Thanksgiving In The Midst Of Troubles

17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people—
19 in the house of the Lord in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 116:17-19 (NLT)

We have come to the final verses of Psalm 116. In Verse 17, the writer promised to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord. If you have read the earlier verses, you may have noticed that this guy must have faced with some serious trouble or he would not have said things like death and calling all men as liars. Throughout the psalm we have seen how he had managed to change his mood from negative to positive just by focusing on the goodness of God. At the same time, there is no indication in the psalm that his physical conditions have changed.

Yet, the writer wanted to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. Why would he want to do that when his troubles were still around? Obviously he must be acting in faith. He believed his God would deliver him from all his troubles even when he could not see the manifestation himself. So, he gave thanks in advance.

Heretics like theologians and doctrine worshippers will twist this verse into their heresy that we should give thanks to God for our troubles. That is equivalent of accusing God to be the pervert who started those troubles in the first place. I find that to be sickening. No wonder, Satan himself is a theologian.

The truth is, we do not thank God for our troubles because he is not the pervert who started them. We thank God because we believe he will deliver us from all of them. We thank him in advance because we believe beyond any shadow of doubt that he is working behind the scenes to deliver us from all our troubles and prosper us beyond our wildest dreams.

In Verse 18 and 19, the writer promised to fulfill his vow to the Lord in the presence of all his people. As I have written in the earlier article, the vow here is not religious vow. You can never find anywhere in the Bible that says God wants his people to make perverse vows like vow of poverty and vow of sickness. The vow of God is the vow of prosperity in every area of our lives.

So, the writer had not only promised to live in God’s prosperity, he wanted to live in it openly for all to see. He wanted the whole world to see how good his God is. As I have also written in my earlier article, this is what true evangelism is all about.

All religions are the same. They can only promise things that cannot be proven. This is why religions can never be proven false. Our God is the opposite. He dares to promise us things that can be proven like health and wealth. When we live in abundant prosperity like good health and great wealth, we are effectively sending a loud signal to the world that our God is able and willing to deliver his promises. He must be the true God.

This is why we praise him. He is worthy of our praise.

The Lord Has Set Me Free

15 The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.
16 O Lord, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.
Psalm 116:15-16 (NLT)

This is another installment of my series in Psalm 116. You may have noticed that I have changed the Bible version from NIV in the previous installments to NLT in this article. The reason is, I cannot understand Verse 15 in NIV. In NIV, this verse sounds like the Lord loves to see his people die. This will make him sound like a pervert which is what the theologians are trying very hard to convince us. The truth is, God is not a pervert.

Somebody may want to ask me, “What if the theologians are right about God and you are wrong?” My answer is simple. If the theologians are right, then God must be a pervert. I have no respect for him. I will not want to be a Christian. I will still practice positive thinking and confession to get the results I want in my life. I will still move on with my life.

Let us start with Verse 15. It says the Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die. Please note that the verse does not name the Lord as the pervert who killed or caused the death of his loved ones. As humans, all of us care deeply if any of our loved ones die but that does not mean we are the murderers of our loved ones. Likewise, the Lord is not the murderer of his loved ones.

This tells us that the Lord wants us to live long lives. He wants us to live in good health, in safe environments, have a lot of money and have everything we desire as long as we are happy. When we are happy, he is happy. This is the heart of a parent.

My 4-year-old son has never bothered to ask me on what is my will for him. All he knows is to find ways to have fun. His latest initiative is to roll his toy cars down the slide. When he is happy, I as his father am happy. I will do whatever I can to ensure that he has good health and never be in lack so that he can live in joy for eternity. This means my will for my son is for him to be happy.

Let us get back to God. What is the will of God your Father for us? The answer is the same. He wants us to be happy. When we are happy, he is happy. He will do anything he can to ensure that. This includes giving us abundant prosperity in every area of our lives even including a lot of money and good health. Health and wealth may have become dirty words to the theologians but not to God.

We can hereby conclude that Verse 15 must be referring to the Lord not wanting his loved ones to die. He loves us so deeply that he wants us live long. How long should we live? As long as we want. All Christians are supposed to live long lives. The only right reason for us to die and go to heaven is when we get bored with life on earth. At that time we will just leave our old bodies and get into new ones in heaven. We do not need disease or accidents to help us to get there. Our God is not so pathetic that he needs Satan’s help to provide diseases and accidents to send us to heaven.

