Tag: holy

Posted in theology

The Hard Grace of Becoming Humble

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

SYNOPSIS: Reviewing Jerry Bridges’ The Blessing of Humility, I reflect on humility as essential to sanctification, rooted in the Beatitudes, closely tied to love, and cultivated through Spirit-led self-examination, repentance, and the difficult, ongoing work of confronting pride.

The Blessing of Humility by Jerry Bridges is a wonderful book. If we are to mortify our sin, pursue holiness, and join the Holy Spirit in the hard work of sanctification, there are many of our own sins we can pick from. It’s a blessing that Jesus does not reveal all of them at once to us. We would surely be undone, as Isaiah cried. But pride is the root of all of them, and its opposite, humility, is often overlooked as of nearly ultimate importance of a characteristic to seek.

In his book, Bridges goes through the Beatitudes and sees a pattern for action in cultivating humility. His easy writing style and clarity of each short chapter’s structure makes it easy to see both the theological foundation strongly tied to the Bible, and how to apply these truths to one’s life.

The book is an easy read mentally but do you really want to read it quickly? Sure, it’s a short book. But it is a tough read spiritually. Here is what Bridges said-

“This book can be read completely in about two hours or less. You may want to do that to get an overview of the book However, the real value of this book will come as you then read each chapter reflectively and prayerfully. Ask God to help you see yourself as you really are in the light of each of the character traits covered in the eight Beatitudes. And then ask God to help you grow in the areas where you see yourself to be most needy.“

Embarking on a study of humility and its application to my life, I first read Andrew Murray’s little book, “Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness.” It was good. He hammered the point home: humility is important. This set me up for a good absorption rate when I next turned to the always gentle and readable Jerry Bridges’ The Blessing of Humility.

I will be quoting a lot from Bridges in this essay!

“The character trait of humility is the second-most frequently taught trait in the New Testament, second only to love. At one time I counted fifty instances of love taught, either by precept or example, in the New Testament; I counted forty instances of humility. I regard these two traits as the foundational stones of Christian character. All other character traits, in one way or another, are built upon love and humility.“

I did not know how closely love and humility are, and this was a point made in Murray’s book as well. My curiosity piqued, I went on. Next I learned that humility is actually a command of God. Bridges said-

“This is a crucial point, because in our frenetic world of today, such softer character traits as humility, gentleness, and patience often get ignored or even regarded as unreal expectations in the hustle and bustle of life. But if we want to apply the Bible’s teaching to our daily lives, we cannot ignore the call to live our ordinary lives in a spirit of humility.”

OK, good. I appreciated at that point the Holy Spirit’s leading me to a study of this character trait, one I could do so much more in applying to my life, which necessitated mortifying those tendrils of pride that rear up at any or all times.

I’d said earlier that Bridges that as one goes through the Beatitudes he saw a pattern for applying humility to our lives. He said about those who mourn are blessed-

“This second character trait of the Beatitudes naturally follows the first. Those who are genuinely poor in spirit will mourn over their sin. As John Blanchard wrote, “To be ‘poor in spirit’ is to be convicted of one’s sin, whereas to ‘mourn’ is to be contrite for it.”

See what I mean about his writing and flow being so clear? So I am halfway through the book now. I’ve read the intro, the chapter on being ‘poor in spirit’, ‘those who mourn’ and now, the chapter on ‘meekness’.

This chapter on meekness really stuck with me.

It’s the pondering, praying, and mulling over how to apply the insights gained to my own sin that is the slow-down. And isn’t that the goal of any spiritual endeavor? To seek Christ-likeness? It’s not easy and it is not fast.

It’s the meek chapter that slowed me even more. I don’t know if any of this book will pierce you or which chapter if so, but for me, it was being meek.

“[W]e too often use the Scriptures not as a means of judging ourselves but as a means of judging others, especially those whose sins are more flagrant than ours. The meek person, in contrast, searches the Scriptures (or listens to it taught) not to judge others but to allow the Holy Spirit to judge him or her. In fact, the meek person earnestly desires the Spirit to use His Word to effect a deep change in his or her inner being.”

Our dear departed friend Voddie Baucham, Jr., always used to say, “If you can’t say amen, you ought to say ouch!” Meaning, if biblical truth is preached and you cannot agree with it (“amen”), it is likely because the message is convicting you of sin, or challenging your disobedience, causing spiritual pain (“ouch”).

Using the scriptures to judge one’s self takes courage and a hard look at the depravity of one’s own heart. This is necessary in order to mortify it. This book has a conviction rate of 99%!

