Letter to the Editor: Continuing Concern About Moody Bible Institute |
 Photo used in accordance with the U.S. Fair Use Act.
LTRP Note: When we received the following note this past week from a reader, we were reminded again about Moody Bible Institute and some of its professors. Moody, which claims to be a Bible-based learning institution, has an obligation to its donors and students to not veer from biblical truth and to make sure the school only uses professors who adhere to this framework.
Dear Lighthouse Trails:
I trust you are being blessed mightily.
[Bryan Litfin] (link below) was listed in the “Add friend” area of my Facebook page. I assume the listed ones either visited my page or they were linked through others. He is a writer and a professor at Moody. He is obviously ecumenical and pro-Catholic theology. Sad days!
I thought you might be interested in his FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/bryan.litfin.3?__tn__=%2CdH-R-R&eid=ARBn07X8S7GBCH2j3TzOTpJvwpll3H9DcgvJm93dymxwTnD2PEV9UJQoxlEKMaLPIWJw5dWlVm8znhqV
Praise God for your investigative work which exposes today’s so-called Christian institutions.
V.L.
Below is an excerpt from an article Lighthouse Trails wrote 5 1/2 years ago. We believe it is still relevant to what is taking place at MBI and so many other Christian colleges, seminaries, and Bible schools today:
December 2013 – “Embracing Contemplative Shows Ill Effects at Moody Bible Institute in Ecumenical ‘Road to Rome’ Event”
By LT Editors
For over seven years now, Lighthouse Trails has followed Moody Bible Institute’s continued promotion of contemplative spirituality. Although the organization has denied that they are promoting contemplative, the evidence has consistently existed. Those who have a good understanding of contemplative spirituality are aware of the inevitable outcome for followers of contemplative. This outcome is a change in spiritual attitude that leads to the following – ecumenism (a joining together of all religious traditions, in particularly Catholicism first, then Islam), interspirituality (all paths lead to God), panentheism (God is in all), and eventually universalism (all are saved, regardless of belief – thus no need for the Cross).
We had hoped that at some point leaders and professors at Moody would seriously examine the contemplative issue and come to the conclusion that they do not want to go in that direction. Sadly, the indications of that happening are non-existent, and the probability of the complete embracing of contemplative spirituality is fast increasing. A case in point occurred just this month [December 2013) when the school allowed an ecumenical/road to Rome event to take place on campus, where it was reported that over 300 people showed up, most of them being MBI students.
On December 3rd, emerging church figure John Armstrong (a convert from traditional evangelicalism to emerging) and Catholic priest Father Robert Barron spoke at a gathering at Moody Bible Institute. The event was presented by the Moody Student Theological Society. It was not broadcasted, and Moody’s website doesn’t seem to show anything about it so we have had to gather information from various other sources, including the Moody Student Theological Society’s Facebook page, which carries information about the event, which was called the “Evangelical and Catholic Ecumenical Dialogue.”
We were first alerted to the ecumenical “dialogue” by a Lighthouse Trails reader, who stated:
Heads up to things stirring at Moody Bible Institute. (Also, please read this blog entry about it: http://www.revangelicalblog.com/blog1/?currentPage=3 [link removed] from Dec. 4, titled, “Can We Learn from Rome? Maybe… (A Reflection on Ecumenical Unity).” This is by that young man I have mentioned to you before, who rubs elbows with Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Jim Wallis, et. al.
The blog entry mentioned by the LT reader was written by a senior at Moody Bible Institute (MBI). . . .
The MBI student states:
As I myself have been in the process of rediscovering the beauty of the ancient Christian tradition [contemplative] offered to us via the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and even Anglican versions of faith, I have also felt a tugging and noticed a trend of millennial evangelicals to convert to Catholicism- returning to Rome, if you will.
