Crack Your Bible Video – Rachel N. Stephens

Is a Christian free to remarry if their ex-spouse marries someone new?

June 11, 2018June 11, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in 05. Deuteronomy, 24. Jeremiah, Commonly Misunderstood Theology, Crack Your Bible Video, Divorce, Sex

We’re diving right in to today’s Q&A – does God allow for a Christian to remarry after their ex-spouse remarries somebody else?

QUESTION: If two Christians divorce and then one of them pursues a relationship with another, is that Biblical adultery and therefore justifying the divorce after the fact and thus freeing the person from the marriage?

Answer: I didn’t make the rules, so don’t shoot the messenger. You’re asking a religious question while seeking a religious answer.

The key to this question is what was the reason for the divorce?

Adultery, including pornography?
Physical abuse that could lead to your death or could physically contribute to your death? (Ex: repeated concussion could lead to death.)
Abandonment – as in the person literally disappears from your life to fake their own death and you honestly assume they’re dead, or conversely, throws you out onto the street in an attempt to cause you to die?

Nobody is allowed to try to cause their spouse to die to circumvent the Biblical prohibition against remarriage except in the case of the death of your spouse. Using murder as a loophole to have “permissible” sex with a new partner is in the running for the worst kind of sexual immorality.

Those aforementioned reasons are justifiable and Biblically sound reasons for divorce.

Now onto the second part of your question, is it adultery after-the-fact once two people are already divorced? For non-Christians, this question absolutely makes zero sense, but again, you’re asking a religious question while seeking a religious answer.

Let me guess, you got divorced for a non-Biblically permitted reason. Your ex-wife has gone and married another, so now you believe that you should be free from your marital bonds.

“But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” – Matthew 5:32

Women had to be married if she was going to survive in society. Life was a group effort before the industrial age, and still is in many parts of the world today. Women needed to get remarried, even though this divorce would cause them to be adulterous.

Jesus was speaking to Pharisees – men. These “super extra ‘righteous’” Pharisees were forcing women into adultery because these men and women were trying to find loopholes in Jewish law that allowed them to sleep around. You’d “get married” to a woman on paper, sleep with her, then divorce her, rinse, repeat. This concept of a temporary marriage to circumvent what is really just premarital sex exists today in Islam and is called “Nikah mut’ah.”

There is no such thing as justification after-the-fact for your divorce. This is why even the apostles were taken aback by how strict Jesus was when it came to marriage and divorce.

“9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” – Matthew 19:9-10

Did you marry a crazy person? Too bad. Is the person no longer attractive? Too bad. Did this person ask for a divorce even though you didn’t want one? Still too bad, which is why the apostles were so aghast!

Unless you reconciled with your spouse before either of you “became one flesh” with another (including through pornography) you must stay single or it will Biblically be considered adultery on your part. Once one spouse has been joined to another, you are never allowed to remarry that ex-spouse.

“then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” – Deuteronomy 24:4

Marriage and divorce are SERIOUS undertakings to God. It doesn’t matter what falliable human beings are doing, their sin doesn’t justify your sin. This is why you better know who you’re marrying and you better have a life and death reason for getting divorced, because God doesn’t play around.

God Himself is divorced, and is awaiting His new bride, the church. Did God divorce Israel every time she upset Him and didn’t uphold her part of the marriage covenant? No. God was long-suffering. That’s what Biblical marriage is a picture of today – God’s covenant with His people.

When did God get divorced? When Israel committed adultery.

“She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.” – Jeremiah 3:8

This is why God can’t rejoin Himself to His former bride Israel, but can only await for the Bride of Christ, the church, because the blood covenant, the engagement, was already made with us when Jesus went to the cross.

Unless you had a Biblically sound reason for divorce, even if your spouse left you high and dry, you are NOT allowed to remarry without it being adulterous on your part before God.

If you have already remarried after getting a Biblically unsound divorce, you are not to divorce your new spouse. You can’t undo adultery.

I didn’t make the rules, so don’t shoot the messenger.

Originally posted to Quora on June 11, 2018

🌴 Did Abraham marry his sister Sarah?!

May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in 01. Genesis, Commonly Misunderstood Theology, Crack Your Bible Video, Incest in the OT

This question seems to come up fairly regularly for some reason – I assume most people believe that Abraham was committing incest by marrying his half sister. With something so disgusting and revolting as incest, it’s important to study the scripture to see what the Bible actually tells us what the relationship was between Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah.)

