Tag: encouragement

Posted in theology

How Minor Biblical Characters Impact Major Stories

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I love learning about the major people in the Bible. I have a biography of Moses I plan to read. I read one on Paul. It’s fun to look all the verses that mention the top three apostles, Peter, John, James and learn of their backgrounds and personalities. It’s good to remind myself that these are real people, not characters in a book.

I’ve also developed a series of “Little Known Bible Characters”. The series is linked below. The ones who are mentioned a few times and which the Bible gives some details of their lives. I became curious about people such as Trophimus, Eutychus, Iddo, Esther’s Harbonah the Eunuch. There is enough in the record to be able to glean something of their lives and their service to God in providential ways.

But comes now a short essay I read from a favorite author of mine, JR Miller. He was an American who lived from 1840-1912. He was “was a popular Christian author, Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, and pastor of several churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois” says Wikipedia.

JR Miller

We have the major people in the Bible, we have the minor people in the Bible, and we have the (seemingly) insignificant people in the Bible. JR Miller has something to say about this last group, that I thought was wonderfully comforting. Here is Pastor Miller-

Treasures from J.R. Miller (1840 — 1912)

Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews, and he asked Hathach to show it to Esther. He also asked Hathach to explain it to her and to urge her to go to the king to beg for mercy and plead for her people. So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message.

Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai …” Esther 4:8-10

We are apt to overlook the minor actors in Scripture stories — in our absorbed interest in the prominent ones. Yet ofttimes these lesser people are just as important in their own place, and their service is just as essential to the final success of the whole — as the greater ones.

–The little girl in the story of Naaman the leper, is scarcely seen among the splendors of the Syrian court; but without her part, we would never have had the story at all.

–The young lad with the basket, is hardly thought of when we read the account of the miracle; but they were his loaves with which the Master fed all those hungry thousands that day on the green grass.

The smallest links in a chain — are ofttimes quite as important as the greatest links.

Hathach was one of these obscure characters. But his part was by no means unimportant. Without his being a trustworthy messenger, Mordecai’s communication with Esther would have been impossible — and the whole nation would have perished!

If we cannot do brave things like Esther, nor give wise counsels like Mordecai — we may at least be useful, as Hathach was, in faithful service. And perhaps our lowly part may someday prove to have been as essential — as the great deeds which all men praise. We may at least help some others in doing the great things that they are set to do in this world. –END JR Miller

You may feel like the smallest ant in a great civilization. You may be thinking, ‘What am I to contribute? How will the Lord use me? My spheres are so small, my resources so few…’ But God. He uses those who love Him in many ways. Naaman’s servant girl had the fewest resources of all, but she had the greatest knowledge, of the One True God. The boy with the basket had barely anything, and he isn’t even named. But his generosity and kindness speaks through the millennia.

Friend, keep living a life in obedience to God and your life itself is the service. Speak of Him where you can. Raise those children, as Eliza Spurgeon did, who was Charles’ mother and whose son became the Prince of Preachers. Even if your son or daughter is also ‘invisible’ to the world at large, no one is invisible to God. He sees all. He has placed you where you are on purpose, according to His will.

Little Known Bible Characters series

Little Known Bible Characters #6: King Cherdolaomer
Little Known Bible Characters #5: Harbonah the Eunuch
Little Known Bible Characters #4: Eutychus
Little Known Bible Characters #3: Trophimus
Little Known Bible Characters #2: ‘The List of Offenders’
Little Known Bible Characters #1: Iddo

Posted in theology

What a comfort the Psalms are!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Psalms are personal, warm, and human. As Joni Eareckson Tada said, “The Psalms wrap nouns and verbs around our pain better than any other book.“

Here is Psalm 32:10, one verse out of the 2,461 verses in all of the Psalms.

The sorrows of the wicked are many, But the one who trusts in the LORD, goodness will surround him.

Charles Spurgeon in his commentary on the Psalms called The Treasury of David, wrote of Ps 32:10,

Faith is here placed as the opposite of wickedness, since it is the source of virtue. Faith in God is the great charmer of life’s cares, and he who possesses it, dwells in an atmosphere of grace, surrounded with a body-guard of mercies.

