The mailing read: "Was one of your New Year's resolutions to find
more daily time with God?" Boy, if that don't be all? Now the idea
of spending time with God is based on a yearly resolution? Hummm...I
wonder what the catch is? The mailing goes on to say: "At our Ministry
we don't want your New Year's resolution of spending time with God to
fall by the wayside." oh! Oh!.."Fall By the Wayside?"
What is this Ministry implying? What is the underline message? Wait,
it gets better. The mailing continues with: "We want (notice that
it is what they want not what you want) your goal of having a regular,
productive daily time with the Lord to become a lifestyle."
Man, if I didn't know any better, I think I am being sold a 3 dollar
bill of religious goods. How clever and well worded and captivating
is the approach to get money out of you. Look at what the Ministry is
asking of you as a New Year's resolution: "To encourage you in
this, we are currently offering our very popular yearly devotional,
"One Year with Jesus in the Gospels." "Use these short
readings to allow God to speak to you through His word, then keep the
verse hidden in your heart during the day so the Holy Spirit can continue
to share truths (truths?- give me a break!) from that scripture (scripture?)
with you as you go about your daily routine."
Why don't these Ministry's just come right out and say: "Hey, we
need money to pay for the vision that God had given us about expanding
our building and ministerial work?" "Our vision will only
be made possible by your giving." "We made a mistake and envisioned
more than we could afford, it must have been the pizza we ate the night
before we had the vision." Now, what is the underline true reason
and the reading between the lines message here? What is the legalistic
approach and one liner of condemnation and guilt?
Well, here it goes. The smooth and clever mailing is to let you know
that if you don't make more time to spend with God, He might just leave
you all by yourself as He leaves your presence. The Ministry wants you
to make a New Year's Resolution that you will promise God to spend more
time with Him than in any other previous year. And the way to make sure
you keep your promise to God is by being more productive and making
your relationship with Him as part of your lifestyle. Never mind the
fact that God said "He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Never mind the fact that Jesus said that He is now in you and with you
even to the ends of the world. That no one shall be able to pluck you
out of His hand. That you are complete in Him and that God has shed
abroad into your hearts the Holy Spirit. Friends, it all gets more and
more weird by the minute. Maybe these Ministry's and ministers need
to make their own New Year's resolution by promising that they will
stop eating pizza late at night to avoid visions and deceptive man imagined
revelations, and that they will go out and get a job to pay for their
religious mistakes.
Hey friends, we need to learn how to read between the lines and be wise
enough to understand the underline sneaky and clever deceptive purpose
behind many of these mailing. They are all about getting you to give
money under conditional old testament laws and putting you under guilt,
fear and condemnation by telling you in so many words, that if you don't
do as they want, then God is going to leave your presence and leave
you alone. Lies! Lies! Lies! I may have been born at night, but not
last night. I got their number and know their game. My Mama didn't raise
no fool. Under His grace I sit by His throne. Our relationship with
God is not dependent on any New Year's resolution of works or performance.
David said: "Even if I make my bed in Hell, there The Lord is with
me." Take a hike Jack. You can't fool me, and I am not for sale.
My life was bought with His precious blood and I now have an eternal
life resolution of grace with The Lord who said that He will never leave
me nor forsake me. This Gospel of the grace of God is creating a revolution
of the heart letting people know that it is Christ, Minus Them, Plus
Nothing."
Grace N Peace
Eddie Narvaez