“That Preacher was wrong – confronting a false teaching”

Confronting A False Teaching:

There is a false teaching in some churches that I believe begs to be addressed. At the moment of confession and even in some theological circles the notion that prosperity is just around the corner for a Christian if they just have faith and pray for it is blatantly false. Sometimes this falsity has been preached by television evangelists to coax those with itching ears to make a commitment to Christ. Dare I say that many of these evangelists are only interested in their continued success and for that additional statistic of “new converts”. They sell this lie quite convincingly with words like “If you confess your sins God will enter your life and He will give you whatever you ask of Him.” These words are twisted from the original John 14:13 passage to imply that if you just pray hard enough God will help pay your bills or buy you that new car or bring you that new job you were dreaming about. In essence this false teaching makes God out to be some sort of Genie who grants wishes to those who call upon His name. But how often do these prosperity preachers really explain the above verse correctly?

Will things really become a Mary Poppins world when we accept Christ? Will things remarkably change for us when we confess our sins? Yes and no. Of course if we confess and genuinely repent of our sins God’s spirit will indwell within us. God’s presence will be there to guide us and we will not be alone…BUT does that mean that all of a sudden all of life’s problems will disappear? NO! I don’t mean to sound negative or share a dismal offering here but let’s be real – We will still have to face our life and the journey that we are on in this life. The new element that God gives us once we accept Him is that we are no longer alone on this journey and He travels right beside us. The big key in this new element is that we no longer live for ourselves but we live for Christ –

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Once we accept the identity of God in Christ and understand what selfless sacrifice and salvation looks like we must then align ourselves with Him. This is the pilgrim’s progress on the journey to Holiness (becoming fully like Christ). If we accept this truth as a Christ-follower then we can discard the false teaching of prosperity. Let me clarify this too: The worldly prosperity false teaching which has entered the church is based upon human selfishness and greed. But what if we were to take “Self” out of the equation? What would happen then?

The Answer to Prosperity Preaching:

Taking “Self” out of the equation and following John the Baptist’s example when He said “He (Christ) must become greater; I (John the Baptist) must become less.” (John 3:30) We can then begin to understand the true prosperity of the Kingdom of Heaven. Selflessness brings us one step closer to Holiness in our reflection of Christ. But what is the purpose of such a leap? Why become selfless?

There are two basic reasons:

(Godly Relationship – Us)

1) It takes the focus off of our earthly fallible sin-sick desires and re-aligns them to Christ’s which in turn opens our hearts for a deeper, richer, Agape Love. We begin to see our intended purpose in our fellowship and growing closeness with God through Christ.

(Godly Relationship – others)

2) As we grow in closeness to God in our selfless state we begin to see the struggling lostness of the world around us and are compelled by His love to reach out into that darkness.

The false teaching of Prosperity in this world forgets to continue reading a pivotal verse in this erroneous teaching:

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13)

Myth: If we ask the Father for anything on our wish list and if we possess faith enough in His presence it will be given. What we need to recognize and combat in this false teaching is that what ever we ask in HIS NAME is for the purpose of Glorifying God. So how does winning the lottery glorify God? How does praying for that new car and wishing God would just give it to us glorify God? It doesn’t.

We must guard ourselves against this false teaching. Stop naming it and claiming it. God doesn’t work like that. When we remove self from the formula of Christ-following we begin to grasp the depths of the true prosperity of the Kingdom. God wants us to fully rely on Him and to ask Him for help and guidance, just beware of how we ask and for what purpose we are asking. The Christian life, post salvation, may not look like a Mary Poppins world. We may still have some rough breaks ahead, but God goes with us into those dark valleys and troubles. He will strengthen us and guide us and pour upon us His richness of grace in the process.

Fellow Christ-follower, don’t buy the lie of these false teachers out there who want to sell you a pipe dream. They will only lead us astray from truly following selflessly the Christ who gave it all for the lost so that they may be saved…can we do the same?

-Just a thought.

March 7, 2014 3

The God who provides…

“Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money,, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost….Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:1,2,6

God, through his prophet Isaiah offers nourishment and life to those who seek Him. The Hebrew people would understand this concept and remember how God had provided manna from heaven to their ancestors while wandering in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. They would also recall how God led them into the promised land and brought them victory at Jericho.

God provides all that we require to live this life here on earth as His servant. All that we have to do is seek Him daily and have faith in His unlimited provision. But His provision doesn’t just stop with His children, He longs so desperately to extend His grace and blessings upon the rest of the world as well. After all, Jesus came for the whosoever (John 3:16) and if anyone would seek Him they will find the storehouses of God are never ending.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33.

Are you thirsty today? Are you hungry for more in this life? Is there something lacking in your life and you can’t seem to find out what IT is? God still calls the righteous and the whosoever to come to Him. The very first two words of Isaiah 55:1 says; “Come ALL”. It doesn’t say “Come some of you”, or “Come you VIP’s”…it says “Come ALL”!

Allow God to replenish your storehouses today. Allow Him to renew you. If you’re seeking Him for the first time why don’t you pray this prayer with me:

PRAYER

How to Pray:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.
Amen.