It is not our intention to draw attention to or scrutinize this student. Our issue is with MBI’s leadership and professors. We believe this and other students at Moody who are being drawn to contemplative . . . and Roman Catholicism . . . are merely reflecting the sympathies they have witnessed at Moody from professors and others in leadership. For instance, on John Armstrong’s website, he talks about his invitation to the “Evangelical and Catholic Ecumenical Dialogue” and points to one of the MBI professors:
Our dialogue tomorrow will begin with a welcome by a Moody student leader which will be followed by an introduction given by our moderator, Dr. Bryan Litfin (Ph.D. in the field of ancient church history at the University of Virginia). Dr. Litfin is a professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute. Bryan is also a first-rate patristics scholar and has often encouraged Christian dialogue as a part of his teaching. He is the author of Getting to Know the Church Fathers–An Evangelical Introduction (Brazos, 2007). Fr. Barron and I will each speak for about ten minutes and then we will field questions from the students.
[Lighthouse Trails editors] decided to spend $13.99 to buy an e-book copy of Litfin’s book, Getting to Know the Church Fathers – an Evangelical Introduction. A better title for this book might be Why Evangelicals Should Not Think Too Lowly of the Catholic Church. Litfin says that the benefit of studying the “church fathers” is to “help us get in touch with the general thrust of the Christian faith” (Kindle Locations 389-390, Baker Publishing Group). But from Litfin’s book’s point of view, the benefit of studying the church fathers is to see some good in the Roman Catholic church. Here’s one example in Litfin’s book where he whitewashes and minimizes the heretical teachings of Roman Catholicism:
[M]any Catholic teachings must be understood as continuous historical developments out of earlier thought. For example, though the theology has changed from biblical times, the breaking of bread and drinking of wine in the Mass is an evolution of the love feasts of the early Christians, for whom the elements represented the Savior’s body and blood just as they still do for Catholics. Likewise, recitation of the Lord’s Prayer is an ancient habit still practiced today. And there are not a few doctrines held by the Roman Church which every orthodox Protestant would hold as well. (Endnote section, #20, (Kindle Locations 4084-4088).
The MBI student (mentioned above) goes on to say:
The Catholic Church offers much of what many millennial Protestants are longing for – liturgy, artistic expression, scholarship, ancient tradition, and a robust and deeply rooted theology [i.e., the Desert Fathers and contemplative spirituality]. Rome offers one, united Christian body with many stripes, styles, and theological variations contained within one communion. And with the Roman Catholic Churches recent moves for ecumenical unity with the Eastern church and a number of Protestant traditions, it seems to me that perhaps a return to Rome may be in some millennial Evangelicals future.
The MBI student expresses his own hope for the future:
My hope and prayer is that in the coming years, Evangelicals, Mainliners, Catholics, and Orthodox will find more and more common ground on which we can work together to expand the Kingdom of God. My prayer is that God would continue to cause us to rethink, reform, and renew our faith traditions and in so doing help us refine them to reflect more clearly the face of Jesus Christ- our common Lord and Savior.
When you consider that Moody has been promoting the contemplative tradition for so long and the Catholic Church uses contemplative prayer as a catalyst to bring in new converts, it makes perfect sense that a student attending Moody for three and a half years could say something like this.
In 2007, Moody posted a response to LT criticisms that they were promoting contemplative. In that statement (which sat on their site for a number of years), they deny the allegations. But take a look at some of the related links we have provided below to see that indeed they have been promoting contemplative and continue to do so.
One person who would have been very upset about the recent “Evangelical and Catholic Ecumenical Dialogue” held at Moody is Harry Ironside, who was the pastor of the Moody Church (which also now promotes contemplative via its inclusion of sermons by contemplative/Spiritual Formation leader Larry Crabb [1]) from 1930-1948. Ironside stated:
Every Roman Catholic priest will tell you that all the claims of the Church of Rome stand or fall with the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Mass. If the bread and wine used in the Sacrament of the Mass, when consecrated by the priest, are changed in some mysterious way into the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ so that the communicant receiving the bread actually takes into his mouth and eats and digests the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ-if this is true, then the Church of Rome is the true church of Christ and every one of us should be members of it. But if it is false, if it is absolutely opposed to the teaching of the Word of God, then the Church of Rome is an apostate church and every faithful believer should come out of her in order that he might not be held accountable for her sins.
