A former Speech and Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, I began educating our 3 children full-time in 2015 and have cherished every gifted moment (even the challenges). But what is interwoven into all aspects of daily life (as a wife, via motherhood, teaching, friendship, fitness, etc.) is Christian Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)… which is why this blog exists.
The following 7 sermons were both prepared and delivered by Pastor Brock Graham from Redeemer Bible Church in Greenwood, Indiana: https://www.redeemerbible.church/sermons/
It’s my prayer that these messages from the Book of Revelation not only get us into God’s Word with greater fervency, but also with hearts which listen. Also included at the end of this post is a documentary called, “Trial and Triumph: Revelations’ Churches,” produced by Appian Media (not directly connected to Redeemer Bible Church). Sisters, let’s keep His Word close throughout the day…as God’s Words are the ones we need filling our hearts and minds the most. Love, Mer
Revelation 1:1-20 “The Prologue”
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Teaching begins at 33 minutes
To the Church of Ephesus
Revelation 2 :1-7
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Message begins around the 33-minute mark
To the Church in Smyrna
Revelation 2:8-11
And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander[a] of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
Message begins @ 30-minute mark
To the Church in Pergamum
Revelation 2:12-17
And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Message begins @ 32-minute mark
To the Church in Thyatira
Revelation 2:18-29
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,27 and he will rule[c] them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Message begins around the 28-minute mark
To the Church in Sardis
Revelation 3:1-6
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Teaching starts around the 30-minute mark
To the Church in Philadelphia
Revelation 3:7-13
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Would you please pray alongside me for the Church?
This prayer request is specifically regarding the Enneagram and it’s surprising impact upon numerous hearts. You see, while the Enneagram is marketed primarily as a personality assessment…there is more to it than our friends realize. Please allow me to explain…
When the nine-pointed shape was designed around the turn of the 20th century by early New Ager, George Gurdjieff, it was done with a Gnostic worldview in mind. Gnosticism is the belief that everyone is inherently divine (given a “divine spark”)…and that with extra help, someone can obtain “hidden knowledge” (gnosis) regarding that spark. This concept led Gurdjieff to create the shape as a way of gleaning secret wisdom particularly about the universe.
In addition to the shape, the Types were also formulated via practices that did not include God. In the late 1960’s, Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean Psychologist, derived the personality types via Automatic Writing…which is a form of Divination. This means that he was “channeling” and/or “dictating” information given to him via spirit guides, which we can also term, “disobedient spirits.” Why seek wisdom from these sources? The basic premise of this tool was to uncover what the New Age Movement calls the “True Self” or the “Divine Self.” A divine nature that (in their worldview) was given to all of creation…to God and Jesus, as well. Yep, they believe both God and Jesus were created beings.
Biblically, two major red flags jump-out at us here: 🚩First, the act of Divination is strongly prohibited by God in both the Old and New Testaments (Deut 18; Lev 19; Acts 16 & 19). Seeking guidance and wisdom through any spirit other than the Holy Spirit is dangerous…It’s putting oneself in a position to receive potentially harmful influence from that spirit. 🚩Secondly, we were not created equal with God, nor are we permitted to worship anything or anyone but Godalone. These two red flags need to be taken seriously!
– Marcia Montenegro’s CANA (Christian Answers for the New Age)Facebook Page
The Enneagram was a tool hence utilzied as a way to discover one’s “True Self” that was masked by sin (their belief). Richard Rohr is someone who promotes this viewpoint. His book, “The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective” ushered an increased usage of this occult tool in the Emergent, now Progressive Christian Church (not Christian), and is now in Evangelical Churches. Per Marcia Montenegro, a former Astrologer (now Christian), there are now churches advocating that the Enneagram will help you know your “Divine Personality” and show you the “face of God.” Oh my...🚩
This is tragic. Rohr further teaches that we have never been separated from God but that we all have the “Universal Christ” within all of us. He shares that Jesus and the Christ were two seperate beings (Jesus created and Christ, Divine). Rohr claims that the Christ in Jesus declared that it was the way to God…and that Jesus showed us that way, by being an example. Rohr’s faith is that of both Panentheism and Perinnialism, not Christian.
To tolerate this New Age protocol under the premise of “entertaining different viewpoints,” is far from discussing end times eschatology, Calvinism and Arminianism, etc…Promoting the Enneagram is spiritual syncretism! And combining other spiritual worldviews with Christianity is not Biblical (click here for why)! Friends, slapping Bible verses upon a New Age tool does not make it Christian…No more than, per GK Chesterton, “standing in a garage makes someone a car!”
“What you tolerate today, you accept tomorrow. What you accept today, you embrace tomorrow. What you embrace today, you promote tomorrow.”
Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Mama Bear Apologetics
By this point of the email, you get my genuine concern…There are legitimate red flags for which to examine Biblically! As prayer warriors, we need to pray for our friends and family who are really immersed in this tool. They are not only placing their identity in a self-focused tool with a self-reliant gospel, but they are hearing unbiblcal information about God, Jesus, and their need for the cross. Gals, if Peter could get off-track and add to the cross (as recorded in Galatians 2), we all can and possibly will. Paul corrected Peter as we all should do… both by praying for one another and by sharing scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17). If you ever want to pray together about this or anything else, please do not hesitate to email me (gal220bkack@gmail.com)…I love you, ladies!! Thank you for praying!
His, Meridith
“As Christians, it is important to investigate any new practice or teaching prior to use, and the Enneagram is no different.” – Dr. Chris Berg
When we neglect the Bible, we tend to look at God through the lens of our emotions and circumstances. We create an inaccurate view of God which looks a lot like us, with desires like our own. We mold Him into what we are able to perceive through experience, when in reality, His ways are not like ours at all! You see, if we are honest with ourselves, we would admit that we are broken…and that we are in desperate need of help. We would be quick to admit our selfishness, and how tentative we are to trust. But thankfully, God knew this…and planned accordingly.
You see, at the perfect time…God came down, put on flesh, and paid the debt that you and i deserve to pay. Jesus made a way back to God that only He (the 2nd Person of the Trinity) could make. Not so we can revel in ourselves…but so that we know God accurately. For when we know God accurately, we witness Him in His Holiness. And when we are captured by His Holiness, we are humbled in comparison. It’s when we look to God in His Word that we see our need all the more, and run to repentance readily…Worshipping Him rightly!
