the building, they gathered in that hotel lobby – and began singing praises to the Lord.

Religious conference proceeds Saturday after bomb threat

The morning’s first speaker by video would have been John MacArthur, but since the building had been closed all night, the GICC crew needed extra time to clean it, which hadn’t been possible the night before. The day would start an hour late. So the video sermon sent in by John MacArthur was canceled and the second slated speaker was now going to be first in order. It was Ken Ham and sermon titled God’s Sovereignty in Creation.

Ham spoke passionately about the attacks on God starting in Genesis 3. The man is 71, and I was thinking after, I pray the Lord gives me as much passion and articulation within my niche as He has given Ken Ham all these past 40 years of beating the drum for Genesis 1-11. Answers in Genesis, Ham’s organization, offers an INCREDIBLE mount of material for all ages on all types of platforms. Homeschool, Sunday school curricula, videos, books, kids’ books, you name it.

“God made the animals according to their kinds, but He made man in HIS image. Man is not an animal.” ~Ken Ham

After a short break we listened to Mike Riccardi speak on the Sovereignty of God in Particular Redemption, expositing the answer to the question “In whose place did Jesus stand in absorbing God’s wrath?” He is an articulate man whose theological precision is only equaled by his clarity. I’ll put a link to these men’s biographies and where you can listen to them in the future.

Steven Lawson was closing the conference but I couldn’t stay to listen- our hotel checkout time was noon.

Our checkout experience was smooth and soon we were on the road to home. After a group photo of course, of most of the ones from our church who came to hear these wondrous things.

G3 (Gospel, Grace, Glory) 2023 national conference speakers

Now all that is left is to pray that the Holy Spirit would apply these truths to me in His inimitable way.

These people are precious to me: some of the young people from our church who traveled to the conference. Is there anything sweeter than seeing young people dig into their Bible with all eager attention?

Points I’m pondering:

–I loved the seminary-level teaching at G3 from seasoned and credible men of the faith.
–Many of the doctrines they taught that were related to Election were the SAME we have recently been taught in my own church. So: the blessing is there is seminary-level teaching at my home church as well! I love my pastors.
–I loved seeing the excitement of the younger people we traveled with and the new friends I met there. God ALWAYS leaves a remnant and a next generation for His name.
–I loved meeting my social media friends. It was a great reunion!
–I’m getting old. Leaving home was a struggle. Absorbing all the firehose of teaching for 8-9 hours was also a struggle. I ain’t a spring chicken. Where does the time go???
— The best part was when the bomb threat occurred, the men lingering in the hotel lobby and deciding to praise the Lord in song. They do not just preach God’s sovereignty, when tested, they showed that they LIVE it.

If you ever have an opportunity to attend this conference, please deeply consider it. Conferences aren’t real life. But getting away once in a blue moon to refresh and reset by and with the word of God given by top theologians and singing with 8000 other people is a foretaste of heaven. It propels a person forward even as we step back into the mundane day by day tasks.

Blessings to you and thank you for reading!

Posted in theology

G3 Conference 2023: Day 2

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We slept well and had a hot breakfast offered by the SpringHill Suites at Marriott. The breakfast was free and it was unusually lavish. Usually “free breakfast means they throw a cellophane wrapped muffin at you and say see ya bye”. Not the SpringHill Suites. They had hot eggs, sausage, granola, cheerios, biscuits, muffins, bagels, iced water, juices, and more stuff I can’t even remember. It was nice to relax in the breakfast area over a hot meal and speak with the fellow conference-goers around me.

Our venue is across a small road with a path to it. The bookstore is almost straight ahead, so that’s where we headed.

That feeling when you’re almost the first people in the bookstore at opening and you have it all to yourself.

I bought God’s Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation by David Saxton and : Robert Murray m’Cheyne and the Pursuit of Holiness. Yay!

So I bought 2 more books. But that’s it. No more. Done. Fini. The end. Fade out. Really. I mean it.

