The Truth of the Prosperity Gospel

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Why we often treat each other poorly

Just because someone is a believer in Jesus Christ does not mean that person is automatically going to be kind to those outside (or inside) the local church.

Awareness of the following information is paramount to proper behavior toward others.
 
If we believe that someone else is in a group to which we belong, we will have positive views of them and give them preferential treatment.

This works because we build our self-esteem through belonging, and the presence of someone from an in-group reminds us of that belonging.

The opposite of in-group bias is out-group bias where, by inference, out-group people are viewed more negatively and given worse treatment. 

This is the basis of racial inequality. It is also the basis of Church inequality.

In-group linguistic bias (in my context - ChurchSpeak) is where out-group people are described in abstract terms (which depersonifies them) when they conform to the out-group stereotype. 

Out-group people will be referred to in more specific, concrete terms when they act in unexpected ways.

This is In-Group Bias, and it is often UGLY.


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LIFE

One of the hardest parts of life is deciding whether to walk away...or try harder.




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We Are All Related

Prideful Leadership Says:

“I need to know everything that is happening around here.”

“If I don’t do it — it won’t be done right.”

“Look what I’ve accomplished.”

“I know all there is to know about this.”

“They’ll do what I say or else.”

“If I left all this would fall apart.”

“Did you hear about what I said/did?”

“I don’t need anyone looking over my shoulder.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“I don’t need anyone else’s opinion. I know I’m right.”

ANY QUESTIONS??????


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My Heart Is Yours

So, what is legalism?

Legalism is an attempt to gain favor with God or to impress our fellow man by doing certain things (or avoiding other things), without regard to the condition of our hearts before God. At the root of legalism is the sin of pride, because the legalist thinks that he is able to commend himself to God by his own good deeds.

Invariably, he is only looking at externals, not at his heart. Also, the legalist’s pride motivates him to exalt himself in the sight of others by his outward behavior, again neglecting to see the corruption of his own heart. 

Thus legalism denies human depravity and exalts human ability. As such, it is opposed to the gospel of God’s grace. That’s why both Jesus and Paul clashed with the legalists.

Jesus hates legalism because it does not deal with the condition of our hearts before God.

Steven J. Cole, 1999

https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-57-why-jesus-hates-legalism-luke-1137-54

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10 ways to spot a legalist in your church

1) They cheapen grace by focusing on what we must do rather than on what Christ has done.

2) They'll say non-sensical things like, "Salvation is free but it will cost you everything you have."

3) They are "fruit inspectors" and hypothesize how much spiritual fruit a person must produce in order to truly be saved.

4) They focus on things like turning, trying and crying instead of faith alone in Christ alone for salvation.

5) Their "gospel" could never be falsely accused of being a license to sin (like Paul's was in Romans 3:8!)

6) They scare others with assertions that, if you preach too much grace, people will run amok.

7) They conveniently avoid or over exegete large portions of gospel-centric New Testament books like Galatians, Romans and John.

8) They blend justification passages with sanctification passages and then try to get us to drink a heresy smoothie.

9) They bake the same works-based righteousness cake that Mormons and Muslims do but cover it with evangelical frosting.

10) They use the phrase, "You mean to tell me…" a lot. Then they create worst case salvation scenarios of those who claim to be Christians but abuse the grace of God. "You mean to tell me that someone can be saved and still….?"

But grace that cannot be abused is no grace at all. 

Grace that is not free is no grace at all. 

Grace that is not received by simple faith is no grace at all.

I like the way Paul put it in Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."

 It's either by grace or by works. It can't be by both.

But here's the crazy thing about grace, once you receive it through faith it begins to transform you. 

Jesus changes your "wanter" and you become a new creation. Sure we can abuse it and, if we're honest, often do. But when we let grace do its work it "teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" (Titus 2:12.) 

God's grace is not a license to sin but a reason to serve Jesus with a lack of inhibition …not because we have to, but because we get to.


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Why Do We Feel Nostalgia?

This Video Explains So Much
About Generational Differences!

Pat Green - Dixie Lullaby

Tennessee high school senior student decimates Common Core

How to Turn Dreams into Reality

1. Tell someone else what your hopes and dreams are - and what you plan on doing to get you there. State your plans and goals out loud to someone else as it helps you commit to persevering.

2. Put it on your calendar and carve out some time to invest in your dreams – every day, if possible.

3. Start with something small so you don’t feel overwhelmed. It’s also motivating to see yourself succeed (and that becomes more likely if you start with baby steps.)

4. Leave reminders everywhere to motivate you to “keep going”.

5. When you feel like giving up – just stop and focus on “right now”. Doing that will stop you thinking up a whole book of excuses!

Ventis secundis, tene cursum
Translation: "Go even against the flow."

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The Benefits of Doing Less

1. You accomplish more. No, you don’t get more done (you’re doing less, after all), but if you do less and focus on the important stuff, you actually achieve better results, and more meaningful accomplishments.

2. You have less anxiety. When you let go of the distractions and the non-essential, you free yourself from the fear that you need to do these things. You learn that your world doesn’t fall apart when you let them go.

3. You enjoy life more. Taking time to really focus on an important task, or enjoy the little things, rather than rushing through them, is much more enjoyable.

4. You create time. When you do less, all of a sudden you have free time! You can use that doing things you really want to do!



Avaritia facit bardos

Translation: "Greed makes you stupid."




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