[img][/img][img][/img][img][/img]Just uploaded a new post on my blog, and thought to share it here . Apparently this is my first thread , so i am kinda new to this. Had problems uploading pics and doing other stuff, so you could check out the post on the blog, its more interactive. http://mywordthots./2013/01/02/finding-the-balance/


FINDING THE BALANCE

Balance: an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady...The OXFORD Dictionary



In our society today, balanced ideas, opinions and teachings are kind of scarce. Man's thinking often times gets warped, moving him towards various extremes. In the world, we see the result of these extremes: the Connecticut shootings, bombings, looting by politicians and the deception played out by some religious leaders. These extremes are caused by either the ignorance of man or his perversion of the truth and many times it’s the later. Over the years, men have twisted certain truths for selfish purposes; one of the many casualties of this is financial prosperity.
The word of God can be interpreted in various ways, for edification or for private gain; sadly, many have chosen the later, twisting scriptures for personal benefit.

Several years before I was born, poverty was said to be next to Godliness (then it wasn’t cleanliness, it was poverty!). Men lived soberly, struggling from day to day trying to make ends meet. Back then, being wretched and miserable was synonymous to humility and Godliness. For example if all a man had was a pair of worn-out shoes, trousers with pockets eaten out by cockroaches and a faded shirt, he was seen to be humble and Godly. The norm was to live miserable here and enjoy over there. Like that famous Yoruba saying Earth was just a marketplace and Heaven was home. The watchword: “suffer here and enjoy there”.

Then the financial prosperity message came on board, and men came to the reality of God's provision. Many walked in this reality, seeing their daily needs met. Steady supplies came not just to satisfy their families but also those around them. Unbelievers of this message saw the results and instantly became converts desiring to live the same reality. Truly in this reality they lived, and thanks to the various testimonies, they made even more converts.

But as the years passed by, men stretched this; seeking to enrich themselves, they laid aside contentment and embraced greed. They cooked up various laws, principles and techniques of kingdom wealth, turning themselves into clients of a magician God (seeking His gifts and nothing else). For many, it became all about the houses, cars and good things of life. In recent times this has worsened; nowadays, there’s a craze for the “material”, many have gone from seeking God to seeking the gifts. His hand is sought first before His face. Today, quite a number of Christians lay up treasures here on earth where moths and rust “corrupt” them. The new watchword: “get all you can, can all you get and sit on the can”.

The financial (material) prosperity message isn't the problem in itself but that men have perverted it. What we have today is greed caused by the perversion of man but I guess it would be wrong to throw away the baby with the bathwater. To say financial (material) prosperity message isn’t part of the gospel, would be another extreme based on ignorance of Gods word. (2Cor. 9:8, Phil. 4:19, Matt. 6:32-33, Ps. 37:25)

The reason for financial (material) prosperity isn't for enriching ourselves and feeding our greed, but rather it’s for being a blessing to those around us (2 Cor. 9:10-14). God wants to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, but He wants us to seek Him first and not the supplies. Our passion should never be for the things, but for His kingdom. The things come as an addition (Matt. 6:33).
Contentment is key; knowing God is primary, it's not so much about enriching ourselves. The problem with chasing things is our hearts gets captured by them, and our service goes to them instead of God. We make mini gods out of these things (worshipping them) and like we all know no man can serve two masters, one has to bow out for the other.
The things come as an addition; unlike the world we won't have to cheat, steal or kill to get them; they will come easier than expected when we seek God first.

God wants us "rich", but not in the world's context. When we say “rich” what comes to many minds are the billionaires and millionaires of the world and I guess that's the problem. That word needs to be defined differently, being “rich” in this context, means having a full supply, having enough to satisfy you and to be a blessing to others. So a man can be "rich" in millions and a man can also be "rich" in thousands.
Not everybody will be a millionaire! Contentment is key and I think we should preach that more. God promised to give a full supply, not make us the billionaires or millionaires of the world. For some it will be billions, others millions and yet some others thousands.

