Equipping Eve: Crayolas and Quiet Time

Well, hello ladies and welcome to another episode of the equipping Eve. I'm your host Aaron Benziger. How is everyone? Doing today it is a beautiful wonderful perfect day. To talk about the sufficiency of Christ and the sufficiency of his word.

Isn't it? Of course it is every day is perfect for that. And so we we like to start with little inspirational quotes around here not every episode. But every now and then I like to just you know go find one of those popular women Bible teachers that everybody loves so much.

You know the ones I'm talking about the ones who have their own shrines at the local quote-unquote Christian bookstore. Yeah, those ones. You know those women are very Inspirational and they say some very thought provoking things so I Thought I would share with you some words of wisdom from the ever-popular Ever-compromising Rapidly becoming more and more Wacky Beth Moore over at the website of James Robeson's Life Today television program.

Beth Moore appears on Robeson's program quite a bit and he is aired on TBN and actually News just broke breaking breaking news. I believe it's on January 6th of 2016 Beth Moore will now have her own television show on TBN so Set your DVR ladies you won't want to miss that now if you are unfamiliar with Beth Moore.

Or you're you're not really understanding why you hear a tone of sarcasm in my voice. Maybe you're new to equipping Eve. I do encourage you to go back into the archives of equipping Eve and actually we will link to it at the blog and You can find the blog if you go to equipping Eve org or comm.

You can find a link to the blog there and under today's episode I will link to a previous episode where we have discussed some of Beth Moore's Bible teaching and I believe that episode is called something to the effect of What happens when we see Beth Moore teach the Bible?

Something like that and it's just a biblical critique of some of the teachings of Beth Moore and She's very popular among women and we need to test all things and all people against scripture and that includes the ones who have A very happy smile the ones who are very energetic and engage us.

We still need to test them against scripture and when Beth Moore's teachings are tested against scripture. She fails her teachings fail and We will link to some articles as well that demonstrate that and compare her words to scripture.

That is the key. It's isn't about Making fun of a person or critiquing a person or personality. It's about their teachings and saying does this hold up to God's Word if it doesn't you lose God's Word wins every time God's Word is true.

It is Inspired and errant infallible is pure perfect. Holy is it is adequate to make one wise. It is sufficient and That is why we test all things against it. But anyway on that note back to my Sarcastic use of Beth Moore to inspire you for the day so anyway I went to James Robeson's website here for his program life today and he has a devotional on here for for the day, this was dated December 27th, 2015 and It is a devotional written by Beth Moore.

So that's rather interesting that he's he's allowing this woman to teach. So anyway, she ends her devotional the devotional is called audacious obedience. I don't know if she needs to pay a royalty fee to Stephen Furtick who over there at Elevation Church I think he has the monopoly on the use of the word audacious.

So, I don't know what kind of fee she had to pay but December 27th 2015 audacious obedience by Beth Moore. I won't read the whole thing. But I I will I will share with you how she ends this and she says when you give your heart over to the outrageous Occupation of the glorious love of God He will flabbergast your mind with a living breathing 1st Corinthians 2 9.

What I did not see and ear did not hear and what never entered the human mind. God prepared this for those who love him. So there you go. If you give your heart over to the outrageous occupation of the glorious love of God He will flabbergast your mind the living breathing 1st Corinthians 2 9.

I Don't know what that means. I feel like I say that a lot when I Quote these teachers. I don't understand but you notice how she uses very vivid words. And these evoke a lot of vivid imagery in your mind.

And and so it just sounds very spiritual and uplifting and inspiring you give your heart over to the outrageous Occupation of the glorious love of God. He will flabbergast your mind. I mean, hey, that's how you draw people in right there.

But it really doesn't actually mean anything I don't know now this looking here at the At the footnotes is actually excerpted from her book, which is called audacious so I don't know if Stephen Furtick knows about this, but he better get on that because we've got a lot of a lot of audaciousness.

Audacity going on a lot too much too much going on here. Anyway, that's your inspiring quote for the day ladies. Take that and do with it what you will. So what are we going to talk about to day? I would like to talk about a movement a I Don't know that it's actually that new I think it's kind of been going on for a couple of years.

