Prosperity Lies

I don't know about any of you but I become weary at the health wealth and prosperity gospel that some are spreading.  There is no scriptural basis for it.  Many have become discouraged thinking they have done something wrong because they don't live in wealth, they are sick often and all their relatives hate them. 

There are those who say they don't believe the false gospel of prosperity, but live as though they must prove God is blessing them through feverish efforts to acquire wealth.  They even deny their illnesses to pretend they are healthy when they need a doctor.

Next time someone attempts to convince you that God does not want you to be poor, sick, or persecuted, repeat these words to them.

Hebrews 11:35 "Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

Hbr 11:36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.

Hbr 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, [fn] were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--

Hbr 11:38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, [in] dens and caves of the earth.

Hbr 11:39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,

Hbr 11:40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from "

Many people are being persecuted, beheaded and hung on crosses today in Egypt, what would you have to say to those people. The health, wealth and prosperity gospel is not the gospel at all, but a false one.

Matthew 6:19 ""Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;"

Mat 6:20       "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."

Mat 6:21       "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

2 Corinthians 11:23 "Are they ministers of Christ?--I speak as a fool--I [am] more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

2Cr 11:24 From the Jews five times I received forty [stripes] minus one.

2Cr 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

2Cr 11:26 [in] journeys often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils of [my own] countrymen, [in] perils of the Gentiles, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren;

2Cr 11:27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness--

2Cr 11:28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

2Cr 11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn [with indignation]?

2Cr 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

2Cr 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

2Cr 11:32 In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;

2Cr 11:33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands"

about a minute ago • Like

Luke 21:14 ""Therefore settle [it] in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;

Luk 21:15 "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

Luk 21:16 "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put [some] of you to death.

Luk 21:17 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake"

Hmmm!!!  Christ was our example and He did not escape poverty and persecution, what would make us think we would.  Joel Osteen spits in the face of God when he writes a book entitled, "Your Best Life Now."  This may be the best life now for those who are refusing Christ and ultimately will end up in a firey hell.  But for the believer, nothing on this earth should take us captive, not wealth, not health nor the love of all the people that surround us.  Our best life is to come when we go before the Savior and hear His Words, "Well done good and faithful servant."

We as believers yearn for our heavenly home and our husband that dwells in us now and will one day take us home.

Diligence Brings Blessing

Proverbs 20:4
"4 The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
He will beg during harvest and have nothing."

It is a sin to be lazy, we must ask God to make us diligent, that our witness not be maligned in the eyes of those who are watching.

Those who are lazy in their job, will also be lazy in their spiritual life. Laziness is a mentality, that is not compartmentalized to a particular area, it is a spiritual soul problem.

Proverbs 13:4
"4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is made fat."

Proverbs 10:4
"4 Poor is he who works with a negligent hand,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich."

Galatians 6:9
"9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."

2 Peter 3:14
"14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,"

Ecclesiastes 9:10
"10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going."

Colossians 3:23
"23 Whatever you do, do your work [a]heartily, as for the Lord [b]rather than for men,"

Romans 6:12
"12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,"

We forget that laziness is sin, we also forget sometimes that working hard, accomplishing a task is much more fulfilling than entertainment. God has placed in our being a need and desire to accomplish physical tasks. We are fulfilled by them, they satisfy.

Psalm 128:2 "When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you."

When pleasure is pursued, then there is never enough, only more pleasure continually will give temporary happiness.

When we sit down from our labors and look back at the accomplishment, only then can we feel at rest, we delight in our work.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
"18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.

19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart."

Laziness Dishonors God!

Proverbs 19:24-25
"24 A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary;
Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge."

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Superficial Forgiveness

http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/avoiding-the-dangers-of-superficial-forgiveness.pdf

In order to see this, please copy and paste it to the address line.