Honoring your parents

I saw a woman in the elevator at work. She was taking her mom to or from an appointment. The woman’s mother looked to be around eighty or so. She had twinkling blue eyes and she smiled at me. The woman with her mother looked bored and aggravated, as if this action of taking care of her mother was the most unwelcome chore in her life.

I remembered when my Dad was in the hospital at the end of his life. He was very ill, and apologized to me for being such a bother. I thanked him for the great life he provided for me, and told him never to apologize. I said “Dad, you didn’t throw us out when we were too much trouble, you made sure we were fed, sent us to good schools, and never turned your back on us (there were six siblings) even when we deserved it.”

People are living longer now, and many people have taken on the role of caregiver to their aging parent. I see some of them. They are aggravated with their parent for being old and needing care. And, yes, it is difficult. But so were they when they were they were babies, toddlers and teenagers.

If you are in this situation, remember your parent took care of you when you were unlovable. And, the way society is today, your parents could have ignored you, walked away from you, or simply thrown you out of the house.

There is a psychological toll when a care-giving child has to come to terms with the fact that they, the caregiver, are no longer children. It is a kind of forced adulthood. However, do not dishonor your parents. Do not act as if this is a huge inconvenience and wear your distain on your face. No parent wants this situation when the roles reverse.

Remember the fifth commandment:

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 5:16 (ESV). This is not just for kids.

What is so wrong with prosperity

I have been looking at the many objections to prosperity teachings among Christians. I did a word study of the word prosperity and found some interesting information.

Prosperity comes from the Latin word prosperitas and means good fortune and success. The word prosperity was first used in the 13^th century. So what happened in the 13^th century?

“The first hand-written English language Bible manuscripts were produced in the 1380's AD by John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor, scholar, and theologian. Wycliffe was well known throughout Europe for his opposition to the teaching of the organized Church, which he believed to be contrary to the Bible. With the help of his followers, called the Lollards, and his assistant Purvey, and many other faithful scribes, Wycliffe produced dozens of English language manuscript copies of the scriptures. They were translated out of the Latin Vulgate, which was the only source text available to Wycliffe.

I looked at John 1:1  in the handwritten English version. Old English.

Today, the word prosperity means "the condition of being successful or thriving; especially:  economic well-being." (www.merriam-webster.com)  I am thinking that the association with economic success is what causes Christians to pause.  In the Word, we are cautioned: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV).

However, many people forget that it is the love of money, and not the wealth itself, that is the root of all evil. There are many scriptures that point out how riches are deceitful, and those that trust in them trust in vain. Trusting in wealth is foolish. Wealth can come in many forms: a wealth of talent, a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of beauty-trusting in any wealth instead of trusting in God can create a heart of pride and self-confidence.

God wants Christians to be prosperous. God wants His children to be rich in spiritual knowledge, wisdom, spiritual gifts, and in love. He wants His children to thrive. Throughout the Old Testament, God tells Adam, Noah, and the Israelites to be fruitful (abundantly productive, thriving). In the New Testament the Word says: That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Colossians 1:10-11 (KJV)

Our lovely English language, which gave birth to the word "prosperity", has many meanings for the same word. Fruitful, an adjective, means productive, rich, abundant, successful and profitable.  Prosperity, a noun, means success, richness, and wealth.  Each is part of the same theme God has for His people- that we would be abundant in the riches and wealth of His Spirit and multiply the Word of God (Jesus) in the earth.  For the heavens and the voices of angels are “saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”  Revelation 5:12 (ESV)

Why are Christians stoning each other

I was talking to a friend the other day who did not like Joel Olsten. When I googled “Why don’t people like Joel Olsten” I found a few Google pages of websites talking about what was wrong with Joel Olsten. Curious, I search for “why don’t people like Joyce Meyer” and found many websites that spoke against her.

Hummm.  I serve a BIG God who is able to search the hearts of men and bring all things done in darkness into the light. I listen to many preachers and teachers. If they say something I don’t agree with, I pray for wisdom and search the Word of God.  But I was still courious why so many people were so worried God was not BIG enough to tear down a false prophet.

So  I search “false prophets 2014” and I was amazed at what I found. According to one site, listening to religious apostates like Joyce Meyer, Rick Warren and Joel Osteen will lead Christians astray. There is a site that lists the 10 most false prophets naming James Swaggert,  Oral Roberts, Pat Robinson and John Hagee among these. Creflo Dollar is a false prophet at another site.  Another site lists Billy Graham, Kenneth Copeland, and many others as false prophets.

As I searched for false prophets, I found Christian sites naming almost every speaker and minister as a false prophet. So are we all going to hell?

I didn’t find much about who a true prophet was, and that made me feel a little better.

Christians might do better by spending more time reading the Word than judging those who are delivering the Word to the nations. In the Bible I read it says:

 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 (KJV)

I (Paul) appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)

    

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11 (ESV)

So am I going to spend my time obeying the Word of God, or stoning others? 

Understanding the Christian Walk

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (Job 38:4 ESV)

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor 10:21 KJV)

I have a difficult time listening to Christians who believe they alone have the truth. There is one truth-Jesus is Lord. There is one church-the followers of Christ. There is one God.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Tim 3:16). The goal is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, learning to trust God above all else, even our own wall of wisdom.

When I hear Christians bashing other Christians, my heart hurts. Yes, there are wolves in sheep’s clothing, but when we hear servants of the Lord speaking words we don’t necessarily agree with there are proper actions to take.

Pray and ask God why you are having a difficult time with the message.

Gain understanding that words mean different things to different people. How we hear a particular word can be colored by our upbringing, or the place where we stand in our walk. For example, I hear the word “jerk” and it is an affectionate word for me. My Dad use to say, with love, “come here you little jerk”

Choose to disagree without slandering the brother. I had a very difficult time with a one of the days in Rick Warrens 40 Days of Purpose. When I read the sentence “God does not care about….” I closed the book. I was going through a very hard time coping with the death of my grandson.  Later when I read the book, I had less internal pain and more understanding.

Show grace to the brethren.