You can see that meekness is truly humility in action. ~Jerry Bridges

Many people, especially men, avoid cultivating a trait of being meek, becuase they think it means being weak, or a spineless doormat, or timid. It doesn’t mean that. Moses was said to be the most humble person on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3). Yet he left the ease and comfort of the palace, stood up to Pharaoh, led millions, faced battles, and more.

“The word for meek that Jesus used is far different. Meekness is not being timid, spineless, unassertive, and easily dominated. It is not a natural niceness. In fact, it has nothing to do with one’s personality or temperament. It is the work of the Holy Spirit within. Yet it is a character trait that can and should be cultivated in our lives.“

As Christians, we all want the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Transforming us from creatures wallowing in depravity to holy people adorning His temple means doing the hard work of unearthing the sins in us and killing them. We are so used to ourselves in our skin and sometimes so busy we forget to look up via the Bible at the purity, love, and humility of Jesus in heaven, and by comparison, our own sinfulness. Even Paul struggled with subduing his body-

For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15).

If ypu would like a good book on the topic of humility, I recommend Jerry Bridges’ “The Blessing of Humility”.

The Free Grace Broadcaster is a monthly Journal from Chapel Library. They unearth the work of the ‘old, dead guys’ for essays and quotes on a different monthly topic. Issue 168 deals with “Pride and Humility.” It is also a great resource. It is here, and you can read online, download, or request a hard copy sent to you for free. Contents include the following essays:

Pride the Destroyer: Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

An Admonition to Humility: Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Humble Faith: Edward Fisher (fl. 1627-1655)

A Word about Pride to All but Especially to Ministers of the Gospel: Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

Thoughts on Pride from the Book of Proverbs, Parts 1,2,3: Charles Bridges (1794-1869)

Pride and Its Cure: L. R. Shelton, Jr. (1923-2003).

Charles Spurgeon also preached on humility, in a sermon titled Humility: Micah’s Message for Today. Spurgeon concluded his sermon this way and I’ll close my essay with his words:

Oh, brethren, the Lord help us to walk humbly with God! This will keep us right. True humility is thinking rightly of thyself, not meanly. When you have found out what you really are, you will be humble, for you are nothing to boast of. To be humble will make you safe. To be humble will make you happy. To be humble will make music in your heart when you go to bed. To be humble here will make you wake up in the likeness of your Master by-and-by. The Lord bless this word, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

Posted in end time, perilous times shall come, prophecy

Sin is more easily learned from others than holiness

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The world is corrupt. We know this. We read our Bibles. All we have to do is look around. If we watch TV for any length of time (a minute?) we see how depraved the world is. But then the Lord peels back a layer and we see, no, it’s WORSE.

Haggai 2:10-14 – “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Ask now the priests for a ruling: ‘If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?'” And the priests answered, “No.” Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” Then Haggai said, ” ‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.”

What does this mean? Matthew Henry explains it well. “Many spoiled this good work, by going about it with unholy hearts and hands, and were likely to gain no advantage by it. The sum of these two rules of the law is, that sin is more easily learned from others than holiness. The impurity of their hearts and lives shall make the work of their hands, and all their offerings, unclean before God. The case is the same with us. When employed in any good work, we should watch over ourselves, lest we render it unclean by our corruptions.” –End Matthew Henry

In other words, if you drop a white glove in the mud, the mud doesn’t get glovey.

In this, the end time, we are warned repeatedly to avoid being deceived. Deception is the watchword of the day, along with its brothers, false teaching/prophets, and apostasy. The only sure antidote for being deceived is to stay strong in the basic foundations of our faith: daily prayer, daily Bible study, daily worship- seeking His face by remaining receptive to the Holy Spirit.

The Haggai chapters also contain a phrase the LORD uses several times:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways” (1:7).

The word consider is used repeatedly in chapter 2. In the NIV it is “give careful thought.” Considering our ways is always a good thing to do. Falling away always starts subtly, and why not? “For the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” (Genesis 3:1) He’s not going to grab you and drag you screaming behind the bushes. He’ll start subtly.

Do you have some creeping corruptions that are rendering you unclean? A little mud splatter? A peek at today’s horoscope, perhaps. Hanging with friends who swear, drink, or sleep around. Have you been unable to resist passing along that great piece of gossip? That’s how it starts. And before you know it, your work is unclean. And the more we fail to “give careful thought”, the more we become unclean.

