Trade for Care.

Care is the rarest commodity in town these days. Care when the world goes on when one of my colleagues failed to see his father for the last time, as he passed away mins before he got to the hospital. There is a lack or absence of care when I at night walked among the Malay community as they peddled their wares in barely decent stall in the heat of the night, earning that meagre sum of money to feed their family. And how about when so called ‘Christian leaders’ put an imaginary chain of bondage on their flock that to say being POOR is not of God and the list goes on and on, that the lack of care numbs us to the gross injustice we see everyday around us, when truth is no longer the most precious commodity, it is just another relative term that is traded loosely. As fast as the foundation of Lehman Brothers was demolished by greeds of the Americans, Truth is replaced by Me’ism in the days of these super preachers, that the foundation of Christian faith is no longer a safe place, and has become just another place to get prosperity. I am sick of such life, that the entire generation, or rather the entire world seems to have lost its own identity both Christians, and Non Christians.

The Church we were meant to be.

Back after a long absence from the blogosphere, and here, after a short bible study discussion yesterday with Veron, Mercy and Boon Wan, on the topic of Church. There was an interesting thought to the role of Church and how we Christians have a responsibility within the Church.

The Church is an extension of the ministry of Jesus, as well as the representative of the Kingdom of God on earth. When Jesus left, He left the Church a mandate, that is to go into the world and tell His Story of redemption and salvation, and second, to make disciples. That we have so often called ‘the Great Commission’ but failed to realise that it is the mandate handed over from Christ to the Church, and that is what the Church should exist for.

I asked them a question, why is the Christianity so attractive in the early church and why it is so repulsive today? It is because the Christians today have failed or rather the Church have failed to live out the 100% holiness that is demanded of the Church. We have failed to live out the Christian principles that we proclaimed with our mouth, but in our lifestyles, we live so differently.

When preachers travel in their private jet, live in a multi-million dollar mansion, driving an expensive car, and i wonder, quite often, is this the Christianity i have come to live by? Or is the Christianity lived out by Heidi Baker where she gave up everything she has for the poor, the abused, to bring hope to the hopelessness? Why is there such a wide difference in the two end of the Christianity that on one, i find their brand of Christianity nothing more than a self glorified Gucci suit, and on the other end, Jesus with skin on.

The question remains, where our decision to lead us to position ourselves, will determine how we live for Christ, and how the Church will be.

Prosperty and Health in our Gospel message

This caught my attention on one of the article

“Christians sometimes are, rightfully, less focused on this world and sometimes we do that to a fault,” said Diggs. “I am diametrically opposed to the health-and-wealth prosperity teachings, but that isn’t to say that God doesn’t bless people financially.”

This reminded me of what God brought to my attention not long ago, that i do not need to be overly righteous, nor overly wicked, and maintaining a balance, the above sentence echoes the sentiment of my stance towards Health and Wealth teachings, that i oppose it however who am i to say God doesn’t bless one financially. I believe where our heart is, there our treasure would be also. In another word, it is not the accessibility of wealth that our Christian walk is depended on but rather on the every word of God has spoken with relation to Him. If we remain focused on that and rooted that principle in our lives, be it health, or ill health, wealth or broke, what is it to stop us from praising God and following Him wholeheartedly?

The breed of evil

The truth is that so often, Christians are numbed to wrong doctrines and teachings. As my eyes caught the title of the Elijah List newsletter this morning, which reads two articles

Kingdom Wealth
Ahwatukee (Phoenix), Arizona
With Patricia King and Joshua Mills
Worship with Steve Swanson
God’s promise is to meet all our needs exceedingly and abundantly beyond our ability to ask or imagine! He is a God without limit, and in Him there is provision and blessing that we have not even begun to tap into. Join Patricia King and Joshua Mills as they teach, preach, and prophesy the bounty of God into your life. You will learn to position yourself to see ever-increasing manifestations of the Lord’s plenty not only in finances, but in every are of your life. Come and learn to grab hold of Kingdom Wealth as you never have before!

and

The New Mystics
Phoenix (Mesa), Arizona
With Patricia King, John Crowder, Jamie Galloway, Jason Westerfield, and worship with Steve Swanson
There is a new breed of believer being raised up in this hour. One who is willing to embrace the mysteries of the Christian walk to wander deep into the heart of God and the power of the cross. This new breed is a generation of seekers who have said yes to all God has, no matter what the cost. It is not a generation based on age or experience, but one based on hunger. Do you long to be a member of this new breed God is establishing? If so, join this gathering of prophets, preachers and teachers as they delve into the secrets of God and see the Kingdom revealed to us all.

The two very teachings that have subverted the churches today with Lust of Greed, New Age teachings that on the surface, seems all godly and right, but ask the question. Is the Kingdom of God about wealth? And what about Mystics? Are we to go back to Merton’s Catholic mysticism that is enwtined with Eastern paganism?