This is why the focused message of our churches should not be relevancy but God’s Holiness. For the Gospel is the only true refreshment for a weary soul…when it knows how parched it truly is. Worship the God of the Bible, friends…For He is Holy, and worthy to be praised!
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Friends, I’ve written this before but it certainly bears repeating…What we focus upon can eventually consume us. And what consumes us, ultimately leads us. And what leads us, inevitably rules our hearts.And what rules our hearts, most assuredly becomes our hope.
Sisters, in what or in whom are you placing your Hope? In a world where many voices compete for your attention, please open-up that Bible and focus upon what God says. Fill your mind with Truth, and be utterly consumed with the Gospel that saved you…No other words are more important. Set your mind on things above…Hope in Him!
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (God, through Jesus, supplies all we need for loving others well)
1Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done in love.”
Philippians 2:4 “in humility count others more significant than yourselves. “
Philippians 2:1-8 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:8 “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…”
John 13:34-35 “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.”
Galatians 5:13-14 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love (God) is patient and kind; Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
John 15:5 “…apart from Me, you can do nothing…”
Matthew 5:46-47 “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”
1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since Love covers a multitude of sins.”
Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Ephesians 4:2 “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,…”
Mark 29:-31 “Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
Acts 17:2-3 “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.””
Psalm 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
Psalm 40:11 “As for you, O Lord, You will not restrain Your mercy from me; Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will ever preserve me!”
Romans 12:9 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
Proverbs 17:9 “Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Philippians 2:8 “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Romans 13:10 “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore LOVE (Jesus) is the fulfilling of the law.”
Galatians 6:2-3 ”Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
Ephesians 5:33 “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:2 “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”
Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”
Ephesians 4:2-3 “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in Love (in Christ), eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Psalm 63:3 “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.”
1 Peter 1:22 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,”
2 Corinthians 5:14 “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;”
Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:35 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”
Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 3:16-18 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Psalm 63:3 “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you”
Jeremiah 31:3 “the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlastinglove; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”
2 John 1:6 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”
Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others”
Romans 5:8 “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Philippans 2:2 “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”
1 John 4:12 “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides (John 15:5; Gal 2:20) in us and His love is perfected in us.”
Ephesians 4:2 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”
James 1:19 “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;”
1 John 4:20 “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, (John 15:5; Proverbs 3:5-8; Galatians 2:20) for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Hebrews 5:8 “Although he was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.”
Psalm 143:8 “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Galatians 5:13-14 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Ephesians 3:17-19 “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
ⓁⓄⓋⒺ
The greatest gift we could ever receive, God gave…He gave us Himself. Love came down from Heaven (4-6 BC), put on human flesh, and selflessly placed the source of our brokenness (sin) upon Himself (AD 30). He died a death that we deserved and made a way back to our Creator which only God could make. A free gift that only Jesus could provide. Allow that type of love…Agape love…to sink in.
Ladies, wherever you might be on 2/20 at 2:20pm, would you please consider praying alongside me for a moment?
There is a genuine need to pray specifically for our churches regarding the Enneagram. The heartbreaking tendency of pragmatism today has strengthened it’s usage around us…with God’s Word being misused for it’s purposes. This is extremely important as it’s not only distorting the Biblical Gospel, but it is focusing hearts and minds inward instead upon Jesus and God’s Word. Friends, slapping Bible verses upon a New Age tool does not make it Christian, no more than (as GK Chesterton announced) standing in a garage makes someone a car! We really need to be praying!
Why 2/20 at 2:20pm? 1) Galatians 2:20 is a verse that hits home regarding this topic. 2) It’s coming-up soon.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20
Written 700 years before Christ Jesus came down to earth and put on human flesh, Isaiah wrote the incredibly vivid words of Isaiah 53. In what some term, “the heart of the Bible,” the Prophet Isaiah describes in jaw-dropping detail – the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, foretold in the Old Testament. Jesus entered humanity at the perfect time in history…a time planned by a holy and sovereign God. Only God could live a perfect life on our behalf, and then die a death that we deserve…Only God could be the adequate substitute for our sins. At the risk of sounding redundant, Jesus made a way back to God that only He could make. A way for His creation to be redeemed and reconciled back to Himself. There is nothing more important that the Gospel!
And friends, this is not blind faith! God has provided evidence for Jesus’s Crucifixion and Resurrection…both in the Scriptures, and outside of the Scriptures. In the Bible, we have Jesus fulfilling more than 100 prophecies from Old Testament (click here), which would be statically impossible for a mere created being. In the New Testament we have James, Jesus’s 1/2 brother, and Paul, formerly Saul who persecuted Christians, both coming to faith after His Resurrection. Not to mention, the Apostles being martyred for their belief in the risen Jesus! As Sean McDowell says, “Liars make horrible martyrs!” For more, please watch the videos below under “Evidence for the Resurrection.” Let’s go outside of the Bible now for historical documentation. Scholars (both Christian and Skeptic) have found there to be approximately 17 sources acknowledging Jesus’s existence, crucifixion, empty tomb, and His being worshipped by a group called, Christians.
Ladies, God gave us His Word (Scripture) as a way to both know Him and hear Him. God, in His sovereignty, knew we would hear competing messages that would discredit His character, distort the Gospel, and attempt change Jesus’s identity. Getting into Scripture often is so, very important. Please take time to watch these videos, read Isaiah 53, as well as to test every message you hear alongside/against God’s Word. He is Risen indeed! His, Mer
5 minutes, Jesus and Old Testament Prophecies w/ Lee Strobel and Mark Mittleberg
Isaiah 53
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces[f] he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes[h] an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[i] and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Question: Have you ever wondered why Jesus exclaimed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” before yielding His spirit to the Father?
In order to adequately address this heartfelt query, we need to highlight an important cultural detail concerning how scripture was both memorized and shared around AD 30. Per numerous scholars, if someone quoted the beginning of a Psalm, he would do so knowing that the listener could recite the rest. It is likened to when we sing the first few words of a song (“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound…”), anticipating that our friends could finish the tune. Therefore, when our Lord and Savior spoke the words of Psalm 22:1…“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He did so with the whole Psalm in mind! The final verse of Psalm 22, written 900-1000 years prior to the crucifixion, tells of a victorious outcome! It provides us with tremendous hope regarding the rule and reign of our God among His people.
Ladies, please take time to read both Mark 15 and Psalm 22 (shared below), as well as to examine the resources provided alongside. It’s my hope and prayer that these scriptures point your heart and mind to the faithful purposes of our God…and how no adversary could thwart God’s rescue plan from taking place!