But it's in a certain circle. Women, of course, I'm seeing this among women. I'm not saying men don't engage in this. Maybe they do it would be a little odd, but it would probably not be Completely unheard of but there is a new thing, you know a new fad that is appealing to the creative side of women and I think we need to talk about it at least take a surface level look at it and Consider the implications of Bible art journaling.

Bible art journaling and again, this is this is I think a bigger kind of underground movement than we realize the more I Google it and whatnot the more things I find and it's getting a little concerning the directions this can go in.

So I had never heard anything about this Bible art journaling. What is that? I you know when I hear the word journal I Cringe a little bit. I know a lot of Christians journal. Maybe they have a prayer journal or just write your thoughts down and and there's nothing inherently wrong with that some people like to do that ironically, even though I Consider myself a writer.

I do not enjoy journaling at all. I Tried to journal when I was young. I tried to journal in high school. I tried to journal in college. I Can't do it. It's just it's strange to me. It just doesn't flow and But perhaps you could consider a blog a journal maybe that's how I know that's more of my journaling outlet.

I'm not sure. I guess I just feel like I'd rather focus on Truths that are contained in God's Word and truths that are outside of myself than to just talk about myself fill a book with thoughts of myself, so so journaling has never been my thing and I I bristle a bit at any sort of Christian sort of journaling not because I think it's inherently wrong or sinful but because I think it can be Portrayed sinfully and wrongly and that is when it is taught that Journaling is a spiritual discipline that you must be doing and if you aren't doing it, you probably aren't spiritual enough.

You might need to Examine your faith, etc, etc. And and I say this it might sound a little weird to you. But when I was in college that sort of thought came across to me in the teachings of like our dorm Bible study and some of the teachings that were available to us on campus and so Again, I tried to journal in college and I just couldn't do it and I thought well I'm failing as a Christian because I'm not Journaling and so it's very discouraging.

It's like well, I don't like to journal and and I I don't want to journal but now I'm failing. As a Christian now, I was not actually saved at the time looking back. But that that doesn't change my feelings about journaling.

I don't want to sit down and journal my thoughts about a thing I just want to study the truth. And so That's why I personally cringe when I hear the word journaling so it makes me want to look into something when I see that and and ensure that it's not being taught as A command you must be journaling or your spiritual life is awful.

And so then I see art journaling and I have not one artistic bone in my body. And so art makes me nervous. Crafty things make me nervous. They give me hives. So when I saw this thing called Bible art journaling, I thought what is going on?

What what are we doing? And so I clicked on this picture and and Up appears this picture of someone's Bible and it's just covered in this Frufru fluffy flowery Painting and words on the pages of Scripture.

You couldn't even read the Scripture. It was just this woman's art. And I was it was it was like graffiti in your in her Bible. I'm like what who who destroyed your Bible you poor woman someone got hold of your Bible and destroyed it.

That's awful. And so I was just blown away. I've never seen anything like this and looked into it and discovered this is a movement this Bible art journaling and If you look it up, you'll see a lot of pictures you'll see a lot of colors and people are putting again flowers froufrou very Very girly Things in their Bible and all over the Bible page and it's oftentimes them taking a verse that they liked Out of context and then you splatter that verse or whatever picture Represents that verse to you all over your Bible page and now you don't have Scripture you have the one Scripture You've taken out of context on that page and a bunch of colors and it's it's not God's Word anymore.

It's it's your art journal in your Bible and so I I tweeted something out about this because I hadn't seen anything like it and My friend Elizabeth over at the end time blog. She She took a look into it and she's a more creative artsy person than I.

But she took a look into it and shared some of her concerns as well About this particular Movement and Will link to her her article on the blog as well. She makes an interesting point without reading through her entire article.

It's quite lengthy. But she makes the point that Bible art journaling is ultimately a diversion, you know, so it's diverting you it's it's Distracting you from the Word of God and she gives a good quote by Richard Baxter the Puritan Who had a very high view of the Bible and Richard Baxter wrote quote the reading of the Word of God and the Explication and application of it in good books is a means to possess the mind with sound orderly and working apprehensions of God and of His holy truths so that in such reading our Understandings are oft illuminated with a heavenly light and our hearts are touched with a special delightful relish of that truth.