It was because the great reformers of the sixteenth century saw this clearly and were assured in their own hearts that the doctrine of the Church of Rome in regard to the Eucharist or the Mass was absolutely opposed to the Word of God and was not only blasphemous but idolatrous, that they came out in protest against that apostate system and they won for us at tremendous cost of Christian blood the liberty that we now possess. And yet we, unworthy children of such worthy sires, are frittering away our liberty and we are allowing our children to be ensnared again by this evil system from which our fathers escaped with such tremendous effort. (From Ironside’s “The Mass Versus the Lord’s Supper”)
The Bible says in the last days there will be a harlot church. We are watching its formation right now; the tragedy is Christian leaders don’t even see it happening. And sadly, like so many other Christian campuses, Moody Bible Institute is falling into step with this apostasy.
Related Information/LT Coverage on Moody:
Moody Bible Institute—Trying to Hold on to a Biblical Heritage While Riding the Wave of the Emerging Church
What Would D. L. Moody Say Today to Moody Bible Institute About Mingling Truth and Error?
Concerns Grow as Moody Presses Forward Down Contemplative Path
Moody’s Pastors’ Conference Teaching Lectio Divina This Week – And Seven Years of Warning by Lighthouse Trails Go Unheeded
Moody Publishers Release Prayers for Today: A Yearlong Journey of Contemplative Prayer
An Epidemic of Apostasy – Christian Seminaries Must Incorporate “Spiritual Formation” to Become Accredited
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Bryce Homes in Kenya Summer 2019 Update |
Written by the Board Members in Kenya
June Report:
About eight years ago, Understand The Times and Lighthouse Trails conceived a vision to distribute basic resources to several needy families in Kenya. At this time Bryce Homes Kenya was birthed. While offering physical assistance to widows and orphans around the world, it was noted that there was a serious need to teach them about the saving relationship they should have with Jesus Christ. The Bryce Homes program has progressively impacted the lives of many widows and orphans in Kenya. This has been made possible by supporters who have continuously stood with the Bryce Homes Program throughout the years.
This month, the administration of Bryce Homes Kenya gathered information to help assess the spiritual aspect the program has had and how it has impacted in the lives of the widows and orphans. Click here to continue reading.
July Report:
This month, the Bryce Home family in Kenya is pleased to share real-life experiences under this program. In all the places where widows and orphans have been reached as the result of the Bryce Homes program, there is a high demand for many other needy families seeking assistance. Unfortunately, we have limitations since not all can be reached. Most of these families under the Bryce Homes program have improved tremendously in life. Children are going to school. Widows motivated by their Small Business programs are working hard since their hopes were rekindled by start-up capital. This is why many others living in abject poverty have asked to be included. We can only thank the Almighty God for the wonderful testimony that is proclaimed by touching the lives of the needy. Click here to continue reading.
LTRP Note: We have put together a slideshow below of recent photos of many of the Bryce Home families in Kenya. We hope you will consider helping to support the Bryce Homes in Kenya (founded and directed by Roger Oakland’s ministry, Understand the Times and significantly supported by Lighthouse Trails readers). If you would like to know more or would like to donate, please visit http://www.understandthetimes.org/bhi.shtml. And to the many LT readers who have faithfully donated to the program, on behalf of UTT and all the Bryce Home families, thank you! (If you cannot see the slideshow below, click here.
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A Matter of Life and Death |
By Roger Oakland
Evolution` not only robs God of His glory in creating life, it also destroys God’s purpose of death and God’s plan to overcome it through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Contrary to the abrupt formation of each species as stated in the Bible’s creation story, evolution teaches that through the cycle of death came higher forms of life. Through endless cycles of death in one-celled organisms came simple life. From the death of simple life came the formation of more complex life. Finally, through the death of apes came man. Evolution proposes that death combined with the survival of the fittest of a species is the mechanism which produces new and greater forms of life.
This philosophy is cousin to the concept of reincarnation, which is rooted in the pagan religions of the East. Reincarnation states that death and life are intrinsically joined together. They link arms with another cousin, suffering (known as “karma” in India), which is seen as the result of negative acts performed in this or other lifetimes. Such a concept is in contradiction to the view of abrupt appearance or creation by God, and ultimately of resurrection.