Our uncleanness, (our sin) rubs off on people very easily. The more we fail to ask Jesus to reveal our unholiness to us the more the crafty serpent subtly creeps in, telling us that our unclenness isn’t that much, or isn’t that bad.

Don’t kid yourself that you are persisting with these friends because it’s a chance to witness. The consecrated meat does not consecrate the cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food. Rather, the uncleanness prevails, every time. If you drop a white glove into the mud…the glove does not make the mud white.

Christian, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” (II Timothy 3:1) Give careful thought to your ways, and stay clean in these perilous times!

Posted in God, hell, judgment, paul washer, sin, wrath

God’s holiness and His wrath

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

“And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

Holiness is a quality of perfection, sinlessness, and inability to sin that is possessed by God alone. As Christians we are called to be holy (1 Pet. 1:16). But this does not refer to our nature. Instead, it is a command of our practice and thought. We are to be holy in obedience (1 Pet. 1:15). God has made us holy through his Son Jesus (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:9). (source)

Our LORD is holy. We so often focus these days on His friendship with us, His provision to us, His loving-kindness … that we could always use a refresher on His holiness, I think.

“so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:14)

“Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:35)

Our LORD is holy! How wonderful it must have been to be so overcome with His holiness that they could not even stand!

The flip side of His holiness is His wrath. He is angry over sin. On the day of His wrath, which is His anger over sin released, no one will be able to stand, either. His holy fury will overtake the sinful world.

They were “calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:16-27).

His sinless perfection is offended at putrid sin. The following is a 10-minute sermon jam from Paul Washer on the Wrath of God. Remember, the flip side to God’s holiness is wrath over sin.

Wrath
“Biblically, wrath is the divine judgment upon sin and sinners. It does not merely mean that it is a casual response by God to ungodliness, but carries the meaning of hatred, revulsion, and indignation. God is by nature love (1 John 4:16), however, in His justice He must punish sin. The punishment is called the wrath of God. It will occur on the final Day of Judgment when those who are unsaved will incur the wrath of God. It is, though, presently being released upon the ungodly (Rom. 1:18-32) in the hardening of their hearts.”

“Wrath is described as God’s anger (Num. 32:10-13), as stored up (Rom. 2:5-8), and as great (Zech. 7:12). The believer’s deliverance from God’s wrath is through the atonement (Rom. 5:8-10). “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Thess. 5:9).” (source)

Praise Lord Jesus that He will accept you if you repent, and you shall be cleansed and redeemed to His bosom. No wrath will be upon you. GO HERE if you want to learn how to be saved from the wrath of God.

Posted in end time, holy, prophecy, repent

Holy is a word you don’t hear much these days

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

And that’s a shame, because it is the central point of all of the story of Redemption. God is Holy. That means He is perfect, sinless, well, Holy.

And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)

Humans are not holy. We were originally created sinless, perfect, but through free will, Adam and Eve in the garden decided to follow Lucifer’s suggestion to eat the forbidden fruit, and in doing so, directly disobeyed a command from God. That is what sin IS, disobeying God. I used to tell my children in the Good News Club, an after school Bible club, that sin is anything we think, say, or do that displeases God. Since we have thoughts, words and actions that displease God all the time, and couldn’t stop if we tried, it means we are sinners with a sin nature. Paul refers to our sinful nature in Galatians:

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

Even if you do not believe in Adam and Eve and the garden and the forbidden fruit, you know deep down, that you are a bad person who does wrong things. Even if you ever said one lie to spare a person’s feelings (“Yes, that dress looks great on you!”) you are disqualified from being with God in heaven. Why? His Holiness is eternal. So is that lie. Sin is eternal, too. It doesn’t go away after you say it or do it or think it. It remains. And your sin and His holiness shall never meet.

Why would a liar think he is qualified for heaven? A cheater? As self-admitted liars and cheats and adulterers, and gossips and lusty people, why do we think we are “a basically a good person” and therefore qualified to dwell forever with a Holy God? We aren’t.