And they are secretly attracted and engaged unto God and all the powers of our souls are excited and animated to a holy obedient life. Elizabeth goes on then and Says I do not believe that painting butterflies on my Bible's pages is an encounter with Jesus doing so incrementally Adulterates it alters it and then slowly degrades the high view We should have of it.

The Bible is not an art project. And I would give a hearty amen there to Elizabeth's conclusion and so you're thinking yeah butterflies on your Bible people aren't doing this. This is this is wacky. You're you're making this up.

Google it. No. We're not making this up. So I see a lot of websites linking back to a website called illustrated faith. And I don't know if this woman started this phenomenon or not. I can't quite go back to the original the originator of the Bible art journaling movement but at illustrated faith the Owner over there, her name is Shanna Noel and She writes about herself.

I've always had a passion for capturing the little details. I want to remember ten years from now when I discovered paper scrapbooking through Studio Calico in the summer of 2012 I fell in love with the whole process, but it wasn't until I started using my journaling Bible That I really felt the meaning behind what I was creating.

I was extremely nervous to share my new form of worship as I wasn't sure how people would react to it looking back. I'm so glad I listened to the whisper that God put on my heart. Does your heart have ears?

Why is God whispering to everybody's heart? I feel like this doesn't happen to me, and I'm very thankful Looking back. I am so glad that I listened to the whisper that God put on my heart says Shanna Noel.

To share with you all because from the moment I shared that first post on my blog in early 2014 has been a wildfire that just keeps growing. By sharing that I was documenting my faith right there in my Bible.

It turned the light bulb on for so many women. Yes, it's okay to use the God the gifts God has given you to glorify Him. So God whispered on her heart to draw pictures of flowers and butterflies in her Bible.

So Another website. Rebecca R. Jones calm. And says this website helps you encounter Jesus through creativity. You don't encounter Jesus through your creativity. You encounter Jesus through the Word of God.

Do you want to know about Jesus. Don't sit down and draw a picture and maybe God gifted you with Artistic talent that's amazing share that absolutely you can glorify him with that. That's not how you encounter him.

You encounter the Lord Jesus Christ in his Word. You want to know Jesus? He's given you a lot of pages. 66 books. Okay. There's a lot of them and They all point to Christ. Why is that not good enough for you?

Why do you have to get your crayons out in order to encounter Jesus? Why is the Word of God not sufficient for you? Because that's what you're saying when you're saying that you need to encounter Jesus through creativity.

So Rebecca R. Jones Says that Bible art journaling is part of the growing illustrated faith and Bible Doodling movement where many are creating on the pages of their Bible. The idea is to engage more freely with the Word of God in new ways and to record Personally inspiring scriptures in creative and artistic ways which serve to remind us of moments in our personal journey with God.

So here we are taking these verses out of context again. But it reminds you of your personal journey. So Okay. And so Rebecca Jones has a Bible art journaling challenge where you can Meditate on God's Word through creative play.

That's the key. Now to her credit she says this challenge is not about combining our devotional time or reading plans as a community. But she does give this challenge of drawing in your Bible so many days a week or whatever.

So That is all a means of encountering Jesus through creativity. She says that God is calling the many nations of his people to share his creativity with the world. Maybe God is calling us to preach the Word in season and out of season.

But the time is coming. When they will not endure sound doctrine. Another website that is all about this Bible journaling. Bible art journaling. It's called thinkingcloset .com. And the writer here says when I first discovered the journaling Bible and illustrated faith hashtags on Instagram Instagram it blew my mind.

You see since I got my first teen study Bible in middle school. I've always written and doodled in the margins of my Bibles. I'm a visual learner. And if I don't engage with a text or sermon by moving my pen chances are good that I won't remember any of it ten minutes Later seriously, it's like I have amnesia now.

