Live Long and Prosper.

I believe in the prosperity gospel.

Let me show you why.

We are exclusively made for the purpose of God. 

This is why Christians "prosper". 

This is why Christians overcome. Because we live in the purpose of God. 

We live according to the will of God. Prosperity does not happen because God wants to see us happy, or because we asked for things in order that we might use them, even for "generous" purposes. Rather, prosperity looks like anything that God gives us (whether situational or material) that accomplishes His will. Prosperity's result is not with me getting what I asked and pleaded and harassed God for. Prosperity comes to fruition with the Gospel coming alive in me; with holiness being refined in me and with reconciliation to God by the work of Christ in me. 

"Live long and prosper." Thanks Spocky

Prosperity is about thriving. It is about flourishing in the good and the bad. Why? Because in each case the situations refine us; they are meant to bring about our holiness, they are meant to turn us towards God. The victory is not in overcoming sin (Christ already did that), or in the bad being taken away. The victory in every turn of events is about the spiritual life overcoming the natural life in us. 

In each promise, whether it be Jeremiah 29:11, Joshua 1:9, Romans 8:28, etc, they speak not of earthly gain for its own sake, but gains or losses for the sake of the gains of the Kingdom of God. Spiritual gains. Spiritual successes. God's gains. 

I believe in the Prosperity Gospel. As a Christian, I believe in the accomplishing of the will of God through me by the power of Christ in me. I believe not in my own prosperity, but of the prosperity of the Gospel of Christ. 

I do not believe in a prosperity gospel that says the bad will go away when I beg God to take it away. I do not believe in a prosperity gospel that says I will get what I ask God for just because I want it. I am not saying "Don't bother asking God for things," ask, seek, knock, but don't be so blind as to think this one thing is the only solution to your desires. Keep your head and heart open. If anything, ask yourself, how does this thing I am asking for accomplish the will of God in me? God changes us through prayer, and not the other way around. 

In truth, I do not fully know what is really good for me, but I trust that a good Father knows what is good for His kids, so I will ask Him what He has in store for me. Because a prosperity gospel is not prosperous in the least if it does not have for a result the prosperity of the Kingdom and purpose of God. 

2 Corinthians 5:11-20 speaks about the gospel, in terms of 'The Ministry of Reconciliation'. It says that Christians are not Christians because they simply do good. Apart from Christ, nothing we do measures up to God's standard. Christians are Christians because Christ came to reconcile us to our Father in heaven. We are Christians because God wants us to be reconciled to Himself, and in turn, the love of Christ compels us to advance the gospel, to see its prosperity in the lives of others who also need the same reconciliation. 

God promises us prosperity. He promises us victory and success. But in what? In conquering the natural life. In seeing His will be accomplished. Because as a Christian, what greater, richer joy do we have than in seeing our Father's will come to pass? 

Why do the wicked prosper? [Part 2]: "It's not you, it's me."

Pray. Read. Meditate. Repeat.

Here is Psalm 73 if you haven't yet read it, or would like to refresh your memory of what it talks about. I'd suggest for one to pray and then read it before continuing on reading here. My little subheading up there is probably a fair template to follow for studying the Word. 

Psalm 73 addresses the question of "Why do the wicked prosper?". And if you have read it and are wondering, "Well, this Psalm didn't really give me an answer as to why. It just told me about a guy who was upset about bad people getting their way, and then he comes to an epiphany that God will bring them to destruction eventually..? errrrr." Perhaps the question is not "Why do the wicked prosper?", but rather something along the lines of: "Is God enough?" and "Is He trustworthy?". 

In answer to those questions, my hope and purpose is to go through Psalm 73 and to break down the attitude of Asaph, where his heart is at, what changes, what the lessons learned are, and what does this whole situation show us about God. 

Asaph's Lament

Psalm 73:12-13 summarizes the initial attitude of Asaph, and most of our attitudes at some point in our lives:

"Behold, these are the wicked;

    always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean

    and washed my hands in innocence." (Psalm 73:12-13)

Asaph was an official who served under King David and this Psalm tells us of his observations of the "wicked" around him, who did not follow God and yet still seemed to prosper.  To put it succinctly, Asaph cried: "It's not fair." 