Question is, what is the Gospel? Can the above two teachings co-exist with the Gospel of Jesus. In very short summary, can wealth and mysticism, be part of a gospel that is Christ-centred, NOT man, and the ultimate fulfillment of our being can only be found in Christ, not wealth. When preachers and teachers twisted the Word of God to words that people want to hear, they diluted the very central teachings of the Gospel. It is a message of God’s Love for us that He sent Christ to die for our sins, and through that we might find Salvation through Christ’s substitutionary death on the Cross and through His resurrection, a Hope that we will be too, be resurrected in glory with Him. It is all about the message, and let’s not divert from it.

I have put here a video, and which Mercy and I had a rather huge disagreement about his overly emotional outbursts.

Tell me what’s wrong?

Faith under siege

The modern Christianity is at best a confusing to the best intended seekers of truth. On one hand, preachers or self styled prophets with their message at a price, price you can pay with your bank account, to pseudo ministers advocating paganism, atheism, and new age practices as acts of faith.

Deeper into the message of self styled prosperity gospel, lays the danger of introducing heretical doctrines that not only undermined the Authority of the Scriptures but the Gospel. Never with once, the centrality of the Christian Faith lies in our material wealth or how much can God bless His people with so much material wealth, with the exception of Solomon, for he is indeed wealthy beyond count. Looking at Solomon’s life, he led a life of rebellion, lust, and abandoned betrayal of his first love. Shall we heed the wise Solomon’s warning, all is vanity including our material wealth and the prosperity gospel preachers? As it is, we see how true Solomon’s message in the ongoing investigation of these preachers in their lavished lifestyle, that can’t match what the Bible preaches. While we see their sin being exposed, their message diluted, their testimonies watered down, I pray that they too will repent and proclaim victorious through Jesus, like one of my respected man – Jim Bakker, who openly admitted he was wrong and now is being used by God to be His mouthpiece to serve, than to be served.

For self designated prophets with all their false prophecies, I am not surprised nor am i shocked by their audacity in proudly proclaiming and yet, the scriptures is true, a prophet is judged by his prophecies. People like Benny Hinn, Kim Clement, and many who came in the name of Christ, prophesies in His name, yet, missing out on the very purpose of such proclaimation ought to achieve, to bring all who listened to the attention of God Himself, be it a message to call people to repentance, to focus our attention on God despite persecution, offering hope that Jesus is true to His promises He will be back and it is all about Him, not the prophet. As we hear our Father’s heart, we all can be discerning on these false prophet’s message that seems to be so ‘Christianized’ but denying the power of the Cross.

Underneath all these, I see the darker, more sinister forces at work, with these false prophets, false teachers heralding the arrival of ministers disguised in sheeps clothing, to preaching a message that deny all Christ’s divinity and His character. Saying the virgin birth is a myth, restyling the entire new testament to strip off all miracles, they have rendered Christ to mere human. With such travesty, they have no qualms in even having a version of the bible that is nothing more than a bible of atheism. Indeed, the Christian Church is under fire, with enemies laying siege all around, and we shall sit in and wait for the our commander to come to our rescue.

Prosperity Gospel preachers under investigation

The consequences of iniquities will find us out, this is an eternal principle which governs the righteousness of God and His judgment is fair. For years, i have written against the message of prosperity gospel which the fruits of the preachers will be judged. As God used the wicked Babylonians to judge Judah and Israel, so God will use the system outside of the Church to judge them, if the Church is incapable to do so.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has commissioned a thorough investigation on six prominent prosperity gospel preachers.

• Kenneth and Gloria Copeland
• Creflo and Taffi Dollar
• Benny Hinn
• Bishop Eddie Long
• Joyce and David Meyer
• Randy and Paula White

The above six ministries are under investigation for irregular tax reports and various financial activities that don’t comply to the laws governing religious organisations in America.

In many cases, these preachers live an extravagant lifestyle above humility Christ shown us in his ministry on earth, these preachers are more concerned about building their own kingdom here on earth. Often to the expenses of poor communities in America and around the world. Many ministries involving these six and affiliated are under investigations, including Oral Robert University where Kenneth and Gloria Copeland are in the board of regents, is under investigation and involving a financial scandal on its own.

Just in Singapore for the last few weeks, after the NKF (National Kidney Foundation), a charitable organization which was investigated, the latest being Ren Ci Organization, a charitable buddhist organization is now being investigated for the huge amount of money they solicitation through TV charity shows, and irregularities in their investment and loans to companies.

The root of prosperity gospel is in the greed where these preachers, whether knowingly or not, has blinded them. Despite the potential reach of their ministries to tell the world about Christ, their testimonies are now a blight in light of Christ’s and has shown us, the Church, that we are all guilty for not being a watchman and to judge each other in love.

We need to watch each other’s lifestyle and doctrines that we remain accountable and blameless even before the world that we will not shame the name of Jesus. I can’t say the same with these super preachers of their own message of greed.