In Genesis 3:21, God clothed Adam and Eve with “coats of skin.” These served as a covering for their sin, just as Jesus shed His blood on the Cross as a covering for sin unto salvation. In Scripture, death came about as a result of sin and is not a means of an evolutionary mechanism by which simple life is transformed into more complex forms or man is reincarnated into successive lives. To believe such a premise destroys the very heart of biblical Christianity. To cancel out and nullify the purpose of death and the atonement through the shedding of blood utterly contradicts God’s plan and purpose. The Bible tells us, “it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). How frightful to think that many go into eternity without knowing Christ as Savior because they would rather believe in a spiritual form of evolution than the Word of God.
Genesis develops the theme of atonement. The Jews were told continually to offer animal sacrifices to God with thanksgiving. Noah carried extra animals on the Ark to thank God for saving them. When the angel of death passed over the Egyptians’ homes and killed the firstborn sons in judgment for Pharaoh’s rebellion against God, those Jews who had the blood of an unblemished lamb painted on their front portals were bypassed. Their lives were spared that the Jews might later inhabit the Promised Land. The sacrifice of an unblemished lamb illustrates the purpose and necessity of God’s Messiah, Jesus described as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and is a prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah 53.
Like the Jews who were bypassed by the angel of death, sinners today can be spared the ramifications of death only if they are covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Our relationship with God is broken due to sin, and we are lost in our sins. But when we turn to Christ and receive Him as our Savior by faith, He puts a new life within us and gives us right standing with God. By faith, we have received eternal life, and we begin a life of living for God. All of this is the result of Jesus’ death on the Cross where He shed His blood for our transgressions (Romans 5:1).
What does all this have to do with evolution? Here’s what G. Richard Bozarth, atheist and outspoken opponent of creationism, has said:
Christianity has fought, still fights, and will fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’ earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the son of god. Take away the meaning of his death. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing!1
Bozarth’s statement makes it apparent that atheism’s agenda is to advance evolution and destroy the very foundational principles of biblical Christianity. It is sad to think that it takes an atheist to have the insight that evolution undermines and destroys the meaning of the Cross while many Christians would blindly go and embrace it.
Endnote:
- Richard Bozarth, “The Meaning of Evolution” (The American Atheist, September 1978), p. 28.
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New Booklet: “Patiently Waiting and Enduring Through It All” |
NEW BOOKLET: Patiently Waiting and Enduring Through It All by Warren B. Smith is our newest Lighthouse Trails Booklet. The Booklet is 14 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are available. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or for your own personal use. Below is the content of the booklet. To order copies of Patiently Waiting and Enduring Through It All, click here. This booklet is part of Warren B. Smith’s devotional book, Pressing On Through It All: Scriptural Encouragement For These Last Days.
Patiently Waiting and Enduring
Through It All
By Warren B. Smith
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. (Romans 8:24-25)
Enduring Patience
Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the word “patient” as “bearing or enduring pain, trouble, etc. without complaining or losing self-control, calmly tolerating delay, confusion; able to wait calmly for something desired; steady, diligent, persevering.” The Greek meaning according to Strong’s Concordance is to have “a cheerful or hopeful endurance; a constancy or enduring patience; a patient continuance (waiting).” In short, patience may be seen as the ability to cheerfully and hopefully wait and endure—without complaint—whatever befalls us.
The Israelites’ Impatience
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus’ followers are to wait patiently for His return. The Book of Exodus records how the Israelites did not wait patiently when Moses “delayed” his return from Mount Sinai:
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (Exodus 32:1)
In their impatience, the Israelites “corrupted themselves” by worshiping a god of their own making. Instead of waiting patiently for Moses and the true God of Israel, the people created another god. Scripture records how “the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play”:
And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. (Exodus 32:2-7)
The apostle Paul cites this particular incident to warn how the Israelites’ simple act of impatience resulted in their “corrupting themselves”:
Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. . . . Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:7,11-12)
In a letter to the Romans, Paul emphasizes how these former events described in Scripture can comfort us and help us to learn patience and hope:
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
The first stanza of the hymn My Soul With Patience Waits underscores the importance of patience and the comfort of God’s Word—how we are to patiently wait for our Lord:
My soul with patience waits
For Thee, the living Lord
My hopes are on thy promise built,
Thy never-failing word.