Let me pause here Ladies and say I'm not condemning you if you underline or highlight or take notes in your Bible. We do have to be careful of that and I say this from experience. You know you highlight a verse and you come back to it later and that verse is what stands out to you but the whole context the whole passage is important and We know that we need to be careful about taking verses out of context.

That being said I do write in my Bible with pencil. I Moved away from using pen some time ago and Starting to doodle in your Bible, I think maybe then indicates a lack of focus on the Word of God. At the same time some people retain things by doing something else.

You know and to an extent I'm one of those people I can identify with this woman Who says that she does not engage with a text or sermon by moving my pen chances are good. I won't remember any of it ten minutes later.

I take notes sermon notes largely because it helps Reinforce the truths in my mind if I write it down by hand and I've even found in my my College my undergraduate and graduate coursework when I take notes by computer by typing I do not retain it as well as writing with a pen and things like that have been proven.

That's just how we retain information, so I I don't. I'm not trying to Disparage any any of that any sort of note-taking or anything to that effect. But this is concerning this mindset of these people who do this Bible art journaling now the same author here at Thinking Closet Dot-com.

I want you to see how she starts out her post. She writes there's an artistic movement sweeping the margins of Bibles everywhere, and I'm joining in. Now she writes before we go any further. I wanted to acknowledge that some of you may find the Bible offensive or maybe you have an aversion to it for whatever reason.

Or maybe you want to get into reading it, but it's a struggle to understand or even believe that's okay. We're all unique people at different points in our life journey, and I won't judge you for that.

That's not what this is about, but see she has just stopped there she has just Brushed past the most important thing if someone finds the Bible offensive. They are not saved if someone has an aversion to the Bible.

They are not saved or they're in Deep sin if they have been saved and are avoiding the Word of God because they're convicted by it. If you have a deep aversion to the Bible you very likely are not saved.

Why those who are saved love God's Word. She says maybe you want to get into reading it. But it's a struggle to understand or even believe the Holy Spirit illuminates our mind to understand the scriptures.

So she's now brushed past those people need the Word of God not to draw doodles. Inside of it they need to read what's already there. What's been given to us by God. And and and be saved. They need to know the gospel and we know the gospel from from the Word of God.

How how will they hear if if we do not preach the truth? They need to know the gospel and the gospel is found in the Word of God. It is the power of God unto salvation writes Paul in Romans 1. She's just brushed past that that's okay.

If you don't like the Bible. We're all at different points in our life journey. Yeah, but. But you need what what what have you what have you done? I'm stammering. I can't even I have no words you have just Completely brushed under the rug the most important thing in the world.

So that you can talk about your doodles. She goes on she says who am I to judge? I'm a hot mess when it comes to my relationship with God seriously. She says for example I've got major control issues stemming from a lack of faith and I've always struggled with false guilt about not sticking with a regular routine of Bible reading.

So you're so you don't judge others because you're a hot mess. It's time to examine our faith ladies. If this is the flippant attitude we have towards the Word of God and toward our own Faith or our own faith claim as the case may be.

She goes on sadly. And says one thing I'm learning right now is that if you look closely at scripture and how Jesus spent his time on earth he Actually hung out with the hot messes a whole lot more than the religious leaders.

He didn't ask people to get their act together before coming hit coming to him. But rather met them where they were and showered them with love and their adultery and their brokenness and their doubt and fear.

He called them to repent. Go and sin no more. It wasn't just hey, it's okay. I know that you are Sinning you're in adultery. It's okay. I'm just going to love you. It's fine. Just be there where you are that that is not the Jesus of the Bible and this woman does not know the Jesus of the Bible or she would not write these things.

But she goes on again sadly. Right now I'm working on bringing my mess into my Bible reading. I hope each one of you can find encouragement and creative inspiration in these posts no matter where you are with or without God.

It makes no sense. It makes no sense. There's no gospel here. There's no gospel. She goes on and she writes about the Bible that she is using for this and I'm finding. This is a common denominator. And many of these Bible art journaling websites.

They recommend the ESV journaling Bible now I Obviously the ESV journaling Bible maybe not obviously. But I assume the ESV journaling Bible was not Designed and published so that people could paint all over the pages of the Word of God.