I remember once that a doctrine worshipper told me that diseases are the way to heaven. How perverted can they sink to?

In Verse 16, the writer acknowledged his past as being born as God’s servant. Yet God has set him free from his chains. He could choose whether to serve or not to serve God as he wanted. This is called free will. God has set us free from our bondage so that we can choose to live the life we want.

This is what Christian life is all about. We can choose to serve or not to serve God. When we choose to serve God, our decision is not made out of fear. God will never point a gun at our heads to force us to obey him. Neither will he blackmail us with perverted things like giving us some thorns in the flesh to show us his sufficient grace if we refuse to obey him.

We do not serve God because we are threatened. We serve God because we are smart. When we are serving God, we put ourselves in position to receive all the prosperity he has for us. So, if you want to live long life, have good health, a lot of money and prosper in every area in your life, put yourself in position to receive them. Serve God.

Heretics like the theologians and doctrine worshippers may ask, “How can you serve God for prosperity?” My answer, because I want to. The Lord has set me free from chains so that I can decide what I want. I choose to cherish my freedom and exercise it. I will never allow those heretics from robbing me of what God has given to me.

When You Are In Great Affliction

10 I believed; therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”
11 And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
Psalm 116:10-14 (NIV)

This is a continuation of my series in Psalm 116. In Verse 10 and 11, the writer expressed negative thoughts and confessions. This tells us that the writer is a human being. Sometimes we may face afflictions that are so oppressive that we start to think and talk negative. If you have done that, God does not want you to feel sorry or guilty about it. He wants you to repent. To repent is to turn around and in this case means stop thinking and talking negative. Replace those negative thoughts and confessions with positive thoughts and confession. This is what true repentance is all about.

In fact, this is what the writer did in Verse 12. He suddenly changed his focus on the goodness of God. The Lord has been so good to him that he wanted to find ways to repay the Lord. Do you notice that his mood has changed since this verse? He was no longer negative.

This is how we can change our moods, from bad to good moods. Just think of the good things the Lord has done for you. All of a sudden that great affliction does not seem that great anymore. You will begin to believe God is on your side and he is currently working behind the scenes to deliver you out of all your troubles.

He is going to turn your poverty into prosperity. Not only will all your debts be clear, you will have so much money that you can start to bless others with it. He is going to heal your supposedly “incurable” disease and make you even healthier than before you were infected. You will be fit enough to climb the highest mountain. This is how God delivers us from all our troubles and he is doing it while we are still in the land of the living.

In Verse 13, the writer wanted to lift his cup of salvation and called on the name of the Lord. What does that mean? We lift cups to drink what is inside it. The writer lifted his cup of salvation. This means he wanted to drink the stuff in it, which is salvation. Salvation will get inside him and be a part of him. Salvation is just another term for deliverance. The writer wanted to be deliverance-minded.

If you are deliverance-minded, you will think of the deliverance of God each time you face trouble. You will not be depressed, disappointed, get drunk, think negative, talk negative nor will you do any idiotic things no matter how big that trouble is. Why? You are convinced beyond doubt that your God is always on your side and he who is in you is always greater than he who is in the world. There is no problem that your God cannot solve. He is able and his greatest desire is to deliver you from all your troubles and prosper you beyond your wildest dreams. As I have mentioned before, he is going to do all these while you are still in the land of the living.

All we need to do is to trust in him. Verse 12 ends with the writer calling on the name of the Lord. What is the name of the Lord? I have written on this topic before. So, I will just paste the relevant part here.

JEHOVAH-JIREH: “The Lord will Provide.”
God is our provider. He is able and willing to provide everything we desire. Once we understand this, we will never be in lack. Through him we have all the prosperity that we can ever dream of. If you are facing a financial crisis right now, trust in JEHOVAH-JIREH to provide for you, with all the money you need to overcome your situation. As long as you believe and don’t give up, you will see the provision of God in your life.

JEHOVAH-ROPHE: “The Lord Who Heals”
He is our healer. You may be very sick right now. You can feel the sickness. Your doctors may have told you that your disease has reached the terminal stage where there is no cure. According to their professional opinion, you are going to die very soon. You have to understand that the reason why the doctors said what they have said is because they do not know who JEHOVAH-ROPHE is. At the Cross, Jesus took all our sickness and disease. He is more than willing to heal us if we allow him to. All we need to do is to believe in him. In the mind of God, no disease is incurable.