As Robert Godfrey said in his book Learning to Love the Psalms (teaching series and workbook available at Ligonier)

“In the Reformation, the recovery of the Bible for all in the church meant also a recovery of the Psalms. Luther had learned the Psalms early as a monk and continued to love them. He called the Psalter “a little Bible,” saying, “The Psalter ought to be a precious and beloved book, if for no other reason than this: it promises Christ’s death and resurrection so clearly and pictures his kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom-that it might well be called a little Bible.”

The value of the Psalms (aside from being God’s perfect word, of course) is that “…the Psalter explained the life they lived in relation to both the wicked who opposed them and to the God who sustained them,” said Godfrey.

As we are living in such a turbulent period of our human history here on earth, and as it is likely to become more turbulent in the days and months ahead, remember the Psalms. All of God’s word is sufficient for reproof, teaching, correcting, training in righteousness, but the Psalms allow us to sink into comfort like no other book. Stand firm on where to turn for help and comfort.

Martin Luther loved the Psalms. He said, “The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea driven about by winds blowing from all four corners of heaven. The Book of Psalms is full of heartfelt utterances made during storms of this kind. Where can one find nobler words to express joy than in the Psalms of praise or gratitude? In them you can see into the hearts of saints as if you were looking at a lovely pleasure-garden, or were gazing into heaven. How fair and charming and delightful and the flowers you will find there.“

‘Heartfelt utterances’, Luther said. Do we sometimes forget that the Bible is populated with real people who endured real pain, trials, and successes? We will meet them one day. Until then, we can ‘meet’ them in the pages of God’s holy word, to see their humanity and perhaps to see ourselves in it too; and to learn how they turned to God for help in of trouble. Our God is a very present help.

Troubles don’t change, because sinners don’t change. Life in Luther’s time, life in Paul’s time, life now, all the same. They dealt with wicked rulers and leaders, injustice, apathy, rejection, atheism, idolatry, beatings, wars, famine…the list is endless of the troubles humans endure on this earth. The Psalms give us a taste of our union with former believers and the view of God’s help in them.

As Spurgeon wisely said,

May it be given to us of the Lord at all times to believe in the mercy of God, even when we cannot see traces of its working, for to the believer, mercy is as all-surrounding as omniscience, and every thought and act of God is perfumed with it. The wicked have a hive of wasps around them, many sorrows; but we have a swarm of bees storing honey for us.

Remember that in the days ahead.

Posted in gethsemane, mighty, sword

The Mighty Jesus, Our Savior

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Weariness, concern, anxiety, frustration…all feelings we may be feeling in these difficult times. Financial hardship to emotional stress, to outright persecution, there is no doubt that many are stumbling, suffering, or staggering.

Look to Jesus.

The scene in Gethsemane usually focused on is the sweet scene where Jesus is praying, alone. It touches the heart to see the beginning of the emotional and physical travail our Savior endured for our sakes. But John’s Gospel alone has the scene where Judas arrives with the soldiers and the soldiers approach Jesus. Jesus asks the soldiers whom they seek:

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. (John 18:4-6)

This is a picture of what will happen in Armageddon. Both the Old and the New Testaments are replete with passages that at once depict live events, events that are partial fulfillments of the near future, and are complete fulfillments of things that will happen in the far future. One example comes to mind, the destruction of Sodom for sin, and how Peter advised us that what happened at Sodom is an example of what will happen to the ungodly in the future.

As Jesus spoke, his very words (almost) slew the soldiers, and they fell onto their backs. This is a picture of Rev 19:15, 21,

The Coming of Christ
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

And to confirm, Isaiah 11:4;

But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

THIS is the mighty God we serve! He speaks, and the wicked fall. He speaks and worlds are made. He speaks, and angels fly. He speaks, and billions are redeemed. He is mighty and wonderful! No matter what comes upon us in this world, He will see us through it, and then soon, so we shall be with Him always!

Posted in theology

Encouragement again

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I am posting a few encouraging essays this week (at least I hope they are encouraging to you), because I think we need to absorb some positivity based on glorious promises from the Bible. It’s a rough week for many people.

