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Christsfreeservant

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The children of Israel of the Old Testament were living in exile in Babylon as a punishment from God for their rebellion against the Lord and for their unwillingness to heed his commands. And God promised them 70 years of exile before he would deliver them. But they had prophets in their midst who were deceiving the people into thinking that they would not have to be in exile the whole 70 years. So, they were not to listen to the prophets who were speaking lies to them, for they prophesied falsely in the name of God.

“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:10-13 NASB1995)

And we have false prophets in our midst today who are teaching Jeremiah 29:11 out of context, and who are promising all people who profess faith in Jesus Christ that this is a promise of God to them of “health, wealth, and prosperity.” And many people have been duped by these false prophets, and they have been convinced that the more that they give to the institutional church, the more that God will bless them, but while many very wealthy pastors (false prophets) stack up all sorts of properties and possessions.

So, this is not a promise for us today of health, wealth, and prosperity if we give generously to the institutional church or to certain other “Christian ministries.” If it is at all to be considered as any kind of promise to Christians today, it must be seen and interpreted in light of the teachings of Jesus and of his New Testament apostles in the New Testament writings. For we are promised in the Scriptures that the life of a follower of Christ is a life of suffering and persecution and hardship, but one of spiritual blessing, too.

And the plans that our Lord has for us today are first of all that we must, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living. And we must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in our day-to-day living, for this is for our welfare, i.e. for our good, that we might have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God, which is the future and the hope of those whose lives are committed to Jesus Christ.

And if you would take a good look at our world today, and at our individual nations, I would suggest to you that our world and our nations and the church at large today are presently being faced with the judgment of God for the people’s rebellion against the Lord and for their unwillingness to heed his commands, but more specifically directed at those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are living worldly lives in the worship of what is not God. And so God is calling out to all who profess his name to repent and to obey God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

The Battle for Truth

Based off Malachi 1-4
An Original Work / May 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


Truth is marching, truth is marching.

I love you. Honor me.
Tell the truth. You’ll be free.
Sing My praise all your days.
I will give all you need.

Truth is marching, truth is marching.

Turn from sin; cleansed within.
Stand in awe of My Name.
Teach what’s true. Walk in peace.
Follow Christ, in His ways.

Truth is marching, truth is marching.

Show to God faithfulness.
Do not be adult’rous.
Do not shed shallow tears.
Do not be insincere.

Truth is marching, truth is marching.

I have sent messengers,
Who have giv’n my address.
They call for repentance,
And they warn of judgment.

Truth is marching, truth is marching.

I, the Lord, do not change,
So return – blessings gain:
Healing comes; joyfulness;
Freedom from your distress.


Health, Wealth, and Prosperity?
An Original Work / February 24, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
 

Richard T

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I think healing is in the atonement, though very few walk in it entirely, it still is helpful for churches to teach God heals and pray for the sick such as anointing with oil in James. God too can make people rich. It is the love of money that is evil. As to preachers overcharging and being money motivated, there is lots of room to grow. Here is some scripture regarding "filthy lucre."

"On the surface it’s a quaint archaism. But it speaks of a deadly trap. “Filthy lucre” is used four times in the King James Bible and in each case it refers to a grave temptation for gospel ministers (1 Timothy 3:3,8; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:2).

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. (1 Peter 5:2)" Source: Filthy Lucre | The King’s English
 
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Christsfreeservant

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I think healing is in the atonement, though very few walk in it entirely, it still is helpful for churches to teach God heals and pray for the sick such as anointing with oil in James. God too can make people rich. It is the love of money that is evil. As to preachers overcharging and being money motivated, there is lots of room to grow. Here is some scripture regarding "filthy lucre."

"On the surface it’s a quaint archaism. But it speaks of a deadly trap. “Filthy lucre” is used four times in the King James Bible and in each case it refers to a grave temptation for gospel ministers (1 Timothy 3:3,8; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:2).

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. (1 Peter 5:2)" Source: Filthy Lucre | The King’s English
Richard T, thank you for your response. Yes, God still heals. Yes, pray for people to be healed. God provides for people according to his plans and his purposes, but we should not be seekers of wealth and prosperity, but rather seekers of God and of his righteousness. And giving should never be about getting in return. We should give out of sincere hearts and pure love without expecting anything in return. And we should trust God to provide. And he will guide us and direct us in the way that he would have us to go.
 
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Richard T

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Richard T, thank you for your response. Yes, God still heals. Yes, pray for people to be healed. God provides for people according to his plans and his purposes, but we should not be seekers of wealth and prosperity, but rather seekers of God and of his righteousness. And giving should never be about getting in return. We should give out of sincere hearts and pure love without expecting anything in return. And we should trust God to provide. And he will guide us and direct us in the way that he would have us to go.
Thank you for all your nice postings. In general I agree with what you are saying but perhaps a bit more nuanced. Can any Christian be a seeker of wealth? What about those with the gift of giving as stated in Rom.12:8. The accumulation of wealth is important to those with this gift. Why? Because they can give more. That is their motivation. Also look at this scripture.
Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
Basically use wealth to help change the kingdom, to be wise stewards. I am no fan of giving to get. But that too seems to be God's will, not mine. Give and it shall be given to you. Give liberally and receive liberally. Seedtime and harvest will remain forever. Is it wrong to expect from God when he endorses it? I am not sure.
The point I think is the motivation of the heart as you suggest. Some do have wrong motives, wrong priorities when it comes to money or the things of God. In those cases, such a message is righteous. There are at least three scriptures on filthy lucre. But on the other side, are those who give sincerely and should be expectant in God with a humble heart. That they can receive more so that they can give more and make a greater impact on the kingdom of heaven. I admit though it is a fine line and even hard to sometimes to determine the true motivation. Like everything else of God, one has to walk in the spirit to know the boundaries.
I admit too that no one should be overzealous to seek money or seek money at the expense of any type of compromise. Our own flesh never does nothing for God. Trusting God is expecting Him to meet needs that are far beyond our own needs. How gracious when people can bring others under their umbrella and give or serve in other ways; that out of their kindness they connect in love to others. Certainly God rewards, replenishes and even expands that? I will go so far as to say that I hope readers are encouraged to enlarge themselves and trust God to help others through the use of unrighteous mammon. I sometimes am among the poorest in the world. A 100 dollars a month can be life changing to some. I pray all give to make a difference where it counts the most.
 
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