Michael Hopp (27 Apr 2011)
"Re: James Norman … help"


Please don’t be offended by the following words, but consider a whole different perspective and world view from the Bible.  And though I make some points below, I am not accusing you of any of them.  Rather, I am just addressing the thoughts, questions and tone in your post.

Jas 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Mat 10:38-39  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Our lives are not about us... your life is not about you: it is about God and giving glory to God.  It is not about what God can give to you; but what you can give to God.  Christianity is a Christ-centered, not man-centered way of life.  Have you given your life wholly over to God?  Have you sought Him according to Mark 12:30 for Who and What God is and not just for what He promises to you in His Word?

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

The promises below are not the key focus; rather Mat. 6:33 is the key both here and everywhere in Scripture (either stated or presumed in context).

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Do you want prayers (for health & prosperity) answered for you to keep on living for yourself - or do you want to live for God and His Kingdom and to serve Him with your whole heart wherever He would lead you?

The health, wealth and prosperity gospel is a false gospel.  God is not like a genie-in-a-bottle to be commanded at our beckon call to serve our needs and desires.  And giving to charity so that we can get more in return is a false and self-centered motive that will not be rewarded or honored by God.  The promises of Christ are altogether different.  The verses below are again Christ-centered; not man-centered.

Joh 16:33b In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Mat 16:24-26  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

I suggest you temporarily put aside the promises in Scripture on which you have focused, and re- read the Bible (New Testament first) with an open-mind and a Christ-centered focus.  And pray first - every time before opening your Bible - pray that the Holy Spirit of Truth will reveal Christ and His Truth to you.

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Joh 16:13-14  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

I know of many testimonies of God’s provident provision and answered prayers for His faithful believers, but I dare say that they were all for God’s glory and for His faithful servants to continue to live for Him and to serve Him.

Michael Hopp