I had thought about this Psalm thinking that it must be a question of the goodness of God, however the first line put that thought to rest.The Psalm begins with a declaration of the goodness of God. Asaph clearly does not doubt that God is good, but he admits to having lost sight of it. 

"Truly God is good to Israel,

    to those who are pure in heart.

 

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

    my steps had nearly slipped.

 

For I was envious of the arrogant

    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." (Psalm 73:1-3)

Right there is where you can see the problem. Asaph stopped to see how the wicked were doing, the more he saw of their successes and material prosperity the more his feet started to buckle, and the goodness of God was no longer in his line of vision.  

The verses that follow describe what Asaph's attention is on. He is apt at painting this picture of the wicked to us; the words he chooses doubtlessly express his utter disdain and disgust at their undeserved plenty. 

The turning point comes at verse 16:

"But when I thought how to understand this,

    it seemed to me a wearisome task,

 

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

    then I discerned their end." (Psalm 73:16-17)

Worrying about the plenty of these people tired Asaph out. In any situation, worrying at the success and the actions of others is a wearying practice. We were not meant to concern ourselves with the lot of others, we ourselves have enough to think about in our own lives. 

Asaph steps back and decides to enter into worship.  

He changes the scenery, physically but most importantly spiritually. This switches his focus and center from man, to God.

From there on, Asaph remembers that God is sovereign; God knows and determines the end of the wicked. Asaph also looks back on where he has just come from: 

"When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
 I was brutish and ignorant;
    I was like a beast toward you." (Psalm 73:21-22)

A heart that is not set on God can be a savage thing; it is wild and untamed, coarse and angry. When focus turns away from God and onto others and their course in life, it causes us to revert into something resembling a jealous "beast". Asaph's anger and bitterness was even quite clear while he described the success of the wicked.

Asaph closes off by saying how God is his first desire, the only thing on this earth that he longs for. He declares outright that God is enough for him; God is the fully filling portion for his life. Asaph is satisfied in the Lord.

"My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)

Lessons to be learned

After quickly studying this Psalm, it becomes apparent that while we ask the question "Why do the wicked prosper?", in reality it comes down to a question we must ask ourselves of: "Is God enough?", and "Is He trustworthy?".

Keep your eyes fixed on God

When you fix your eyes on the possessions of others, or start to wonder and concern yourself about their life, you are no longer concerned about the will of God. Your focus is not on God, but rather on another person. When that happens, as was seen with Asaph, we can become bitter, angry and question the fairness of God, instead of being satisfied in Him, and satisfied with where He has put us in this moment. 

Our eyes easily wander to the prosperity of others, wicked or not. We all have a tendency to focus on what other people are up to, and we compare ourselves to them, a very unfair and imbalanced measure. Why is this imbalanced? Because you are not the other person - you are different in absolutely every dimension: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. 

"When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?You follow me!” (John 21:21-22)

God has a specific purpose for you to complete in the whole grand scheme of His plans and purpose, you are not to be focusing in on what others are doing. "What is that to you" what other people are doing, all you are first responsible for is submitting to Jesus.

My previous entry addressed that aspect to understanding the prosperity of the wicked; simply put, life is not about you.

If you didn't realize that when you accepted Christ into your life, that you signed on to give up all rights to yourself and to your life to a good and loving God, in order that you might fulfill the purpose He has, you'd best to go back and think about things. Christianity is not an easy pill to swallow.  

We do not need to be worrying about others and whether they are prospering or not, we must be concerned about God, and His business first. Jesus was ever only and always about His Father's business (Luke 2:49). This is not to sound as if you should not care about people, of course not, but your focus must not be on them, it must be on God. 

So is God enough for you? Is God's goodness, His purpose for your life, and His love satisfying to you? Or are you too concerned with the possessions and earthly successes of others? When our hearts are set on pursuing God first, His Spirit aligns our desires with His, and we do find utmost satisfaction, joy and peace.