JEHOVAH-NISSI: “The Lord Our Banner.”
Banners were used in ancient warfare to rally and organize the troops for battles. If you are with your banner, you know for sure that you are not alone. You are fighting along with many others who are on your team. You will not feel discouraged but you will have the courage to charge forward and crush the enemy. Therefore, whenever you feel discouraged, turn to JEHOVAH-NISSI. He will give you the strength to fight on because he who is in you is greater than he who is in this world.

JEHOVAH-SHALOM: “The Lord Our Peace”
The situation around you can be very chaotic but you can still have peace inside you. Through JEHOVAH-SHALOM, we can have great peace that enables us to analyze the situation calmly and find the solution to our problems. We will not be agitated, stressed or panic. No matter how bad and impossible the negative situation appears to be, we have the peace and confidence that our God is greater than them.

So, as you can read, God did not choose his names at random. All the names have deep meanings and they are meant for our good.

In Verse 12, the writer was wondering how he should repay the Lord for his goodness. Verse 13 is his answer. We repay the God’s goodness by living lives of faith. Living a life of faith is the only way we can say “thank you” to the Lord. This is what the Lord expects from us.

That is not all. In Verse 14, the writer wanted to fulfill his vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. What vows did he make to the Lord? The psalm does not say but we can expect those to be true believer’s vows and not theological ones. Based on what we have read of the psalm we can be sure that the writer is a believer and not a theologian because not once did he call God a pervert.

In fact, this is how we can separate a true Christian from a theologian. A true Christian will never accuse God to be a pervert. We will never ask idiotic questions like “Why does God allow this disaster to take place?” because we know our God is not a pervert.

Since we know that the writer is not a theologian, we can then be sure that all his vows must be the vows of prosperity. This means the writer was determined to live in prosperity in every area of his life. He wanted to live in great peace, joy, good health, has a lot of money, a lot of life stocks like goats, sheep and cattle, has a big house and everything that he desires. Not only that, he wanted to enjoy his prosperity publicly. Why? He wanted to show everyone around him the goodness of his God.

This tells us that the best way to get people to be Christians is for us, the existing Christians to live in the prosperity God wants us to have. Christians who live in perfect prosperity is the greatest proof that the God of the Bible is the real God who produces real results. Do you want to the God’s living proof? I do. Count me in Lord. Let me be the living proof to show that you are the real God who produces real results.

The Lord Works In The Land Of The Living

8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 116:8-9 (NIV)

Welcome to this installment of my series is Psalm 116. In this article, we shall look into the Lord’s policy of deliverance. How does God deliver us? The verses above tell us the full story.

In Verse 8, the writer shared on what the Lord had delivered him from. There are 3 things that he was delivered from. They are:
1. Soul from death
2. Eyes from tears
3. Feet from stumbling.

Let us examine them one by one. Our souls are our minds. There are situations where our bodies can outlast our souls. In such situations, the bodies will eventually die within a short time. Our bodies cannot live without our souls. How can souls die? It always happens when a person faces something bad and lost the will to live. This is how the soul dies. When the soul dies the body will not last long no matter how healthy it was at the moment. In short, we do not want our souls to die.

It is clear that the Lord is both able and willing to save our souls from death. How is he going to do it? He saves our souls by giving us hope no matter how impossible the situation appears to be. This tells us that the Lord is always on our side to deliver us and gives us hope. God will never allow us to live in hopelessness. As believers, it is our duty to consistently remind ourselves that there is always hope no matter how bad the situation appears to be.

Next, the Lord also delivers our eyes from tears. There are various reasons for tears to form in our eyes but in this context, it refers to our sorrows. There are times where bad things happen and they make us sad. We may face with a huge financial problem, infected with a deadly disease, death of our loved ones or any other events that make us want to cry. God does not want those things to happen either. He wants us to be happy, not sad. He will do everything he can to make us happy. The question is, are we willing to trust in him.

This is another way of saying that God is not a sadist. He will not do things with the intention to make us sad. Such is the nature of perverts. God is not one of them. So, if you are to hear messages saying that sometimes God can make us poor, sick, kill our loved ones or any other perversions, you can be sure that that preacher was preaching theology, which is a lie from the pit of hell.