I know many have said Jesus was rich in the world’s context (fat bank account and all) for quite a number of reasons (having a treasurer and all) but I bet to disagree. That conclusion is merely based on assumptions. For example, having a treasurer is no sign of having a lot of money; many organizations have treasurers and yet are broke. So having a treasurer doesn’t prove anything.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus had his needs met per time; loaves of bread, the fishes, the colt etc. For most of these things God supplied his needs in a divine way.
Jesus didn't have to spend a thousand dollars to buy the colt he rode on neither did he order for the “burgers” that fed the five thousand, I mean even his ATM was a fish! God met his needs supernaturally. At those points the treasury could have been empty, but yet God came through, now that’s the balanced prosperity message! The whole point isn't thinking of various ways and principles to "get things", but rather learning to depend and trust God to supply our needs while seeking Him first.
Christianity is not a get rich quick scheme (it’s not pennywise). Our God is a generous giver and supplier, but we should seek him for him, not the gifts.

This truth has in recent time really liberated me, helping me put things in right perspective and redefine my reason for living. My service and love for God isn't for the things anymore, though it used to be; I mean at some point that was all I could think of (good job, good wife, cars, houses and all). For me it was all about the material until I realised that even unbelievers lived with these things (money, houses, cars and all). That really pointed out something to me: Christianity is beyond the material. There’s so much more to us than the things. There’s so much more to our faith, so much more....so much more. My new watchword: “Philippians 3:10”
[img]Just uploaded a new post on my blog, and thought to share it here . Apparently this is my first thread , so i am kinda new to this. Had problems uploading pics and doing other stuff, so you could check out the post on the blog, its more interactive. http://mywordthots./2013/01/02/finding-the-balance/


FINDING THE BALANCE

Balance: an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady...The OXFORD Dictionary



In our society today, balanced ideas, opinions and teachings are kind of scarce. Man's thinking often times gets warped, moving him towards various extremes. In the world, we see the result of these extremes: the Connecticut shootings, bombings, looting by politicians and the deception played out by some religious leaders. These extremes are caused by either the ignorance of man or his perversion of the truth and many times it’s the later. Over the years, men have twisted certain truths for selfish purposes; one of the many casualties of this is financial prosperity.
The word of God can be interpreted in various ways, for edification or for private gain; sadly, many have chosen the later, twisting scriptures for personal benefit.

Several years before I was born, poverty was said to be next to Godliness (then it wasn’t cleanliness, it was poverty!). Men lived soberly, struggling from day to day trying to make ends meet. Back then, being wretched and miserable was synonymous to humility and Godliness. For example if all a man had was a pair of worn-out shoes, trousers with pockets eaten out by cockroaches and a faded shirt, he was seen to be humble and Godly. The norm was to live miserable here and enjoy over there. Like that famous Yoruba saying Earth was just a marketplace and Heaven was home. The watchword: “suffer here and enjoy there”.

Then the financial prosperity message came on board, and men came to the reality of God's provision. Many walked in this reality, seeing their daily needs met. Steady supplies came not just to satisfy their families but also those around them. Unbelievers of this message saw the results and instantly became converts desiring to live the same reality. Truly in this reality they lived, and thanks to the various testimonies, they made even more converts.

But as the years passed by, men stretched this; seeking to enrich themselves, they laid aside contentment and embraced greed. They cooked up various laws, principles and techniques of kingdom wealth, turning themselves into clients of a magician God (seeking His gifts and nothing else). For many, it became all about the houses, cars and good things of life. In recent times this has worsened; nowadays, there’s a craze for the “material”, many have gone from seeking God to seeking the gifts. His hand is sought first before His face. Today, quite a number of Christians lay up treasures here on earth where moths and rust “corrupt” them. The new watchword: “get all you can, can all you get and sit on the can”.

