Unholy Charade - Jeff Crippen

Unmasking the Domestic Abuser in the Church

The Lord’s Other Prayer – Psalm 109

By

On December 1, 2021

In Biblical Teaching

A friend recently reminded me again of this 109th Psalm and even put together a template of it so that we can personalize it and pray this prayer against the wicked. [If you would like the template you can email me and I will send it].

I say that this Psalm is the Lord’s “Other Prayer” because we all know about the “Our Father who art in heaven…” Lord’s prayer, but do you know about this one? There are clear references in this Psalm to Christ, showing us that it is a Messianic Psalm – the words of Christ if you will. Make no mistake, Jesus offered this prayer against His enemies, just as King David did.

As you read it, think about how “Un-christian” this prayer of Christ is regarded today by most people who claim to be Christians. I have often said that most professing Christians think they are better Christians than Jesus was! And yet, here is this prayer (and there are others like it) which it is right and good and proper and FREEING for us to pray! Ready? Here it is-

Psa 109:1-31 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Be not silent, O God of my praise! (2) For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. (3) They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. (4) In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. (5) So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

(6) Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.

(7) When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin! (8) May his days be few; may another take his office! (9) May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! (10) May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

(11) May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil! (12) Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children! (13) May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation! (14) May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

(15) Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth! (16) For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death. (17) He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him! (18) He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones! (19) May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day! (20) May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!

(21) But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! (22) For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. (23) I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. (24) My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat. (25) I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.

(26) Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love! (27) Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it! (28) Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad! (29) May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! (30) With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. (31) For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

If Your Plumb Line is Off…Everything will be

By

On November 29, 2021

In Biblical Teaching

2Co 10:12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

If you have ever built something like a shed or any structure like that, you know how vital it is that the foundation and frame are true. Square. Plumb. Verticals must be vertical, horizontals have to be level, the foundation diagonals must be equal – or you are going to struggle every step of the way.

The Apostle Paul gives a sobering warning in the verse above. How foolish would it be to calibrate a measurement with a tool that was inaccurate? Like using a 13″ ruler as a one foot ruler and assuming it is in fact 12″ because you compared it with one just like it. You get the point.

Well, when it comes to examining ourselves, it is crucial that we know if we are spiritually “plumb” or not. If we use a bad plumb line, then our conclusion is going to go wrong. Paul admonished the Corinthians for comparing themselves with themselves. They weren’t looking at Christ, they weren’t comparing themselves to His truth – no, they were looking at one another and deciding that they were just fine in soul.

If you are not born again, and you are just sure that you are, it is because you are measuring yourself with a defective instrument. You are looking at that guy or this gal and deciding that you are quite fine – certainly better than they are. But we must use the plumb line Christ has given us in order to really know if we are born again or not.

Do we love the brethren? Do we love true Christians? Do we love God’s Word? Does our life show that the Spirit of Christ is in us and leading us, or are we walking in the flesh? Are the fruits of the Spirit evident in our lives? Does the world hate us or do worldlings really have no problem at all with us? These and more are the plumb lines to use.

Are you born again? Are you? I am not asking if you say that you believe in Jesus. Nor am I asking if you have been a church member all your life. Or if you have been baptized? Or if you say your prayers at night. I am asking – are you born again? This regeneration is entirely a work of God, a re-birth that only He can accomplish. It is an act of creation, of raising a dead man to life. Has the Lord raised you up from the dead? The answer to this question, given in truth, would clear up a whole bunch of confusion in many people’s lives. Because in the end, unless we are born again, everything else we are doing “in Jesus’ name,” is meaningless.

Mat 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ (23) And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Some More Thoughts on Perpetual Victimhood

By

On November 24, 2021

In Counseling

I have written recently on this topic of perpetual victimhood, but I believe it is necessary to keep this subject before all of us. I am running into it quite often. It concerns this business of therapy and counseling that keep abused people embracing an identity of being a victim. On and on the therapy goes and it keeps people enslaved.

