Joie de Vivre A Wretched Man’s Quest To Follow Jesus Christ

Ripping Off the Poor in Uganda — The Creflo Dollar Half a Million Dollar Africa Meeting

Ooh, reading this just made me boil with anger!

If not for the fact that I don’t believe in violence against another human being (and assuming that I can actually locate him while he’s zooming around in his private jet), I’ll be right up to Creflo Dollar’s face and just do something bad to him.

Uganda is one of the most impoverished countries in the world where people make less than a US dollar a day if they do make anything at all. And here comes Word of Faith ‘Christian’ preachers like Creflo Dollar who are bringing the gospel that claims Christ wants to make everyone who believes in Him rich.

Well, of course, there’s a condition — you first need to give till it hurts to the ministries of such “anointed men” like Creflo Dollar before you get financial blessings that are “pressed down, shaken together, running over”!

This is worse than simply ripping off the poor.

This is rape.

HT: Yesumulungi — African Christian Perspectives.

Get Out Before They Suck You Dry!

In my interaction with some folks following my post on the prosperity gospel teachings of a particular church in Singapore, I’ve come to hear from some who have expressed concern that they have loved ones still caught up in the Word of Faith (WoF) movement.

They wonder how best to tell their loved ones to get out.

Perhaps this testimony published at Pulpit Pimps will help — it comes from a man who has left the WoF “cult” after being involved in the movement for 30 years giving and giving to Joyce Meyer’s ministry.

I’ll share my favorite quote from the post here, something which I have expounded on again and again but few seldom listen:

The salvation of Jesus Christ is NOT about all the things that the Lord gives to His people! And people who seek the Lord for what He can give them are seeking Him for all the WRONG reasons! A person cannot receive the salvation of Christ unless first he realizes that he is a wretched sinner who deserves HELL, not all of the worldly stuff you WoF people clamor after! It’s not about getting all the STUFF. It’s about giving up their lives for HIM and becoming His slaves. Somehow you Word of Faith people have gotten that all backwards. You think salvation is about getting, and getting more It’s just STUFF, material worldly stuff, it’s CARNAL and ungodly! You think that all your STUFF is proof that you are blessed. There is one thing that is promised for sure to all true followers of Christ and that is PERSECUTION!

You Word of Faithers only think of earthly “blessings”. But God does not promise us the things of this world. Think about it What would it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your own SOUL? Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, all of those hellish creatures on TBN - I can’t even name all of the pulpit pimps on TV (and maybe even your pastor too by the way) all of them have their reward. They have their “Best Life Now”. But they can’t take any of it with them where they go!

You may want to print out and show the article to your loved ones whom you are concerned about, and may God open their eyes to see and ears to hear!

Does your church support and invite the likes of Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn et al to speak at Sunday services, and perhaps even sell their publications by the dozens at the church bookstore? If it does, it is about time you reflect on what you are actually learning at church.

I’ll leave you with what the Apostle Peter wrote regarding these WoF teachers.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

– 2 Peter 2:1-3, emphasis mine

HT: Real Christianity.

Shalom Aleichem.

Sorry, but you aren’t seeing any new posts of interest because it’s been a dry spell so far, and I’ve got nothing to say.

Guess it’s a reprieve for some, and a groan of disappointment from others (hopefully there are some out there).

I’ve got some topics lined up, but somehow the ability to write has left me so I’m rather listless when it comes to facing the editor and actually putting words down.

So I guess this is as good a time as any to get to some meme’s that now have sore backsides sitting too long in the queue.

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I’ve just finished reading a great booklet called “The Holidays Of God: The Spring Feasts” by Kevin Williams, published by the Discovery Series at RBC Ministries, the same people who have been giving us the “Our Daily Bread” series for a good while now.

I decided to write in and requested copies since I thought my wife would enjoy them, as it was also part of the literature in my growing years.

The booklet came with the package and piqued our interests immediately because it talked about the Spring Feasts that the Jews celebrate. It was also very useful because it gave a diagram of the Jewish months alongside our Gregorian calendar months and indicated when the feasts were celebrated.

What caught my attention was the account of the broken matzah eaten during Pesach (the Passover).

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Once in a while, an inspirational story comes along and really tears you up inside and starts your tears rolling because reading it leaves you awed, inspired, touched, and in great joy all at the same time.

I got this story from a great sister-in-Christ of mine — Channel of Healing — and just had to pass it on. I will also recommend that you should visit her blog often. She is such a great encourager!

