Many who are spiritual considers all suffering, whether, debts, unemployment, or any kind of illness an "attack from the enemy". They give the credit for all bad choices to the Devil, and then pray for God to bind evil spirits or 'bad circumstances', placing the emphasis on God's doing instead of His person. Since "God's presence is always followed by miracles", the supposition is presented that God 'always wants to heal and bless us'.
There is another group whose views are just as extreme as the first group. They believe that everything that happens good or bad is the works of God. The belief is that God is just sitting back directing the affairs of man. In the time of the storm the consolation is, "God know what he is doing and everything happens for a reason". Even if a drunk driver kills a child in a horrific manner, "God know what he was doing". There is a feel-good moment when we go to sleep knowing God is in charge.
All sorts of claims, many I find unsupported by the Word of God emulating from these proclaimed messengers of God. Brilliant minds are quick to explain the works of God in such a manner that those who are lacking in understanding or indoctrinated will subscribe to and defend an alien doctrine or ideology.
All sorts of claims, many I find unsupported by the Word of God emulating from these proclaimed messengers of God. Brilliant minds are quick to explain the works of God in such a manner that those who are lacking in understanding or indoctrinated will subscribe to and defend an alien doctrine or ideology.
Our conditioning or indoctrination causes us to response in a particular way when the messenger utters a certain word or phrase. Jame Brown a Rock and Roll or Soul singer could turn the concert out with the utterance of the word, "PLEASE." Ask the question, "ain't God good", and the church will response with a thundering "AMEN" or "YES HE IS." Meanwhile there are those in attendance wondering and asking God, "Why are you letting this happen to me?" "God, I am praying and I am praying, but it seems like you are silent." This leads to or set the stage for a condition that I refer to as cognitive dissonance within the household of faith.
The condition within our homes, communities, and the world is out of control and we are praying for Good to fix it.
The condition within our homes, communities, and the world is out of control and we are praying for Good to fix it.
We pray for peace, but peace is forthcoming. The truth is the scriptures do not condone praying for peace. Throughout the scripture, there were acts of peace and peace offering, but Isaiah 26:3 say, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." It seems as if the condition for peace is keeping one's mind stayed on God. Paul stated, 2nd Corinthians 13:11, "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." Jesus said, Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
I struggle in this age of apostasy to extract myself from a self-imposed state of despair brought on by this condition of twisted scriptures and fakeness. Unaware, sometimes, yet intentionally I limit my exposure to the things that are destructive to my belief in God and peace of mind, in doing so I have become a type of social hermit. Not only have I limited my exposure to the media and public gatherings the religious community has also emerged as a strong contender in the destruction of the inner peace that once found in the household of faith. There are just too many earthly promises made in the name of our Father and the simple truth is, these promises are not being fulfilled. With all of the praying, it seems that sinners should be poor and Christians should be rich.
What is cognitive dissonance? Let's define it this way. Cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory or conflicting beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time; performs or sees an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values. When confronted by new information or revelations that conflict with existing beliefs, ideas, or values their faith suffers. In essence, the twisting of the scripture to support a new age idea or doctrine weakens Christian values and is destructive to the building of a true relationship with God.
There are several questions that I will ask that will expose this malady of what I refer to as cognitive dissonance. How many have given their last to an unscrupulous preacher and is still waiting for the harvest? The accomplished speaker can explain the seed and the harvest so beautiful that thousands will rush to swipe their debit card, and then they will patiently wait for God to deliver. The rhetoric that emulates from the rabbit-hole clearly states that God will always keep his promise. How many have prayed for God to deliver them or their loved-one only to die or see their loved ones die a horrible death? The question that we can no longer ask is, why do we pray for God's healing virtue to flow as we head to the doctor's office? The pious are prepared to explain how God works thru the doctors to heal, whereas in time past he only spoke the word. A true case of cognitive dissonance is at work but we cannot talk about that.
Fake words, fake faith, and fake testimonies cannot resolve the fact that many have prayed for God to move in a particular way and he did not move on their behalf. Yet when we search for answers, we are told, he answered our prayer but not the way we wanted. Then there are those who will proclaim, "He might not come when we want him, but he is always on time." Thus began the process of making excuses for God rather than accepting the silence of God or understanding how God works. It is never about what the creator can do, he could have built a fence around Adam and protected him from the Devil, but he didn't. Jesus could have saved John the Baptist's life but he didn't. What we need is more Understanding the Word of God and less selling of the Christ.