However, God so desires a relationship with us, that He made a way. He sent Jesus to us. I used to think that Jesus first came to us at Bethlehem on Christmas. But that is not so. He has been with God since the beginning. Genesis 1:1-26 shows that the Father God, Jesus and the Spirit were all involved in the Creation. And just in case there is confusion on this point, John 1:1-3 says

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

At one point known only to God, God said

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.(Psalm 2:7)

And God’s Plan to send a Holy One to redeem us was enacted, as reiterated by Paul in Acts 13:33:

that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’

So if we’ve all been sinners since Adam and Eve and He is Holy and cannot dwell with us, that’s it, then, isn’t it? Not quite! We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) He loves us SO MUCH! He sent Jesus to us to minister and preach and heal, so that our only, ONLY call to the road to heaven is “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29b)

It is very simple. Believe. All other verses are spokes stemming that central truth: for example, believing in “the One” means believing in the Messiah. Why was He sent? To seek and save the lost. Why are we lost? We sin. Why is He Messiah? Because He is the ONLY one who is qualified to forgive our sins, being sinless. Why would we confess? Because He came to seek and save us from our sins, therefore it makes sense that we would acknowledge those sins through our stated belief in Him.

Many people believe in God. Believing in Jesus is a huge leap because the gulf between (Jesus and us) and (God and us) is sin. If you believe in Jesus you believe you are a sinner, like the thief on the cross did, because a person is finally recognizing his OWN sin in the face of the obviously Sinless one. Many people believe in God without believing they themselves are sinners and they leave Jesus out of the equation completely.

Because God is HOLY, and we sin, man must “reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. (Jeremiah 26:13)”

Believe, and turn from your sin. Repent and be dwelling in perfect love for all eternity! Love, love, love, we love because HE FIRST LOVED US! He is wonderful and a holy God like no other. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple,” that is how holy He is. Yet for all His holiness, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16) He is waiting there for you with open arms.

EPrata photo
Posted in end time, holy, prophecy, repent

Holy is a word we need to hear more of

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Holiness is the central point of all of the story of Redemption. God is Holy. That means He is perfect, sinless, well, Holy.

And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)

Humans are not holy. We were originally created sinless, perfect, but through free will, Adam and Eve in the garden decided to follow the serpent’s suggestion to eat the forbidden fruit, and in doing so, directly disobeyed a command from God. That is what sin IS, disobeying God. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that displeases God. Since we have thoughts, words and actions that displease God all the time, and couldn’t stop if we tried, it means we are sinners with a sin nature. Paul refers to our sinful nature in Galatians:

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

Even if you do not believe in Adam and Eve and the garden and the forbidden fruit, you know deep down, that you are a corrupt person who does wrong things. Even if you ever said one lie to spare a person’s feelings (“Yes, that dress looks great on you!”) you are disqualified from being with God in heaven. Why? His Holiness is eternal. So is that lie. Sin is eternal, too. It doesn’t go away after you say it or do it or think it. It remains. And your sin and His holiness shall never meet.

Why would a liar think he is qualified for heaven? A cheater? As self-admitted liars and cheats and adulterers, and gossips and lusty people, why do we think we are “a basically a good person” and therefore qualified to dwell forever with a Holy God? We aren’t.

However, God so desires a relationship with us, that He made a way. He sent Jesus to us. I used to think that Jesus first came to us at Bethlehem on Christmas. But that is not so. He has been with God since the beginning. Genesis 1:1-26 shows that the Father God, Jesus and the Spirit were all involved in the Creation. And just in case there is confusion on this point, John 1:1-3 says

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

At one point known only to God, God said

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.(Psalm 2:7)

And God’s Plan to send a Holy One to redeem us was enacted, as reiterated by Paul in Acts 13:33:

that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’

So if we’ve all been sinners since Adam and Eve and He is Holy and cannot dwell with us, that’s it, then, isn’t it? Not quite! We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) He loves us SO MUCH! He sent Jesus to us to minister and preach and heal, so that our only, ONLY call to the road to heaven is “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29b)

It is very simple. Believe. All other verses are spokes stemming that central truth: for example, believing in “the One” means believing in the Messiah. Why was He sent? To seek and save the lost. Why are we lost? We sin. Why is He Messiah? Because He is the ONLY one who is qualified to forgive our sins, being sinless. Why would we confess? Because He came to seek and save us from our sins, therefore it makes sense that we would acknowledge those sins through our stated belief in Him.

Many people believe in a god without believing they themselves are sinners. Worse, they leave Jesus out of the equation completely.

Because God is HOLY, and we sin therefore we are not holy, man must “reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. (Jeremiah 26:13)”

Believe, and turn from your sin. Repent and be dwelling in perfect love for all eternity! Love, love, love, we love because HE FIRST LOVED US! He is wonderful and a holy God like no other. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple,” that is how holy He is. Yet for all His holiness, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16) He is waiting there for you with open arms.