Inspired by God, the book of Mark was written by Peter’s attendant, Mark (John Mark), in the mid-to-late 50’s AD. While Psalm 22 was penned by King David approximately 1000 years earlier (before Roman crucifixions). Note: The book of Mark was composed in Rome and is primarily written to a Church “audience largely unfamiliar with Jewish customs.” One example of this is that the Roman day began at 12am, but the Jewish day commenced at 6am. Therefore, an account of the time of Jesus’s crucifixion would vary from Mark’s account to another Gospel’s account (i.e. John), as the intended audiences were different.
Mark 15
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things.4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.”14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters),[b] and they called together the whole battalion.[c]17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour[d] when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.[e]29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!”31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
The Death of Jesus
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (see Psalm 22:1) 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he[h]breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son[i] of God!”
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Jesus Is Buried
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.[j]And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph[k] bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Psalm 22
(WRITTEN MORE THAN 900-1000 YEARS BEFORE THE CROSS)
22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises[a] of Israel. 4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. 10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet[b]— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! 20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued[c] me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26 The afflicted[d] shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
Who is Jesus?
6 minutes
45 minutes with Mikel Del Rosario
18 minutes, The essential Christian Doctrine of the Trinity. Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus’s Resurrection
56 minutes with Nabeel Qureshi. The overwhelming evidence for both the crucifixion and the Resurrection.
75 minutes w/ Gary Habermas
< 3 minutes w/ Lee Strobel
Essential Christian Doctrine
62 minutes with Alisa Childers and Krista Bontrager
Jesus’s Disciples documented Jesus’s teachings and miracles with the utmost care and reverence. Therefore, every title Jesus gave Himself, not to mention every act that represented His authority as Messiah, was written down for His Church. And what title did Jesus use most?? The answer may not be what you’d expect!
Many might presuppose that “Son of God” was Jesus’s most utilized designation,…but it wasn’t! Instead, what is recorded in the gospels demonstrates that Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” predominantly. That’s right! Jesus uses “Son of Man” as His title more than 80 times! The title, Son of Man, references Daniel 7 in the Old Testament. This prophetic scripture was emphasizing Jesus’s pre-existence as the 2nd Person of the Trinity. To be more succinct, this passage was declaring His Deity!
Mark 14:60-64 “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.”
Matthew 26:63-66 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Study note: Per Gary Habermas from Biola, “Coming on the clouds” is used over 100 times in scripture and is always a reference to Deity.
Jesus came down to save His creation from sin…Something only God could do. Fully man, as to sacrifice on our behalf (without ever sinning). And fully God…as to provide an eternal rescue from death that only He could gift us. Jesus’s Resurrection made a way back to God for God’s creation. And therefore by believing in Him, we are made new…adopted as children into His Kingdom. Paul chronicled this in 1 Corinthians 15, written possibly less than 10 years after the Resurrection: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” This was God’s plan from the very beginning. It is the free gift of His Grace and mercy to us. (Ephesians 2; Romans 5:8) Sisters, please allow Truth to soften your heart. You can stop striving! Put down that religious ladder you’ve been building, rest in the reality that God came down to save you! He not only wants to give you new life, but will, Himself, be your life. Friend, the cross was enough!
10 minutes w/ Paul Washer, “What does it mean to Fear God?”
Sisters, we tend to set our minds and affections upon the things or the persons to whom we fear most. What we focus upon consumes us. And what consumes us, leads us. And sadly, what leads us, rules our hearts. God knows the waywardness of the human heart…and therefore instructs us to set our minds completely upon Him. Why? Because He loves us!
The following two chapters are God’s Words written down for the Church. Proverbs 1 tells of the relationship between fear and wisdom…and Luke documents Jesus’s teaching about fear and worship. Please read both of these texts in full as opposed to isolating single verses. Every verse has a context…this is important! Sisters, these words were given to us by God. Let’s dwell in them often!
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, 9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; 12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”— 15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, 16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 17 For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, 18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. 19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.
The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you turn at my reproof,[a] behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30 would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, 31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. 32 For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
Luke 12
Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees
12 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”
Have No Fear
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Acknowledge Christ Before Men
8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Be Anxious
22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,[d] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You Must Be Ready
35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Not Peace, but Division
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Settle with Your Accuser
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
“As Christians, it is important to investigate any new practice or teaching prior to use, and the Enneagram is no different.”
Dr. Christopher Berg
Sections Below:
What is the Enneagram?
Inherent Design and History
Psychometrics
Richard Rohr
Can the Enneagram be redeemed?
Know yourself to know God?
Conclusion
Links to articles and video resources
Scripture references
Apologetics
For a timeline format containing the major proponents of Enneagram history, please read “The Enneagram Family Tree” (here).
What is the Enneagram?
You might be asking, “Isn’t the Enneagram just a personality test?” And at first glance, that is all the Enneagram appears to be…which seems harmless. So why write this?
With the Enneagram becoming a growing focus within numerous evangelical churches (i.e. utilized for staff trainings, hiring of staff members, discipleship, marriage retreats, as well as the headliner for various sermon series), it’s incredibly important that we slow down and take the Enneagram through the interviewing process… conducting a background check, not to mention examining it’s references. (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; Acts 17)
Inherent Design and Timeline
Is the Enneagram an ancient tool? And is it Christian? Please watch this 10-minute video from 2010 regarding the Origins of the Enneagram.
Contrary to claims made by Cron, Stabile, Rohr, McCord, and Heuertz, the Enneagram does not have ancient roots, nor is it Christian. Far from it, actually! The nine-pointed diagram itself was constructed in 1916 by an Armenian esoteric philosopher named George Gurdjieff, as a way to know the secrets of cosmic reality. According to Gurdjieff’s pupil, P.D. Ouspensky (1878-1947), the enneagram circle with 9 points was designed as “…a ‘cosmic blueprint’ — a diagrammatic representation of the fundamental laws that create and sustain everything from the whole of Creation to individual organisms. The Enneagram demonstrates the interaction of the Law of Three and the Law of Seven that gives rise to all phenomena…All of Creation, the Physical world, the Subtle world, the Causal world, and beyond that the Absolute – everything is contained in 9.” For more on this, please click here.