There is such inexpressible and perpetual activity in the holy realms, it is breathtaking to think of. All heaven is working under command of our Holy God to ready for the Time. What time? The time when God says to Jesus, “Go get your bride!” And His deposit of our inheritance will be redeemed in full! (Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 1:22).

All of time, history, prophecy, and Holy Sovereign Decree has been moving toward the time of fulfillment of the promises of Jesus to His Bride and the promises of God to His people the Jews. Everything.

But back to the Bible’s pictures of activity. Didn’t Jesus say, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2).

Things are being prepared, right now. Our lodging in New Jerusalem. Our feast. He is preparing. He is engaged in activity to ready for the moment when a flood of redeemed souls enter glory to dwell with Him forever.

He is also preparing for the moment when His promises to his people the Jews come to fulfillment and the Kingdom Comes. Here is one specific glimpse of that preparation:

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line
“And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” (Zechariah 2:1-2).

Zechariah had been awakened and was shown a series of 8 astounding visions all in one night. One of them is that God sent a surveyor (likely The Angel of the LORD, Jesus) to measure the place where the final Jerusalem will be, its exact size and placement! Rejoice O Jerusalem! “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her;” (Isaiah 66:10).

Right now Jerusalem is split and under contention. Later it will be called Egypt and Sodom, (Revelation 11:8), but someday it will be cleansed, and it will become the holy city God intended it to be.

Look! He is so gracious, He showed Ezekiel also! “In the visions God brought me to the land of Israel, set me on a high mountain in which there was a structure like a city on the south. And he brought me there and behold there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed and he stood in the gate.” (Ezekiel 40:2).

Measuring … preparing … So much activity:

William Blake, Jacob’s Ladder

“And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” (Genesis 28:12).

Going and coming … ascending and descending … Not just in the Old Testament but the activity continues in the New:

“He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51).

The Sovereign God, His Perfect Son, and the Holy Angels are working to bring about the fulfillment of all the glorious promises of the Bible. I know we know the judgment promises will come true. The world and the heavens will be UNcreated in a reverse orderly progression that mirrors the 6 days in the Creation. Mountains will crumble. Rivers will dry up. Sun will blink out. Stars will fall. People will die.

But to the positive, He is also readying His universe for the new heavens and the new earth, for the moment when the Father says, “Son, it is time for you to be married. GO GET YOUR BRIDE!”

Is there any doubt that the preparations will have been completed and the glowing glorious heavens will be inexpressibly beautiful? No, no doubt.

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:2-4)

Our Savior who saves by grace, our Father, the architect of the earth and the universe, the author of our faith, the redeemer of souls, the Chief of all the Holy Hosts, is preparing…for us.

Posted in theology

Prophecy shows that no matter how crazy the culture gets, Jesus is in control

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve been a Christian for only 20 years, but I’ve been alive for 63. Even as a youngster, I asked the eternal question to myself, “Why is the world like this?”

Young people, the unsaved, adults, no matter your age, location, or spiritual status, anyone, can see that the world is broken. People are crazy. Just watch the news, if you dare.

The world has always been filled with sinners seeking to fulfill their own desires. A sinner’s desires are completely corrupt and unholy. (Genesis 6:5). They will seek to fulfill these desires by any means they can find, and will eventually resort to graft or deception or bullying or anger, etc.

But it seems lately that the percolating anger in sinners is closer to the surface than ever. Sin makes people insane and they do insane things. That is what having a reprobate mind means. (Romans 1:28-32). I means that people are so darkened that they can’t think straight. For moral and spiritual purposes, they’re effectively insane.

It used to be that people seemed to be held in check from expressing their baser desires by cultural pressure. Even though we in America have never really been a Christian nation, people acted Christian. The veneer of morality prevented things from being said, acts from being done. Over time though, the social-moral fabric has frayed. Badly.

But… Jesus is alive and in control. He sees this foolishness and He will come back to take care of it.

The Great Day of the LORD
“I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,” (Zephaniah 1:4)

This was a prophecy against Judah. Do you see that? EVERY TRACE of Baal will be gone!

“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.” (Zephaniah 3:8).

