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Tag Archives: Prosperity Gospel

2 Samuel 6:12-23

27 Jan

12 Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns.

16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

17 They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. 18 When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 19 Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes.

20 When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”

21 David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. 22 Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!” 23 So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.

2 Samuel 6:12-23

Dear God, this story has so many parts that are interesting. I think what I want to focus on today is David’s desire for the blessing that comes from having the Ark around. Now, I don’t know why Obed-edom experienced good fortune while he had the Ark. Maybe it was because the Ark was there and maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was because how he behaved while he had the Ark. Maybe it was so that you could inspire David to get the Ark all the way back to Jerusalem. Or maybe it was for another reason altogether. I think there’s enough evidence to show that having the Ark in one’s presence doesn’t guarantee success. It was lost to the Philistines, after all, with the sin of Eli’s sons. Later, David will still get run out of Jerusalem by Absalom even though the Ark is there. It’s easy and even tempting to think of the Ark as this little prosperity-gospel trinket that we can use for our own goals, wants, and desires, but that would be a fallacy.

Are there any Arks in my life? Is there anything I look at and think, “Oh, I’ll get what I want if I do this or that”? I know there used to be some. I used to have some expectations of you that were unreasonable. I used to think I would be guaranteed some of the outcomes I wanted with my marriage, children, job/career, etc. if I did the right things. But you’ve ground that out of me over the last 16 years. I don’t really feel that way anymore. Now, I just look at the resources you’ve given me to steward and I ask that you help me to be a good steward of them. Whether it’s the wife and children you’ve given me to love, the job you’ve given me to work, or the friends and community you’ve given me to serve, I just want to rise to what you need me to be for them.

Father, I give you what I have. I’m not looking for what David was looking for. But David was in a different position than I’m in. He was leading a nation. I’m just serving a family and a community. My life is much smaller than his. Much, much smaller. We all know who he is thousands of years later. My own family will forget about me within three generations. And that’s okay. I don’t need to be remembered. I just want to live a life that knocked over a domino that you eventually used to bring about your kingdom and will being done on this earth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2026 in 2 Samuel

 

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Romans 8:26-28

09 Sep

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:26-28

Dear God, this is one of those precious passages that is so encouraging. The problem is it’s also easy to misinterpret if one is a subscriber to prosperity gospel teaching. But before I get to verse 28, I want to spend some time with verse 26.

You, Holy Spirit, are so overlooked by all of us, but I think I’m getting a little better at thinking about you and the role you play in my life. The depths of your companionship with me. The teaching. The comfort. And the praying. This is the one I probably don’t think about as much. That you pray for me. And I don’t have to ask you to pray for me “with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Paul indicates here that you just do it. And I have friends for whom I pray. I hope you are praying for them with groanings too because, frankly, I am just not a very focuses intercessory prayer. I’m not nearly as purposeful or disciplined about it as my wife is. She’s much better at praying for others than I am. But I also believe that you are there just loving me and praying for me and the things I care about.

This leads me to verse 28. The trick on my end is to not expect that I know what my good is. That’s where prosperity gospel teaching fails. It assumes we can identify when something is good for us or not. If I were to win the billion-dollar Powerball that was awarded the other night, I might think that is good for me, but you would know better. How many lottery winner who win large amounts actually have their lives improve? Not many. But there are the more practical things too. I remember in 2005 when I was really mad at you about not getting a specific job, but what I couldn’t see in the moment was you had something different for me. And there are things in my life that I want now. There are broken relationships I long to be healed. But maybe you don’t have that as what is best for everyone involved. I’m too ignorant to know what is your best, so the Holy Spirit is praying for me and my faith allows me (most of the time) to be patient and let you work things out for the collective good, not just my selfish wants.