“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
Acts 20:28
Fast forward to the 1960’s and we find the very first application of personality types to the Enneagram. Enter Oscar Ichazo into the timeline of the Enneagram. Oscar Ichazo was a Bolivian-born spiritual seeker who was a follower of Gurdjieff’s esoteric teaching. In 1968, Ichazo founded the Arica School in Arica, Chile, which focused on both New Age and Occult practices. Per Wikipedia and Ramparts magazine, Ichazo’s Arica School promulgated “A body of techniques for cosmic consciousness-raising and an ideology to relate to the world in an awakened way.”
Per the research of Brandon Medina, Marcia Montenegro, and Dr. Ron Huggins, Ichazo claimed to had been inspired and guided by two Spirit Guides: “Metatron” and the “Green Qu’Tab. It was during this time at the Arica School, while being instructed by these “fallen angels,” that Ichazo reports seeing a vision of 108 enneagram shapes…picking the modern day design as his own invention. Upon each point, Oscar was inspired to place what he called “Ego Fixations.” According to Gnostic philosophy, these fixations exemplify what is termed the False Self. Gnosticism proposes that we have a True Self, also termed the Divine Selfor Pure Self, which has never been separated from God. Ichazo believed that if we shed the “False Self,” how we see ourselves via our emotions and experiences, we can unmask the True Self. Father Mitch Pacwa, a former teacher of the Enneagram, asks a necessary question: “What evidence do we have that there’s one capital sin at the core of your personality? Except Oscar Ichazo and his spirit, Metatron said so.”
Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean Psychiatrist and student of Oscar Ichazo, is often thought to be the architect of the modern-day enneagram of personality. Naranjo was a man who experimented with both psychedelics and spirit contact as a way to grow spiritually. As you can view for yourself via the video above, Claudio Naranjo confesses that he derived each trait predominantly throughAutomatic Writing(spirit contact and divination). This means that Naranjo received the enneatypes primarily via channeling Spirit Guides as they wrote for him. It goes without saying that this is not a Christian practice, nor something that was redeemed by the cross. These spirits are not ones who obey God nor worship Him. Therefore, we can be certain that they do not have God’s interests in mind, nor what is best in terms of our salvation, healing, and/or growth. (Col 2:8; 1 Tim 4:1)
“There must never be found among you anyone who…practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer.”
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
Per Marcia Montenegro, and her article “What about the Enneagram,” written for Southern Evangelical Seminary, “One of Naranjo’s students at Esalen, the Jesuit Bob Ochs, took the Enneagram to the Roman Catholic world and taught it to several priests. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, later co-wrote The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective. Rohr, who had much influence on Rob Bell and Brian McLaren, continued to have an influence on the developing Progressive movement in Christianity. It is the popularity of his book that got the Enneagram into the evangelical church. One major avenue was via books by his students Chris Heuertz, The Sacred Enneagram (Zondervan), and Ian Cron and Suzanne Stabile, who wrote The Road Back to You (InterVarsity Press).” Friends, this was the path of the Enneagram from Gurdjieff to the church.
And while the origins are shown to be nefarious at best, what is most concerning is the theology attached to the Enneagram. As you will see from the videos and links provided within this post, what is promoted by the Enneagram authors mentioned above is not in line with essential Christian doctrine… but is instead a pragmatic syncretism of various spiritual doctrines pointing heavily to aGnostic worldview. Richard Rohr and his mentees focus heavily upon contemplation, which is “unlearning” what we have gleaned about God, man, sin, and salvation through the Church, and thereby encourages Christian’s to be open to learning from other religions…such as Buddhism. For a clip of Rohr speaking, please click here. More videos of Richard Rohr are included below. Friends, when an author slaps scripture upon a New Age tool, does it then become Christian? Per GK Chesterton, no more than standing in a garage makes someone a car. Yet sadly, this is what we are witnessing with the Enneagram.
“The Enneagram is not like meat sacrificed to idols. The Enneagram IS the idol.”
Marcia Montenegro
“Gnosticism presents a radically self-centered alternative gospel. Instead of pointing to Christ, Gnosticism proclaims that salvation comes from inside, finding your true identity within. It denies the goodness of the Creator and the glory of his creation. It denies the Incarnation, the resurrection and the need for redemption. Gnosticism sets itself against true Christianity at every point. It has been described as the ultimate heresy. This false teaching was faced by the Church in the second and third centuries AD.”
Christian Institute, Gnosticism
With all of this in view, the promotion of the Enneagram as Christian is both incredibly misleading and heartbreakingly deceptive. The ancient wisdom advertised by the authors above was a fabrication originated by Claudio Naranjo (and his cohort Oscar Ichazo) in the mid-20th century. To quote Naranjo, “I thought of Oscar Wilde who said, ‘if you want something to be famous, attribute it to a famous person.’” So, there it is…a confession of the Enneagram’s erroneous beginnings.
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
Romans 16:17-20
1 hour with Marcia Montenegro regarding the New Age roots and influence of the Ennegram.
1 hour with professor, Dr. Ron Huggins. An in-depth history lesson and timeline.
Naranjo’s details the true design of the Enneagram (Mathematical), and explicitly states it was not Christian (3:00).
Psychometrics
But examine all things; hold fast to what is good. Stay away from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
Let’s thoughtfully examine any research that speaks to whether the Enneagram is a scientifically reliable personality tool. According to an interviewwith Dr. Rhenn Cherry, a Biblical Counselor who wrote his PhD dissertation on the Enneagram, approximately 139 doctoral-level mental health professionals, with an average of 26 years experience, participated in a peer reviewed study in 2015 which found the Enneagram placing 2nd to last place on the first round of testing and last on the 2nd round out of 36 protocols. The Enneagram is not a valid scientific tool pertaining to Personality, even if marketed as such. The article can be found here.
“This begins with recognizing that the Enneagram can’t be reduced to a personality test and that we have much more to learn. As Russ Hudson frequently emphasizes, ‘Type isn’t’ a ‘type’ of person, but a path to God.’🚩 The nine types of the Enneagram form a sort of color wheel that describes the basic archetypes of humanity’s tragic flaws, sin tendencies, primary fears, and unconscious needs. The understanding of these components, when shaped through contemplative practice, helps us wake up to our True Self and come home to our essential nature.” 🚩
For an in-depth review of Christopher Heuertz’s book, “The Sacred Enneagram,” by Biola University’s Kenneth Berding, please click here.
“Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts. Test me, and know my concerns. See if there is any idolatrous way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
Psalm 139:23-24
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
The reason why the Enneagram performs so poorly psychometrically is because it was not designed as a personality tool. Per the quote above by Enneagram author, Christopher Hereutz, the Enneagram is intended to help us find what both Gnostic and New Age teachers call the True Self or Essence. Their True Self anthology/theology demoted that we have never been separated from God, and that the False Self (ignorance/sin) is the mask we wear. Per Hereutz, the Enneagram was not meant to be a Personality assessment. And as we have gleaned, nor was it Christian. For additional research regarding the psychometric underpinnings of the Enneagram, please view Jay Medenwaldt’s research (click here).
Father Mitch Pacwa, an American Jesuit priest as well as a former enneagram teacher in the 1970’s, asked the following questions in a recording found here called, Catholics and the New Age: 1) How do we know there are only 9 personality types? 2) If 9 is correct, how do we know these are the correct 9? Fr Pacwa not only digs extensively into theological concerns if the enneagram, but also encourages his listeners to look for the evidence behind the claims. Friends, when we combine the psychometric findings with Claudio Naranjo’s confession, we arrive at the same conclusion held by Theology Mom, Krista Bontrager, “In sum, I think the best we can say is that the Enneagram is unsubstantiated pseudo-science. At worst, it might be a demonically inspired framework.”
“The books by Gurdjieff’s disciples and articles about Oscar Ichazo prove they practiced occultism and that occultism is interwoven with the enneagram itself. Therefore, I believe Christians need to be aware of the enneagram’s occult origins so they can prevent occult traces from infecting their faith in Christ Jesus.”
“Unless you’ve done graduate work in psychometrics, the scientific data probably doesn’t mean a whole lot to you (which is why there are two parts to this article). For those who have studied psychometrics, it’s a no-brainer that the enneagram simply cannot do all its proponents claim it can. Any scientist who studies personality would simply look at the reliability scores and conclude the test is not accurate enough to be helpful, and therefore, they wouldn’t use it because the potential for harm will be too high. I hope this information is helpful and informative, for those who’ve been silently skeptical of the enneagram and for those who are fans of it. My goal was and is to be as objective as possible, which is why I included statistics that may have been hard to understand. In this article, I mostly wanted to get the data out. In part 2, I explain why the enneagram still seems to work (for some), why it matters if we use it or not, and offer recommendations for better tools that can be used as a replacement.”
Jay Mendenwaldt, “The Enneagram, Science, and Christianity (Part 1)”
“Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be sharers with them, 8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light— 9 for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth— 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Ephesians 5:6-11
Richard Rohr
“We overcome our evil not by a frontal and heroic attack, but by recognizing it, naming it, and letting it go. The Enneagram works by insight. Once we see our False Self for what it is, we are no longer attached to it, and it no longer blocks us from realizing our inherent union with God. The Enneagram helps us see our own compulsive blindness and how we are acting at cross-purposes with our best interest. Realizing that, we can eventually flow with our gift and integrate our sin, our shadow, our failure, the “stone” which we rejected. We finally see that I am what I am, good and bad put together into one self; and God’s mercy is so great and God’s love is so total that God uses even my sin in my favor! God is using all of me to bring me to God. That is the Good News!” 🚩🚩 (This is not from God, friends! – Mer)
“And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
2 Corinthians 11:14-15
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Galatians 1:6-8
But of all of the concerns presented thus far, possibly the most pertinent to consider is the theology of Richard Rohr. Rohr, the author of “The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective” and “The Universal Christ,” is a self-professed Panentheist who follows what’s termed Perennial Wisdom, and is viewed as an esteemed spiritual mentor by Suzanne Stabile, Ian Cron, Christopher Hereutz, Rob Bell, Beth McCord, David G. Benner, and Oprah Winfrey. Most of whom have been incredibly influential regarding the Enneagram entering the Church. Borrowed from research conducted by Christian Apologists, Steven Bancarz and Alisa Childers, Richard Rohr advocates the following unbiblical viewpoints 🚩 regarding Jesus and the Biblical Gospel…The Biblical response 🔍to Rohr’s claims will be in parentheses ().
🚩Rohr advocates that You and I are Christ. Rohr reports that we are actually the Christ. He teaches that sin blinds us to this purposed reality, and that we just need to be conscious of this. Per New Age beliefs, this is dependent upon a works-based path of spiritual maturity; The concepts being taught by Richard Rohr mimic Brahman more than Christianity; (🔍Matthew 24; Isaiah 45:5; Romans 8; Eph 2)
🚩Rohr writes in the “Universal Christ” that we should worship dirt and rocks, then trees, and then angels, … each before we worship God (🔍Luke 4:8; Romans 1:23-24)
🚩Rohr declares that God doesn’t have a name; (🔍YAHWEH Exodus 3:14, 6:3)
🚩Rohr instructs that the “True Self” is the Divine Self or the part of us that has NEVER been separated from God. (🔍Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1)
“As Russ Hudson frequently emphasizes, ‘Type isn’t a ‘type’ of person, but a path to God.” The nine types of the Enneagram form a sort of color wheel that describes the basic archetypes of humanity’s tragic flaws, sin tendencies, primary fears, and unconscious needs. The understanding of these components, when shaped through contemplative practice, helps us wake up to our True Self and come home to our essential nature.‘”
The claims above are not only contrary to the biblical Gospel but also present a false view of Jesus’s identity. Jesus was not a created being, born with the purpose of showing us the way to enlightenment. Jesus is the 2nd Person of the Trinity…the Son of God. He is Lord! Richard also jokes in the 1-hour video shared below that Christ was not Jesus’s last name but a separate being altogether! To Rohr, Jesus was was a highly evolved human who was speaking on behalf of the Christ, and that we essentially need the Christ, not Jesus. This is extremely important to understand! 🚩
“Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ..”
Colossians 2:8
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
41 minutes with seminary professor and author, Dr Doug Groothuis.
Dr. Patrick Mitchell, a Senior Lecturer in Theology at the Irish Bible Institute, has written a book review on Rohr’s The Universal Christ which provides a snapshot of Rohr’s theology in this quote: “Ironically, for someone who champions inclusion, those that do not agree are caricatured as ‘primitive, exclusionary and fear-based’. In The Universal Christ, sin is reduced to recognising that ‘I have never been separate from God nor can I be, except in my mind.’ The cross is reinterpreted as our ‘negative experiences’ and the gospel is psychologised as self-acceptance. In other words, it is hard to read Rohr as a Christian author at all.” Friends, examining Richard Rohr’s theology is of utmost importance when promoting the Enneagram, as so many Enneagram authors have been impacted by his books.