“27 Now these are the family records of Terah: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.

28 Haran died during his father’s lifetime in the land of his birth, that is, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milcah and Iscah.” –Genesis 11:27-29

Haran most likely had 4 kids: Lot, Sarai, Milcah and Iscah. The Bible does not tell us their mom’s name.

Terah was the father of both Sarai and Abram in that he was the patriarch of the family. He was Abram’s father and Sarai’s grandfather.

It’s important to note that “In Ancient times, the word for ‘sister’ also means ‘cousin’ in Semitic languages. Aramaic word ‘Khtha’ can mean sister or cousin. I believe the intended meaning here was Cousin.” – Was the marriage between Abraham and Sarah incestuous?

For a complete explanation, check out:

This content was originally posted to Quora April 2018.

God’s Majesty in the Everyday

March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in Abortion, Crack Your Bible Video, Hot Topic Issues, Quiet Observations, Special Features

“What’s that?!” “Is that a fire?! It has to be a fire!”

My husband and I were walking home from the grocery store, RedBox DVD in hand. The biggest moon I had ever seen was rising above the treetops and peeking above the shadowy houses of our neighborhood.

“We need to put this food in the freezer” my husband said as he beckoned me to follow him back to our house. I had skipped past our street hoping to get a better view of the biggest, most orange moon I had ever seen in my life. Frantically, I texted my sister, “go outside right now and look at the moon! It’s insane!”

I quickly put away the food. “Can we try to get a better picture of the moon? My camera isn’t very good. Could we try your camera please?” We took off down the street but it was too late – the moon had risen high above the houses, perched in a milky yellow haze.

20180305_215151 watermarked.png — The poor shot of this awesome moon, from my phone. March 5, 2018

IMG_20180305_2153450021 watrermarked.png — Better shot of the moon, with my husband’s phone, but not at all doing any justice to the moon I saw with my naked eye. March 5, 2018.

Fresh off a trip from St. George, I was extra sensitive to noticing the natural beauty of God’s creation. This moon was awesome!

Delivering blood to the hospital in St. George, Utah was my favorite part of my last job. It was so unexpected, and the best part was that no matter the time of day, I felt so excited to spend quite time with God. No longer under the oppression of the humming refrigerators that assaulted my ears, and the sickly fluorescent lights that made me feel nauseous, I was free to take in all the beauty of God’s creation, the best being the most expensive stretch of rural interstate in the US – the Virgin River Gorge.

20180304_152321 watermarked.png — Passenger side view of the Virgin River Gorge while driving home. Taken from a moving vehicle, with the same phone that poorly shot the moon. March 4, 2018

If an emergency order came in too late at night I was in for a real treat. While I’d have to be extra cautious in the gorge, I knew that the long stretches of I-15 would allow me a quiet show of the most spectacular stars I never get to see under the bright lights of Vegas. I always felt a connection to King David writing his Psalms about God’s beautiful handiwork written in the sky. He saw the same constellations that danced across the night sky surrounding the car I so cautiously drove as I gawked out the windows.

God’s creation is so beautiful, so awe inspiring, but with our artificial light-filled night skies, our air conditioned rooms and our solitary commutes, we overlook the beauty around us – the sound of birds, the changing phases of the moon and God’s provision with every new flower that blooms.

With that said, I’d like to share an old Yelp.com review that I wrote in 2010 for an event I went to for both the Titanic and Bodies exhibits. The same feeling I felt seeing the moon, marveling at the jurassic-like peaks of the gorge, and picking out Orion’s belt – I felt as I viewed the intricacies of the human body on display at the Bodies exhibit. I am also including a video of a smaller Bodies exhibit that I attended with Yelp.com in 2017, in case you’ve never had the chance to see what these exhibits are all about.

I started, like everyone else, I’m sure, at the Titanic exhibit. I love to read everything, from the back of shampoo bottles to merriam-webster.com; naturally, I’m going to be the slowest one in the group, because I wanted to read every placard. Any that I didn’t have time to read, I photographed – many I read and photographed.

