Category: Interior Life

prosperity

Are Believers Supposed To Be Prosperous? – Part 3

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Last week we looked at the two phases of the kingdom of God and problems with the prosperity gospel. One of the common elements of the prosperity message is the claim that God will bless us financially because of generous giving. Scripture does clearly teach that God will give us some blessing for our generosity. For example, we have the promise in 2 Corinthians 9:6: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (ESV). (See also Jesus’ words at Matthew 6:3-4.) But what type of blessings will God give? Paul makes his thinking on this clear in his letter to the Galatians. He teaches that when believers contribute financially to their ministers their reward is spiritual: Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever Continue Reading →

prosperity

Are Believers Supposed To Be Prosperous – Part 2

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Last week we looked at the contrast between Old Testament and New Testament teaching on prosperity for believers. We saw that there is no promise for prosperity for believers under the new covenant. You might be wondering why there is such a contrast between the old and new covenant in relation to material things. The answer lies in the two-phase nature of the kingdom of God. We are in phase one of the arrival of the kingdom of God, the time of the “already/not yet” or the time of “sowing and growing”. In phase two of the arrival we will have all the material blessings of the new Garden of Eden. We are material beings and God wants us to live richly in his new earth. But in phase one we embrace the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings (Phil. 3:10), we take up our Cross (Matt. 16:24), we live outside the Continue Reading →

prosperity

Are Believers Supposed To Be Prosperous? – Part 1

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Today there is much confusion about the relationship that believers should have to prosperity and wealth. In the Old Testament God promised material prosperity to his faithful followers. When he was bringing them to the promised land he promised prosperity if they followed his law. 12 “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. Deuteronomy 7:12-14 (ESV) In Psalm 81:13, 16 God Continue Reading →

maturity

Do You Passionately Pursue Maturity?

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Jesus and his Apostles clearly taught us that we should pursue maturity. But why? In an earlier post we listed five reasons for pursuing holiness, which is essentially the same as maturity. In this post, we want to focus mostly on the motivation of becoming what God made us to be. If your teenage child stopped growing intellectually and emotionally would you not consider this a cause for great concern and make an exhaustive search for an answer to the problem? Wouldn’t you realize that unless your child resumes their development that they will not become what they should become? Wouldn’t you make every effort to help them achieve adulthood along with its benefits? Likewise, if we allow ourselves to become complacent about our growth just because we have reached “teenage” maturity then are we not choosing to fall far short of what we are meant to be? Are we Continue Reading →

heart love

An Exercise For Believing God’s Love For Us

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The foundation idea of our faith is that God loves us and wants to bless us. This conviction is something that expands throughout our lifetime, but it can also fade. This exercise helps us to keep ourselves abiding in God’s love and to highlight any areas where we might doubt his love. Read through this once as a prayer by replacing references to God with “You”. Then start over and read one line at a time without replacing references to God, as a declaration and acceptance of God’s love. After each line take at least 20 seconds for agreeing with and absorbing it. Choose to believe and be guided by it. This exercise should help you determine how much your heart truly believes in God’s love for you. If you notice resistance or lack of agreement as you read through this, then take some time to reflect on why that Continue Reading →