The following selected verses from Scripture describe the importance of patience and how—with God’s help—we are to patiently wait and endure whatever circumstances arise in our lives.
Patience
God Is the God of Patience
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)
Add Patience to Your Faith
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:4-8)
Through Patience We Have Hope
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Follow After Patience
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:11)
Run With Patience
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Patience Brings Forth Fruit
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15)
Temptations Worketh Patience
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-4)
Patience and Faith in the Midst of Persecutions and Tribulations
So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer. (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5)
Tribulation Produces Patience
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:3-5)
Patience in All Things
But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings. (2 Corinthians 6:4-5)
Through Faith and Patience We Inherit the Promises
And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:11-12)
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:36)
The Patience of Job
Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:11)
The Patience of Paul
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. (2 Timothy 3:10-11)
The Patience of the Prophets
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:10-11)
The Patience of Jesus Christ
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:9)
The Patience of the Church in Ephesus
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. (Revelation 2:-2-3)
The Patience of the Church in Thyatira
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. (Revelation 2:19)
The Patience of the Church in Philadelphia
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:10-11)
The Patience of the Saints
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:10)
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. (2 Timothy 2:24)
Our Patience of Hope Is in the Lord Jesus
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4)
Encouragement For Those Who Are Patient
In your patience possess ye your souls. (Luke 21:19)
A Prayer
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. (Colossians 1:9-11)
Waiting
Our Eyes Wait Upon the Lord
Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. (Psalm 123:1-2)
The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. (Psalm 145:14-15)
Our Souls Wait Upon the Lord
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)
Wait For the God of Our Salvation
Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. (Micah 7:5-7)
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:9)
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:25-26)
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. (Psalm 62:1-2)
Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee. (Proverbs 20:22)
Wait Patiently For the Lord
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Psalm 37:7)
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. (Psalm 40:1-4)
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5)
Wait on His Name
I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints. (Psalm 52:9)
Wait For the Lord Who Is Our Hope
And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. (Psalm 39:7)
Wait on the Lord Who Is Our Help
Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:20)
Wait Only on Him
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. (Psalm 62:5-6)
Wait For the Lord in Times of Trouble
O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. (Isaiah 33:2)
I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. (Psalm 69:2-3)
O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. (Isaiah 33:2)
Wait on the Lord to Renew Our Strength
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Wait on the Lord All Day
Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:4-5)
Wait on God Continually
Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually. (Hosea 12:6)
Wait on the Lord From Heaven
For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. (Luke 12:35-36)
Wait on the Lord For Redemption
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:22-23)
Wait on the Lord to Be Confirmed Blameless
So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:7-8)
Wait on the Lord to Inherit the Earth
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. (Psalm 37:9)
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. (Psalm 37:34)
Blessed Are Those Who Wait For the Lord
And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:10-13)
Encouragement For Those Who Wait
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. (Isaiah 64:4)
A Prayer
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. (Psalm 25:17-21)
Enduring
Jesus Endured the Cross
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:2-3)
Endure Temptation
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)
Endure Chastening
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (Hebrews 12:6-7)
Endure Hardness
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 2:3)
Endure Affliction
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5)
Endure Suffering
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. (2 Corinthians 1:6 )
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. (1 Peter 2:19-20)
Endure Persecutions, Tribulations
So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer. (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5)
Endure All Things
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10)
Endure to the End
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (Matthew 24:9-13)
Encouragement For Those Who Endure
Behold, we count them happy which endure. (James 5:11)
A Prayer
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
To order copies of Patiently Waiting and Enduring Through It All, click here. This booklet is part of Warren B. Smith’s devotional book, Pressing On Through It All: Scriptural Encouragement For These Last Days.