The third point raised by the writer tells us that God can keep our feet from stumbling. It refers to physical, mental and spiritual stumbling. As human beings, we are still imperfect but God wants us to know that he can still bless us despite our imperfections by keeping our feet from stumbling. So, do not waste time in focusing on how imperfect you are. Focus instead on God’s goodness and his willingness in blessing and delivering you despite your imperfection.

In the next verse, we find out the reason for God’s blessings in our lives, “that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” I like the part on “the land of the living”. This means we do not have to die and go to heaven before we can see our deliverance and blessings. The deliverance and the blessings of God are meant to happen while we are still alive on earth.

In other words, God dares to stick his neck out by promising things that can be proven on earth. Whatever troubles you may be facing right now, you do not have to wait to die and go to heaven for your deliverance to take place. Suicide is not the solution. God has put his integrity at stake when he promised to deliver us from all our troubles while we still walk with him in the land of the living.

Be At Rest Once More

7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
Psalm 116:7 (NLT)

In this installment of Psalm 116, I am going to focus on just one verse and one issue – rest. It may sound simple but the truth is, rest is among the most spiritual discipline for us Christians. The above verse begins with the writer telling his soul to rest once more. This means his soul was not at rest when he said that.

What does this mean? The term “soul” is another word for “mind”. It is basically our software or operating system. Our souls define who we are. Whether we are good or bad, generous or stingy, brave or cowardly are in our souls. Our souls are “us” inside our bodies. Souls need to be at rest.

When we do physical work or exercise, our physical bodies will get tired. It is easy to understand that our bodies need to rest. What if we keep working and exercising without allowing our bodies to rest? Our bodies will reach the stress limit and we will collapse. It is a form of breakdown. We will be forced to rest.

In the realm of the soul, being at rest means we are free from anxiousness, worries and fears. A soul that is not at rest is in stress caused by anxiousness, worries and fears. If it continues in this state, it will reach its stress limit, which will course it to breakdown. The person will go crazy.

This is how mental illness happens to people. It begins in their thoughts. People worry or scare themselves into mental breakdown. If you are to conduct a research on how people have mental illness, I suspect you will find that it always begins with negative thoughts. I do not think you can find people who go crazy because they are positive.

It is obvious that it is the will of God for us to be mentally healthy. Being mentally healthy is a part of God’s will for us to prosper and be in health as our souls prosper. The question is, how are we going to maintain our mental health? The answer is in the second part of the verse: “for the LORD has been good to you.”

We need to believe beyond doubt that our God is good to us. God has been good to us, he is presently good to us and he will continue to be good to us for eternity. What is good? Let the dictionary tells us. (If you want to skip the definitions, just scroll down until after the italics.)