Upon entry to the exhibit, everyone was given a boarding pass with a ticket of a real person aboard the ship, detailing the information about where they are going, with whom and what class they were aboard, etc. At the end, I was frantically rooting for Mrs. Stephen Hold (Annie Margaret Hill) and her husband Stephen Hold to make the 2nd class survivor list.

Going throughout the experience, and trying to put things into a human perspective; trying to imagine how scared they must have been made it truly heartbreaking to see that although Mrs. Hold survived, Mr. Hold did not. I can’t imagine how utterly crushing her experience was and I was actually holding back some tears. These are real people, who lived lives just like we all do – they felt sadness and fear, love and happiness.

It’s so difficult to imagine the sadness and loss felt by those who lost friends and family in that tragedy. Thankfully, a tour guide at the end, told me that unlike the movie, the 3rd class passengers were not locked down below deck, they were just down there too long to have any chance to be rescued. Not to give away any of the stuff learned, but wow, the fact that the Captain had to be convinced after retiring to make this his last voyage just sucks. Life just kicks you in the face some times.

After going through the gift shop and getting my double sided squished penny (they charge a DOLLAR rather than $.50 for a squished penny!) I saw the toothpaste jar! When I saw the cherry toothpaste jar during the exhibit, I noted in my head to look out for one the next time I went to an antiques store, and Voila! They had $10 replicas in the gift shop. I passed on it and Bill and I headed over to the Bodies exhibit.

—DISCLAIMER—
If you dislike references to God in the Judeo-Christian religion or anything pro-life, skip on to the next review.
———————————————————-
Body scandal aside (because nobody agrees that China, killing people off, for no good reason, is a positive thing.)

Absolutely stunning exhibit. Every time I learn more about the world and people through science, the more I fall in love with God. In Psalm 19:1, King David (from the story of David and Goliath) wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” Basically, it means that when you look outside, we can see what God has created – it’s all around us. Going through the exhibit, all that was going off in my mind was how amazing God’s handiwork is. The intricacy of the human body is beautiful – He is a top notch engineer. Church groups should definitely come to this exhibit – it’s extremely moving to feel and see God through His design in places such as… well, the middle of a casino exhibit in Las Vegas, of all places. By far, the most breathtaking room was the cardiovascular room – we’re so complex and I can’t even put into words how I feel when I see this. Just, I’m in awe of our design and execution.

I went to see the baby room and it was sad. I wondered about how the parents felt losing their babies – all the excitement and hopes for these little people just… Woosh! Snuffed out before their time.

If anybody has any qualms as to whether a baby is a person in utero, they should come see this exhibit. At 35 days gestation – barely even a month, when most women are just figuring out they’ve missed their period, these little babies, who are recognizably human, are already breathing and their tiny hearts pumping. This isn’t some pro-life rhetoric, this is what I saw and read in this exhibit. Like it is written on the wall in the gift shop, “Seeing is believing;” and seeing this exhibit, you realize that despite all the claims Americans hear of “just being a clump of cells” they’re anything but. I would guess that’s the reason a lot of people have a problem with this room, even if these babies weren’t necessarily birthed, it’s sad to see tiny little people in jars. This exhibit is something I would suggest to anybody who wanted to debate the “when does life begin” argument.

Absolutely fantastic exhibits. Not just a bunch of facts, but history and science come alive. I smiled, I held back tears, I had my breath taken away. Both tragic, yet brimming with information. – Yelp.com Originally posted 12/19/2010

What Quora & Satan don’t want you to know about homosexuality

February 12, 2018February 13, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in Commonly Misunderstood Theology, Crack Your Bible Video, Homosexuality, Hot Topic Issues, Sex

This past weekend I received a “Be Nice, Be Respectful” violation for “hate speech” on Quora.com. My appeal was rejected and my account may be terminated. I am in the process of backing up all of my work, and I will be reposting many of my writings here on my website in the coming months.

Quora’s notice:

My appeal:

Quora’s Response:

Here is what I wrote, to this prompt, which Quora has marked as “hate speech:”

From a Christian, non-LGBTQ perspective, what’s the best way for Christians to help LGBTQ people come to repentance?

“First let’s see what the Bible says, specifically the New Testament:

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” – John 7:24

Okay cool. We’re supposed to judge correctly!

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

That basically describes everyone in this present age. Now that we know what we’re dealing with (unrepentant people) and what we’re supposed to do (judge rightly) let’s move forward.