“I have never been separate from God, nor can I be, except in my mind.” 🚩
Richard Rohr, “The Universal Christ” page 44
“The whole Enneagram diagram is called ‘the face of God.’ If you could look out at reality with nine years of eyes and honor all of them, you would look at reality through the eyes of God.” 🚩
Richard Rohr, “The Enneagram (part 1)” May 26, 2014; Rohr’s Daily Meditations
Per former New Age teacher now Christian, Steven Bancarz, we also need to watch for Fallacies of Equivocation when reading Richard Rohr’s book, “The Universal Christ.” What is a Fallacy of Equivocation? According to Answers in Genesis, these deceptive practices involve shifting “from one meaning of a word to another within an argument.” For example, a Fallacy of Equivocation utilized by Rohr would be defining Christ as the physical light of the world (i.e. found in rocks, etc). This is also termed a “Bait and Switch tactic.” Twisting scripture as to advance a false gospel happens more often than we realize… Which is why we should always be testing what we hear and read alongside God’s Word. (1 John 4:2; 1 Cor 11)
“ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel— 7 not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!10 Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ!”
Galatians 1:6-10
15 minutes with Steven Bancarz. Jesus is Lord, not a highly evolved man, or purely an example of Enlightenment (as Rohr would purport).
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims a different Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance.”
1 Kings 18:37
15 minutes with Richard Rohr as he shares about his book/theology (“Universal Christ”). Biblically, we know that “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word, “Messiah.” To Rohr, “Christ” means something altogether different. Please grab your Bible and watch this clip. (Acts 17) 🚩
Can the Enneagram Be Redeemed?
Given the Enneagram’s occult origins, the question of whether the Enneagram can be redeemed for Christian usage is a common one. The scripture reference utilized by numerous Enneagram proponents is found in a letter written by Paul to Timothy while Timothy was serving the Church in Ephesus. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 10 here in context:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food,4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
Per the ESV Study Bible, exegesis of this passage focuses upon the themes of idolatry and conscience. Paul provides the Corinthians Church instruction throughout his first letter regarding how to navigate being a Christian in a pagan culture. And we can relate still today! Looking to verses 14-33, Food is addressed specifically as an example: If we are dining with others on their private homes or purchasing food at the farmers market, Paul recommends that we not ask if it has been offered to idols as that would be unkind. The animal was created by God and therefore good. We are not addressing the pursuit of idols…idolatry is NOT a creation of God but an invention of man.
Christian, we were bought with a price! We were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! And one day (hopefully soon), Jesus will return. God will create a new Heaven and a New Earth where there will be no more tears and no more pain (Revelation 21:4). But should we keep sowing the flesh in light of His abundant grace? (Galatians 6) As Paul pleaded, “By no means!” (Romans 6) In Acts 19, Luke records Paul being in Ephesus sharing the Gospel of Grace with some of the magicians and exorcists in the city. Upon receiving Jesus as Lord, those who were formally practitioners of divination, were then redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. However those practices were NOT. Even though this event occurred after the cross, magic and exorcism were not redeemed.
Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known. 19 Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total 50,000 silver coins. 20 In this way the word of the Lord continued to grow in power and to prevail.
Acts 19:18-20
Friends, God redeems liars (creation), but He doesn’t redeem lying. God redeems people from the sin of idolatry, but doesn’t condone the worship of anything other than Himself. God forgives those who commit adultery, but in no way does He redeem adultery. Therefore, while all things are lawful, not all things are profitable. Lying is not profitable. Adultery is not profitable. Idolatry is not profitable. And as you can guess, neither is divination! Even if one of these behaviors appears to be helpful. Sisters, “helpful” does not always equate to God’s best for us. And “helpful” in our limited wisdom may actually be deceptive and harmful! That’s why we need God’s Word (the Bible) as to examine what we are experiencing. The Holy Spirit will never contradict Himself, He will always point us to Truth.
For more information regarding the question of Christianizing the Enneagram, please read this article by Marcia Montenegro and Midwest Christian Outreach (here).
Know Yourself, Know God?
Friends, has anyone ever taking something you’ve said out of context and utilized it for nefarious purposes? Sadly, I imagine that most of us have experienced this. One proof-texting example pertaining to the Enneagram is from Augustine’s Prayer (John Calvin is often referenced alongside Augustine). Let’s take a look at the prayer for ourselves and exegete whether Augustine is advocating this type of sentiment (looking within as to know God):
“Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You, And desire nothing save only You. Let me hate myself and love You. Let me do everything for the sake of You. Let me humble myself and exalt You. Let me think of nothing except You. Let me die to myself and live in You. Let me accept whatever happens as from You. Let me banish self and follow You, And ever desire to follow You. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You, That I may deserve to be defended by You. Let me fear for myself, let me fear You, And let me be among those who are chosen by You. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You. Let me cling to nothing save only to You, And let me be poor because of You. Look upon me, that I may love You. Call me that I may see You, And for ever enjoy You. Amen.” —St. Augustine of Hippo
To quote Marcia Montenegro (here), “Augustine is being taken entirely out of context! Augustine was talking about knowing one’s self as a sinner who therefore needs God, and his prayer was that he would forget self and think more on God.” When we look to scripture, we see and hear over and over God’s loving instruction to look to Him first (Matthew 6:33), and to set our minds of things above (Colossians 3). Jesus, Lord and God, admonished Peter in Matthew 16 for turning relying upon human wisdom instead of upon God’s word.
For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.
