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Rejoice in the Resurrection of Our Lord!

Sing to the Lord!
Sing with loud voices to the Lord
for he is exalted on high.
With great power and mighty strength
He has brought His Son
His only begotten Jesus Messiah

from the jaw of the grave
and from the mouth of the tomb.

O death, where is your sting?
O grave, where is your victory?
Rejoice in the strength of the Lord!
Glory in his mighty power!

For his body hung limp,
limp and broken on the cross,
and Joseph took him,
the man of Arimathea carried him.
He laid him in his own tomb
And rolled a stone over the door.

Then Pilate put a seal;
the Roman stationed a watch.

The enemy boasted,
“He will not arise.
Destruction is accomplished.”
But with your hand you shattered the enemy
and with the breath of your nostrils
you blew away the stone
and scattered the Romans in the night.

The women came weeping,
Mary and Salome with loud mourning and grief.
But the angel laughed,
the cherub exulted in triumph.
“Come and see!” he cried. “He is not here!
He is risen!
Come and see!”

Who is like you, O Lord?
What god of the nations compares with you?
For you have brought our Lord Christ
from the depth of hell
to the glory of heaven.
And the King of glory shall reign
Forever and ever.

Happy Resurrection Day!

 

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The Arrest of Jesus Reminds Us That We Need to Understand the Pharisees

Dear friend, the world can seem scary and crazy. We’re on lockdown, loved ones are sick, and some are dying. But Good Friday is almost upon us, and then Resurrection Day. There is still reason to rejoice. Jesus is risen and has broken the power of sin and death in the hearts and lives of all who call upon Him in faith.

In each gospel this week, I’ve been reading the account of the betrayal leading up to the crucifixion.

My focus was Jesus. But I couldn’t help but continue to see the Pharisees and other religious leaders, standing out in bold opposition to Him.

They’ve been misrepresented, you know, those Pharisees. Almost every time they’re portrayed or described, we think about them as obviously pompous, obviously arrogant, obviously hypocritical. But their hypocrisy wasn’t obvious to the Jewish people at all.

You think, perhaps, that this is because they were naïve, and you wouldn’t have been so naïve? Well, maybe not. But perhaps there are some among us today Continue reading “The Arrest of Jesus Reminds Us That We Need to Understand the Pharisees”

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That Time I Tried to Be Transparent in a Small Group . . .

About 15 years ago I joined a certain group because everyone else was doing it and it seemed like the thing to do in order to be a better Christian, which of course I wanted very much.

The group followed a format that I found out later was typical, but it was all new to me at that time: We listened together to the respected speaker for the first hour, and then split up into small groups for the second hour.

This is where we would be transparent. Continue reading “That Time I Tried to Be Transparent in a Small Group . . .”

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“The Return of the Daughters” Meets Rachael Denhollander

In 2008, the movement calling itself “Biblical patriarchy” was in its heyday.

In 2008, the beautiful Botkin sisters, paragons of the visionary daughterhood espoused by “Biblical patriarchy,” were 20 and 22 years old. Three years earlier, at 17 and 19, they had published their book So Much More: The Remarkable Influence of Visionary Daughters on the Kingdom of God which went on to influence many impressionable teen girls that their highest calling was to fulfill their father’s every whim. Continue reading ““The Return of the Daughters” Meets Rachael Denhollander”

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The Best Counsel I Ever Received—It’s Not What You’d Expect (Guest Post by Ruth Harris)

I love it when friends of mine find their voices and speak. I love providing them with a safe space to speak about what God has done in their lives.  This one is from my friend Ruth.

*****

I’ve not ever been in what is considered formal therapy. Sadly the “biblical counsel” my church leaders and Bible college leaders gave me as a teen almost killed me.

“Never question authority”

I was raised in an environment where authority was absolute.  Obedience without question was expected to be given to any “authority” in my life. I learned that they were chosen and ordained by God to communicate God’s plan and design for my life. If any authority figure pointed out anything other than unquestioned obedience on my part, I would be punished.

“Adults do not just sit around making up lies just to create trouble for children.” I heard that time after time. Continue reading “The Best Counsel I Ever Received—It’s Not What You’d Expect (Guest Post by Ruth Harris)”

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A Gothard Girl Testifies About the “Root of Bitterness” (Guest Post by Lauren Rose)

A while back when I (Rebecca) was talking with some former ATI members (Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute), I thought about the devastation, confusion, and even anti-Christianity that has resulted from this homeschooling program. I said aloud to myself, “Bill Gothard certainly has left a tremendous amount of destruction in his wake.”

Then I added under my breath, “Many were defiled.”

I saw that he was the very root of bitterness in Hebrews 12:15 that he himself loved to talk about.

Continue reading “A Gothard Girl Testifies About the “Root of Bitterness” (Guest Post by Lauren Rose)”

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Struggling With “Striving”: When Should I Strive and When Should I Rest?

My despair

Back in 1994 when I was studying Leviticus (because it was my wilderness book), I wrote this in the margin at Leviticus chapter 2 (the boldface is added now):

II Peter 1:4 says that we as believers should be “partakers of the divine nature.” This passage shows the priests literally partaking of that which represents the divine nature of our lovely Lord. Then that bread of life becomes a part of us and we are influenced and strengthened by it. In all these ways mentioned, we should be striving to be like Him: the sweet-smelling life, the full anointing by the Holy Spirit, the fellowship of His sufferings. How far, how far I have to go!

Do you hear the wailing in my voice? Continue reading “Struggling With “Striving”: When Should I Strive and When Should I Rest?”