good  /gʊd/ Show Spelled [good] Show IPA adjective, bet⋅ter, best, noun, interjection, adverb
Use good in a Sentence
See web results for good
See images of good
–adjective
1.morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious: a good man.
2.satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree: a good teacher; good health.
3.of high quality; excellent.
4.right; proper; fit: It is good that you are here. His credentials are good.
5.well-behaved: a good child.
6.kind, beneficent, or friendly: to do a good deed.
7.honorable or worthy; in good standing: a good name.
8.educated and refined: She has a good background.
9.financially sound or safe: His credit is good.
10.genuine; not counterfeit: a good quarter.
11.sound or valid: good judgment; good reasons.
12.reliable; dependable; responsible: good advice.
13.healthful; beneficial: Fresh fruit is good for you.
14.in excellent condition; healthy: good teeth.
15.not spoiled or tainted; edible; palatable: The meat was still good after three months in the freezer.
16.favorable; propitious: good news.
17.cheerful; optimistic; amiable: in good spirits.
18.free of distress or pain; comfortable: to feel good after surgery.
19.agreeable; pleasant: Have a good time.
20.attractive; handsome: She has a good figure.
21.(of the complexion) smooth; free from blemish.
22.close or intimate; warm: She’s a good friend of mine.
23.sufficient or ample: a good supply.
24.advantageous; satisfactory for the purpose: a good day for fishing.
25.competent or skillful; clever: a good manager; good at arithmetic.
26.skillfully or expertly done: a really good job; a good play.
27.conforming to rules of grammar, usage, etc.; correct: good English.
28.socially proper: good manners.
29.remaining available to one: Don’t throw good money after bad.
30.comparatively new or of relatively fine quality: Don’t play in the mud in your good clothes.
31.best or most dressy: He wore his good suit to the office today.
32.full: a good day’s journey away.
33.fairly large or great: a good amount.
34.free from precipitation or cloudiness: good weather.
35.Medicine/Medical. (of a patient’s condition) having stable and normal vital signs, being conscious and comfortable, and having excellent appetite, mobility, etc.
36.fertile; rich: good soil.
37.loyal: a good Democrat.
38.(of a return or service in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) landing within the limits of a court or section of a court.
39.Horse Racing. (of the surface of a track) drying after a rain so as to be still slightly sticky: This horse runs best on a good track.
40.(of meat, esp. beef) noting or pertaining to the specific grade below “choice,” containing more lean muscle and less edible fat than “prime” or “choice.”
41.favorably regarded (used as an epithet for a ship, town, etc.): the good ship Syrena.
–noun
42.profit or advantage; worth; benefit: What good will that do? We shall work for the common good.
43.excellence or merit; kindness: to do good.
44.moral righteousness; virtue: to be a power for good.
45.(esp. in the grading of U.S. beef) an official grade below that of “choice.”
46.goods,
a.possessions, esp. movable effects or personal property.
b.articles of trade; wares; merchandise: canned goods.
c.Informal. what has been promised or is expected: to deliver the goods.
d.Informal. the genuine article.
e.Informal. evidence of guilt, as stolen articles: to catch someone with the goods.
f.cloth or textile material: top-quality linen goods.
g.Chiefly British. merchandise sent by land, rather than by water or air.
47.the good,
a.the ideal of goodness or morality.
b.good things or persons collectively.
–interjection
48.(used as an expression of approval or satisfaction): Good! Now we can all go home.
–adverb
49.Informal. well.
—Idioms
50.as good as. as 1 (def. 22).
51.come to no good, to end in failure or as a failure: Her jealous relatives said that she would come to no good.
52.for good, finally and permanently; forever: to leave the country for good. Also, for good and all.
53.good and, Informal. very; completely; exceedingly: This soup is good and hot.
54.good for,
a.certain to repay (money owed) because of integrity, financial stability, etc.
b.the equivalent in value of: Two thousand stamps are good for one coffeepot.
c.able to survive or continue functioning for (the length of time or the distance indicated): These tires are good for another 10,000 miles.
d.valid or in effect for (the length of time indicated): a license good for one year.
e.(used as an expression of approval): Good for you!
55.good full, Nautical. (of a sail or sails) well filled, esp. when sailing close to the wind; clean full; rap full.
56.make good,
a.to make recompense for; repay.
b.to implement an agreement; fulfill.
c.to be successful.
d.to substantiate; verify.
e.to carry out; accomplish; execute: The convicts made good their getaway.
57.no good, without value or merit; worthless; contemptible: The check was no good.
58.to the good,
a.generally advantageous: That’s all to the good, but what do I get out of it?
b.richer in profit or gain: When he withdrew from the partnership, he was several thousand dollars to the good.

—Synonyms
pure, moral, conscientious, meritorious, worthy, exemplary, upright. 2. commendable, admirable. 5. obedient, heedful. 6. kindly, benevolent, humane, gracious, obliging. 23. full, adequate. 24. profitable, useful, serviceable, beneficial. 25. efficient, proficient, capable, able, ready, suited, suitable, dexterous, expert, adroit, apt. 46. See property.

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/good

Some people may wonder why would I bother to refer to the dictionary for such a simple word. The answer is many churches today are infected with a heresy called theology. Theologians tell us that God can be so “good” that he can do perverted things to us like making us poor, infecting us with disease, killing our loved ones to give us sorrow, creating disasters to kill people or any other perversions. In fact, if you want to learn theology, let me show you a shortcut. All theological doctrines can be summed up in one sentence: God is a pervert. “God is good” means God can do perverted things to you.

Yet if you are to read the above definitions on the word “good”, you can never find such perversion. When the Bible says God is good, it refers to the “good” in the dictionary not theology. The moment you believe that God is good to you based on the “good” in the dictionary, your soul will be automatically at rest.

It is only when our souls are at rest, our faith can work at its optimum efficiency. We will receive everything we ask for in prayer. Our financial problems will turn into financial abundance. Our sickness will turn into health. Our failures will turn into success. We will be delivered from all our troubles. Our future will only consist of success and prosperity.