Colossians 1:9-12
So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”24
Matthew 16:22
Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:1-3
This misquoting of both Calvin and Augustine by various authors and pastors might possibly be due to a misunderstanding of terminology. Further demonstrating the profound impact Fr. Rohr’s theology is having upon countless churches! Richard Rohr’s “True Self,” a term suggesting that every human is inherently divine, is apparently being confused with the “new self” as taught by Paul in Ephesians 4:24. To reiterate, the True Self/Divine Self is both a Gnostic belief taught by New Age practitioners that our true essence has always been divine…never having been seperated from God (and perhaps, equal with God). But according to God’s Word, Adam and Eve chose disobeidence, and sin therefore entered the human-line. With hearts focused upon self-preservation and comfort, we are no longer able to discern God’s will apart from His intervention. Enter the Gospel of Jesus, and the words that point to Him (the Bible). Without God’s Word dividing the soul and the spirit (Hebrews 4:12), we will easily be swayed to follow our emotions as well as the cunning philosophies of this world.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 6 Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own estimation; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7
Biblically speaking, we won’t be able to know God by looking within, but we CERTAINLY, by God’s Grace alone, will come to know more and more each and every day our desperate need for Him. (Philippians 1:6; Psalm 139:23-24). And as we grow in knowing our need, we also grow in celebrating the immense gift of the Gospel…alongside community. We would no longer view someone else as tied to a trait but as a sinner like us, saved by Grace, and being santified by Jesus alone. Reader, please check anything I say both against the Bible for yourself as well as alongside the sources (Enneagram authors) shared within this post.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
In Conclusion
The Enneagram was birthed byNew Age practices and philosophy in the 20th century (not ancient), is promoted in churches by means of Pragmatism (“whatever works = truth”), and advocates a gospel that is contrary to the Biblical Gospel (not Christian). And friends, even if there were ancient connections, the theology is teaching a “different Jesus” and a “different gospel”…it is not Christian. In light of the evidence that the Enneagram is not a spiritually neutral tool and that it’s Psychometrics are incredibly poor, why would we promote it?
“To be fair, self-help isn’t all bad. It’s not like Scripture tells us to sit back and just pray about all our bad habits and watch them magically disappear. Rather, the message we would like to emphasize is that self-helpism has limits. There is a line between being good stewards of our bodies, emotions, and behaviors versus trying to change our own hearts or sin nature apart from the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. The message within self-helpism (and within every ‘ism’ mentioned in this book) is idolatry: Humanity takes something good and even powerful, and then mistakes it for God—giving it powers that are God’s alone.”
It’s important to remember that if Peter, a disciple who walked with and talked with the Son of God, could be swayed to add to the cross of Christ (the Gospel)… So can we! Please read the full chapter of Galatians 2, as God has given us an historical example of God-fearing man needing lovingly bold correction. (2 Timothy 3) Reader, there is no question that every single one of us WILL need correction and reproof. But faithful is the correction that comes from a friend. (Proverbs 27:5-6) It takes immense prayer and grace-driven courage to address matters where you feel as though you’re going against the grain…to chose sound doctrine over what’s popular and trendy.
“Nothing in the Bible indicates God cares about personal traits. Peter was impulsive (as we see from some passages), Moses was insecure regarding his speech, Paul wrote he had a thorn in his side (we don’t know what that was), Gideon made a lot of bad decisions, and on and on. God used them despite all of this. God cares about character, not personality. He cares about obedience.”
Marcia Montenegro
Ladies, looking within only gets our minds set upon ourselves, and places our own reasonings and emotional perspectives in the driver’s seat. (Prov 3:5-7; Col 3:2) And that matters immensely! For what we focus upon often consumes us, and what consumes us ultimately leads us. And what leads us, inevitably rules our hearts. And what rules our hearts can certainly dominate the content of our conversations.
Wes Huff infographic
Friends, there’s nothing more significant than the Gospel of Jesus, and nothing more crucial to share! Sisters, any tool or teaching that makes you or I the hero of our story, is a tool or teaching to crucify. “It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” It’s not about us! It’s all about Him! And we live this life trusting in the Son of God who loved us and gave His life for us. We trust in His work,…not in our own. We can rest in the mind-blowing gift it is to be His, and that according to His Word: God’s got this!
“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20
The question that needs to be prayed over now is this: “If God made it clear that you should surrender the Enneagram…would you?”
Meridith
Articles and Video Resources
Origins, designed purpose, and current usage explained. 56 minutes with Alisa Childers and Marcia Montenegro
2 hours and 12 minutes with Midwest Christian Outreach, Pastor Justin Peters (starting at 5 minutes in), and Dr. Ron Huggins (1:06 time stamp)- Origins, History, and Pragmatism
Nearly 2-hours of testimony, as well as Q&A. The first 1/2 provides a powerful testimony from a Pastor’s wife who had both taught and utilized the enneagram at church.
80 minutes with for Enneagram teacher, Fr Mitch Pacwa, regarding the origins and worldview (theological and anthropological) of the enneagram.
Nearly 2 hours of remarkable information pertaining to the Enneagram: It’s origin, history, current usage, the Genetic Fallacy, Richard Rohr, and much more. Apologia Studios hosts Marcia Montenegro.
Pragmatism on display…Todd Wilson and Marcia Montenegro debate regarding the Enneagram.
Dr. Jay Medenwaldt (Ph.D., Baylor University; M.Div., Denver Seminary; M.A.; University of Colorado, Colorado Springs B.S.; U.S. Air Force Academy) shares the scientific findings pertaining to the Enneagram. Is it reliable? Or it is merely a pragmatic hat-trick?
60 minutes with Sean McDowell and Chris Berg
(3h 12m) Alisa Childers and Steven Bancarz both thoughtfully and comprehensively examine Rohr’s The Universal Christ against the Bible.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.”
Acts 19:18-20 “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” *Post Resurrection
Colossians 2:6-8 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Jesus).” *Paul may have been addressing Gnosticism here.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” *Test every message alongside Scripture.
Matthew 24:24 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophetswill arise and perform great signs and wonders,so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect…” *Jesus speaking
Jeremiah 14:14 “And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.”
1 Corinthians 15 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me…”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Psalm 50 El, God, the Lord[b] has spoken, and summoned the earth to come from the east and west.[c] 2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places,[d] God has come in splendor.[e] 3 “May our God come and not be silent.” Consuming fire goes ahead of him, and all around him a storm rages.[f] 4 He summons the heavens above, as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.[g] 5 He says:[h] “Assemble my covenant people before me,[i] those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice.”[j] 6 The heavens declare his fairness,[k] for God is judge.[l] (Selah) 7 He says:[m] “Listen, my people. I am speaking! Listen, Israel. I am accusing you.[n] I am God, your God! 8 I am not condemning[o] you because of your sacrifices, or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.[p] 9 I do not need to take[q] a bull from your household or goats from your sheepfolds. 10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me, as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[r] 11 I keep track of[s] every bird in the hills, and the insects[t] of the field are mine. 12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all it contains belong to me. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats?[u] 14 Present to God a thank offering. Repay your vows to the Most High.[v] 15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.[w] I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[x] 16 God says this to the evildoer:[y] “How can you declare my commands, and talk about my covenant?[z] 17 For you hate instruction and reject my words.[aa] 18 When you see a thief, you join him;[ab] you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives.[ac] 19 You do damage with words,[ad] and use your tongue to deceive.[ae] 20 You plot against your brother;[af] you slander your own brother.[ag] 21 When you did these things, I was silent, so you thought I was exactly like you.[ai] But now I will condemn[aj] you and state my case against you.[ak] 22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God.[al] Otherwise I will rip you to shreds[am] and no one will be able to rescue you. 23 Whoever presents a thank offering honors me.[an] To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.”