The financial (material) prosperity message isn't the problem in itself but that men have perverted it. What we have today is greed caused by the perversion of man but I guess it would be wrong to throw away the baby with the bathwater. To say financial (material) prosperity message isn’t part of the gospel, would be another extreme based on ignorance of Gods word. (2Cor. 9:8, Phil. 4:19, Matt. 6:32-33, Ps. 37:25)

The reason for financial (material) prosperity isn't for enriching ourselves and feeding our greed, but rather it’s for being a blessing to those around us (2 Cor. 9:10-14). God wants to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, but He wants us to seek Him first and not the supplies. Our passion should never be for the things, but for His kingdom. The things come as an addition (Matt. 6:33).
Contentment is key; knowing God is primary, it's not so much about enriching ourselves. The problem with chasing things is our hearts gets captured by them, and our service goes to them instead of God. We make mini gods out of these things (worshipping them) and like we all know no man can serve two masters, one has to bow out for the other.
The things come as an addition; unlike the world we won't have to cheat, steal or kill to get them; they will come easier than expected when we seek God first.

God wants us "rich", but not in the world's context. When we say “rich” what comes to many minds are the billionaires and millionaires of the world and I guess that's the problem. That word needs to be defined differently, being “rich” in this context, means having a full supply, having enough to satisfy you and to be a blessing to others. So a man can be "rich" in millions and a man can also be "rich" in thousands.
Not everybody will be a millionaire! Contentment is key and I think we should preach that more. God promised to give a full supply, not make us the billionaires or millionaires of the world. For some it will be billions, others millions and yet some others thousands.

I know many have said Jesus was rich in the world’s context (fat bank account and all) for quite a number of reasons (having a treasurer and all) but I bet to disagree. That conclusion is merely based on assumptions. For example, having a treasurer is no sign of having a lot of money; many organizations have treasurers and yet are broke. So having a treasurer doesn’t prove anything.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus had his needs met per time; loaves of bread, the fishes, the colt etc. For most of these things God supplied his needs in a divine way.
Jesus didn't have to spend a thousand dollars to buy the colt he rode on neither did he order for the “burgers” that fed the five thousand, I mean even his ATM was a fish! God met his needs supernaturally. At those points the treasury could have been empty, but yet God came through, now that’s the balanced prosperity message! The whole point isn't thinking of various ways and principles to "get things", but rather learning to depend and trust God to supply our needs while seeking Him first.
Christianity is not a get rich quick scheme (it’s not pennywise). Our God is a generous giver and supplier, but we should seek him for him, not the gifts.

This truth has in recent time really liberated me, helping me put things in right perspective and redefine my reason for living. My service and love for God isn't for the things anymore, though it used to be; I mean at some point that was all I could think of (good job, good wife, cars, houses and all). For me it was all about the material until I realised that even unbelievers lived with these things (money, houses, cars and all). That really pointed out something to me: Christianity is beyond the material. There’s so much more to us than the things. There’s so much more to our faith, so much more....so much more. My new watchword: “Philippians 3:10”
[/img]Just uploaded a new post on my blog, and thought to share it here . Apparently this is my first thread , so i am kinda new to this. Had problems uploading pics and doing other stuff, so you could check out the post on the blog, its more interactive. http://mywordthots./2013/01/02/finding-the-balance/


FINDING THE BALANCE

Balance: an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady...The OXFORD Dictionary



In our society today, balanced ideas, opinions and teachings are kind of scarce. Man's thinking often times gets warped, moving him towards various extremes. In the world, we see the result of these extremes: the Connecticut shootings, bombings, looting by politicians and the deception played out by some religious leaders. These extremes are caused by either the ignorance of man or his perversion of the truth and many times it’s the later. Over the years, men have twisted certain truths for selfish purposes; one of the many casualties of this is financial prosperity.
The word of God can be interpreted in various ways, for edification or for private gain; sadly, many have chosen the later, twisting scriptures for personal benefit.

Several years before I was born, poverty was said to be next to Godliness (then it wasn’t cleanliness, it was poverty!). Men lived soberly, struggling from day to day trying to make ends meet. Back then, being wretched and miserable was synonymous to humility and Godliness. For example if all a man had was a pair of worn-out shoes, trousers with pockets eaten out by cockroaches and a faded shirt, he was seen to be humble and Godly. The norm was to live miserable here and enjoy over there. Like that famous Yoruba saying Earth was just a marketplace and Heaven was home. The watchword: “suffer here and enjoy there”.