This is the will of God for us. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

When You Are Overcome By Trouble And Sorrow

3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD : “O LORD, save me!”
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Psalm 116:3-6 (NIV)

This is the second installment of my series in Psalm 116. Here, the writer shared his experience on a setback he faced. He must had been in a very serious problem for him to say such words in Psalm 116:3. The cords of death entangled him and the anguish of the grave came upon him. He was basically drowning under trouble and sorrow. In short, he was in a very bad shape.

Do you find yourself in a similar situation? Welcome to this world. The truth is every one of us, regardless of whether we are Christians face troubles and sorrows in this world. There are times that our troubles and sorrows were so big that we feel like we are drowning inside them. We may find Psalm 116:3 to be an accurate description on how we feel.

The above passage tells us that troubles and sorrows are inevitable as long as we are in this world but it does not stop there. Throughout the Bible, God speaks of the problems we may face but he has never stopped there and left us on our own. He provides us with the right solution. So, do not stop reading after Psalm 116:3. After Psalm 116:3, God provide us with Psalm 116:4-6 to help us to overcome the problems we face. Let us go for it.

When the writer faced the problems in Psalm 116:3, he immediately responded with calling on the name of the Lord.

4 Then I called on the name of the LORD : “O LORD, save me!”
Psalm 116:4 (NIV)

He prayed a very simple prayer: “O LORD, save me!” If you can remember, Peter prayed that when he was drowning in the sea. He was rescued. If anyone wants to learn how to pray, here is a quick lesson. Just say “O LORD, save me!” whenever you face any troubles in your life. Real prayer is really simple. There is neither theology nor doctrines involved. This is why I have asserted that the Bible is an engineering book. Its contents are very simple and yet able to help us to get the results we want.

What will happen after we ask God to save us? In the subsequent verse, the writer seemed to want us to first understand the characteristic of God.

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
Psalm 116:5 (NIV)

In short, God is good. In today’s context, God is not a pervert. It is impossible for God to be gracious, righteous, full of compassion and at the same time do perverted things to his people in the name of his sufficient grace, his love, some lessons, some sort of discipline or any other nonsense the theologians can come up with. It is imperative for us to always remind ourselves that God is always on our side against our problems. Even if you have committed sins, God is with you against your sins. God is never against you for your sins.

 If you are drowning in the sea, God is not the one who pushed you. He is the one who arranged for the rescue boat to reach you.

 If your light bulb is burnt, God is not the one who caused it to burn. He is the one who has provided you with everything you need to replace it with a new one.

 If you are sick, God is not the one who had infected you with the disease. He is your healer, not your disease giver.

 If you are poor and have financial problems, God is not the one who caused it. He wants you to be rich, not poor. God wants to bless you with abundant riches. He does not believe in the Vow of Poverty. He will never create financial problems to force you to take up that vow.

I use the above some illustrations to emphasize on the true characteristics of God. If you hear theologians or doctrine worshippers telling you that God can do perverted things to people, refer to Psalm 116:5.

Now that we have determined on the true nature of God, we can safely predict how he will respond to our plea of help.

6 The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Psalm 116:6 (NIV)

The Lord protects and saves us. Let us look deeper into this verse. The first part says The LORD protects the simplehearted. We need to be simple hearted to receive the Lord’s protection. What does that mean? We need to focus on simplicity. This is another proof that the Bible is about engineering because engineering is about simplicity too.

Simplicity means believing God based on what he says in the Bible, NOT on what the theologians or doctrine worshippers say what he says. We do not need middle men to help us to interpret God’s words for us. Let me give you some examples in this.

 When the Bible says God is good, it means what is says. Do not be fooled by the theologians or doctrine worshippers who tell you that the “good” here can mean God can do perverted things to you like giving you some thorns in the flesh to show you his sufficient grace.

 When the Bible says God wants to make you rich in gold and silver, it means what it says. . Do not be fooled by the theologians or doctrine worshippers who tell you that this promise is not longer literal because Jesus said he has no place to lay his head, Peter said he did not have gold or silver or many Christians who are still poor. God says it and that settles it.

 When the Bible says God wants heal you, it means what it says. . Do not be fooled by the theologians or doctrine worshippers who tell you that this promise is not longer literal because there are Christians who are sick.

In short, God says it and that settles it. If only all Christians are committed to believe in what the Bible says the way it says it, we will all be living in victorious lives. We will live in abundant prosperity, divine health, long lives and be successful in every area of our lives. When we face troubles, we can call on the name of the Lord and live with expectation that he will protect and save us.

