I am on a rotation for being a helper in children’s Sunday School once per month. It’s consistently edifying to see how the children respond to the truths presented in the lesson. It’s always gratifying to see that their growth is added to the foundation their parents are laying at home.
The lesson this week was about the people who mocked Jesus at the cross and the ones who did not. As the Bible was read sentence by sentence in the passage, the children were asked ‘Did this person or group honor Jesus, or dishonor Him?’ The children responded by taping a printed picture under a happy face or a sad face on one side of the board or the other.
As we neared the end of the lesson, one tyke noticed something about the way the pictures had been arranged. He said there was nobody in the middle. Which is perceptive.
Those who mocked Him were the Jewish crowds, the chief priests, scribes, & elders, Roman soldiers, and the two thieves crucified alongside him.
Those who honored Him were the centurion, eventually the repentant thief, the women who stood off from the crowd, Joseph of Arimathea.
There is no middle ground when it comes to Jesus. In our daily lives we ‘hedge our bets’ all the time on a score of things. We don’t utter an opinion, we sit on the fence, we take no chances, and stay on the safe side. This might be to keep the extended family peace, to keep the calm at work, and so on.
With Jesus there is only His safe side with Him, or against Him and destruction. You have to pick a side. Or as one little Sunday School student said about the centurion, “He was on God’s team.”
The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters. (Matthew 12:30).
Mark phrases it like this: For the one who is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:40).
Many of today’s people do not like to talk about destruction, wrath, or hell. But it is the default destination of all flesh if they reject Jesus’ offer of salvation.
On Judgment Day, each person will be judged one by one by Jesus. It will not matter if you were hiding in a crowd. It will not matter if you were refraining from speaking of Jesus at Thanksgiving ‘to keep the peace’. It will not matter of you desired a workspace unruffled by religious feathers. Not when it comes to the topic of the Gospel and Jesus. Each and every soul will be examined to see if you were with Him or against Him.
Yesterday on her social media platforms, professing Christian Beth Moore announced that she is winding down her Living Proof Live part of her ongoing ministry and reducing her office staff to minimal personnel.
Beth Moore is a professing Christian who spent many decades as a Southern Baptist, eventually leaving that denomination to become Anglican in March 2021.
She began in her early 20s as a motivational speaker who also led an aerobics class at her church since the early 1980s. Noted for her ability to speak and connect with audiences, she became a Sunday School teacher at Houston’s First Baptist Church in 1984 and continued in that role for over a decade.
How old is Beth Moore?
Beth Green was born in Green Bay Wisconsin in June 1957, so as of this June 2026 Moore will be 69 years old. She was raised in Arkadelphia Arkansas.
When did she found Living Proof Ministries?
Moore founded Living Proof Ministries (LPM) in 1995 as a non-profit Christian corporation.
When did she publish her first Bible study?
Beth Moore’s first published Bible study is A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, released in 1994 through LifeWay Christian Resources. She and Lifeway had a publishing relationship for many subsequent years, formally parting in 2021 when she left the Southern Baptist Convention and her SBC church. Lifeway even paid to charter jets or provide first class airplane accommodations to Moore as she traveled, paying half such costs. A LifeWay representative said that at her height, “no one’s products raise as much revenue as Beth Moore’s”.
At that time, “Although still without any formal theological education, LifeWay Christian Resources’ publishing arm Broadman & Holman (later B&H) began publishing her Bible studies in 1994, leading to a national speaking ministry for Moore.” (source Christianity Today- “Why Women Want Moore“)
Many say they are, and the number of these studies and the popularity of them would confirm this to the undiscerning. For a long while, anyone who said anything negative about Moore would receive heated and immediate pushback. Luke 6:26 however warns against universal popularity,
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Others say her studies are not good, that they are rife with direct revelation, teach the unbiblical stance of learning to hear from God directly, are emotionally driven, and contain a twisted hermeneutic riddled with eisegesis, and many other issues. She preaches another Jesus, many claim.
What was Beth Moore’s Announcement?
As Moore said she is nearing her end phase, her Board of Directors said that “According to the protocol of a nonprofit organization like ours, after I turned 65, my board of directors asked me to propose a transition plan with just some idea of what I foresaw concerning Living Proof.” (source youtube video as above).