Then the financial prosperity message came on board, and men came to the reality of God's provision. Many walked in this reality, seeing their daily needs met. Steady supplies came not just to satisfy their families but also those around them. Unbelievers of this message saw the results and instantly became converts desiring to live the same reality. Truly in this reality they lived, and thanks to the various testimonies, they made even more converts.

But as the years passed by, men stretched this; seeking to enrich themselves, they laid aside contentment and embraced greed. They cooked up various laws, principles and techniques of kingdom wealth, turning themselves into clients of a magician God (seeking His gifts and nothing else). For many, it became all about the houses, cars and good things of life. In recent times this has worsened; nowadays, there’s a craze for the “material”, many have gone from seeking God to seeking the gifts. His hand is sought first before His face. Today, quite a number of Christians lay up treasures here on earth where moths and rust “corrupt” them. The new watchword: “get all you can, can all you get and sit on the can”.

The financial (material) prosperity message isn't the problem in itself but that men have perverted it. What we have today is greed caused by the perversion of man but I guess it would be wrong to throw away the baby with the bathwater. To say financial (material) prosperity message isn’t part of the gospel, would be another extreme based on ignorance of Gods word. (2Cor. 9:8, Phil. 4:19, Matt. 6:32-33, Ps. 37:25)

The reason for financial (material) prosperity isn't for enriching ourselves and feeding our greed, but rather it’s for being a blessing to those around us (2 Cor. 9:10-14). God wants to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, but He wants us to seek Him first and not the supplies. Our passion should never be for the things, but for His kingdom. The things come as an addition (Matt. 6:33).
Contentment is key; knowing God is primary, it's not so much about enriching ourselves. The problem with chasing things is our hearts gets captured by them, and our service goes to them instead of God. We make mini gods out of these things (worshipping them) and like we all know no man can serve two masters, one has to bow out for the other.
The things come as an addition; unlike the world we won't have to cheat, steal or kill to get them; they will come easier than expected when we seek God first.

God wants us "rich", but not in the world's context. When we say “rich” what comes to many minds are the billionaires and millionaires of the world and I guess that's the problem. That word needs to be defined differently, being “rich” in this context, means having a full supply, having enough to satisfy you and to be a blessing to others. So a man can be "rich" in millions and a man can also be "rich" in thousands.
Not everybody will be a millionaire! Contentment is key and I think we should preach that more. God promised to give a full supply, not make us the billionaires or millionaires of the world. For some it will be billions, others millions and yet some others thousands.

I know many have said Jesus was rich in the world’s context (fat bank account and all) for quite a number of reasons (having a treasurer and all) but I bet to disagree. That conclusion is merely based on assumptions. For example, having a treasurer is no sign of having a lot of money; many organizations have treasurers and yet are broke. So having a treasurer doesn’t prove anything.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus had his needs met per time; loaves of bread, the fishes, the colt etc. For most of these things God supplied his needs in a divine way.
Jesus didn't have to spend a thousand dollars to buy the colt he rode on neither did he order for the “burgers” that fed the five thousand, I mean even his ATM was a fish! God met his needs supernaturally. At those points the treasury could have been empty, but yet God came through, now that’s the balanced prosperity message! The whole point isn't thinking of various ways and principles to "get things", but rather learning to depend and trust God to supply our needs while seeking Him first.
Christianity is not a get rich quick scheme (it’s not pennywise). Our God is a generous giver and supplier, but we should seek him for him, not the gifts.

This truth has in recent time really liberated me, helping me put things in right perspective and redefine my reason for living. My service and love for God isn't for the things anymore, though it used to be; I mean at some point that was all I could think of (good job, good wife, cars, houses and all). For me it was all about the material until I realised that even unbelievers lived with these things (money, houses, cars and all). That really pointed out something to me: Christianity is beyond the material. There’s so much more to us than the things. There’s so much more to our faith, so much more....so much more. My new watchword: “Philippians 3:10”

Pls chek the updated version had problems uploading this post.