1 John 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”
Hebrews 1:1-2 ”Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Matthew 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
Ephesians 5:11 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
2 Timothy 3:2 “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,”
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “But test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
Proverbs 3:5-7 “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Peter 1:20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
1 Peter 1:10-12 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”
Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Hosea 4:1-3, 5-6 “Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Apologetics
Who is Jesus?
6 minutes
44 minutes
10 minutes with Nabeel
What is the Gospel?
2 minutes with Greg Koukl
20 minutes with David Wood – Made in the Image of God
Do You Trust the Bible?
3 minutes with Mike Winger. “Test everything by Scripture.”
57 minutes with Voddie Baucham
130 minutes with Dan Wallace
Essential Christian Doctrine
60 minutes with Alisa and Krista
18 minutes with Nabeel Qureshi
Evidence for the Resurrection
46 minutes with Gary Habermas, Darrell Bock, and Mikel Del Rosario
Are you wanting to study the Bible with your children but don’t know where to begin? First and foremost,… “Way to go, Mama!!” Getting into God’s Word is what you and your kiddos need so, very much! Therefore, it’s my genuine prayer that this post will be encouragement to you!
Which Study should I choose? Gals, don’t worry about finding that perfect devotional. Nor do you need to spend money on the latest New York Bestseller… Instead, grab that Bible, pray, and just start reading together. Seriously! This may sound simplistic, or possibly a little bit intimidating, but it’s where we need to be. In those pages. Now, please know that Devotionals are wonderful! But they are only a supplement. NOTHING is needed more than God’s Word. Of all the many words we take-in each day (social media, news, our anxious thoughts, etc), our hearts and minds need His the most. (Col 3:2; 16-17)
How do I answer their questions? You don’t need to have answers to every question, Momma…You’ll be teaching them how to study! This will be setting a foundation for them! It not only shows them that the Bible is accessible for them, but that they too can ask questions…and find them! Sister, when your son or daughter has an inquiry, simply say, “That’s a great question! Let’s pray and then do some research!” God will help you on this journey (James 1:5)! Whether it’s through a Bible Dictionary, the study notes in your ESV, NASB, NLT, etc or in a Commentary, God will help you discern how to approach a text. What’s beautiful here is that you are teaching your children how to learn alongside you! Reading the Bible is not just for our Pastors and Seminary Professors…God provided the Bible for all of us!
By Wes Huff
Where to begin in the Bible? That’s a great question! Beginning in Matthew or John would be a wonderful places to start… and yet no matter where you begin, you will be in His Word. That’s the most important place to be! Another place to begin, is reading one Psalm at a time. If you wanted to be adventurous, you could make a goal to memorize that Psalm together as a family! This would provide truth to think upon…especially in a difficult situation. If you do not have a Bible, BibleGateway has several versious to choose from as well as commentaries.
How do I read it? The important elements to remember when opening the Bible is to not take verses in isolation (“cherry-picking”). Instead, read whole paragraphs or chapters. Single verses might be misinterpreted when taken out of their context; therefore, read the paragraph to get the main idea being presented. As you read, you will notice how crucial the Old Testament is as resource for interpreting the New Testament. Both the Old and the New Testaments need one another as to speak to the Gospel. To assist in this incredible journey, you will find video resources included below Jesus, the Gospel, Jesus’s Resurrection, the sufficiency of the Bible, essential Christian Doctrine, how to teach the Bible, and more…
Sisters, we need to pause and remember that Truth isn’t made by human hands nor derived by the philosophies of men or women. Simply and boldly stated, Truth is not a “what,” but a “who!” Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through” Jesus. (John 14:6) As much as our old nature wants to control and manipulate what is true, no thing nor person has either the capability nor the authority to change Truth. But you can be 100% certain that Truth changes any heart He touches! And our children desperately need to be pointed to Truth. The way to do that is by getting into His Word! Moms (and Dads), God’s got this!
His,
Meridith
Reading the Bible
1. 32 minutes with Alan Shlemon
2. 27 minutes
3. 30 minutes
4. 52 minutes
5. 26 minutes
6. 39 minutes
7. 39 minutes
8. 45 minutes
9. 36 minutes
10. 28 minutes
55 minutes with Dr. Walt Russell “Why We Need Hermeneutics”
60 minutes with Krista Bontrager
Who is Jesus?
6 minutes
44 minutes w/ Mikel
12 minutes w/ Nabeel. The Trinity
What is the Gospel?
20 minutes w/ David Wood
3 minutes
4 minutes
Jesus’s Resurrection
3 minutes with Lee Strobel
70 minutes with Gary Habermas
40 minutes with Mary Jo Sharp
Trust God’s Word
60 minutes with Voddie Baucham
90 minutes with Wes Huff
47 minutes
Apologetics and our Children
In addition to watching these videos, please check-out the following resources regarding apologetics for parents:
70 minutes with Elizabeth Urbanowicz and Mike Winger
40 minutes with Mama Bear. “Chew and Spit” Method
Bible Questions
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
66-Books 40 –authors 1600 years 3 – continents (Europe, Asia, Africa) 3- languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek) 1-storyline
Matthew 4:4 But Jesus answered (Satan), “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Acts 17:11-12 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the (OT) Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
2 Timothy 3:16-17AllScripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Galatians 1:6-7, 10 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
2 John 1:9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Hebrews 4:12-14 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Matthew 4:4 But He (Jesus) answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Matthew 22:29But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Proverbs 4:20-23 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Isaiah 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
James 1:23-25 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Matthew 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
John 7:37-38 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Luke 11:27-28 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Revelation 22:18-19 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 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.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense (apologia) to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
< 4 minutes of my kiddos singing the books of Bible to Slugs and Bugs
Hold Fast Apologetics 