Our first session on Day 2 was Canadian pastor James Coates. James was jailed in a maximum security prison in Edmonton during the covid era so called pandemic. He brought a message about the Sovereignty of God in Election from Romans 9. His message was clear, indicating he is clear thinker, and his demeanor was humble and reverent. I enjoyed his sermon.

The auditorium is huge. There are more than 8,200 attendees, and from front to back feels like a mile. But the acoustics are good and there are jumbo-trons stationed all over, so there is no really bad view.

“God cannot pursue less than His own glory.” ~James Coates

We went straight to the next session, James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries with a message I was really interested in: God’s Sovereignty over Time.” Dr. White focused on Isaian 41 and God (speaking through Isaiah) calling the idols to account in His legal courts. God’s sovereignty is then demonstrated by His precision in prophecy. I want to go back and re-listen to this one.

All the sessions and breakouts were livestreamed, captured on video. When they are finalized with editing I will happily re-watch. I know I will pick up more concepts the second time and the Spirit will further renew my mind and enlarge my heart for Jesus.

Dr. James White

“God desires to reveal Himself and be known by His people so they can know what He is doing and they can love Him properly.” ~James White

I attended a luncheon with some G3 people which was very ice to be away from the hubbub, and then meandered through the Exhibit Hall where all the vendors were. I LOVED meeting everyone! Martha Peace, Susan Heck, Doreen Virtue, Steadfast Women, Allen Nelson and his wife and daughter, ReggieP2 at GBTS booth, Phil Johnson, Justin Peters, Gigi’s Sewing Room…tweeps from Twitter and Facebook.

My friend and I also ran into our other friends from church who are separately attending. I love seeing the joy in their young faces as they breathlessly recount insights gained and how much they love Jesus as they come to know Him more. Really Spirit shining faces. It does an older woman like me so good when I see the Lord raises up the next generation for His name.

On to the session with Justin Peters. I love this man and I think highly of him. His talk was on “False Teachers and the Sovereignty of God.” He demonstrated how false teachers oppose God in a myriad of ways; by attacking His sovereignty in our sickness & suffering, solitariness, omniscience, in Creation, and in general.

He showed clips of the ways these false teachers oppose God and their comments were breathtakingly, jaw-droppingly blasphemous statements from their own mouths. Several of these false teachers were teaching that God needs us and needs our permission to do anything.

Justin Peters

“God does not have a man-shaped home in his heart.” ~Justin Peters

“False Teachers hate God. They only love the god they have created as an idol.” ~Justin Peters.

The final session we attended, though there were two more afterwards, was the highly popular Q&A with all speakers. Lined up on the stage, absent Paul Washer, were L-R, Scott Aniol (cut off), James White, Owen Strachan, Voddie Baucham, Josh Buice, James Coates, Mike Riccardi, Steve Lawson, Phil Johnson, and Moderator Virgil Walker.

A favorite question is always about what books they are reading or what books have impacted them. Virgil asked the men what book on the soveeignty of God has impacted them most. A frequent answer from all the men was Jonathan Edwards’ The End for Which God Created the World. Also popular was AW Pink’s book The Sovereignty of God.

Paul Washer came walking in at that point. Steve Lawson asked “Why are you late? Paul washer answered “There is one answer to that: I am a missionary”. When the audience finished clapping, Washer continued, I was sharing the Gospel with a beautiful young lady. There is nothing more important than that.”

Amen, Mr. Washer. Amen.

Though there were two more speakers to come, Washer and Voddie Baucham, my friend and I headed back to the hotel to decomopress and discuss our day.

The Movie The Essential Church was going to be shown at 7:30pm, but just as the moderator was about to come on stage, a bomb threat was called in. Thousands were evacuated from the Georgia International Conference Center, and rather than despair, many of them went next door to the nearby hotel lobby and they began singing the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness.

Amen.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/south-fulton-county/religious-conference-evacuated-college-park-convention-center-by-police/7MIQEPWUPJDMBKD6G2UZJ7OG5Y/

I’ll recount the final day later when I get home tomorrow afternoon.