It has extra wide margins with little lines so that you can take your notes in your Bible. This seems to be the Bible of choice for these Women. I've only found women so far who are engaging in this Bible art journaling.

So There's that that is not a commentary on the ESV journaling Bible. It's just an observation but this notion of drawing and and Painting in your Bible. It is saying that Scripture is Not enough something interesting.

That Elizabeth observed in her article on the Bible art journaling was Kind of the link to Another activity that is becoming quite popular and that is coloring books. We are seeing a lot of coloring books for adults and it's it's been invading subtly the quote-unquote Christian realm and this is a Spiritual thing that you can just sit and color and encounter Jesus through your coloring and I think we talked about that once here before on the show and Elizabeth observes that Bible art journaling and this coloring that's going on this spiritual coloring is actually mimicking the coloring of Hindu mandalas.

She even points out that there is a coloring book available on Amazon where you color the actual Hindu mandalas this coloring book. It takes these these Hindu pictures these Hindu mandalas and then Overlays it with verses from Christian hymns.

And so now it's a Christian coloring book. Really? What are we doing? But this Bible art journaling is as Elizabeth says melding With this coloring of this Hindu practice of coloring these mandalas. She gives this quote About the mandala coloring book and says for the unfamiliar a mandala is a sacred symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism made from a nest of squares and circles that represent the cosmos as The Asian Art Museum put it mandalas are not just images to view but worlds to enter.

After recreating the image in their mind's eye meditators imaginatively enter its realm and then she goes back to the quote from From Rebecca Jones that we just actually read where she writes that Bible art journaling is part of the growing Illustrated faith in Bible doodling movement.

The idea is to engage more freely with the Word of God in new ways and record personally inspiring scriptures and creative and her and artistic Ways serve to remind us of moments in our personal journey with God.

It sounds very similar, doesn't it? And so now we've got this Bible art journaling. Which is kind of I don't know if it's a spinoff of the coloring or if the coloring is a spinoff of the Bible art journaling.

But I came across this article on The website for a quote-unquote Christian magazine for teenagers ladies. Teenagers guard your teenagers. The website is devoseen and so the address is devoseen .upperroom .org and The article is entitled color yourself closer to God.

And it's written by Robin Pippin. And she writes as an adult. I am sometimes embarrassed about how much I like to color. When my children were little I enjoyed having an excuse to sit down with them. They're coloring books in a box of crayons.

I love the relaxing and contemplative motion of filling an empty space with splashes and scribbles of colors. In these moments I felt as if I were allowed to be a child again in the last few years while working with the children's Spirituality program called the way of the child.

I have discovered the practice of coloring mandalas. Which has added a whole new dimension to my coloring. The purpose of coloring mandalas is Spiritual in nature designed to bring me closer to God and to help me get in touch with my heart.

What are we why are we getting in touch with our heart? What does that mean? You mean the heart that's deceitful and desperately wicked and sick and who can understand it that one. I'd rather not get in touch with that one.

Not too closely. I'd rather that God purify it. Mandalas this article goes on are designs with a center based on a circle. It means circle in the Indian language of Sanskrit this. This article kind of conveniently leaves out the fact that it's Hindu.

It does acknowledge that other religions use this practice, but it kind of leaves out that it's a Hindu practice. She does write mandalas are used in other religious traditions, and we're around long before the Christian era.

But they've also been used by Christians through the ages. She says Hildegard of Bingen a 12th century Benedictine nun well that's not Christian created beautiful mandalas to express her visions and beliefs.

Okay, the labyrinth is a mandala the center of which represents the heart of God. Many Christians walk the labyrinth. As a way of praying with their bodies walking inward to the heart of God and walking back out into the world.

No, no no no no no no that is not how we pray. Pray then in this way. Walk the labyrinth until you get to the heart of God. No not in Scripture ladies no. The article goes on why color them. Why color the mandalas in this hurried world focusing on one thing is Relaxing even if we are experts at multitasking we all need times when we can allow our minds to rest.

So we can listen for the still small voice of God. For some people coloring mandalas is a liberating way to pray. While the hands are active and creative the mind has a chance to rest and to focus on God.