Posted in theology

They fell down

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I know it’s currently an atmosphere were we say Jesus is my friend…he met me in the garden and promised me… he whispered sweet nothings… he embraces me like a boyfriend…(ew), and more along that vein. In American (female) evangelicalism the view of Jesus is more toward the friendly nice boyfriend Jesus, or the (male) Jesus is ‘ma dude’ kind of view.

But He’s not. He’s not.

It’s also currently in vogue to say you’ve seen a vision of Jesus. It’s almost common these days. People are apparently spotting Jesus all over the place.

In the sermon The Sufficiency of Christ, John MacArthur related an anecdote:

“A man said to me, “Sometimes when I’m shaving, Jesus comes in the bathroom and puts His arm around me in the morning and talks to me.” I said, “You mean the real Jesus?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “And He puts His arm around you and you see Him?” He said, “Yes.” And I just had one question: “Do you keep shaving, or do you fall on your face in the ground in terror because you’re in the presence of a holy God? If you keep shaving, it wasn’t Jesus.”

Jesus is our friend, brother, comforter, intercessor, all that is true. It’s also true he is high, lifted up, the sustainer of the universe, powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, and HOLY.

That’s the part people forget Jesus is holy. He is God Himself. If we encounter Jesus today (and those visions and dreams and accounts are false) we do not casually stroll around a garden…we do not keep shaving…we do not ask Him for the earthly things we want in our lustful hearts. We FALL DOWN. We CONFESS SIN.

Those are consistently the two reactions people in the Bible exhibited when encountering the real Jesus.

Isaiah was given a vision of Jesus being worshiped in the throne room, and he immediately confessed his sin, saying ‘I am undone/ruined’. The word ruined means “cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish”. In other words, one glimpse of Jesus and Isaiah was terrified as if dead. (Isaiah 6:5).

Manoah and his wife, when they realized it was ‘the angel of Yahweh’ rising upon the fire of the altar, they fell down on their faces. (Judges 13:20) and Manoah feared for his life, because he had seen the LORD.

When Job came to the same realization of just how holy and powerful God is he put his hand over his own mouth (Job 40:4) then repented in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5-6).

Hagar marveled that she was even still alive after her encounter with ‘the angel of Yahweh’. (Genesis 16:13).

Moses at the Burning Bush was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:6). When Moses came down fromt he mountain and his face reflected the glory of God, the people were terrified. Even second-hand glory was enough to frighten them through and through!

When Simon Peter saw the miracle of the boat filling with fish, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8).

Apostle John was the beloved disciple. He had leaned on Jesus breast at the Last Supper. He was with Jesus for three years, as friend, fellow traveler in his troupe. YET when Jesus appeared to John on Patmos as he is, glorified and holy, John fell down as if dead. (Revelation 1:17).

The immediate reaction consistent among all who had an encounter with the true Jesus is worship, holy fear, and a thorough realization of their own corrupt sinfulness. We don’t casually walk around, keep shaving, ask for earthly things as if He’s Santa incarnate. WE.FALL.DOWN.

Keep remembering who Jesus actually is. Look at Him through the lens of scripture, and not the lens of the culture. Keep your eyes looking up, and not out.

EPrata photo

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And came near before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not be taken away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14).

and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. (Revelation 1:13-16).

Worship the Lord your GOD. He is glorified, striding among the lampstands, sustaining the worlds by the power of His voice. THIS Jesus is worthy to be worshiped. He is Alpha and Omega, all-sufficient. He is Jesus, Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And aren’t we blessed to have been forgiven and adopted by this powerful God, who will come in wrath for those who have not repented.

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens. (1 Chronicles 16:26)

Posted in theology

How to tell if a teacher or preacher is not spiritual

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In Exodus 3:6, Moses was afraid to look at God. Hagar marveled that she had an encounter with God and was still living. (Genesis 16:13). Jacob said the same. (Genesis 32:30). But Beth Moore claims that Jesus tells her all sorts of things, calls her ‘Babe’, speaks so casually to her in all their informal chats, where she and God “had a blast.” No.

EPrata photo

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom… and since people like Moore, not just celebrity preachers but many lay-people, have no fear, she lacks wisdom. Too many people have lost their fear of God for who He actually is and have lost their notion of how evil evil really is. Even have lost their definition of evil. Too many people think a Hitler-Holocaust level is the only evil. They think evil has to look black and be immediately recognizable. Saran is cleverer than that. He is the most subtle creature in the garden. He sends a smiling and seemingly kindly Joel Osteen to do his evil.

Continue reading “How to tell if a teacher or preacher is not spiritual” →