These things are easier said than done, but that cliché line cannot excuse the fact that we have been called to live a life that glorifies God. 

Psalm 73 shows us the goodness of God. It shows us how God fills us and satisfies our deepest desires. Asaph's question of "why do the wicked prosper?" transformed into "Is God enough for me?" "Does God satisfy?", and he had determined his answer to be "yes". He entered into worship, and as soon as his sights were returned to being set on God, he felt satisfied, he was at peace.

The problem is not with God, or with others, but with us. We must be determined, enabled by the Spirit, to set our hearts on God first: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33). 

Why Do the Wicked Prosper? [Part 1]: Back to Basics

Christianity doesn't make sense

Flat out, I really don't think it does. 

In the world we live in Christianity comes across as crazy, it sounds like utter nonsense and lunacy. The more I think about it and the more I come to learn and understand about God, the more I think Christians are just nuts. And in this world, we really are. Why believe in a God who asks you to give up everything you want in this life, just because He claims that He loves you? Or that He says He has a great plan, one far better than yours, and He wants you to be a part of it? I think most people really wonder why, and that's not a bad thing. The question is: why give up all of myself and my life for someone I cannot see? Why spend this life on an invisible being? 

The premise of Christianity is that God desires to restore us to Himself, to bring us back into a relationship with Himself. Provided there is a good God who actually made us, for His purposes, we would have resembled something like Christ, if sin had not interfered. Christ came to bridge the rift that was created, paying the penalty for our screw ups, just so we could have a relationship with God. So every struggle and every moment of breath on this planet was meant to give us an opportunity to know God, love Him, and in turn to be transformed more and more into the person we were made to be like, Christ. 

It truly does sound insane. No doubt about that. 

And yet, so many people, myself included, have experienced such change and transformation as a result of this intangible being. If anything, this has come as a result of understanding and experiencing that the love of an invisible God is boundless and is real, and Christ is the tangible being and embodiment of love.

These days we talk about Jesus lightly, and we have allowed ourselves to become underwhelmed at His story and His character. With the thought of "How does the cross of Christ even apply in my daily life?", we become vulnerable to the response that, He is simply not relevant to my situation right now; "Sure Jesus died for me, but that doesn't help the fact that I'm failing at school or I don't have a job and I'm poor, or I don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend and I'm lonely." 

But all these thoughts fall flat in light of the fact that you are loved by a powerful, gentle and understanding God. 

Hahaha okay what. Wishful thinking that "love will save the day!" and all that mushy gushy, happy feelings stuff will make all the pains of this world disappear. 

Pain and suffering, longings and desires do not simply disappear. Suffering was promised and so was pain with their entourage of difficulties, trials and challenges. But all this in light of the fact that:

1. You are loved and known by a trustworthy God - therefore He can and will take care of you. (See Psalm 139)
2. Because He's all-loving, His plans and purposes are actually THAT good. (Romans 8:28)

These are two things each person must wrestle with and discover for themselves. Me telling you this changes nothing, if only to get you to think hard about such things. You understand these things to be true when you spend time getting to know God and experiencing Him. 

Knowledge without love is dead, and love without knowledge (truth) is foolishness. 

Loving anyone means trusting in them. Loving someone happens because you know them.God loves us and He knows us, better than we know ourselves. He says His plans are the ones He knows will serve to make the most of the gift of this life He has given us. There is an element of self-sacrifice that must happen, we must sacrifice our pride. Yet another heavy point to digest. 

The question of why the "wicked" (or people who don't believe in Jesus) prosper and have so much materially, while the Christians have "nothing", came into my thoughts through a discussion I had the other day. To me it's clear the answer, but to others it really isn't. To the Christian struggling with such a picture of "injustice" and "inconsistency" in the character of God, it is a stumbling block. My wondering over how to address such a question led me to Job, and Psalm 73. 

What does this entry have to do with the prosperity of the wicked? I'm sure you can guess, but I'll write more about that later. For now, read up on Psalm 73, and think about this and how it relates to this topic.

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

    but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." 

Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)