Posted in theology

G3 Conference 2023: Day 1

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

My friend and I went early to the conference this morning. We are in a hotel across the street, it only takes 5 minutes to walk over there.

Once inside the cavernous building, it takes a minute to actually get to where we’re going. We passed the Answers in Genesis booth along the way.

The Answers in Genesis folks at #G32023 are having a wonderful time, their joy is evident! That ministry sure has been a blessing to me.

The bookstore was fairly empty as we arrived at about 8 am. The first speaker wasn’t scheduled until 9, so we felt in no hurry while browsing around. Books are 40% off!

Later in the day, the bookstore was quite crowded.

We are a religion full of readers. This is the checkout line at #G32023 bookstore. I promised myself I would not buy any books! I lasted 2 minutes. I bought 2 books! The guy said “You should have bought John Owen’s Temptation: Resisted and Repulsed first!” I fell over laughing!

Below, Virgil Walker, Executive Director of Operations for the G3 Conference, and one half of the duo of Just Thinking podcast, welcoming the 8200 attendees and opening the conference.

The song worship is glorious. The leader is Matt Sikes, who is Discipleship and Worship Pastor at Pray’s Mill Church. The songs selected are strong hymns and the musical accompaniment includes an orchestra composed of cello, or oboe, piano, and violin. It’s wonderful.

Immediately after the singing was Owen Strachan, preaching on The Sovereignty of God and Perseverance of the Saints. I really enjoyed this one.

Walking, walking, walking is the order of the day. Lots of it.

Time for lunch. Despite G3 having provided food trucks and food vendors, the lines were incredible. My friend and I anticipated this, and had brought our own food. We sat in the large hallway people-watching and munching on our snack-y lunch.

Next up in the demanding and packed schedule were breakout sessions. The rooms hosting the various sessions to choose from are small, and only accommodate about 200 people. I fervently wanted to attend Carl Hargrove’s talk on “How Does God Govern the World by His Providence?” So I got there early. Not early enough. Not only was every seat taken, people were sitting on the floor, standing in the doorways, and spilling into the hall. I stood hesitantly at the doorway desperately looking for a seat, but none were to be had. None, that is, until a kind younger gentleman offered his. I demurred at first, but he insisted, and he sat on the floor in front of his wife.

We went right into another breakout session. This one was highly anticipated, not just by me, but most of the conference, it seemed! It was Erin Coates’ “Godly Women remain Faithful in Suffering”. Every bit of floor space was taken by a sitting disciple, all seats taken, tons of people at the doors and in the hall trying to listen. And if they did hear, they received a blessing, because Erin’s talk was stupendous.

Once again, we swept into the hall when Erin concluded and set off at a fast pace to the main auditorium for Phil Johnson’s sermon, “Love that will not let me go.” I love Phil’s preaching. I really, really do. He is my favorite preacher, along with John MacArthur (who will be speaking Saturday morning by video). Phil spoke on 1 John 4:19; We love because He first loved us.

The Hall was filled. I had a very hard time finding 2 seats together. What a blessing to be among like-minded people who are all there to hear about the excellencies of God!

A small slice of the cavernous auditorium filled with worshipers there to hear Phil Johnson
Phil bringing the love at #G32023

By now it was a bit after 5:00 and we were tired and hungry, having missed breakfast. The free breakfast offered at the hotel was eaten by hungry Christians and was wiped out completely by the time we got there. The hotel later apologized and said they will be better prepared Friday morning. And our lunch was cheese stick, almonds, and carrots.

There was one more speaking session to be had, by Steve Lawson, and the premiere of the move Cessationist. I really wanted to see the movie. But we were both tired, hungry, and bleary from the day. I’d gotten up at 4:15 am, and she had gotten up at 5:00. Long day. We packed it in, headed for the hotel, ate our supper and decompressed.

Tomorrow is another G3 day!