Now I want to be careful to emphasize that we are not saying things like PTSD counseling and therapy do not have a place and are not helpful. Often, most of you know, I have recommended this to victims. HOWEVER, these things must never be an end in themselves and we must be on guard against unbiblical philosophies that can crop up in such counseling. I want to see victims truly healed and victorious over evil and never be snared by the man-centered “therapy” that is so common. There is no deliverance from injury if the remedy is wrong. If you break your leg you don’t want to keep it in a cast forever. And what I am warning against here is the wrong remedies that perpetuate victimhood but have no true cure to offer. Here is the only real and ultimate cure:

Joh 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

NOTE: Even though I believe I was quite clear in stating the aim of this article in the opening paragraphs above, emphasizing what I am NOT saying, we have still received several comments from people who apparently failed to read carefully, who have I assume not read my books, and who seem to be very unfamiliar with this ministry to abuse victims. In response, my friend who I quote just below, said this:

You (or I) never said victims shouldn’t have a voice or process what they’ve been through!! You of all people have given victims a voice. And as a counselor myself, I know that of course women have to process what they’ve experienced. You used the word “perpetual “ victim, not ignoring or dismissing the abuse, but getting victory over it. I just heard a testimony of a woman who experienced a lifetime of abuse, and after becoming born again, she went through Celebrate Recovery and has victory over it. Women who stay in victimhood are the ones who marry abusers over and over again. Even the last comment is an accusation of not wanting victims to come forward when that’s exactly what your ministry is all about. They haven’t read your books.

Alright the, here is the post.

A friend of mine recently commented on this matter of perpetual victimhood and here is what she said. This is wisdom so pay close heed:

Anytime someone tells me they have been in counseling, the hair on the back of my neck goes up. If they have been in counseling for years, then how come they are not better? Seeing women who are still victims [after all this prolonged therapy] gets me riled up. As you are teaching in Revelation, at the end of every letter to the churches the Lord says, ‘to the overcomer/victor/conqueror…’. It doesn’t say ‘to the one who ekes by and barely survives.’ I am not seeing women who are overcoming, being victorious, or conquering and yet His word says that we are to be! I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but if we don’t overcome, then the devil wins.

This perpetual victimhood will eventually turn a victim into a mean, abusive person. Why? Because this kind of therapy is not biblical. It is idolatrous because it is the philosophy of me, myself and I. It teaches that it is all about YOU. I know this first hand because I have been on the receiving end of it more than once. Just say or do one thing that “triggers” such a person and they will pull the trigger on you.

My friend (who is a trained professional counselor by the way AND an abuse survivor herself) also said:

Where in the Word does it say, ‘oh poor you, you’ve been treated so horribly (which is true) and as you continue to wallow in that everyone is to understand and walk on eggshells around you.’ The Bible does not say this. It says do not be afraid, rise up, be the head and not the tail, and utterly destroy the real enemy.

‘No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cuase this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.’ [Joshua 1:5-7]

Micah 7:8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

Eph 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (14) Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (16) In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (17) and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (18) praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…

And here is more wisdom for you yet. This comes from another friend of mine who is an abuse survivor and who is also a survivor of something even more serious than domestic abuse. She is a survivor of false Christianity and a false gospel which kept her deceived for many years. Listen to her carefully now:

I’ve come to see and understand more fully that people in perpetual counseling like this don’t want to be healed. That is, healed in Christ. They are not born again, nor are they seeking to be. They are happy to stay in the past and talk and talk and talk about themselves, their problems, their pain, what happened to them, etc… they can’t ever move on.

I love when Jesus asked that man “do you WANT to be healed?” Most people do not. You can see it clearly. They are getting comfort from counselors, not Christ. They are even bringing their children down the same dead road. They cannot see the glory of Christ at all because if they could, He would be drawing them closer to his wisdom, knowledge and Word. He is the only healer. They need to be made new creations and that’s not going to happen trying to get fixed by man.

Page 1 of 163

Next