Did you read the latest Joel Osteen book? How about the latest Rick Warren book? John Ortberg? John MacArthur? Francis Chan? How about Timothy Keller? Come on! You haven't read Timothy Keller's book....Counterfeit Gods???? I can't believe it.
Yes, there are so many books out there for you to read and get your spirit uplifted, your soul repaired and your heart healed. Then, there are others that can fix your marriage, fix your kids, help you lose weight the GOD way, find that perfect mate to walk God's path with, help you at work, help you at golf, help you get rich, show you how to keep from getting poor, how to talk to your spouse, how not to talk to your spouse and the list goes on and on and on and on. The one I like the best is 'How to Fish With God On Your Hook'. Woo-wee, that's a good'n.
I heard a preacher one time tell a story about giving a non-Christian a small copy of the Gospel of John. When he told another preacher about it, he was chastised by his friend. "What? No study guides to go with it? No pamphlets? No literature at all?" The first one replied, "The Bible is like a lion, you can let it out by itself...it'll be okay."
Boy, how that mindset has flown out the window. Read the Bible? How gauche!!! Now, some will immediately retort, (read the following with a whiny voice) "I read the Bible!! Don't you tell me I don't read the Bible!!" Yeah, and then you supplement it with one or more of the authors above so you can get your spiritual boogie on for a few minutes.
Funny how the Bible goes into great depth to tell us how to have a good marriage. It tells how to fix our kids. It has its own weight plan and shows us how to find the mate God has in store for us. In fact, in the Bible is everything you would ever want to know about how to live a victorious life, a life of contentment, a life of joy. The problem is most of us don't want what it offers because it requires total submission to the one true God. But, again, I digress.
I've heard the lame excuses. (Again, read in whiny voice...Christians are so whiny) "But I don't understand the Bible. It's too hard to understand." That's nothing more than a cop out. You want to understand the Bible? First, get one and actually open it. Second, make sure you have a Nave's Topical Bible with you. Third, have a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance in your lap. Fourth, have close by a Thayer's Hebrew/Greek Lexicon. That's all you need. ALL...YOU...NEED. The fifth thing you have to do is not go into the Bible with preconceived notions or personal agendas, but with an open and prayerful mind.
The reason the Osteens and the Warrens and the Stanleys of this world are so rich is because suckers throw their money at these people to learn what they themselves can get in their own living room. Not only that, but you can learn more that way than from them. Instead of watching these goofballs and looking for a 'word' from them, find a church that suits you and support that pastor and that ministry and get involved on a more personal level. OHHH, but that means EXPOSURE. Yes it does. But you don't have to worry too much since you won't be fully exposed like the pastor or his staff.
You want your heart touched? Read the Bible. You want a word from God? Read your Bible. You want to know how to fix your marriage? Read the Bible. But, there's one more thing you have to do. Once you've read it, start doing your dead level best to live it. Don't trust anybody you don't really know about spiritual things. Trust your pastor that you know personally. Trust the Bible. And Trust God.
And, if you need one of these TV guys or one of these mega-church multi-millionaires to feel as if you got a word that seemed like it was almost sent directly from heaven??? Then you're further away from what it means to have a personal relationship with the Father than you ever realized.
One of the reasons the church of today is in the miserable shape it finds itself is because precious few people that line the pews spend enough time in the word and on their knees. No, they would rather clog their brain pipes up with these heralded trumpeters of truth...when the only truth, the real truth, and nothing but the truth is found in the book you have on your coffee table that's called, The Bible. But, what do I know? I'm sure there's many out there who will disagree and that's fine. Get your own blog and talk about it there.
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