And He rose from the dead so that He could conquer death and atone for our sins and to fulfill all the promises since Genesis! He is risen! He lives! He loves! He is with us in our time of trouble and He will come for His beloved! He will rectify the wrongs and rid the world of polluted governments and wretched religions, the Baals and the Molechs and the Mammons will be banished from the earth forever!

“and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)

But He IS risen, and we are with Him, “having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:12).

No more sin, ever!

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14)

Mighty is our God who raises from the dead, justifies our sins through Jesus, and Who sets all prophecies down so we may see what must come to pass. Prophecy shows that no matter how crazy the culture gets, Jesus is always in control.

god is sovereign
Posted in Uncategorized

Hollow bunnies and solid food

Posted on by elizabethprata
bunny
Wikimedia Commons

By Elizabeth Prata

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be … 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3: 1-2,5).

As a kid on Easter morning in a secular household, it was all about the basket. The eggs, the chocolate, and toys. Even the fake green grass. Our baskets were always generously filled, and I especially loved the centerpiece of a large chocolate bunny on the mound of grass.

As a kid, if you see a 5 inch chocolate bunny you get very excited. You don’t think about how much to eat or not eat, you don’t think about the appropriate time of the day to eat it. You just rip the cellophane and chomp.

I remember being disappointed that the bunny was hollow. As a kid, I could not tell the difference between a solid bunny and a hollow one, they looked the same to my immature eyes. But when I bit into the ear it seemed to be a total gyp when it crumbled to bits because it had no interior support. The bunny had only a form of solidity.

We are told over and over in the Bible that the last days would be filled with deception, false pastors and false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing, antichrists, false apostles, false doctrine … and are repeatedly warned not to fall for it.

How can we tell if a bunny is solid chocolate or hollow? Test by eating it, you say? Satan is poison, his deceptions are poison. Who wants to eat poison? Ingesting falsity for too long will inevitably pollute. As mature Christians, we must be able to discern and detect hollow Christianity and false teachers who only have an appearance of Godliness early on, before it permeates the entire congregation, or our own heart.

Are you a child in Christ, seemingly mature but having fallen out of the habit of testing the scriptures for yourselves? Have you lost the ability to test the spirits? Are you, yourself hollow? Professing a form of godliness but denying its power? Have you departed from the spiritual disciplines of prayer, reading the word, giving, fellowship, and gathering with saints for worship? Abandoning these will hollow youout.

bunny2
Free to Use

Ephesians 4:14 tells us not to be babes. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

Pray for experience, wisdom, and discernment through a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Let us be mature, our faith be solid. We should not have only a veneer of godliness but be solid to the core, strong, with the interior support of the Holy Spirit. A counterfeit Christianity will reveal the person to be a child, rushing toward something that looks oh so good to eat but biting into the hollowness to be disappointed, but perhaps already hooked by its tastiness. Do not be a baby in discernment! Do not be hollow in faith!

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14).

The word of God is a sure way to stay close to Jesus and grow in faith to mature, solid Christians, who in turn extend a hand to new babes in Christ and help them along. And so it goes.

Posted in theology

Famous married Bible couples: Both spouses good, one bad-one good, both bad

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

EPrata photo

Our Sunday School class is going through the book of Esther. We had spent 26 weeks going through the Doctrine of Providence, when that class concluded, one of our teachers thought going through Esther would be a good extension of the subject. I love the doctrine of Providence and I hadn’t deeply studied Esther before, so I hopped into his class.

We read of Haman, of course, the main antagonist. And then we read two times of Haman’s wife, Zeresh. She is mentioned in Esther 5:14 where Zeresh listened to her husband’s woes about hating Mordecai. She was the one (along with Haman’s friends) who suggested building the gallows. THAT cheered Haman up! Nothing like killing a man you hate to make you happy! Then Zeresh is mentioned again in Esther 6:13 where she (along with his friends) said oops, your star is falling, your influence will dry up and you won’t win against Esther.

Those two were a power couple in a negative way. That thought got me thinking about couples. There are those who spurred each other on in Godly ways, a united pairing displaying God’s glory. And I thought of couples who spurred each other on to evil deeds and eventually fell. And then couples where only one of the two was obedient and faithful and hung in there to give God glory. Let’s take a look at a few, and not the most famous ones, either.