This is normal. It is wise to prepare a succession plan, but according to Council for Nonprofits, only 29% actually do. It makes sense as Moore looks at turning 70 in 18 months that she not only slow down but prepare a future vision for what she wants to do with the corporation.
Moore said in her announcement: “The plan includes downsizing Living Proof Ministries in June 2027 to minimal staff and minimal office space so that turning 70 I’ll have less responsibility overseeing a very busy ministry“
Both her daughters and her son-in-law work for LPL, so this is definitely a family discussion.
Why is Beth Moore slowing down? Is she retiring?
In truth, she has already tapered off these last couple of years with reducing the number of heavily scheduled and widely traveled large scale LP Live events. Moore has still been actively speaking but only at small venues such as colleges, churches, ship cruises, and so on. Her IRS Tax return states she puts in 50 hours per week, in the past in addition to that, she spoke at up to 12 LPL events per year (every other week according to The Atlantic article) hosted a weekly TV show, went on book tours, led Sunday School at church or Bible Studies/prayer meetings at LPM offices, and wrote more books. In a lengthy article in the Atlantic Monthly magazine she was called an ‘evangelical superstar’. She was busy.
Moore said in her announcement this serves as a path toward retirement-
“So though it may sound like retirement unless the Lord wills it, it’s meant to actually delay retirement.” (source, video).
So she is slowing down and dispensing with some of the heavier responsibilities so that she can focus on her plans to speak, write, and teach.
How many Living Proof Live events will there be now?
Only 7 more, and two of those are already sold out. It is keenly insightful from an economic standpoint for her to create scarcity. It only makes the object one wants to consume all the more desirable.
What is Beth Moore known for?
It depends on who you ask. Supporters say she is known for passion for Jesus, long-standing expertise in teaching Bible to women, notable skill and verve in speaking, and excellent at her craft of writing.
Detractors say she is a Christian in name only, a false teacher who spreads seeds of false doctrine throughout the faith, a rebel who preaches to men, and a stiff-necked, self-identifying obnoxious woman unable to control her mouth or submit to correction.
–She was sexually abused by her father for a number of years starting at a very early age.
–She dislikes President Trump so intensely his candidacy and eventual winning of the Presidency shook her to the core. She sees the world through a lens of abuse. “Moore believes that an evangelical culture that demeans women, promotes sexism, and disregards accusations of sexual abuse enabled Trump’s rise.” (The Atlantic).
–Beth and Keith have two daughters, one divorced and remarried, the other still married to her original husband, and several grandchildren. Beth and Keith are still married.
–She owns the two homes on her 50-acre compound, (one a 4,537 sf home and the other a 2,126 sf home); and a ranch in Menard TX, all managed by the Keith & Elizabeth Moore Family Trust.
–Beth’s given first name is Wanda and Keith’s given first name is Ivan.
Conclusion
I am glad Moore is stopping her Living Proof Live events. I attended a Live Event and also a simulcast at another time. She is a false teacher and the fewer venues she pumps out her version of a false Christianity and the fewer women she reaches, the better. It is not a sign of God’s approval that He allows a teacher to teach for so long, nor is it validation of doctrinal solidity that she is so popular. God uses false teachers to hone the true believer’s discernment, to test us, and to separate the false from the true body.
I owned my own business at one time, so I definitely understand the need to look ahead and plan for succession. I am also in the same age bracket as Moore, so I also understand the desire to slow down. I pray she stops completely soon, for even though she has plied her ungodly trade for so many decades seemingly unperturbed by Jesus, He may indeed still ‘stop her mouth’ as it says in the KJV,
Titus 1:10-11
For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.
In any case, Beth will have a lot to answer for when she meets the true Jesus whom she does not currently know.
SYNOPSIS: Christians must measure cultural female role models by Scripture. Figures like Oprah Winfrey may show admirable traits, yet their influence often celebrates self-exaltation. Oprah’s spirituality illustrates the danger of becoming your own authority, urging believers toward discernment and identity in Christ.
My work here involves encouragement, theology, and discernment. I have not done any discernment work on the NAR, an acronym which stands for New Apostolic Reformation. I have not felt the pull of the Holy Spirit to do so. I can’t cover everything.