But our mind should be active when we're praying. Do we not see the examples of prayer and Scripture and we're running Long on our time here ladies, or we would go to them, but you know look at Matthew 6 with me.

Matthew 6 9 pray then in this way our Father who is in heaven. How would be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and do not lead us into Temptation but deliver us from evil.

This is a prayer where your mind is very active ladies, and this is not one that we have to Repeat in a rote manner, but this prayer that Christ gives us as an example shows us. You know what do you do first in prayer you acknowledge the one to whom you are praying our Father you are in heaven you are high and lofty and transcendent.

Acknowledge God and acknowledge his attributes and praise him and worship him. Then after we've acknowledged God then you know then our priorities and prayer kind of realign. We may go with a bunch of needs and wants or things we think we need think we want.

And when we focus our mind on God and on Christ the one who saved us our prayer kind of windows down doesn't it? And then we pray for our daily provision, which we know God will give to us. It's just there later in the same chapter the discussing God's provision from from verse 25 on and verse 33 6 Matthew 6 33 seek first his kingdom and his Righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

God will provide for his children and so We focus our prayer on God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit our triune God. And then we come to him with our needs and we confess our sin before him.

That's an active prayer. Your mind is not resting when you are praying. It is active. Read John 17 sometime the high priestly prayer our Lord's mind was active. But Robin Pippin and her article about coloring mandalas to get closer to God says go ahead pick up a crayon and color yourself.

Closer to God. It's really okay. It might be fun ladies, remember this is in a magazine for teenagers. She ends this and says if you enjoy coloring mandalas consider making this practice a regular part of your Devo time, really.

Huh, you know because I feel like no, I don't feel I know. That our devotional time should be spent in the Word of God and in prayer. Active minds active in prayer to our Lord reading his word because his word is sufficient and All of this what this all comes down to all of this jabbering that that I've been doing about this Bible art journaling.

Ladies and now going on to the coloring. Yes, we're looking at this. This mandala thing is connecting Hinduism with Christianity. No, that's wrong. That should not be happening. And then this Bible art journaling is kind of feeding into that same movement.

It's all we're going with the arts and that just makes us feel all warm and fuzzy and creative inside. It is saying that the scriptures are not sufficient. I'm not condemning art. I'm not condemning painting or even coloring.

I know a lot of people who like to color on a rainy day. But doing it as a spiritual practice. No. No, no because we have what we need Christ is sufficient for us pray to him actively pray to him. His word is.

Sufficient and.

When you want to add to that word with pretty colors and pretty pictures of butterflies and flowers and Unicorns in your pages with paint and crayons. I mean there there are lists of the supplies that you need to do this Bible art journaling.

Stop finger painting and start reading your Bible reading it. Don't just pick out a verse you like and then draw draw it all over your page. Why? Because there's more verses around it. There's so much truth in here.

This is truth. Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. John 17 17 this book ladies. I'm this is God's Word. It is sufficient. John MacArthur writes the written words of Scripture are binding. Apostolic preaching was equally equally binding for those who heard it from the Apostles own mouths.

Beyond that Scripture lays no burden on anyone's shoulders. But thank God his own word assures us that Scripture is fully sufficient to bring us to salvation and to equip us spiritually for all. That God demands of us.

He says we have the Bible's own assurance that it is a sufficient rule of faith for the Christian Scripture alone says MacArthur is sufficient to lead us to salvation and fully equip us for life and eternity.

Therefore we may know with certainty that every essential aspect of the apostolic message is included in Scripture. You don't need to pick up your crayons to hear that still small voice from God. He's spoken in his word ladies, and it is amazing.

Open it read it cherish it love it, and I feel like a broken record because we say this every show. There are so many fads out there that are distracting us from the Word of God and They look and sound so biblical because you're in your Bible.

Well, what could be more biblical than that? You're ignoring the Bible and you're splattering it with you. Please word is enough. And pray that he would show you that so that you would be content with this amazing gift He's given us on that note ladies.

Until next time get in your Bibles. Get on your knees and get equipped. Thanks for listening.