prosperity

In their annual Gates Foundation Letter, Bill and Melinda Gates listed three stubborn myths about global development that drive them crazy: 1) that poor countries are doomed to stay poor; 2) that foreign aid is a big waste; and 3) that saving lives leads to overpopulation. It’s easy to understand how infuriating such myths are to the Gateses, who have pledged to spend their entire $72 billion fortune on their foundation’s save-the-world work. In an interview about their work, they continued to circle back to the big gap between their proof that interventions work and the persistence of false ideas and wrong thinking. This prompted an exploration by Susan Glasser, featured on Politico, of exaggerations and plain untruths about how the United States operates in the world. She went to diploma...

Devotional 29The Victor I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to murder anyone. I’ve never worshiped an idol. Adultery hasn’t been a stumbling block for me. Why would I want to steal from someone? Such big sins don’t bother me. Most of us who seek to follow the leadership of Jesus Christ discover that the big lures tend to disappear. It’s the little traps that we stumble into. One of my little struggles is that I tend to ignore the warning signs of past experiences, cautions in the Bible, or the restraining hand of God. I’m amazed (in retrospect) how easily I convince myself to say a certain thing or act a certain way as a means of standing up for myself or being honest, or being faithful to point out another’s shortcomings. Once in a while, I’...

Inerrancy. A word that can arouse passion and even division. A concept that is often used as a test of the faith. A line in the sand that divides the church. On one side are those who hold to the truthfulness of the Scripture. On the other side are those who see at least some amount of error in the Bible. The issue is often cast as clear-cut. Either you hold to inerrancy. Or you don’t. Either the Bible is truthful; all of it. Or it contains some level of error. Yet, is it as simple as that? I have struggled with the concept of inerrancy over the years. And have finally come to recognize that my issue is not with the truthfulness of Scripture. I wholeheartedly agree that it is truthful in all that it teaches and affirms (John 17:17). An Erroneous Implication of Inerrancy My issue with inerr...

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue …” Proverbs 18:21a (CSB) Bam. Bang. Crash. I could hear the earsplitting commotion from my kitchen where I stood drying the last of the breakfast dishes. It was “demo day” at our house as we were replacing our old fireplace. It was interesting and entertaining to watch the whole demo and building process unfold. Thankfully, the mason allowed me to capture videos of it for any curious, fixer-upper loving friends. As the project was winding down, I noticed something. The contractor used many tools in his craft. Some of the same ones that he used to smash the existing fireplace to smithereens were the ones he used to carefully tap the new stacked stone pieces into place. His mallet brought destruction. But then, a few days later, it created beaut...

“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” (Proverbs 13:11) What exactly is gambling?  By its very nature, gambling is risking a person’s current position or wealth against the odds in the hope of gaining a greater position or wealth.  A sin is anything that harms or hinders our relationship with Christ.  Las Vegas, Atlantic City and American Indian reservations throughout the country make billions of dollars in revenue each year because of legalized gambling.  However, the question remains: “Is participating in gambling a sin for Christians?” Governments can legalize products, drugs, or behaviors in the attempt to generate local revenue, but many of these measures are contrary to Christian beliefs. Poker, slot ma...

A Prayer for When You Feel UnworthyBy Lindsay Snyder We must learn to receive His love, because we love only because He has first loved us – 1 John 4:19 Unworthiness! I didn’t know you had a name. I thought you were my thoughts; you have lied to me for a really long time. I took you on, unworthiness, as my identity, and didn’t even know it. I never knew you could be so destructive, lie so deeply about who I was. I am going to tell on you now, so you can’t lie to others like you did to me. Six things to remember when you are dealing with the LIE of unworthiness: 1. We have to know deep down that God REALLY does loves us! I know, I know, God loves us, it’s sounds so cliché. But why is it so hard to remember? Why does it seem distant and hard to really grab onto sometimes? Probably beca...

One of the more eerie parts of the book of Revelation includes four figures riding horses. Much intrigue has built around these four characters featured in Revelation 6 that iconic art, books, and even movies (such as X-Men Apocalypse) have capitalized on these four horsemen of the apocalypse. These four horsemen appear to symbolically portray four disastrous occurrences that will take place before the second coming of Jesus Christ. Historians have argued over whether these events have already happened or whether mankind has yet to experience them. But most evidence points to the fact these have yet to take place. This article will endeavor to explain the characteristics of each one of the horsemen and how they all play an important role in the End Times. The White Horse The first horse, a...

Dr. Ray Pritchard Author, Speaker, President of Keep Believing Ministries Here’s a message called Swimming Upstream: We need this because we must live in the world, but the world must not live in us. Click here sign up for the free email sermons.

July 6/7 The Believer’s Purpose Galatians 5:13 God has a purpose for your life. If that weren’t true, He’d have taken you home to heaven at the moment of salvation. Do you ever wonder why He left you here? The Lord intends to influence others through you. Our purpose is to be a vessel through which Christ overflows to others–touching those who hurt and desperately need a Savior. Once we are saved, Scripture teaches, our involvement is threefold. First, we love others. Jesus clearly stated that this was one of the two greatest commandments (Matt. 22:38-39). Second, we share the good news of salvation (Acts 1:8). Some travel across the world to spread the gospel, while others teach neighbors across the street. The Holy Spirit will direct us to the right people if we a...

Although theologians have not reached a consensus on the exact timing of the 70 weeks mentioned in Daniel 9, we can draw a number of conclusions from this enigmatic prophecy. What are the seventy weeks? The angel Gabriel approaches Daniel in the latter half of the ninth chapter after Daniel prays for Israel. Gabriel mentions “seventy sevens” will take place before God will put an end to sin and bring everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). Scholars agree that the sevens appears to mean years. Therefore, 70 X 7 = 490 years. Although Christians typically refer to the period of God bringing everlasting righteousness as 70 weeks, they really mean 70 X 7 years. The prophecy divides up these 490 years in a handful of ways. 49 years (7 X 7): The time it takes to rebuild Jerusalem since the time ...

On the 4th of July, I’m always reminded of times I’ve traveled in countries where freedom is severely curtailed. Or where the people have been freshly freed from the chains of injustice, and the joy of their release was palpable. I was in Johannesburg on the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid. I was in Korea when the border between North and South was electric with tension. My most powerful memory came from Moscow, where I was teaching shortly after the fall of communism.  One night a group of us went to the famed Bolshoi Ballet. It was a long, wonderful evening, and after we took the subway back to where we were staying, the students said, “Come and let us celebrate.” The other two professors with me were as tired as I was, but the students were so intent on our joini...

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1b (NIV)  I huffed. I puffed. I hunched over in pain. I wanted to make it to the end of the run. Yet as much as I tried to go, my legs, mind and oozy head wouldn’t. All this was too much.  I hobbled home with squeaky, worn, blue shoes and a defeated spirit. I don’t know how I ever thought I was cut out for this. How I ever thought I could do this … others are stronger. I’m weak. I don’t have the energy. I’m embarrassing. A loser. For me, running is a battle. But, so is life. One battle after another. Early in my life, I faced an eating disorder, depression and debt. More recently, I hit a near-debilitating health scare, relational issues and a never-ending waiting period. And, I continually battl...