However, the NAR is a deadly false movement, with sub-topics within it containing their own dangers, which demand attention and discernment from us to avoid. To that end, Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley have done a ton of work to alert us ladies to the errors of this movement, and I want to highlight their work on this topic since it is making such inroads to the faith.
Amy Spreeman of Berean Research collected testimonies from people who have left a NAR church. She wrote that the spiritual abuse is real, and it lingers in the heart and mind long after their church departure:
“The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a dominionist movement which asserts that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of Prophet and Apostle. Leading figures in this seemingly loosely organized movement claim that these prophets and apostles alone have the power and authority to execute God’s plans and purposes on earth. They believe they are laying the foundation for a global church, governed by them.“
At Michelle Lesley’s site we have “What is the New Apostolic Reformation?”
The Podcast A Word Fitly Spoken hosted by Amy Spreeman and Michelle Lesley featured Dawn Hill recently, who spoke about a growing subset of the NAR- ‘Deliverance Ministries’. It is an interesting and informative discussion-
“There’s a growing movement within the charismatic and New Apostolic Reformation camp that we’re hearing more and more about these days: deliverance ministry. If you’ve ever seen a video of someone practicing deliverance, or if you have a friend who’s dabbling in deliverance, you might wonder if it’s biblical, and if it’s OK for Christians to take part in. Our friend, Dawn Hill, joins us to explore what the Bible has to say about deliverance ministry.“
Both women have many more resources at their sites for you to explore on this important topic. I hope this helps you if you decide to research this important topic.
The preaching of the true word of God always pierces hearts.
“So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41)
Subtract
However, taking away from that word will bring condemnation to those who subtract from it:
“and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:19)
Multiply
We love God’s word so much we share it, not sparingly but liberally. To His own glory, the Lord multiplies what is needed in the sower so they can return and multiply their doing good again and again–
“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10)
Barnes Notes explains, “Multiply your seed sown – Greatly increase your means of doing good; make the result of all your benefactions so to abound that you may have the means of doing good again, and on a larger scale, as the seed sown in the earth is so increased that the farmer may have the means of sowing more abundantly again.”
Divide
But make no mistake, proclamation of, living by, and protecting the word will bring division. Doctrine DOES divide.
“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51)
In efforts not to have “division” but a (false) unity based on a watered down version of the Gospel, you really have nothing. Nothing from nothing leaves nothing, said Billy Preston.
John MacArthur on doctrine dividing, from his sermon A Call for Discernment: “When you don’t even lay down clear doctrine at the level of the Gospel, where are you going to go from there? And the cry is, as one man said to me when my book on The Gospel According to Jesus came out, he said, “Your book is divisive!” You want to know something? He’s right. He’s right. Want to know something else? Doctrine divides. People say, “Oh doctrine divides … doctrine divides.” I say, “Amen, preach it, doctrine divides.” You know what it does? It confronts error. It separates true from false. It makes judgments. Today’s climate, however, of unity in the priority of relationships, that’s not tolerable.”
But here is the new math of God’s kingdom: His infinitely extravagant grace! There is no counting it and no end to it. Praise the Lord that His grace and mercies fall on us every day. I can’t add the number of times I’ve been a grateful recipient of it.
“Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5)
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8).
SYNOPSIS Technological progress invites both benefit and danger. As AI blurs reality through deepfakes and misinformation, society’s grip on truth weakens, preparing hearts for Revelation’s prophetic deception. Christians must cling to Scripture, the unchanging anchor, amid confusion, remembering only Christ conquers death and saves.
Paul’s declaration of being poured out as a drink offering points believers to Christ, the Chief Cornerstone. From Bethel to New Jerusalem, God builds His dwelling with living stones who steadily give themselves in faith, emptied in joyful response to His finished work.
When we discuss other words representing the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, peace, and joy, we think we know what they mean, but often times these culturally embedded words have a totally different flavor when used from a biblical context. It is true of the words pertaining to the Fruit of the Spirit. Even these ‘simpler’ biblical words are misunderstood.
Let’s look at Peace
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
What does ‘peace’ mean? I hear people saying in their decision-making, “I have a peace about it.” Is Galatians talking about that kind of peace? Or, is it the peace that comes after a war or a struggle with someone?
The Greek word as it’s used in the verse is (they think) from eiro. It means in this verse, a harmony and an accord.