“9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” – 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Wow, so we see that the Bible is very clear! Christians aren’t to go around being the morality police to non-Christians. (This does not mean that Christians can’t have a say on what legally affects Christian taxpayers or what they’re forced to subject their own children to.) BUT Christians have an obligation to police so-called Christians who are engaging in behavior that God calls “evil.” If they are unrepentant, the Bible says to remove them from the congregation!

But what if they were born this way?! Well of course! We were all born with a sin nature!

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Now we see that homosexuality is considered a sin that shows that you are not God’s child, one who will inherit God’s kingdom. We see that some Christians formerly practiced such acts, but after becoming Christians, they no longer engaged in such acts.

“29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” – Matthew 5:29-30

Being born any type of way does not excuse sin. Jesus Himself directs people to maim themselves if that’s what it takes to prevent yourself from engaging in sexual sin.

What is the best thing you can do to share the gospel with someone? Simply share the gospel with them! People may have traumatic backgrounds, so lead with God’s love, without condoning their sin. Share the gospel how you would with a heterosexual person.

“18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” – Romans 1:18-32

We see that people already know God and they choose to worship anything but Him. Homosexuality is something that God sees as a sign of people who are wicked and willfully disobedient to His laws. You must make sure that you do not give approval to such acts while sharing the message of God’s love.

Even when Jesus spoke to sexually immoral people, he ended His conversation with a command.

“14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.’” –John 5:14

“11 She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” –John 8:11

Originally posted February 10, 2018: https://www.quora.com/From-a-Christian-non-LGBTQ-perspective-whats-the-best-way-for-Christians-to-help-LGBTQ-people-come-to-repentance/answer/Rachel-Stephens-10

Pastors duping God’s chosen people (Biggest SCAM revealed!)

January 2, 2018January 2, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in Commonly Misunderstood Theology, Crack Your Bible Video, Israel

I didn’t grow up like many of my non-religious peers. When I was small, my dad would drive me to visit his grandmother, my great-grandmother. Her small apartment was filled with the sounds of TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) As she asked us for the 10th time if we’d like something to drink, due to her dementia, she’d ask my dad when we would be going to Israel. I was too young to remember her before her dementia, but she always made a point to bring it up. Apparently, in spite of her ailments, her trip to Jerusalem had made a lasting impact on her.

I loved to spend time with my grandparents, and my grandma was a fun grandma, the kind who loved to stay up until 2 AM watching TV and playing logic puzzles (she still does.) As the clock ticked later into the night, infomercials would begin to play. Jan Crouch, the founder of TBN, is burned into my mind. Jan, with her giant pink wig, extreme false lashes, would cry on camera, pleading for viewers to donate money to bring some poor Jewish Russian babushka to Israel so that she could be reunited with her husband and die in peace in the Holy Land.

Strangely enough, despite financial plea after financial plea to “Stand with Israel,” whether from Perry Stone, Benny Hinn, John Hagee, Joseph Prince, or any other prominent TV pastor, nobody ever mentioned sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the Jewish people of Israel. Growing up, this apparent disconnect never registered in my mind.

When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, my Zionism grew. In high school I’d write about Israeli politics, and how US foreign policy should favor Israel. I was a vocal supporter of Israel over everyone. As I got older, I continued to write, with some of my writings being translated into Hebrew, and calls and emails from Jewish professors and lobbyist groups came my way. Supporting Israel was integral to who I was. Being a Zionist was just a logical part of being a Christian, or so I thought.

In August 2010, my world came crashing down. My dad, who had also been a Zionist, showed me videos of Orthodox Jews assaulting Israeli Christians. Spitting, hitting, pipe bombs – why were these Jewish men trying to kill Christian women and children? Didn’t they know that we love them?! I had been completely ignorant of the Israeli government’s discrimination against Israeli Christians. Yes, the Israeli government loves foreign Christian tourists’ money, but it’s the Christian residents of Israel that were bearing discrimination, harassment and dwindling protection under the law. I had had no idea this sort of treatment would be overlooked by the Israeli government.

