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Have you ever prayed yourself into a corner? What I mean is ..have you wanted something so badly that you have asked the Lord over and over again for it? Have you ever been told that if you speak out your wishes outloud that they will come true?
Oh, how wonderful it would be if this would only be true…or would it?
There are many preachers out there, especially on Christian TV that are promoting word of faith, health/wealth prosperity teachings.
“Give us your money and you will be blessed 100 fold”. “Speak out your words of faith and you will be healed”…If you have read the statistics of negative results stemming from these practices I would have to say that the beliefs are truly biblically unfounded, promote greed and are self-serving.
Do I believe that God still does miracles today? Yes, most definitely. But are there many Christians out there who are willing to lay out everything, give up their lives, their possessions to serve him? Are there still those who daily seek to live in righteousness and give Him glory?
People are seeking riches, signs and wonders, and desire “experiences”, and wonder why God is withholding the miracles in their lives. Truly, the miracle is that God in his patience and love is witholding his judgment.
Consider these statements from Word of Faith promoters and preachers….
Kenneth Copeland “You’re all God. You don’t have a God living in you; you are one!..”(“The Force of Love.” Tape BBC-56)
Paul Crouch “I am a little God!…I have his name. I’m one with Him. I’m in covenant relation. I am a little god!. Critics, be gone!” (Praise the Lord, TBN July 7 1986)
Benny Hinn “When you say I am a Christian, you are saying, I am mashiach in the Hebrew. I am a little messiah walking on earth, in other words, that is a shocking revelation ..May i say it like this? You are a little god on earth running around. (Praise-a-thon TBN Nov 6 1990)
Whenever one inflates oneself to God’s level, one is in dangerous territory and this is truly delusional. Leading others to do the same is shameful.
There are harmful consequences for those who believe they can speak forth their words to gain prosperity/wealth/ health. When the believer falls ill, loses their job, never seems to have any “victories” in their life, that person may wonder “what have I done wrong?”, “is my faith not strong enough?”,” am I not positive enough?”. The Copeland’s teach that any negativity is a lack of faith. When troubles come, and it always does, the believer is defeated and depressed by the lack of blessings. These disillusioned ones may turn away from God completely because of these false teachings and of discouragement.
A good example of suffering in the Bible is the story of Joseph. He went through 13 years of loneliness and humiliation, all of it undeserved. Joseph never complained (which is astounding), but notice that God did not change his circumstances. Instead, because Joseph knew that God was always with him, even in the worst of times, he was finally triumphant and became Pharoah’s #1 guy. Even then, Joseph gave God all the Glory. The truth is that the Lord allows suffering to train us, mold us, and lead us for his purposes.
Suffering is one of the Lord’s greatest tools for strengthening our faith. God wants to bless us but not with the things that the world desires.
Mat 6:20-21 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
In March my husband and I were vacationing and doing the tourist thing with the local shops, and we went into a jewelry store. I happened to see a beautiful gold band with an opal and it looked just like a ring I saw years ago and wanted very badly. It also had a man’s matching ring. We looked and looked and thought this would be a great new set of wedding rings for us. I said, let’s think about it. As we walked out of the store I heard in the spirit, “Store up your treasures in Heaven”. I told my husband that “The Lord wants us to store up our treasures in heaven, so we can’t buy the rings”.. “Oh, okay” he said, and I forget all about them. When I knew that the Lord did not want us to have these rings, my desire for them vanished.
Do not listen to man’s unbiblical words but instead know the Bible and the Lord will speak His words and guide you.
If you are seeking or praying for POWER..instead ask for HUMILITY and that the Lord will use you as He sees fit.
If you are seeking PROSPERITY/WEALTH…instead ask God what He wants you to GIVE UP.
If you want HEALING , instead ask the Lord in His mercy to give you or someone else ENDURANCE and STRENGTH while suffering, like Paul who endured the “thorn in his flesh”.
These things are not bad in themselves, and He will bless us and answer prayer as He sees fit, but we are not to love the world and we are to deny ourselves.
Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and i know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me”.
kim
articles on the Word of Faith teachings can be found here:
The body of Christ is on a collision course. The day will come when the fact will be realized that the church has completely fallen away from faith. A day of apostasy, truly a day of sorrow. But the Lord always keeps a remnant which is good news indeed.
Many will ask, what do you mean the church has fallen away? Look at all the church goers. l go to church every Sunday, pray and believe in God. But you know what? This is not enough. The reason being is that a great deception is infiltrating the church of today. Yes, people do go to church every Sunday, but what happens the rest of the week? Work, play, eat, sleep, work, eat, play and so on it goes. Back to church on Sunday to pay your respects to God making you appear respectable, and back to the old same routine, back to your same old self.
So, one has to ask himself… Can one be devoted to the Lord only one day a week? Is one day a week of righteousness really pleasing to the Lord? I know..I know.. I will say it for you….I am a good person what more does God want?
What God wants is your total surrender….
I desperately want to be always in God’s will. When i feel that i am, i am so humbled in the realization of His mighty greatness. That He would even consider using me to glorify Him, instantly bows me down to his feet to be his servant forever. How is that when He uses me i feel so humbled? It is the only way that He can truly use me or you. Daily i ask Him, “Lord, please use me to do your will. I want to please and serve only you. Open doors that you want me to walk through, close doors i am not to enter”.