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Beware: Mindfulness Meditation, Especially for Children, is Dangerous |
As a fast-growing number of public schools are incorporating mindfulness meditation into the lives of the school children, few seem aware of just how dangerous meditation can be, especially for children. The following is an extract from our 2018 booklet on mindfulness as a reminder to parents and grandparents.
The Dangers of Meditation
Numerous research reports show that meditation can be dangerous, especially for the vulnerable and weak (a category in which children fit). A preface to an article titled “Meditation is Touted as a Cure for Mental Instability but Can It Actually Be Bad for You” written by Dr. Miguel Farias* states:
If it’s so powerful, might meditation also do harm to sensitive souls? [While] researching a mass murder, Dr. Miguel Farias discovered that, far from bringing inner peace, [meditation] can leave devotees in pieces.1
Farias explains:
[M]editation, for all its de-stressing and self-development potential, can take you deeper into the recesses of your mind than you may have wished for.2
In the article, Farias relays the stories of people who were meditators and upon further research came to believe that meditation can be very dangerous. He found there were other professionals who agreed:
In 1992, David Shapiro, a professor at UCLA Irvine, published an article about the effects of meditation retreats. After examining 27 people with different levels of meditation experience, he found 63 per cent of them had suffered at least one negative effect and seven per cent profoundly adverse effects.3
Farias continues:
[A] number of Western Buddhists are aware that not all is plain sailing with meditation; and they have even given a name to the emotional difficulties that arise—the “dark night”—borrowing the phrase coined by the 16th-century Christian mystic St John of the Cross to describe an advanced stage of prayer and contemplation characterised by an emotional dryness, in which the subject feels abandoned by God.4
In another article titled “3 Hidden Dangers of Meditation You Should Know,” David K. William references the work of Dr. Florian Ruths, consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley hospital in London, and researchers at Brown University showing that meditation can invoke the following results:
It can bring feelings of ennui, emptiness and even fear.
It can bring changes in your sense of self, and cause impairment in social relationships.
It can be disempowering and keep you passive, contained and compliant.5
The article describes Brown University’s “dark night project,” (later named “The Varieties of Contemplative Experience Project”6) describing how “some Buddhist meditators have been assailed by traumatic memories.”7
Professor Willoughby Britton, lead researcher and psychiatrist in the project, has recorded surprising problems among some of the Buddhist meditators that include: “cognitive, perceptual and sensory aberrations,” impairment in social relationships and changes in their sense of self.8
Another article, titled “The Dangers of Meditation: It Can Actually Lead to Insomnia, Fear and Hypersensitivity to Light,” states:
[M]indfulness, so popular with celebrities like Emma Watson and Angelina Jolie, could be bad for you—causing insomnia, anxiety and hypersensitivity to light and sound.
These were side effects discovered by US researchers exploring the phenomenon of “meditation sickness” by interviewing nearly 100 people.
They found, while some experienced bliss from concentrating on their breathing and practising “loving kindness,” others were left in pain or struggling to return to normal life.9
The article also reports on a study done by Brown University:
The study, published in the journal PLOS One, describes the “billion dollar meditation industry,” with more than 20 mobile phone apps now devoted to mindfulness.
But medical reports document cases of meditation-induced psychosis, seizures and mania, while Zen Buddhists have long acknowledged the existence of “meditation sickness.” . . .
A team led by Brown University found people could suffer ill effects from doing just half an hour of meditation or after only one day.10
In the study, it was discovered that the most common side effects were fear, anxiety, panic or paranoia.