EPrata collage

BOTH ARE GOOD

Priscilla and Aquila: This was a married pair mentioned in the New Testament 6 times in four different NT books! Each time they are mentioned they’re always mentioned together. They were a pair, united by marriage in the Lord, working solidly with each other for God’s glory. They taught, they hosted, they labored at their trade, they were consistent and committed. Together they were a super-duo, relying on the Spirit and advancing the church with their dutiful example.

EPrata collage

BOTH ARE BAD

And then we have Couples who spurred each other on to bad works. Their pairing in marriage seemed to combine not the holiest of attitudes in them to greater heights, but the more depraved attitudes in them combining to descend them to greater depths.

Ahab and Jezebel. The Bible notes that the pair were evil each in their own way displeasing God constantly. (1 Kings 16:33). Jezebel incited her husband to many wicked deeds, which he willingly performed. (1 Kings 21:25). Two bad apples combining to make a polluted apple pie, this combo did much damage to the people around them.

Ananias and Sapphira: These two were counted in the early church as members, perhaps believers (more on that in a minute), and who joined in with the initial thrust to donate. They sold some land and promised the yield to the church. When Ananias stepped forward to give it at Peter’s feet, he actually only provided part of it, and Peter by knowledge of the Spirit caught Ananias in the lie. Ananias was struck dead. Sapphira a few minutes later, she, having confirmed her husband’s lie. They both colluded against the Holy Spirit and they separately confirmed greed in their heart.

There is great debate about whether the duo were actually believers or not. Piper thinks no, that they were phony Christians. MacArthur thinks yes, they were believers.

But isn’t it awful to leave people wondering if you were actually a true believer at all? Was theirs a case of bad company corrupting good character? Did one infect the other with leaven, spoiling the whole marriage? Was one unable to overcome the flesh and influence the other toward evil? Or were both simply greedy and allowing that one prevalent sin to have them?

ONE GOOD, ONE BAD

Lot and Mrs Lot: We do have many examples of these pairings: Lot and Mrs Lot. Mrs Lot was unveiled at the last minute as clinging to the world, not looking ahead to righteousness. Yes, Lot did some stupid things, but the Bible calls him righteous. (2 Peter 2:7). He must have done something right, his married daughters came with him instead of staying with their husbands. (A Lot of Righteousness). Mrs. Lot clung to the world (and became part of it).

Abigail and Nabal: Another one-good-one bad pairing we find in Abigail and Nabal. Their story is recorded in 1 Samuel 25. Nabal was described as “harsh and evil in his dealings”. His own servants and his wife described Nabal as “a worthless man”. Yet Abigail’s patience in living with this brute is obvious, and her intelligence in approaching David to persuade him to leave off murdering Nabal and his men, is also seen. Abigail is blessed by David in Yahweh’s name: David said, “blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed…” (1 Samuel 25:33).

In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your pure and respectful behavior. (1 Peter 3:1-2).

In this case, Nabal was not won over, David was. Nabal died soon after and David proposed marriage to Abigail.

A bad marriage is hard. A good marriage is hard. But if one of the pair isn’t saved, it just makes things so difficult because you are both pulling in different directions. Even if both claim to be saved but one is a lot less mature in the faith, again, difficulty.

“We’ve all heard it said that marriage exposes our own sin and selfishness, and that the marriage relationship sanctifies us with an intensity that can be, at times, quite uncomfortable.” ~Two Sinners and One Sinless, CBMW, By Elisha Galotti.

Job and Mrs Job: When the chips were down (waaaaay down), Mrs Job told her husband he might as well “curse God and die”. Maybe she blamed Job, more likely she blamed God, doubting Him. In Job 2:9 she blurted to her husband,

“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”

It seems that perhaps Mrs Job was annoyed to the extreme of her husband’s acceptance of God’s work in their lives. Thankfully Job did not take his wife’s ‘advice’ and eventually all was restored to Job. Interestingly, we read nothing of Mrs Job in her husband’s restoration happy ending. We read he received a house, more animals than before, and additional children, who grew to receive an inheritance and the Bible even records the names of the first 3. But no name for Mrs Job and no mention of her in the epilogue. Perhaps she had reaped what she had sown.

