Prosperity Gospel

The “Prosperity Gospel” portrays God as Santa Claus whose job is to give us stuff.  “Name it and Claim it” twists Scripture to make God into a heavenly vending machine that gives us anything that we ask for.  But there is one promise in the Bible that they overlook: Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  In this verse, Jesus promises to give His followers tribulation!  This is a promise that is not preached on very often and NEVER by the prosperity preachers.  The promise of tribulation is bad news, but in the same verse, Jesus promises to be with us IN our tribulation.  And Jesus goes on to say that He has already overcome the world and its adversity.  So, Jesus rightly said, “be of good cheer”.  What a blessing to know that Jesus will be with His dear children in the midst of their problems.  Hey, are you a follower of Jesus?  If you are, Jesus will be with you as you go through the problems in life.  If you aren’t a follower of Jesus, you will face the problems in life alone.  Think about it.

Are You Sure?

Beside my bed there is a window with a ledge that is a perfect place for a clock.  But it is too narrow for most clocks.  So, I bought a little battery-powered LED clock that fits perfectly.  The only drawback is that I have to push a button for it to light up … for 5 seconds.  But it serves its purpose well.  This morning, I took Kathy to dialysis at 5:15 am.  Yikes!  So, I got home, made myself an egg sandwich, ate it, and went back to bed.  I woke up and picked up my little clock to see what time it was.  It read, “6:51”.  Well, I felt refreshed and still had plenty of time.  But I was a little puzzled.  I noticed that the “1” had a foot on it.  I had never seen the foot before, so I put on my glasses for a closer look.  I discovered that I was looking at the oval clock upside down.  The “1” with a foot was actually an upside down “7”.  instead of “6:51 it was 7:59 and I was almost late to pick up my wife!  Have you ever been pleasantly surprised, only to be disappointed once again?  That extra money in your bank account was only because a check hadn’t gone through yet.  You got to your child’s school early only to remember that they had band practice late that day.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-33, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? … for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Our plans may prove to be faulty, but we can trust in God’s plans.  He knows what is best and everything that is going on.  You can depend upon the good Lord.

Ask and Receive

Has someone ever given you a wonderful gift?  But it wasn’t quite what you wanted?  Caleb, in the Old Testament, had several sons who were heirs to his wealth.  Caleb had only one daughter, Achsah, and he gave her an inheritance as well.  But Caleb’s daughter, Achsah, wasn’t satisfied with her inheritance of land.  She needed water to go along with the land to make it prosperous.  So, Achsah went to her father, Caleb and said in Judges 1:15, "… Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.”  Achsah came boldly to her father and asked for what she needed.  And as a loving father, Caleb gave her what she asked for.  Hey, do you come boldly before your heavenly Father and ask for what you need?  God delights in giving to His dear children.  He loves you dearly!  So, ask Him for what you need.  This is not the “Prosperity Gospel”; this is asking God for what you need.  God will give to you from His bountiful stores of riches the things that you need!  Don’t be timid … just ask Him!