This was experienced by 82 per cent of those questioned, while 42 per cent suffered hallucinations, visions or illusions and 28 per cent said they had become hypersensitive to light and sound.11
Author Mary Wylie, Ph.D., writes:
These effects are well documented in Buddhist texts as stages along the long, hard path to inner wisdom but . . . aren’t featured in mindfulness/meditation brochures . . . [meditation is] in fact, a far deeper, more complex, and less well-understood process than many people realize.12
Some of the Dangers and Effects of Meditation
The following list is derived from the various sources we used to compile our booklet on mindfulness meditation:
insomnia
fear
hypersensitivity to light and sound
anxiety
difficulty eating
panic and paranoia
psychosis
seizures
mania
visual hallucinations
unable to function or work
a loss of sense of identity
psychotic depression
elevated mood and grandiose delusions
unrestrained behaviors (sexual and violence)
pain
confusion and disorientation
feelings of emptiness and ennui (listlessness, dissatisfaction)
depersonalization
impairment of social relationships
cognitive, perceptual and sensory aberrations
disempowering
causes passiveness and compliance (even when those are negative responses to certain situations)
It is worthwhile to note that most of these symptoms are similar to symptoms that occur with the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Is this really what America’s children should be put at risk of enduring? There is no way for a teacher to know which children will respond negatively to meditation. As one concerned parent asked, “Can any district guarantee that no one will suffer negative effects of mindfulness in its classrooms?” Are school districts willing to take the risk of lawsuits against them if children start experiencing some of the symptoms above?
We find it sadly ironic that while part of the motive in having children practice mindfulness is to cut back on bullying and violence, several of the potential symptoms, including “unrestrained” sexual and violent behavior, would feed bullying and violence, not diminish it. Some of the mass shootings that have taken place in this past decade especially were committed by those who had a history of practicing meditation. A case in point is Kyle Odom, a 30-year-old Marine veteran who shot an Idaho pastor six times (the pastor miraculously survived). In an article we posted, we stated:
A “manifesto,” written by former Marine Kyle Odom, the 30-year-old man who shot Idaho pastor Tim Remmington, reveals that his life started to change drastically when he began doing meditation while in university to relieve stress. The meditation experiences . . . eventually led to two suicide attempts and then the shooting of Pastor Remmington.13
When we consider some of the possible symptoms from practicing meditation—depersonalization, unrestrained behaviors, psychotic depression, a loss of sense of identity—we must ask the question, will this huge thrust by American public schools to have all school children meditating end up producing a greater amount of violence and psychotic behavior in our society rather than more peace and love? Again, we must ask, how will teachers who instruct children on mindfulness exercises know which children will have adverse reactions? There is no way they can know, and thus, they are playing Russian roulette with America’s youth.
(An extract from MINDFULNESS—What You May Not Know and Should Have Been Told)
Endnotes:
1. Dr. Miguel Farias, “Meditation Is Touted as a Cure for Mental Instability but Can It Actually Be Bad for You?” (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/meditation-is-touted-as-a-cure-for-mental-instability-but-can-it-actually-be-bad-for-you-10268291.html).
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. David K. William, “3 Hidden Dangers of Meditation You Should Know” (http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/3-hidden-dangers-meditation-you-should-know.html).
6. Brown University, “The Varieties of Contemplative Experience” (https://www.brown.edu/research/labs/britton/research/varieties-contemplative-experience).
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Victoria Allen, “The Dangers of Meditation: It Can Actually Lead to Insomnia, Fear and Hypersensitivity to Light” (Daily Mail, UK, May 24, 2017, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4538240/The-dangers-meditation.html).
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Mary Sykes Wylie, “How the Mindfulness Movement Went Mainstream—And the Backlash That Came With It” (Alternet, January 29, 2015, https://www.alternet.org/personal-health/how-mindfulness-movement-went-mainstream-and-backlash-came-it).
13. “Kyle Odom, the Man Who Shot Idaho Pastor, Says Meditation Started it All” (Lighthouse Trails Research, March 10, 2016, https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=19057).
(Photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission.)
Related Articles:
Out of My Mindfulness by Lynn Lusby Pratt
Popular Christian Magazine – RELEVANT – Tells Millennials to Practice Breath Prayers and Mindfulness Meditation
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Note About Lighthouse Trails Journal Mailed to Homes, Offices, Prisons, and Churches |
You may not know that Lighthouse Trails has, in addition to this free e-newsletter, a low-priced subscription-based journal that is mailed out to homes, offices, prisons, and churches. While this free e-newsletter you are reading comes out two-three times a month, the Lighthouse Trails Research Journal comes out six times a year. Each journal is 36-pages long and is packed with numerous articles. The Journal also contains letters to the editor, book and booklet excerpts, information on our latest resources, and more. The cost for a U.S. subscription is $15 a year (no extra shipping costs). Canada is $29 a year, and other international is $42 a year (sorry for those high international costs - it's because of the extremely high international shipping rates).