Hosea and Gomer: This pairing was again one of extreme difficulty and heartache. Hosea was righteous and Gomer was a troubled sinner for most of the marriage. She was an adulteress, she had an illegitimate child(ren, perhaps 3), she caused Hosea years of pain and embarrassment. Hosea patiently and lovingly sought Gomer, forgave her, took her back in with patience and deep commitment. Eventually she settled. Hosea’s love for his sinning wife was not diminished by her sin, he maintained loving faithfulness. From that, Hosea grew in deeper understanding of the forgiving love of God.

Hosea and Gomer, from the Bible Historiale. Den Haag, Date 1372

Marriage is two sinners each trying to subdue their own flesh nature. Without Christ, it can be a conflagration. With Christ, it’s still hard. I pray that if you, dear reader are in a difficult marriage, that you diligently search out Bible verses addressing your situation. And I humbly ask you to think of the couples in the Bible who each made a successful marriage, and what made some of their marriages unsuccessful.

The key point is, you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with you.

We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit—the power that brought about resurrection life, softened hearts of stone, and gave eyes of faith when we were blinded by sin. Yet sometimes in marriage, in the dismal moments of anger, hostility, or painful hurt, we forget that we’re not doing this alone. Sometimes in our sin and failures, we forget that the power and help of the Holy Spirit is ever present, ever helping, ever convicting, guiding, prompting and empowering us to do what is right. ~Two Sinners and One Sinless, CBMW, By Elisha Galotti

EPrata photo
Posted in encouragement, love, puppy

Happy puppy to joyful worship!

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I watched this happy video of a puppy waiting for his boy to return home from school. I’d planned to put it on my other blog as a happy little pick-me-up. But it’s almost impossible for me to see anything and not make a spiritual application, lol. So here it is. First, the happy puppy:

Awww!! So cute! Here is the question I ask us all, myself included. Are we a puppy? Do we show obvious and generous and committed love to people? Do we rush to pick up their burdens? Are we excited to see them? To the point of eagerly waiting?

Do we patiently wait for the Lord’s Day then joyfully bound into church with expectation of ‘seeing’ the Master? Are we excited for hymn singing and fellowship among the brethren?

Just sayin’

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42).

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

“For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;” (Romans 1:11)

Posted in encouragement, Uncategorized

Need encouragement? 4 tips to stay lifted

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

A number of you have said on Facebook or have emailed me that the times are certainly troubling you, and your spirits have wilted in discouragement. I always respond that there are two sure-fire ways to stay encouraged. No, three!

1. Pray always. (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
What Does it Mean to Pray Without Ceasing?

2. Stay in the word. Open your Bible and taste. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8)

Those two disciplines keep your eyes on the Lord, which is both being obedient to Him and keeps us in His peace.

3. Listen to great sermons from credible Bible expositors. Hearing the word explained and participating in a joyful exposition is a wonderful way to stay encouraged. I recommend:

Or just tune in online to ReformationNetwork or Expositor.fm for continual, solid teaching and preaching.

I know there are many other preachers and teaches who edify you and me, for example, Alistair Begg, Charles Spurgeon (audio reading of his sermons is available) and of course my/your own pastor, among many others.

I am adding a 4th mechanism to the list. I have been reading missionary biographies and I personally find them extremely encouraging! I hope you do too! For example, John G. Paton’s “Thirty Years Among the South Sea Cannibals” is a tremendous story that shows the difficulty of the spread of the Gospel (only 1 soil in four accepts it), the tribulations of missionaries, their total reliance on Jesus and how their faith increased because of it, their constant heavenward perspective, the beauty and celebration when a soul converts, and much more. Missionary stories humble me, make me grateful, and help me picture heaven

It is the Christ of the Bible which John G. Paton took with him to the New Hebrides Islands in 1858, to witness to the natives among the island group now known as Vanuatu. The book depicts Paton’s mission, a Scottish born man and called to minister to the cannibals of Tanna Island. Landing with his pregnant wife in 1858 he recounts the labors among “painted savages who were enveloped in the superstitions and cruelties of heathenism at its worst.” There’s joy when one native converted, weeping when there is betrayal by tomahawk or war club. Paton’s wife and child died, Paton himself was ill to near death many times from fevers and ague, and most other missionaries were killed outright. His life was threatened daily and the physical work of just staying alive was very trying. Yet Paton persisted lovingly in sharing Jesus’ Gospel with the natives, and also dispensed medicines and education.

