Subject: Can we agree? |
Bible Note: Dear Kelkat, Greetings in Jesus' name! I have looked at the Scriptures you have quoted. There are the 'usual Prosperity Message proofs.' My friend, these are taken so out of context, it is almost pitiful. God has promised us peace and prosperity in our hearts. Not to fulfil the desires of the flesh! "Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant." Psalm 35:27 NASB. The word is 'shalom,' not 'shekel.' "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 2 NASB. Your soul is prospering, not your pocketbook. "The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow." Deuteronomy 28:12 NASB. This is not the World Bank, but a giving heart, and not the arrogance of mammon. "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." Deuteronomy 8:18 NASB. The 'wealth' is the Promised Land, a land of peace, not gold. "But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:18-19 NASB. Please! Riches in glory! Paul was not made 'independently wealthy.' And he certainly didn't put his money in CDs and live off the interest. "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!" Psalm 84:11,12 NASB. Good does NOT equal monetary value. You cannot walk uprightly with a load of money on your shoulders, nor can you pass the eye of the needle. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." Malachi 3:10 NASB. Again, blessing is in the heart, and proven by the fruit of the Spirit, not in the ability to buy comfort. Homes have mortgages, stocks tumble, and cars rust. What the Lord gives is eternal! "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;" 2 Corinthians 9:8 NASB. The abundance is given for the purpose of service, not personal hoarding. Now, my Scripture reference: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:34 NASB. 'Nuff said. It's funny, IMHO, the prosperity message preaches cheap (nigh worthless) faith, and greedy grace. Do not be anxious for the things that God already gives, but seek after the fruit of the Spirit, which often comes by *divesting* yourself of mammon. I, too, have spent 15 years cleaning up the messes of the 'Prosperity Message.' Their victims are many! Few stay on for long, though! The ones that 'achieve' the goal often return to the world, and the ones that 'fail' are not 'worthy,' and are cast off. Some find a church of peace and faith, but many are so disgusted with Christianity that they walk away from the church. My two yen. In Christ Jesus, charis |