Sometimes its inconceivable that people want to get blessings from God but they don’t want God in their lives. When you ask them about Him? rarely do they know him. They say they know God, but only on the surface. They are not interested in knowing Him by reading the Bible. They pray short and casual prayers and are sometimes ashamed to show to other people the affection that God deserves. They say they love Jesus, but rarely do they talk about him with their friends. Most people want to get to heaven, but they live their lives here on earth as if they don’t want Jesus to change the things they do. Jesus is not their priority. They want to worship occasionally but not regularly. They want gifts, not the giver. They want a Savior but not Lord. They don’t want Jesus to interrupt them. All they want is fun, celebration and they don’t want to repent and grieve for their sins and be broken with Jesus. Right now, Jesus is still looking for people who will love Him without conditions. People with undivided hearts. People who are not necessarily perfect but desires to commune and have personal relationship with him. People who are willing to let go of their past and current lives and will say “I want to start and live a brand new life with you Lord.” People who would like to be changed and healed. People who are interested in the things that matters to Him like seeking and saving the lost. Jesus is still looking for people who want to live for him and be like him. The question is, Do you really want Jesus? or only the things that he can give you? Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”-- the things God has prepared for those who love him-- these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. #mythoughts #myreflections Blogsite: plesguevara.wordpress.com
0 Comments
God has a great plan for his children. Indeed, just like our earthly parents who want the best for their children, so is God. In fact, Jesus instructed us to pray in His name and call our God our Father. This means that we as children of God (people with relationship with God) were entitled to every benefits that we can get from our Father. While our relationship with God guarantees that He will take care of us. Trials and sufferings may also become part of the process. Some Christians believe that God will never allow sufferings and poverty to someone. Others were perplexed when they experience sufferings or when they face trials and their faith begin to shift like a sand because of their belief that God wants them only to be happy, wealthy, and healthy and live a comfortable life. While the premise of Prosperity Gospel is palatable to many people, believing that it’s their right to be happy, rich and healthy, we will find that the Bible does not support it. Jesus Christ himself reminded his disciples to carry the cross (see Matthew 16:24) and be prepared for troubles (see John 16:33). Imagine if Jesus and his disciples, preached the message of prosperity gospel? Jesus would not have been crucified at all! We can found in the gospels that Jesus lived his life in poverty. Born in a manger, lived simple life, and tried to earn everything through hard work. He even became a carpenter to support his family. Jesus was not rich while on earth but he was able to accomplish the task that was given to Him by God the Father. Prosperity Gospel is very different from the true Gospel that we can find in the Bible. Prosperity gospel or Prosperity Theology is incomplete and distorted. It is a counterfeit message that gives false hopes to people. Preachers who teach this kind of gospel tend to elevate blessings and made the secondary effect the primary so that people will come and listen to them. Paul warned us in his letters in 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” Godliness with Contentment Apostle Paul tells us Christians must live with contentment and those who crave for more will fall into the trap. “But Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” -1 Timothy 6:6-9 It is not wrong to be rich. God is the source of everything. The problem is that we sometimes focused too much on things that perish rather than God. When Christians prioritized things above God, we make those things that supposed to be blessings to us a curse to us. In that case, our blessings become our idols. (see Malachi 2:2). God is Sovereign The main theme of the Gospels is about the work of Jesus on the cross to save humanity from sin. Health and wealth are just add-ons but God still has the prerogative to give those to a person. I’ve heard stories of Christians who serve God faithfully and yet died with nothing. No money, no good health etc. There are pastors and workers who had died with cancer, accident etc. If we believe the Prosperity gospel, then we can somehow assume that those people didn’t live inside the will of God! Not just them, we can also consider the prophets, the disciples who were persecuted and were killed and some of the church fathers who died martyred for the Lord to be cursed. Is it fair? The prosperity gospel is not only an incomplete message but a dangerous one as well. Don’t get me wrong, God still heals and provides, but He may also withhold those good things with a purpose. He is sovereign and we may not grasp everything for now why He withheld blessings to someone and give some to others. Just like in the story of Israel where they wandered for 40 years before they entered their promised land. God did not rush to give their blessings because He first wants to test their hearts and build their character as a nation. Deuteronomy 8:2-5 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Gospel is the Power of God to Salvation The main reason why we preach the Gospel (Good News) is because we believe that it has the power to save people. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." Romans 1:16 NIV. We preach the message of salvation, that Jesus died to pay the penalty of our sins, and rose from the dead to give us hope and eternal life. Some prosperity teachers use 2 Corinthians 8:9, to justify their teachings, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.” If we are not careful and not read the whole chapter, we may think that Apostle Paul taught that all believers must be rich because Jesus became poor. If you read the whole chapter, you will find out that Paul would urge the Corinthians to give their wealth to their fellow believers who were poor, “that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack” (2 Cor. 8:14). God is blessing us so that we can share to others. Another thing I want to point out is that Prosperity Gospel downplays the work of God in the lives Christians who struggle in their day to day lives. Just like what Albert Mohler said; “Prosperity Theology certainly sells books and draws crowds in the United States, but what does it possibly say to a grieving Christian wife and mother in Iraq? How can it possibly be squared with the actual message of the New Testament? How can any sinner be saved, without a clear presentation of sin, redemption, the cross, the empty tomb, and the call to faith and repentance? ... If our message cannot be preached with credibility in Iraq, it should not be preached…” We must be consistent with the Word of God and be extra careful on over emphasizing things that may eclipse God’s true intention. Jesus is our True Prosperity Lastly, we need to be reminded that Jesus is our supreme treasure. He is our prosperity. There’s an occasion in the Bible where Jesus had just finished a miracle by feeding 5000 people (see John chapter 6). People followed Him not because they want to know more about the things of God, but because of food (bread). Jesus knew their hearts and rebuked them. 26…“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. (John 6:26-27). Jesus said to them that He is the Bread of Life. (see John 6:35) He was just saying to them that the person in front of them is their everything. In the same way with us, Jesus is our basic need. Without Jesus, we are nothing. The Jews failed to realize that Jesus was the Messiah that they are waiting for. They did not notice it because of the perishable things that occupied their minds and hearts. . Like us, we sometimes can be preoccupied with the things of this world. Always remember that in Christ, we are complete. He may not necessarily give the things that we want, but it is certain that he will always give us the things that we need most because he knows the best for us. Our commitment to Christ must be firm just like what we usually hear from couples in their wedding vows; “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health…” Let us love Jesus Christ because He is our TRUE PROSPERITY, not the things of this world. Blogsite: plesguevara.wordpress.com |
Lester Guevara"To live is CHRIST, To die is gain.."
ArchivesCategories |