Four years later, the natives loving Paton but hating “The Worship and his Jehovah,” caused Island-wide war to break out. He and two remaining missionaries were evacuated off the island. Paton spent some years in Australia and Scotland fundraising for the mission. He returned on the missionary ship Dayspring 4 years later.

There is much more. His personal story does have a happy conclusion. When he and his new wife returned, they re-settled on a different island, and over the course of many years successfully shared the Gospel and the natives were converted.

Here are a few sweet excerpts. Paton’s relationship with his father is beautiful.

that blessed custom of Family Prayer, morning and evening, which my father practised probably with out one single avoidable omission till he lay on his death bed, seventy -seven years of age; when, ever to the last day of his life, a portion of Scripture was read, and his voice was heard softly joining in the Psalm, and his lips breathed the morning and evening Prayer, falling in sweet benediction on the heads of all his children, far away many of them over all the earth, but all meeting him there at the Throne of Grace.

The first of many war scenes, early in the book:

Party after party of armed men going and coming in a state of great excitement, we were informed that war was on foot; but our Aneityumese Teachers were told to assure us that the Harbor people would only act on the defensive, and that no one would molest us at our work. One day two hostile tribes met near our Station ; high words arose, and old feuds were revived. The Inland people withdrew; but the Harbor people, false to their promises, flew to arms and rushed past us in pursuit of their enemies. The discharge of muskets in the adjoining bush, and the horrid yells of the savages, soon informed us that they were engaged in deadly fights. Excitement and terror were on every countenance ; armed men rushed about in every direction, with feathers in their twisted hair, with faces painted red, black, and white, and some, one cheek black, the other red, others, the brow white, the chin blue in fact, any color and on any part, the more grotesque and savage-looking, the higher the art! Some of the women ran with their children to places of safety; but even then we saw other girls and women, on the shore close by, chewing sugar-cane and chaffering and laughing, as if their fathers and brothers had been, engaged in a country dance, instead of a bloody conflict.

The beginning of the end, war breaks out and Paton fled, spending the night high in a tree above marauding cannibals.

Being entirely at the mercy of such doubtful and vacillating friends, I, though perplexed, felt it best to obey. I climbed into the tree, and was left there alone in the bush. The hours I spent there live all before me as if it were but of yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the yells of the savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul, than when the moonlight flickered among these chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Saviour’s spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship. If thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all, all alone, in the mid night, in the bush, in the very embrace of death itself, have you a Friend that will not fail you then?

I also recommend “Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman“. (1930-1947) I loved this book!!!

With no mission board to support or guide her, and less than ten dollars in her pocket, Gladys Aylward left her home in England to answer God’s call to take the message of the gospel to China. With the Sino-Japanese War waging around her, she struggled to bring the basics of life and the fullness of God to orphaned children. Time after time, God triumphed over impossible situations, and drew people to Himself. The Little Woman tells the story of one woman’s determination to serve God at any cost. With God all things are possible! Gladys lived from (1902-1970).

Through Gates of Splendor Kindle Edition by Elisabeth Elliot, 1956

Through Gates of Splendor is the true story of five young missionaries who were savagely killed while trying to establish communication with the Auca Indians of Ecuador. The story is told through the eyes of Elisabeth Elliot, the wife of one of the young men who was killed.

Find some other missionary stories, there are many lists out there of “10 Missionaries every Christian ought to know” and so on. Many missionaries have gone forth. The more modern stories can be heard or read from Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance in the World’s Difficult Places. I am sure that their stories will inspire you and encourage you. We all need some encouragement in these days. I can’t wait to meet Paton, Nate Saint, Gladys Aylward, and all the rest in heaven!!

You Will Be Eaten by Cannibals! Lessons from the Life of John G. Paton
John Piper sermon: Courage in the Cause of Missions