Too many of God children or being led to the banks of the Red Sea, there they are fleeced like Aaron did at the base of the Holy Mountain. There they are being encouraged to solicit prayers for God to part the waters. There is a feel good moment sustained through the cute cliché, "If he did it once he will do it again." To ask why is to question the power of God. The same ideology holds true for those who proclaim to possess the ability to walk on water. If God were to perform these feats, what would it prove? Would people rush to God or would they just create another idol? The gullibility of Christianity often comes into play when men and women seeking to impress they will use the name of God in vain. Few will question the validity of a message when it began with 'God said'.
What is troubling is the belief structure put in place thousands of years ago is no longer fashionable as we embrace a modern anything goes society. Churches rarely talk about sin or eternal life, the focus is on the everyday fix. Pastors are becoming involved in politics and performing in high profile arenas. "Fix it now Jesus" or "Jesus, take the wheel" is in vogue now that sin has been justified. Somewhere in the scripture, but I haven't found it, there is a passage that supposedly says, "Jesus will fix all of our problems". If this is true then why is it taking him more than two thousand years to fix humanities problems? This make the God of our salvation seems like an incompetent God. Cognitive dissonance, a Devil's trick is in play.
In a world or society such as we live in, it is not rational to acknowledge one's fallacies or faults, but being honest can lead to inner growth. Whether this is good or bad I have grown to that point where I am suspicious of what I hear and see. Whether it is the news on television, social media or even in the church, bearing false witness is in vogue. Messengers who proclaim to operate under the seal of God have become proficient in shaping and twisting the scripture. Regardless of what the truth is, the truth is often shaped, and then it is used to the advantage of the bearer.
The cavalier approach to God and his works has created a condition among the followers of Christ that is akin to the spread of cancer. Many true believers are feeling trapped, they are indoctrinated into these new beliefs structures that leave them filled with an unspoken doubt and is contradictory to the early teaching of the church. Whereas a message of salvation once was the driving force behind Christianity and It was the belief and preparation for the after-life. Many church pastors are becoming involved in collecting offering; they have mastered the art of shaming the congregation into giving. Sowing seeds and reaping a financial harvest has become the message of today. Enterprising and motivational groups are capitalizing on this and they are amassing a fortune in the process and building monuments to them self.
Contrary to what you hear or have been indoctrinated into believing, health, wealth, and prosperity teachers are the only ones who are getting rich off God's people. The unanswered questions that resonate within my mind and the mind of the "struggling to believe and not fully indoctrinated Christian is", "What happened to the message of old?" "Why have we killed all of the sacred cows?" "What do planting and sowing have to do with salvation?" When God did begin giving out miracle money? If God buys you a car, do you still have a car note?
Is our prayer effective, or have our prayers been rendered ineffective because we are learning to pray for the wrong thing? We pray to save our life, we pray for wealth and we even pray for God to fix the problems of the world. There are many who have emerged as a spokesperson for God and they are prepared to give the answer, but the answers they give are often self-serving and fail to satisfy those who are truly searching for the real God.
For Bible study, let us consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-27.
(24) "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
The Messenger of God would do well to consider the words, "deny himself" as they struggle to be impressive.
(25) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Jesus is talking about life in the hereafter, as a matter of fact, Jesus always addressed life in the Kingdom.
(26) For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
(27) For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
In this presentation, Our Savior is trying to explain the relative values of our physical lives and what we can humanly accomplish compared to what awaits us in what is commonly called the afterlife. In short, there is no comparison! There is nothing here that stresses the importance of sowing seed and reaping the harvest in the here and now. That being said, one bible verse does not contradict the other.
The Bible is consistent on the value of human life apart from God. Notice the words of Ecclesiastes 1:2-4: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever."
Is salvation a relevant issue in today's modern churches, or has the focus shifted to entertainment? The message of salvation has lost its luster as the church adopted the business model of a football game. If men and women will pay thousands of dollars to attend a football game and be entertained, they will do the same for the church. Sadly what was left in the better part of that church is a doctrine different yet equally wrong, 'confessing' the word, building protective walls around Christians, global prayer to ask for healing for someone (as if the fact that if enough people would pray for healing God would be in some way be forced to comply).
Cognitive dissonance is supported when we are taught to pray for God's deliverance while we prepare for a surgical procedure. We pray for financial blessing while investing forty to fifty hours in our job. Global ministries have become the bread and butter of many rising mega-churches, promoting a get rich scheme and the surrounding neighbor suffers from a cognitive blight. These fancy churches depicted in Revelation 3 now sit as a monument of the pastor's success while the community withers in darkness. The commercialization and the selling of the Christ have left many of us standing by the side of the road, waiting for a miracle that is not coming, nor was it promised.
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