Father, I love you. I trust you. I thank you. Holy Spirit, thank you for praying. Thank you for all that you do for me that I almost never acknowledge. Thank you for the comfort you give me. Thank you for teaching and directing me. Thank you for loving me. Now, as I have different names come to mind who need prayer, I pray that you will strongly support them. Love them. Bring glory to your name in their eyes and through their lives. Heal, but do it for your glory. Comfort. Teach. Provide. All for your glory. Our utmost for your highest.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2025 in Romans

 

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John 9:1-2

12 Feb

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

John 9:1-2

Dear God, the disciples asked a binary question here that they didn’t realize was completely off-base. They errantly thought negative circumstances were an indication of bad actions. It kind of goes back to Job. In fact, it’s kind of weird that the Book of Job didn’t dispel this errant theology from the beginning. I guess the prosperity gospel goes back a long way and its roots are so deep and attractive that we don’t want to let go. The thing that prosperity gospel brings us is the idol of control. We think our actions will drive outcomes and so we will ignore Job and determine that our own actions will manipulate you into working everything out the way we want it.

So, they started with the wrong assumption. If I see a blind man, there must be sin behind it. In this case, they assumed the sin belonged either to the man (although I don’t understand why they would think that since he was born blind) or, more likely, to the parents. So these two poor parents had probably lived a lifetime not only caring for a blind child when he was young, but also feeling blamed by their community for their son’s situation. And as I’ve said before, maybe they accepted that blame and took it. Maybe they remembered that time they committed that sin and now lived with the guilt of it having produced a blind son. Or maybe they didn’t feel they had sinned so they blamed their spouse. Had their blind son driven a wedge between them? Or between them and you? Did they feel judged by you?

How does this apply to today? To my life? Well, there can be circumstances that we aren’t pleased with. Relationships that are broken. Outcomes we don’t like. Unemployment. Health issues. Financial crises. Children who are struggling. Damaged marriages. When these things happen, do we ask the right questions, or are we as ignorant as the disciples and just assume that the family we see with a struggling child is responsible for that child’s struggle? Do we assume that someone is to blame for the struggling marriage? For the health issue? Maybe these things come into our lives so, if turned over to you for redemption, they can bring about your glory in our lives and for others.

Father, help me to be much, much less judgmental of other people. Help me to be an encourager. Help me to see the person who is struggling and not immediately think they should repent, but instead offer them your comfort, love, and power. Help me to accept all of that for myself as well. Basically, the disciples start this story believing a lie. Help me to recognize the lies I believe and reject them for your truth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 12, 2025 in John

 

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Emails to God – Debating Prosperity Gospel (Matthew 8:14-22)

16 Dec

14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities

and bore our diseases.”

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Dear God, I got into an interesting conversation with a couple of pastors last night. There is a certain television pastor out there who I cannot stand because of his prosperity message. This came up during my conversation with them and, to my surprise, they started defending him. Really? This guy? Is there something in this guy I have missed? Is there are depth there I haven’t seen? I respect these two men and feel that they have earnest faith. How can they support what this guy preaches?

I kind of liken it to this passage. In my own theology of how you work, there are people you intended to be wealthy, people you intended not to be wealthy, and people you intended to be poor. It’s not fair. To our eyes, it can sometimes seem like there is no rhyme or reason to it. Young, good people die. Old, grouchy people live. Who can explain it? But I think that a lot of my feelings on the subject come back to passages like this.

People started following Jesus because they got excited about him. They were excited about the miracles and they wanted to be near the power. So when a teacher of the law (I actually never noticed before that this was a teacher of the law who was saying this) said he would follow Jesus anywhere, Jesus had a surprising response. The same for the other disciple—a very insensitive response. He was saying that there was going to be a cost for following Jesus. Material possessions and ease of life were not necessarily part of the deal. For some they might be. But for others they won’t be. Heck, look at John the Baptist. He was fulfilled spiritually, but he did not live an easy life, nor did he die an easy death.

Father, I hope I didn’t offend these men too much, but, I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it. I just don’t buy that you intended all of us who love you to live materially rewarded lives. The poor widow who Jesus saw put in her tiny offering went home poor and probably spent the rest of her life poor. That’s just how it is for some. They have a role to play. In her case, she is an example to me, and she never knew she would be. Help me to be willing to endure whatever it is you have for me to endure regardless of whether or not I see the purpose. And while I am thinking about it, for the wonderful blessings you give to me, including a good job and a healthy family, I thank you so much. You have been more than doubly good to me.

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2011 in Matthew

 

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