All is yours...

Today, I listened to a pastor take on a "pastor" who preaches the world and not the Word. I won't name this particular man, but suffice it to say that he and his wife are Nationally known as the "pastors" of one of the largest "churches" in the Nation.

This man is a great motivational speaker, if you're not looking for spiritual guidance, because he doesn't give it. Sure, he throws in God's name, and even Jesus's name for good measure, but the concepts he uses are the "name-it-and-claim-it" type of methods. If you speak it out loud, and believe it, then it will happen. That God wants you to have an abundant life, that it was preordained before you were created. Oy!

Seems to me that this happened in history once...In the book of Luke, and of course other of the Gospels...Luke 4 tells of Satan's temptation of Christ:

Luke 4New King James Version (NKJV)

Satan Tempts Jesus

4 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into[a] the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4 But Jesus answered him, saying,[b] “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[c]

5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him[d] all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan![e] For[f] it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”[g]

9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’

11 and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[h]

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”[i]

13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Satan encouraged Jesus to speak his desires, and they would become reality. But, Jesus knew, and knows that every good thing comes from the Father. The Father who knew you before you were born...the Father that sees you through every trial, every temptation. Who is grieved when you grieve, who rejoices when you rejoice, who wants nothing more than to give you all you desire. But, it is not without a caveat. That is, salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to atone for your sins and the sins of the world. 

Ever since Adam and Eve, and the fall of man, each and every human being born afterwards have been conceived and born into the sin nature. When one is of an age where they are aware of the difference between good and evil, then accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior gives them all the privileges and rights of a Child of God, but that doesn't mean that our lives will be a bed of roses. Because this life is established in a world that is steeped in sin, our best life is not until we are Home. Don't get me wrong, a Christian can have a wonderful life here on earth, but their best lives are established in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Don't allow those who speak  only what you want to hear, and not what you need to hear to have your obedience. Make sure that if you are looking for a church that it teaches and preaches the entire Word of God, and that the pastor does not cherry pick...only speaking on things that make you happy, that you want to hear. One cannot know good without knowing the bad stuff that sits right there with it. One cannot have an abundant life without facing sacrifice of some kind. The world tells us that we can have everything at the touch of a button...that everything is good in each one's own eyes. But God says that everything that is good comes from me, and that not everything in this this world is good. The Bible says that in the end days that people will be lovers of themselves, doing what they believe is good in their own eyes. Looks like we have a chicken dinner here...but those who fall into the description are not winners, but have lost sight of what is right. 

Okay, I'm done with my soapbox, but please people, if you are looking for someone to lead and teach the Word of God, know the Scriptures yourself. If they take anything out of context...if they speak anything that is contrary to the Word of God, then run, don't walk to the nearest exit.