Churches never speak about the harassment Israeli Christians face. Not only that, many churches partner with pro-Israel groups that are vocally opposed to Jewish outreach and evangelism by Christians. While our Israeli Christian brothers and sisters bear persecution, not too dissimilar of the same persecutions faced by the apostles and Paul, the US churches stay silent. Unfortunately, big name pastors have traded the truth of the gospel for the chance to make money as a covert lobbyist for a secular government. What better way for a foreign, secular government to raise funds than to prey on religious and charitable people by telling them, in their own churches, that they must send money, or else they’ll face the wrath of their God? It’s a brilliant marketing scheme, but it’s completely unscriptural.

If you’d like to find out how Genesis 12:3 has been used to dupe Christians into supporting the secular government of Israel, please watch this episode of Crack Your Bible:

Christians, first and foremost, need to wake up. God’s promises to Abraham, then Abram, concerning blessing those who blessed him, and cursing those who dishonored him, were for those who belong to Christ only. There has never been two separate covenants, one between the Jewish people and one for Christians. God’s covenant with Abraham has always been between Him and those who put their faith in Him. Do those who reject Jesus have faith in the God of Abraham? No! Prior to Jesus’ ministry on earth, there were those born of Abraham who rejected God, and there were those born of Abraham who put their faith in God’s promises. It’s the second group who God counted as His children. This hasn’t changed.

It’s time Christians read their Bibles and closed their wallets to lobbyist groups and their church partners who are opposed to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to the people of Israel. The best way to support Israel is to stand with our Israeli Christian brothers and sisters and support their ministries, and to share the gospel with your Jewish friends and neighbors. The Jewish people and Israel don’t need your money. They need Jesus.

-Rachel

If you're going to support Israeli evangelism outreach ministries financially, make sure you know where your money is going AND make sure the organization isn't vocally opposed to Jesus. . . As of 2012, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews boasted raising nearly US $600 million, despite their CEO being vocal about his opposition to Christian evangelism of Jewish people! . . https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/standing-with-israel/47005 . . Follow #CrackYourBible for #TuesdayTruths – every Tuesday you'll see a fun fact relating to Christianity, the Bible and apologetics Stay tuned for a new video on Mon/Wed/Fri on YouTube – Link in bio. . . . . . . . . . #apologetics #Bible #BibleQuote #BibleStudy #BibleVerse #blessing #blessed #Christian #Christianity #CompetitiveEdge #encouragement #forgiveness #GodsWord #gospel #inspiring #Jesus #JesusIsLord #JesusSaves #lifehack #praise #prayer #scripture #thankful #thankGod #truth #wisdom #prayforisrael #standwithisrael

A post shared by Rachel of #CrackYourBible (@rachelnstephens) on Jan 2, 2018 at 1:02pm PST

2017 Financial Review for Crack Your Bible

December 30, 2017February 13, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in About, Crack Your Bible Video, Financials

As 2017 comes to a close, I wanted to go over some of the Google Analytics for Crack Your Bible. I am so thankful for all of the support from the Crack Your Bible family – those who watch, share and upvote my videos and social media posts. This is a labor of love and during Crack Your Bible’s first year, we gained a 100+ subs on Instagram, 560+ subs on Quora and nearly 1,000 subs on YouTube without spending any money on marketing.

To see Crack Your Bible’s demographic analytics, feel free to watch the video below.

(I forgot to add in a couple expenses when I filmed this episode, so the final expenses are slightly higher than the total I said in the video, which I break down in this post.)

Finances

Expenditures

Because Christians in ministry are always accused of somehow being in ministry “for the money” I’m including a list of my expenses. To date, I have never asked for donations, Patreon, or any other financial assistance. My husband and I have paid for 100% of the expenses related to Crack Your Bible, as I have not felt led by the Holy Spirit to ask for financial assistance at this time.

Table 1 covers the expenses I undertook specifically for Crack Your Bible during 2017. Table 2 lists items I already owned prior to starting this channel and additional expenses that I chose not to charge to Crack Your Bible.

Revenue

You’re probably wondering how much money I’ve made with Google off of YouTube AdSense or other ad revenue. When I first began my channel in January of 2017, the Adpocalypse had not yet begun, but a month or two in, YouTube changed their policy that only channels with 10,000 views could be monetized. After I hit 10,000 views, almost EVERY. SINGLE. VIDEO. that I’ve ever posted is demonetized for at least the first 48 hours after I post it. This is when videos get the most traction and is deliberate censorship from YouTube, as most of my videos become re-monetized. This is despite the fact that YouTube claims that they only review videos with more than 1,000 views in the first week of posting – which, due to being a small channel, has never happened to me.