Once we possess the Spirit, we are no longer at enmity against the Lord. (Ephesians 2:16). We have peace with Him since we are no longer rebelling against Him. We have relational peace. Strong’s defines it partly as:
According to a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoerer sort that is”: Romans 8:6; namely, is used of those who, assured of salvation, tranquilly await the return of Christ and the transformation of all things which will accompany that event,
John Gill Comments on the two kinds of peace, peace with God and peace with each other, on the Gal 5:22 verse,
which is another fruit of the Spirit: and designs peace with God in a man’s own conscience, produced there by the Spirit of God, in consequence of peace being made by the blood of Christ; and that through the application of the blood of Christ for pardon, and of his righteousness for justification to the soul of a sensible sinner by the blessed Spirit, the effect of which is peace, quietness, and tranquillity of mind; also peace with men, with the saints, and with all others; for such who are under a work of the Spirit of God, and are influenced and led by him, seek after the things which make for peace and edification among the brethren, and are desirous if possible to live peaceably with all men: hence appears another grace in them,
But beyond that, as the verse in John 13:34-35 says,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
We cannot have peace with one another if we are feeling less than loving.
What was “new” about this commandment? Love wasn’t new, it is in the Ten Commandments. What was new was the depth and the extent of the love Jesus commanded His people to do. Jesus loved His own to the end, fully and consistently and completely. He gave the sop to Judas. Giving the morsel to someone at a dinner was a manner and custom in Israelite banquets. The host showed utmost respect and love to a person, by personally handing him a morsel, sometimes even placing it in the recipient’s mouth himself. Judas was to betray Jesus in mere hours, but Jesus still loved Judas to the end. He gave him the sop. THAT is the new kind of love.
The fruit of the Spirit is all one fruit. It isn’t that we work on peace one week and then patience the next… The first fruit mentioned is love. ALL other fruit stems from this one fruit. If we are loving we will be patient, we will be joyful, we will be gentle, we will employ self-control, and so on. Jesus was at peace relationally with Judas the Betrayer and demonstrated that peace through His loving act of giving the morsel.
Peace with one another is to be sought because we love.
Angels are innumerable, powerful, nonhuman beings created by God to serve His ordered purposes. Scripture portrays them as named, hierarchical spirits who worship, judge, minister, and wage warfare. Some rebelled and became demons. Angelology, the study of angels, is legitimate but requires biblical caution and careful discernment of sources.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16).
Did you ever wonder what this means? I do.
Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary says,
be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves—Wonderful combination this! Alone, the wisdom of the serpent is mere cunning, and the harmlessness of the dove little better than weakness: but in combination, the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger; the harmlessness of the dove, from sinful expedients to escape it. In the apostolic age of Christianity, how harmoniously were these qualities displayed! Instead of the fanatical thirst for martyrdom, to which a later age gave birth, there was a manly combination of unflinching zeal and calm discretion, before which nothing was able to stand.
Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 36). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
So clear! I like this comment.
The Apostolic Age has passed, but in this day and age of the Church Age, how can we do our diligence and be wise as serpents and innocent as doves?
Firstly, we need to balance shrewd discernment with holy integrity in today’s challenging world. The world is one of the deadly enemies the Bible lists, along with the devil and our flesh. (1 John 2:15-17, Romans 7:15, Galatians 5:16). The world is against us and challenges us at every turn.
Christians must recognize danger- not solely physical danger but spiritual danger from false doctrines and deceitful teachers. We should use wisdom in all our relationships, act with integrity, and avoid compromise. Wise as a serpent means we combine caution with strategic awareness in a meek, non-aggressive spirit.
Following the directive to be wise and innocent given by Jesus really involves everything He and the Apostles said to do and doing all in life with Jesus in mind: such as having a meek and gentle spirit, being holy as he is holy, not lying, loving our neighbor… And so much more.
No one said the Christian life was easy. Pursuing all these things and then balancing them properly seems impossible. But we have an aid that no one else has: the Holy Spirit! Appeal to Him each day, multiple times per day, for wisdom tinged with gentleness, with gentleness tinged with shrewd wisdom. He is a good God and ready to help those who, with pure motivations, seek to obey and love Jesus with all our heart, mind, and soul.
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