The Person Who Prospers!

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

One of the insults hurled at any many televangelists is that they are "fleecing" people and misleading them with their prosperity messages. Well, I cannot speak for all of them, in fact I cannot speak for any of them, but I do know--the message of prosperity and how to accomplish it--is found in The Word and as long as they are preaching and teaching The Word, I find no fault with them.

When I listen to those who do find fault with anyone preaching about prosperity (and everything else in The Word), observation of those who are complaining are those who are barely surviving--in their personal life and in their church life. For it is envy that prompts their animosity towards others who dare to say anything about prosperity. And it is envy that clogs up their ears and blinds their eyes when they do not hear those they preach against--also teach obeying God's Word, totally. They do not hear the message of repentance, love, and obedience for they have closed their minds to hearing the "whole matter" and judge those things they do not understand.

It is not a sin for God's children to prosper and when we are obedient to His Word--it is a promise to us--that we should prosper in everything we do. What does it mean to prosper--when we obey? We end up having more than enough--for our needs and to help others.

Now we know that the wicked also prosper and we only have to look at the events occurring in the world to see how. The drug kings--both legal and illegal--prosper when they sell their wares. The illegal drugs keep people dependent and poor, committing criminal acts to support their habits. The legal pharmacies are just as bad when they overprice medicines needed and end up scamming insurance companies and leaving the elderly making choices between eating and taking their medicine. We see the wicked in high places of authority, making deals with the devil that ultimately create chaos and disaster for others. We see the wicked in families and churches who say one thing, but live a lie--scamming their families, neighbors and friends--trying to make themselves to be something when they are not. But God has a solution for the wicked and their wealth--it is laid up for the righteous--those who obey God no matter what.

But then the Word also says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 1:3 NKJV). So now, we see that prosperity "in all things" is God's desire for us--in our finances, our health as long as our soul--our will to obey Him in all things--prospers.

When people complain about the prosperity of those who preach and teach the Gospel, I'm led to believe that they did not believe God from the beginning--of the Word. Throughout the bible, we find promises of prosperity (along with repentance and obedience). One of my favorites is Joshua 1:7,8 and then there is the entire list of things that are ours when we obey found in Deuteronomy 28 as well as the curses for disobedience. It's all in there.

The bottom line is this--we should not be "best buds" with those who deliberately live in opposition to God's Word or hang out with them unless it is an effort to be a witness to them about God's goodness. And we most certainly should not take up their habits, but be strong and courageous in obeying God's Word and stand back and see how He causes us to prosper in all we do that honors Him. That is the person who shall prosper in all things--when they are living The Word--for all to see.

Standing In Right Relationship!

"The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble" (Psalm 37:38 NIV).

Many who come to know,
God in His infinite wisdom,
And learn how to show,
Others, they stand for what He says,
Rather than flicker back and forth,
Never knowing how to be a stable light,
Diminishing the dark, always ready to fight
The good fight of faith, head held high
When walking and voice strong when talking
About the goodness and mercy of The Lord.
Winning the battle without use of sword,
Made by hands, but by love and the Word
Of God which remains for all time,
No matter what man does or doesn't do,
God's Word will stand, His name remains
On the lips of all who know and love
Him and others, right or wrong. We are
Made strong in Him when we are weak in our
Own strength and we can defeat the enemy
With love and obedience to Him who created
All things and without Him nothing was
Or will be established in the earth, For it is
Through Him, we obtain our worth, winning
Souls, keeping them from the fiery hell that
Satan has planned for mankind since he dwells
In the hearts of all who choose to disobey,
And rebel against the All-knowing Savior,
Who came to save those who were lost, but
Now has given each of us a job to do,
And we must be about Our Father's business,
Making sure sinners know without Him they
Have no hope, but with Him all things are possible
When we stand in right relationship with God!
Standing Up For All God Says--Doing Things His Way,
Loving all--Him first, each and every day, My Commitment
To Him and all of His children so we can enjoy eternity together!

I Belong!

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29 NIV).

A number of years ago, American Express used the marketing phrase, "Membership has privileges" (at least I think it was them), at any rate, the phrase is very true for those who "belong to Jesus". If we belong to Christ, we receive the benefits and promises given to Abraham because we are the "spiritual seed of Abraham" in this life.

What are the benefits? While in the earth realm--power to get wealth, long life when we honor authority, healed of sickness and disease, power to be peacemakers and helpers to many who will receive, through Holy Spirit--power to forgive, love, and have insight to those things to come. For all eternity, we have access to heaven and we will rule with Jesus.

While some may doubt the authenticity of Paul's letters (and his life), when we have received Holy Spirit to guide us, He guides us into all truth. So the truth here is that Paul was writing under the direction of Holy Spirit, just as many of us do today. Whether Paul was truly a changed man or not, should not be an issue for any who were once sinners and have been given a second chance--through mercy and grace. Without that mercy and grace, where would we be?

Accepting the fact that Paul's letters were written by direction of Holy Spirit and receiving what he had to say as truth, anyone--regardless of race, gender, creed, faith, who makes a decision to belong to Christ, gets the same benefits. It does not matter when a person comes to Christ--whether a long time ago or recently, the benefits remain the same. The difference is how long a person may enjoy the benefits, not that they are not the same.

If you have not known the privilege of membership with Christ Jesus, today is a good day to make that decision. Grace and mercy abound towards all who will freely come and receive of His goodness. If you do know the value of belonging to Jesus Christ, I am honored to call you brother or sister. We are all in this life together and membership with Christ, makes it all worthwhile. Love to love you!

Saved, But Not Yet Delivered (excerpt)

What happens to people who succumb to the influence of the evil one after belief and confession?  This common occurrence is known as backsliding.  For the most part, we acknowledge backsliding as a common occurrence, but backsliding should not be promoted as a way of life.  The backslider is one who after having confessed Christ, repeatedly submits to the influence of past temptations.  They become backsliders because they have yet to submit their desires to God and become delivered from their ungodly ways.

Picture this:  Children on a giant slide love to climb up the slide and usually keep sliding backwards; making getting to the top difficult, if not impossible for some.  God states, in Jeremiah 3:14, that He is married to the backslider.  Since God established the institution of marriage, surely He can determine how he feels about the backslider and the consequences.  There are indeed consequences to being a backslider.  The backslider who comes to himself and repents of his sins  retains his position with God just as a couple reconciles their relationship when problems arise.

The fate of the backslider who never repents falls into the hands of an angry God.  The bible tells us that this person can expect an even greater terror than the one who never confessed any knowledge of Christ.  On the other hand, we are told in I John 1:9, 10  “that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If God forgives us, should we care about the forgiveness of others? Who is it that we should be concerned about as it pertains to our status with God?   It is without a doubt, the most fruitless exercise in the world to try to please people.  Therefore, our only concern should be in pleasing God. According to God’s Word, we, who choose to care about what God thinks, are wise because He is the only one from whom we are seeking acceptance.

Unfortunately, many people attempt to seek acceptance from entities—church folks and institutions—who could care less about a person as an individual.  Although there are some churches and other individuals who genuinely care about people, they are too few in number to make a real difference.  Consider the following: A young lady, who did not begin her life’s journey with any understanding of the Word or God’s way of doing things, falls short of the mark, in a number of ways.  However, once she has been shown the light and comes to a place in her life where she has now established a right relationship with God, should she not be accepted into the fold as though she has never sinned? [This example uses a young lady because females are often scrutinized more often and judged more harshly for their past sins than males.]

If we truly believe the Word, then we have to acknowledge the fact that once God forgives us, He tosses our sins into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:18, 19).  Since our sins are cast into the sea, who has a right to go fishing for them, in an attempt to bring them to the surface? We must forever be on guard against the wiles of the enemy.  We cannot allow him or his minions to superimpose their views into our lives.  Therefore, whenever anyone attempts to bring our past to the surface, we must remind them—tactfully, if possible—that our past shortcomings have been confessed and forgiven.  They do not have a right to fish in God’s sea.

This is an excerpt from:  Saved, But Not Yet Delivered! available on amazon.com