The yellow $ shows which videos were demonetized. You can also see the number of views each video received next to the 3 bars. Note that when the videos were remonetized (green circle) none of the videos had 1,000 views.

As far as revenue from YouTube, YouTube only pays a creator once they have amassed $100.00 in revenue, which I have not, so I have not received any money this year. Here is the channel’s analytics:

A word of advice for anyone who wants to go into ministry – make sure you’re actually called to do ministry. While all Christians are to fulfill the Great Commission, not everyone is called to be a teacher. You don’t decide to become a teacher – the Holy Spirit will decide whether or not you should become a teacher.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. – James 3:1

None of this could be possible without the emotional and financial support of my husband. Ministry is not a business that anyone should go into for the money, but to answer God’s call. This is a full time job but it could never financially support us, so please don’t quit your job thinking that you’re going to strike it rich teaching the gospel. Not only is that the wrong reason to preach the gospel, you’re going to end up homeless.

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. ¹²Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

¹³As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. – 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Thank you for your support and I look forward to sharing Jesus with you in 2018

-Rachel

Satan is KILLING the spreading of the gospel with this 1 lie! (Ladies, listen up!)

December 28, 2017February 13, 2018 by Rachel S, posted in 07. 1 Corinthians, 15. 1 Timothy, 28. Hosea, Books of the Bible, Commonly Misunderstood Theology, Crack Your Bible Video, Women in Ministry

When going to fight against your enemy, is it better to fight on your own, or is it better to have one person who fights alongside you against your mutual enemy? Obviously, there is strength in numbers!

When it comes to fighting against Satan, Christians have gone into battle with a self-imposed handicap – women are being told that the Bible says that women are not allowed to teach the Gospel. Armed with the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit and the breastplate of righteousness, godly women are told to stay silent when it comes to the realm of teaching or preaching the gospel.

Like Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Christians are needlessly going into spiritual battle at a disadvantage due to their own lack of knowledge. . Unfortunately, due to a lack of historical knowledge, Christians are wasting precious time trying to follow rules that either never existed or are misapplied to their lives.

Satan, the author of confusion, has people within the church arguing about whether a woman should be allowed to teach even Sunday School, as that would be akin to “having authority over a man.” Many ungodly men are eager to shut down godly women who are on fire for Christ by misquoting 1 Timothy 2:11-15, and 1 Corinthians 14:34–35.

What did the Apostle Paul mean in his letters to both the Church at Corinth and the Church at Ephesus? Is there any way to figure out what Paul truly meant? There is!

Paul didn’t exist in a vacuum; both he and the people that made up both churches lived amongst Greek and Roman pagans, who had their own cultural and religious practices. To understand Paul’s letters, we cannot overlook the historical and cultural context of both the cities of Corinth and Ephesus.

In this three part series, Crack Your Bible is tackling the question, “Can Women Teach (or must they stay silent?)”

Part 1 is an overview of Paul’s teachings and the many women who taught with Paul to spread the gospel all over the Roman Empire.

Part 2 is an in-depth look at the Church at Corinth.

Due to the fact that men and women of all social standings were freely associating, Paul gave special instructions on covering their heads. While men today have zero qualms about wearing hats, Christian women are beginning to wonder if they’ve missed the mark by not covering their heads. Not only that, but unbelievers and new believers were fighting to have the floor when it came to these newly formed church meetings – and Paul had to restore order out of the chaos

Part 3 is an in-depth look at the Church at Ephesus.

Due to the fact that Gnostic and pagan practices from the cult of Artemis were familiar to the new members of the Church at Ephesus, many false doctrines were being preached as if they were the gospel of Jesus Christ. Groups of women were afraid that they were risking their salvation by getting married and having children, while other false teachers were sure of speech, but completely wrong in their doctrine. Paul had to restore order and stop the promotion of doctrines of demons coming out of the Church at Ephesus.

It’s not good for man to be alone! Don’t handicap yourself in this spiritual battle. Armed with this knowledge, Christians can strengthen their witness, stop wasting time and they can become successful against the schemes of the devil.

Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash