Tag: The Bible

Dr. King Still Speaks To Us . . . .

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Dr. King Still Speaks To Us…

Martin Luther King Day is the third Monday of each year. A time we remember a great man and the unending struggle for equal rights.

Dr. King Still Speaks To Us…

 

By Cate & Wes Hessel

 

The Late Great Dr. King

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stands out among the leaders of the black civil rights movement in the United States.  Other members of the “Big Six” who walked alongside Martin were; James Farmer, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and John Lewis.  But Dr. King, or MLK, as many refer to him, has become the face of the 1960’s civil rights movement. During his life Martin Luther King was both heralded and condemned.

He Still Speaks To Us

Dr. King’s eloquence still speaks to us, calling us to continue the fight for what is right and just.

The Bible – God’s word

Above all, MLK was a preacher. His belief in the ‘promise’ is rooted in the Scriptures. He spoke from – the Bible.  That foundation is most apparent in the following:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.  You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.  You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.  You only need a heart full of grace.  A soul generated by love.”

And one paraphrased from his namesake, reformist Martin Luther:

“Live like Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back tomorrow.”

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Evangelicals Fail At Evangelism

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Evangelicals Fail At Evangelism

Jesus died on the cross for man's salvation

On Easter it is important to remember the meaning of the day and the sacrifices made by Jesus and those that have over centuries evangelized his words to a frightened world.

Evangelicals Fail At Evangelism 

By Anna Hessel

Health And Wealth “Gospel”

Evangelical pastors have failed in evangelism

The evangelical pastors have failed in evangelism, and appear to be promoting health and wealth. Forget humility and poverty.

Evangelical pastors, who’s goal should be to teach faith and humility, are doing just the opposite. In the name of God, they take Biblical content out of context to breed a “health and wealth” gospel.  This is in direct opposition to those who serve God faithfully in poverty with humble hearts. Far right-wing “evangelicals”, such as Joel Osteen, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson, tout the idea voiced by Osteen’s sister Lisa Osteen Comes, “planning a financial vision and working with God guarantee a profitable return.”  Ms Comes quotes Proverbs 21:5, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity”. This truth is followed by verse 6, neglected by Comes, which says, “A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.” (NIV) She goes on to say, “it starts with the decision to change”

More To It

I need to stop here. As a follower of Christ, I ask you, can one change the onset of a debilitating illness, which more often than not, brings upon undue financial hardship?  The collapse of a corporation that leads to unemployment cannot be blamed on the employee. Can anyone, other than God, stop a natural disaster, or a pandemic?

Lavish Lifestyles

Joel Osteen declined to offer housing to those left homeless in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey left many people homeless but there was no help from Joel Osteen.

The Bible clearly teaches us to give to the poor – Proverbs 19:17 “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done” (NIV); Joel Osteen, who drives a Ferrari 458 and makes no apologies for his lavish lifestyle, yet claimed in an interview with Oprah that, “money should never be the focus of your life”, calling it “shallow”.  Osteen faced criticism in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey for not opening his Lakewood Church, in Houston as shelter for those left homeless. Church officials claimed the building had flooding issues. Yet pictures showed the parking lot to be dry as a bone.

Woe To You

I am sometimes inspired by comments from Osteen, but I cannot condone his behavior.  As Jesus said, in Luke 6:24, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort”, and “Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25, NIV).

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