May it touch you as it did me.

God Works In Mysterious Ways

It was an unusually cold day for the month of May. Spring had arrived and everything was alive with color.

But a cold front from the North had brought winter’s chill back to Indiana. I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.

As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying a well-worn sign that read, “I will work for food.”

My heart sank. I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief. We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways.

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Unfortunately, I don’t have much time today to actually write the post that I had planned to, it being the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year so there’s visiting to be done.

In light of that, I thought I’d leave you with some interesting bits that I’ve come across in the past 24 hours.

Best Church Sign

Here’s probably the best church sign I’ve seen in a long time!

HT: Christian Research Network.

Secular TV Series Reveals Emergent/Post-Modern Deathbed Evangelism

This is really funny, but very sad at the same time. Whatever happened to telling people the truth in the Bible as it is where it pertains to their eternal state?!

I just love the dying man’s retort!

HT: Way of the Master Radio.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Alright, I need to catch this movie when it’s released, and I do hope that it makes its way to Singapore.

The film is by Ben Stein who “…realizes that he has been ‘Expelled’, and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired for the ‘crime’ of merely believing that there might be evidence of ‘design’ in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance.”

You can find out more about the movie at its official website.

It made me think — if I were a science teacher and had to teach whatever is mandated in the textbooks knowing that it is wrong, i.e. evolution, what should my position be?

Hmm… I think I shall try finding out from some Christian friends of mine who are themselves teachers in public schools here.

P-P-Pastor’s Wife?!

I have never paid much attention to the singer Ho Yeow Sun (Ho is her surname, Chinese names are written last name, first name), who is also the wife of pastor Kong Hee, and ‘was the music pastor’ at City Harvest Church.

Until some days ago when I took a look at a forum post that linked to what I wrote on teachings at the church and saw this video which left me flabbergasted.

I am not going to link to the official video of the song which I think is quite risque, but you can do a search for ‘China Wine’ on YouTube if you’re interested.

From what I understand, she used to teach young people at the church against listening to secular music and dressing up to titillate. I wonder what happened to all that, or do those lessons not apply to her good self?

I also wonder if she is aware of, or concerned with, the fact that she’s the wife of a pastor with a flock of 23,000 or more, and probably a role model of said congregation, a majority of whom are young impressionable people?

Before anyone accuses me of being legalistic, let me just say that I believe that those in leadership capacities or were in leadership capacities should be careful to not do anything that might cause others to stumble.

Would you want to see your children’s teacher smoking in front of them, or a respected ex-teacher suddenly featured as a centerfold in an adult-only publication?

Shabbat Shalom.

We always read and hear about this or that prosperity gospel preacher doing their infamous rounds of teaching their congregations about self-esteem and being successful enough to have a good level of that.

Sadly, what most people do not realize is that there is no such concept as self-esteem as a Christian, because we are to die to the self. So if there’s no self, where’s the esteem?

However, if they insist on talking about some form of self-esteem, I’ll tell them straight where it’s really coming from.

It is not from whatever success you have in your business, in your marriage, in your relationships, in your career, your physique, your eloquence, your flair for this or that, or whatever else the world uses as yardsticks to measure success.

It is in the fact that despite being downright rotten sinners and the most unworthy people in the world, and probably the scum of the scum at the bottom of the cess pool if totally left to our own devices, that God, our Creator, loves us and we are His beloved when we are in Christ Jesus!

If that doesn’t lift you up, you don’t understand God’s love.

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Yes, yes, I know the fact that I don’t have any children doesn’t escape you, so what am I doing talking about sharing the Gospel with one’s child(ren)?

The upside is that it’s not me that’s doing the teaching, but a pastor, Emeal Zwayne, whom I think did such a great job of sharing it with his children that I decided to record the portion they played at Way of the Master Radio and share it with you.

The entire sermon can be ordered at the web site of said radio station.

What would I do if I had children of my own, you ask?

I’d probably tell them from a young age that I don’t really mind if they don’t become doctors or teachers or professionals or whatever career that’s popular in their time, but that I desire that they be men and women of God first and foremost.

I think that’s the best motivation ever — that in whatever they do they first glorify God.

I leave you now to enjoy the 5-minute track¹.

¹ Way of the Master. Way of the Master Radio. 5 Feb. 2008.
Picture of CD cover taken off Way of the Master store.