Hey beautiful people
I hope that this post meets you and your family members well? Today’s write up has been inspired by the Bible passage Acts 28:30. As Christian’s we should never lose focus on what truly matters, let us not allow the pleasures or things of the world (material) entice us and distract us from our relationship with God. What we should prioritise is the things we cannot see. Earth is our temporary home and heaven is the end goal!
Acts 28:30 ~ “For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him,”
^^^Paul was someone who didn’t drain others (people in the church) of their resources/finances to help finance him so that he could live a lavish lifestyle! He lived in Rome for two years at his own expense, he was a hard worker.
Now I’d like to clarify that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having wealth as a Christian. It’s not a sin to be wealthy but problems arise when you make your wealth the centre of your life! When a leaders main message (motivational speech) to the congregation is centred upon how to make money rather than how to live a righteous and obedient life toward God and building a better relationship with God, that to me is problematic. When the tithes are used to buy cars, jets and designer items etc for the church leaders whilst the people in the congregation are suffering and have no food to feed their families that is a problem. And sadly this is not rare at all, I’ve come across so many church scandals on social media recently which just saddens my heart.
Psalm 62:10 ~ Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.
Sadly people have been blinded by wealth (the hope of getting rich) to the point where they ignore so many red flags and stay in religious organisations that sell lies, don’t challenge sin and stunt peoples spiritual growth.
2 Peter 2:1-3 ~ But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
I’m also aware that churches need financial support in order to help cover building/rent costs and to be able to support people inside and outside the church (1 Corinthians 9:1-27).
1 Corinthians 9:11-15 ~ “Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge.”
But what doesn’t sit right with me is when people charge extortionate amounts of money to ‘develop’ or ‘unearth’ a gift such as prophecy. So if a person doesn’t have £1000 or $1000 they cannot exercise the God given gift they have because they have not received training from a specific church. That to me is folly and can cause people to resent the church or believe the lie that they can’t be used by God because of their lack of finances or because they don’t fit a certain look. Also people having to pay to receive healing or a blessing from God is not scriptural at all.
Acts 3:1-8 ~ “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.”
^^^ Here we can see that the disciples did not tell the lame man that he should pay up before they could assist him (the Holy Spirit worked through the disciples to heal the lame man).
I will ramble no further but please take time to pray to God to lead you to the right church. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead your footsteps and never get caught up in the hype of prosperity gospel. Don’t lose focus, don’t take your eyes off God and don’t be enticed to idolise materialistic things.
God bless
Love from
Christian Lady After God’s Own Heart 💜
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about When greed motivates people to become ministers..
