Enjoying the Journey

Warning - this post very well may offend you. It is also a bit long. I encourage you to pray, read the scriptures etc. for your own opinion. But, do not continue to read unless you are up for a challenge. Comments (clean ones only) are welcomed!

Last week, I was taking a walk, when I saw a newspaper that caught my eye. The front of it said, "The Revelation Will Be Televised, A Charlotte-Based Media Group brings A Prosperous Gospel to the B**b Tube." I had to pick it up.

This newspaper magazine is more of a local thing, catching you up on the happenings in the Charlotte metro area. It is not the daily or weekender or even the county paper. However, it had a picture of Jesus on a television. Something inside of me wanted to know what other people who aren't immersed in following the Lord, think. I wanted to see the "other side" of the coin.

When I began reading the article I was sickened within minutes. Not by the author and what they thought, but more by how "christians" are perceived. Friends, I was literally grieved to almost tears. I had the knot in my throat going and this fire inside of me that said, "enough is enough."

I read the entire article, all 4 pages of it. The article talked about a local media group that has the largest christian media network in the country. It explained its future endeavors, the people who run it, how much they get paid, etc.

But then, it when on to talk about what this network views each day. The writer focused on those who promote the "prosperity message." She talked about preachers sharing the gospel, claiming people can get healed, and then asking for a check or "donation." She even went as far as to try it herself, calling one of the men who claimed that a green prosperity handkerchief prayed over by him could "help you start receiving God's Blessings!" Of course, added to the the handkerchief was a plea requesting her to send her, "biggest bill (or check) to carry on all the work of the ministry."

I am going to stop here for a minute so that we can all catch our breath .....

Ready??? Cause here is comes....

Oh. My. Goodness. There is a world of people out there that need to know the real Jesus. The one who never put His hand out for a donation after someone was healed. There are people everyday who desperately want to be loved, who have NO HOPE. They go day in and day out dealing with circumstances that seem overwhelming. These people NEED a savior. Someone who is REAL, who cares about them and only them.

The prosperity message, has gone too far. It is time to get real. Look at how we are perceived as "christians."

"The Lord will heal you, but don't forget to add a dollar or two to my pocket...."

"All you have to do is pray and it will be given to you - anything...."

I am so tired of listening to people pray with an order form to the Lord. What is wrong with this world, when we as "christians" start going to our Lord trying to advance our own kingdoms? We have preachers all over the place encouraging people that God wants us to be millionaires.

Let's get something straight, I perfectly well believe that the Lord will take care of all of my needs and even my extras. But when I pray, I want the Lord to advance His Kingdom, not mine. Regardless of whether or not I have the newest car or even sneakers for that matter, it should be about Him, not me. And I refuse to believe that if the Lord uses me to minister to someones deepest need, that I should then in turn ask them to put money into my pocket.

We are not in business here!!! If God so chooses to work through me to heal someone, to encourage, to speak a word of knowledge, to give to them, anything.... then it is not a transaction. We do not need to get paid for that!!!

We are showing those people who really need the Lord that He will only speak to you if you SHOW HIM THE MONEY.

It is time for the real Jesus people to stand up and humbly show the rest of the world what it means to be a christian. Many times I have heard that we are in a time where more and more people are coming to the Lord through miracles and healings.

Do we want this to stop? Do we want those of us who really do hear from the Lord, whose hearts are to see the sick healed, be turned away by a people who just think we want more money?

The fact is we have got to get into the mentality of advancing HIS kingdom, not ours. We have to stop putting our selfish desires first. We have to stop worrying about having the latest and the greatest and start worrying about the neighbors around us who are lost.

We really need to take into consideration what nationally known televised "christians" are leading others to believe.

We need to be real. We need to be genuine. We need to be pure and holy. We need to be about Jesus, not about ourselves.

The author, who I am going to go out on a limb and believe she doesn't have a real relationship with our Father in Heaven, got a dose of the Americanized Prosperity Preacher. Rightfully so, she wrote about it and publicized to tens of thousands of people in the area. My gut says, that most of the people who read the article probably don't know Him. They are walking around, lost, hurting, suffering, confused, and tired, desperately wanting to be fully loved. They hear about this Jesus, who could actually save them from this life.

And then they hear two things... He will make you rich, but first, give to a man who claims he will heal you....

Posted in: on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at at 8:14 PM