The Journal contains the most important articles from the previous two months. We have had a lot of feedback about the Journal, and our readers are telling us that they love the Journal.
If you would like to subscribe to the Lighthouse Trails Research Journal, click here. Our March/April issue is going to be mailed out on March 7th. Click here to see a sample copy.
The Editors at Lighthouse Trails
P.S. We do now have a PDF subscription for anyone anywhere in the world for just $6 a year. The PDF Journal will be e-mailed to you six times a year.
And for anyone who has any questions, or if you want to subscribe or renew by phone, call 866-876-3910 (our toll-free order line). Mail in subscriptions should go to: Lighthouse Trails, P.O. Box 908, Eureka, MT 59917.
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A Poem of Hope for Those in Christ |
By Bob Ayanian
Used with permission.
He will come again in glory
at the ending of the age
when man has done his utmost
and sin has earned its wage
When He comes again in glory
there will be lightning in the sky
trumpets will be sounding
and there’ll be no place to hide
When He comes again in glory
all man’s evil to arrest
every knee will bend before Him
and every tongue confess
That He is the God of glory
come to conquer by the sword
and that every man’s a sinner
and that Jesus Christ is Lord
When He comes again in glory
all the dead in Christ shall rise
the Maker without a maker
the Creator of the skies
Creator of the cosmos
He knows the ways of outer space
He finds no matter to be dark
He holds the universe in place
When He comes again in glory
reclaiming what is His
He will make us as we should be
and we will see Him as He is
When He comes again in glory
the God who is the great I Am
we’ll see the vengeance of the Lion
and the glory of the Lamb
When He comes again in glory
a mounted army at His side
they shall be arrayed for battle
and we shall all know how to ride
(Bob Ayanian is a gospel musician and songwriter. Photo is from Warren B. Smith’s Praising God Through It All booklet.)
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Leave a Review and Get Discount Coupon and Check Out New Release |
If you have ever purchased or been given any Lighthouse Trails products, we invite you to leave a review (or reviews) on our Lighthouse Trails store site. If you do, you will receive a 10%-off coupon that you can use on your next purchase at Lighthouse Trails. Even if you don't plan to buy anything on the store, we hope you will still consider leaving a review (or reviews) as this helps readers when they can read what other people have to say about our resources.
Leaving a review is easy. Just visit our store, use the search engine to find a particular product. When you get to a product page, you will see a box that says "Rate This Product!" You will have to have an account to rate any product, but that is easy too. Just click this link to create an account.
Thank you in advance,
The Editors at Lighthouse Trails
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Donating to Lighthouse Trails |
SUPPORTING LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS: For those who would like to support Lighthouse Trails, we always appreciate both your prayers and your giving. And for those who have faithfully done that over the years, we thank you with all of our hearts. We know that some people may have the impression that Lighthouse Trails does quite well financially because we sell products that we publish and because our resources have had such a far reach; but, the truth is, it takes everything made through sales to keep Lighthouse Trails operating. Publishing, at least for small presses such as ours, is rarely a high-profit business. It would take a best seller to see that, one that the masses of people love. And because we are not just a business, but even more so a ministry, we keep our prices as low as we can, give away many resources, and have also made much of our material available for free on the research site and blog. That's not how big corporations run things as that would hurt the bottom line (profit), but we see the needs out there, and we trust God to keep us going as long as He sees fit.
We thank you in advance for seeing the value in a ministry like Lighthouse Trails and coming along side us with your prayers and support.
It is our prayer that we will faithfully be humble servants of the Lord’s work for years to come should the Lord tarry. If you would like to donate to Lighthouse Trails, you may send a donation by mailing it to: Lighthouse Trails, P.O. Box 908, Eureka, MT 59917. Or you may call 866/876-3910. There is also a donate option on our store website. (There is also a PayPal option on that page.)
Lighthouse Trails is not a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, so your donations will not be tax deductible.
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