For additional information on what you just prayed check out this link:

http://www.billygrahamlibrary.org/PGView.aspx?pid=13

March 6, 2014 1

Our Freedom…for a price!

Word Art by Scott E. Strissel
3/5/2014

March 5, 2014 0

Ash Wednesday (a poem…of sorts)

He wore the ash upon his head

my childish eyes, I thought him dead

a blackened cross, creased and stained

of sweat and dirt the mark remained.

I glanced again, i’m not sure why

partly out of foolish eyes

prying back these feeble thoughts

of how the dead could somehow walk

I gripped my father’s hand real tight

as the moon shone down on that night

stained glass, an aged building bright

with church goers streaming, it was a sight.

With reassurance my father said,

be not afraid, they are not dead

though on that night an organ wailed

and we walked a pilgrim’s trail.

A cross is smeared upon their head

much alive, though some are dead

a reminder to this heart so true

to love and serve God, now…will you?

March 5, 2014 0

The God who holds our hand

When our first son was just an infant he slept in a crib which was right next to our bed. Each night we had a routine that we had to go through in order to get him to sleep. Perhaps it was because we were first time parents or perhaps he was just a needy baby. But each night, after he was dress in pajamas and had his blanket he would stick his hand out from between the crib railings and demand he hold either my hand or his Mom’s. Try as we might we could not break this cycle with him. He needed to have physical contact with us in order to fall asleep. He needed to have this assurance that we were there watching over him and that he was save and sound.

Sometimes I think back on those moments and wonder humorously why we didn’t buy a fake hand for him to hold on to or why we didn’t just break him of that dependence all together. But as I consider those precious moments that we had with our first born I realize how important those moments of contact were for him as he was growing as an infant. He needed to feel our touch, to know we were there and to be reassured that we were not going anywhere.

God still does this for you and for me as well! We constantly question if He’s there. We sometimes cry out to Him just to check if He is listening. We hold out our hand, sometimes in a demanding nature and hope that God’s touch will reach us. We hope that He’s really there and willing to remain near us.

The truth is God desires so desperately to hold our hand and to remain right beside us. He loves us so much that He longs for us to trust Him and to reach out to Him through every season of this life. Are you willing to reach out your hand to Him today? He is here, right now and He is not going anywhere. Trust Him. Lean on Him. Allow His love to fill your life with His joy, grace and peace.

-Just a thought for the day.

March 5, 2014 0

March 4, 2014 0

More than Feet!

Additional Filtering:

March 4, 2014 0

Truth AND Advertising

Something on the radio this morning set me off a little bit today. I was listening to the Christian music station when an advertisement came on for one of the radio’s sponsors, which happened to be a church. I don’t have a problem with church’s helping to sponsor Christian broadcasting by any means but it was how this particular advertisement ended. The church (who shall remain anonymous) stated it’s name at the end and then made the bold statement “also known as THE love church”.

I had to let it sink in for a moment (I had only had one cup of coffee thus far). “Wait, what?”, I thought to myself. “If they’re the ‘Love’ church then what are the other churches around them labeled as? The “Hate” church? The “NICE” church? The “I kind of like you” church? And after I asked myself that question another question popped into my head; “If that church has all the love” then what do the rest of the churches get? Why are they only known as the love church? Is it because they paid for this advertisement segment? Did they give themselves that name?

But…

I wish it only happened once in a while in segments on the radio station but it doesn’t. I’ve driven by other churches that have seemingly snarky phrases at the bottom of their signs which make the statement – “BIBLE BELIEVING CHURCH“…Um okay. So the other church down the street is NOT a bible believing church? Or this church is just BETTER at believing in the Bible? And who decides that this particular church and its congregation is strictly a bible believing church? Do they pay bills? Do they drive a car? Do they pay taxes? Then they’re not solely a bible believing church then are they? By this one statement one could make the assertion that their claim to be strictly a bible believing church is false.

Still I’ve come across another sign over a church that made this dire statement: “PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD”. When I first saw THAT sign I thought to myself, “Wow their God sounds wrathful and fierce, would I even consider stepping into that church?”

Here’s a truth that the Apostle Paul made that I believe ALL churches should hear again:

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” -1 Corinthians 1:10-13

I’m not picking a verse that fits my purpose, I really want churches to stop comparing themselves with each other. This isn’t some sort of Church growth competition. There isn’t some trophy a church will receive when they get to Heaven because they had the best advertising campaign or slogan on the front of their church. Though Paul spoke these words to a specific church at a specific time, the point is still clear and relevant today: “There should be no divisions among you”. Yet we can look all around us and see just that divisions and comparisons and envy and even hate. I’m telling you this ought not be!

Regardless if a church advertises that they are “THE love church” the fact of the matter is that if any connecting part of the body of Christ is sound in doctrine and serving those less fortunate they are Christ to the lost AND they are the “Love” church too!

I would say this to any and every Church out there: Stop the competition! Stop the comparisons! Stop the divisions and underhanded actions. We have real Kingdom work to do and it will never be accomplished by these ploys and vices. Get on with loving your neighbor and enemies and stop plastering it all over the place…because we need each other and we all work for the same Master.