I encountered a woman who was buying a cross for a friend who she said was “spiritual”. I know another woman who says that she is not religious but “spiritual”. I know not what she means, but i know that she does not confess Jesus Christ as her Saviour, and i know that she does not read the Bible. I dare not try to know the heart of others, it is not my place, but it makes me wonder who will be deceived in the end times. Many Christians do not know the word of God anymore and have no discernment whatsoever.
Mat: 24: 4-5 says “…Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
Luke 18:8 “…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
What a horrible question to ponder… when Jesus returns, will he find any believers? Christians who do not know the word of God or who do not have a personal relationship with Him will be deceived. Listen to a description of the last generation…
II Tim 3:1-2 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers…despisers of those that are good…lovers of pleasures more than God, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Sound familiar? Men shall be lovers of their own selves. This is what is happening in the Word of Faith teaching with the well-known advocates calling themselves, “little gods” and with contemplative spirituality seeking the “god within”.
Mystical spiritualism, Word of Faith/Prosperity/Health teachings, the blending of paganism with Christianity, Mega churches that do not teach the gospel anymore are all concerns for the church today.
It is a cruel joke that Satan plays…making people believe his lies..that they can have material wealth… heal and save themselves by speaking forth the words, being saved by a religious system devised by man. What a cruel ending there will be when one gives in to these deceptions. Do not let Satan reign supreme instead of letting the Supreme reign in your life.
Going to church on Sundays is not enough. You need to read and study the Bible daily for yourself. If you are truly seeking Him and are interacting with the Holy Spirit, the Word will come alive and thrill you, speak to you and give you instruction on how to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Live each and every moment for Him. Allow the Lord to direct every facet of your life. Let His living gospel change you EVERY DAY and compel you to share this joy and good news with others.
If you do not study the Bible, and hear his word, you may fall asleep at the wheel, and what will your fate be?
kim
I had fun with this little quiz about demons. Try it and see how you do!
Continued from:
Part 3 Contemplative Spirituality
Contemplative Spirituality – A belief system thatuses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence), and is rooted in mysticism and the occult, but often is wrapped in Christian terminology. The premise of Contemplative Spirituality is Pantheistic (God is All) and Panentheistic (God is in All). – Lighthouse Trails Research
On my last post I went over Yoga, Meditation, Contemplative Prayer, Channeling and Visualization. The post was getting way too long so I decided to split it up.
Now onto:
Reiki/Therapeutic Massage
When I first started researching Reiki, I realized that I had seen this word somewhere before but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
It didn’t take long before it came to me. I saw it on of a wall of a massage therapist. Because of an auto injury, massage therapy was recommended and I went about 4 times. On the fourth visit I was witnessing to the therapist. It was at this time that she told me that she was going to “try something new” on me. Well I didn’t know it at the time but I guess she was going to try a reiki treatment on me. As soon as she started to lay her hand on me, she jerked her hand away. Startled, she told me that she had just received a shock. ” I won’t be trying that again” she joked. The bad part is that she was not going to tell me of her intention to try an alternative treatment besides the basic massage approved by my insurance company, and I would not have known the difference.
The Lord was protecting me, and He let me experience this situation so i could relate this incident. That is what I believe anyway.
Reiki was developed by a Japanese Buddhist, Dr. Mikau Usai. The word translates REI (universe), KI (life-energy). The two Japanese characters together express the unification of body and soul. It is pronounced ray’-kee.
After fasting for 21 days on Mt. Kurama in 1914, Usai was “enlightened”. He said “When I fasted I touched an intense energy and in a mysterious manner I was inspired (I received the reiki energy).”
Apparently, the reiki energy enters the body of the master at the chakra at the base of the skull just above the neck and it is released into the other person with the hands. It is believed that the patient is taking in the energy as it passes through the chakras, meridians and the nervous system along the spine. The reiki practitioner uses rituals to pass the universal energy to the patient. It seems that the origins of this healing energy power is unknown or unexplained except that it comes from the Source, God, spirit, or the Force.
Christians who are using reiki say that Jesus used this power to heal. I do not believe this to be true in any sense. When Jesus healed the sick all the glory was given to God. This healing method does not point to Jesus at all and is similar to occult methods.
I like what Marcia Montenegro says about reiki and Jesus.
“Jesus being the Son of God, did not need a technique, but healed because His nature was the same as God’s (which is what being the “Son of God” signifies), and God is the Healer and Giver of Life. Jesus’ miracles of healing were not just to cure, however, but were a sign that He was the promised Messiah.”
To find out more there is a website by Marcia Montenegro that i recommend.
http://cana.userworld.com/cana_reiki1.html
Now there is nothing wrong with a good massage because it can be an effective stress reducer, such as a Swedish, deep tissue, or sports massage. But if the practitioner makes any comments as to chakras, kundalini, energy fields, or anything close to these terms, then you need to rethink your decision to accept such treatment. Do not expose yourself to any occult methods.
Therapeutic Touch is a form of psychic healing by the channeling of the therapist’s prana into the patient, which induces healing from the process. Again we see a practice that is occult in nature and Christian’s need to be aware and careful.
kim
Next: Goddess Worship
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