Finally, the last part of the verse says, when I was in great need he saved me. The magnitude of our needs, no matter how big or small, is nothing to God. He is willing and able to save us from all our troubles. Whatever problems you are facing right now, never focus on how big they are. The solution lies in focusing on the God’s characteristics in Psalm 116:5. God is capable of overcoming it for us.

Whether you have a million dollars problem or a billion dollars problem, God can still solve it your you. He has the money. Our role is to believe. As Jesus said, “Fear not. Just believe.”

Reason For Loving The Lord

1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1-2 (NIV)

I am starting a series in Psalm 116. I am sure the title of this post will be offensive to the theologians and doctrine worshippers. After all, are we not supposed to love God unconditionally? How can we love him for any reason?

If you have been reading the posts in this blog for some time, I believe you should have realized by now that unlike the theologians and doctrine worshippers, I am not a hypocrite. I write what I truly believe in and I am not under the obligation of abiding to political correctness. The opinions of those heretics are irrelevant to the truth. I have no intention of pleasing them.

Let me begin by telling you the history of my relationship with the Lord. Before I was a Christian, the Lord was just one of the many dieties promoted by religions. When I became a Christian in my first church, I started off with a good impression on him. How not to have a good impression on a God who give his Son for my sins?

However, after attending several sermons, my impression on the Lord became bad. The corrupt pastors in that church created the impression that the Lord is only interested in me going for missions and giving money to the church. Everything else is not important to him. He has no intention to deliver me from my troubles, give me a lot of money, gives me good health and success in every area of my life. In fact, sometimes he can even do perverted things to people to show them his “sufficient grace”. In short, I thought of the Lord as the pervert of the lowest order. All thanks to the sermons I received from a theological and doctrinally correct church.

It was only after I came across New Creation Church that I was set free. I began to realize that not only is the Lord not a pervert, he is a kind and loving person. I am his top priority. His desire is for me to be always rich, healthy and be successful in every area of my life. His love for me will never change even if I refuse to go for missions or give money to the church.

For your information, I have never go for missions in my life and since I left my first church I have never given a single cent to any church. The closest thing I have done is to tithe and sow for my own prosperity. It has never been my concern whether any church has enough money to pay their pastors. If any church does not have enough money to the extend of having to manipulate its members, this tells me that the “God” of this church is hopeless. I am not interested in worshipping a hopeless “God”.

Do I love the Lord? I love him because he is willing to help me to get everything I want. He is always on my side to deliver me from all my troubles and blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the spiritual realm. Having a lot of money, good health, strong family and all success are among the “every spiritual blessing in the spiritual realm.”

This is the reason and the condition for my love to the Lord. It may not go well with the heretics like the theologians and doctrine worshippers but who cares? This is the truth. I am not ashamed to tell the truth as it is.

So, what is the Bible’s view of such a conditional love? Psalm 116:1 seems to say that it was a common practice at that time. The writer tell us that he love the Lord because the Lord heard his voice and cry for mercy. So there were some conditions there too.

What can we learn here?

First the Lord is not a pervert. Psalm 116:1 does not say “I love the LORD, for he did perverted things to me to show me his sufficient grace.” This tells us the writer did not see the Lord as a sadist.

Secondly, he was not ashamed to reveal the real reason for his love of the Lord. He loved the Lord because the Lord always heard his prayer. What do you think will happen after the Lord heard our prayers? He acts on it. If you have read the Bible you will realize that the Lord is a very action oriented person. He will not just send his condolence after you tell him his problems. He always takes action to deliver us from all our troubles.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
Psalm 34:19 (NIV)

Let me simplify the above sequence here:
1. When I am in trouble, I call on the Lord.
2. When I call on the Lord, he hears me.
3. When he hears me, he always delivers me.

This is the truth that no theologian can understand. Yet it works. The writer of Psalm 116 must have comprehended this truth or he would not have been encouraged to keep seeking the Lord.

2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:2 (NIV)

He had decided to call on the Lord as long as he lived. Smart move. In fact I think this is simple common sense. Since the Lord has declared that he always hear our prayers, deliver us from all our troubles and give us everything we ask for, don’t you think that is simple common sense to seek him as often as we can? This is what the writer was committed to do. So, it is not necessary to blackmail people to pray and seek the Lord. The truth would suffice.